tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59019878752653558322024-03-05T19:34:44.772-08:00freeNIKES!What community?Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comBlogger538125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-325447385449513992010-10-02T22:50:00.000-07:002010-10-02T23:35:14.474-07:00What Community?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUHaUDY6XixLjI-isZIUzzPadluH7iugODSenyiMRSTmiR-cKSWUKYV8X65CV91e1IjIrJSebiuz7-n1on3GCp-VQ7ctRMyUH-gYazUGIKTgnS8Oa0ojZSnGdFDgsKf7EaOUt1LZZbH5k/s1600/stripped_down_car.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUHaUDY6XixLjI-isZIUzzPadluH7iugODSenyiMRSTmiR-cKSWUKYV8X65CV91e1IjIrJSebiuz7-n1on3GCp-VQ7ctRMyUH-gYazUGIKTgnS8Oa0ojZSnGdFDgsKf7EaOUt1LZZbH5k/s400/stripped_down_car.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523700794271204274" /></a><br />As friends or readers of mine know, I do not make this move: that of supporting or promoting something highly critical of an artist, especially a novelist. But this is not about just Franzen, it is about us. We are a problematic generation. One with gaping, transmission sized defects and no tools nor hands to operate the tools even if we had the tools, to fix them. I am presently compiling the struggles of living with a specific sect of our generation, an awful and unworthy-of-life group, into a paper no one will read. I will post it nonetheless, very soon. In the meantime, as an epigraph, this is from B.R. Myers' "Smaller Than Life." It is a review and a critique of the popular novelist Jonathan Franzen and his latest work, <span style="font-style:italic;">Freedom</span>. (From the 0ctober 2010 the Atlantic)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Franzen does not take his story very seriously, but the irony is indiscriminate and directionless; he hints at no frame of reference from which we are to judge his prose critically. Nor are we to imagine that a fool or semiliterate is addressing us. The same narrator who gives us "sucked" and "very into" also deploys compound adjectives, bursts of journalese, and long if syntactically crude sentences. An idiosyncratic mix? Far from it. We find the same insecure style on The Daily Show and in the blogosphere; we overhear it on the subway. It is the style of all who think highly enough of their own brains to worry about being thought "elitist," not one of the gang. The reassuring vulgarity follows the flight of pseudo-eloquence as the night the day. Like the rest of these people, Franzen should relax.</span>Cuyler Ballengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10345050055866923835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-80842485999127870032010-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:002010-02-25T11:34:26.110-08:00Ice Cream Terrorism<div>Stealing a page from my <a href="http://weekendterrorism.blogspot.com/">long lost cohorts</a>, an excerpt from a chat last night that had my sides splitting. FYI/BTW: I was imagining Wonder Breads, not a baguette.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; border-collapse: collapse; "><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:17 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: i'm spilling ice cream all over myself</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:18 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: haha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>tight</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>haven't had good ice cream in a minue</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>minute</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:19 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: i shld ship u some of this</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><a href="http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/our-flavors/#product_id=108" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(119, 153, 187); ">http://www.benjerry.com/<wbr>flavors/our-flavors/#product_<wbr>id=108</a></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:20 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: oh yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>the colbert one</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: hella good</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>you know what the preferred vehicle for ice cream is here?</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>bread</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: hahahaha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:21 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>a literal ice cream sandwich</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>its bizarre</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: hahaha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>lol</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: in a culture that doesn't even really have bread, they put their ice cream on it</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:22 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: amazing</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i'm still lol</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i still laugh when i see it</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i'll find you a pic</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:23 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: k</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:24 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: <a href="http://www.mybkk.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/bkkthaiicecreamsandwich.jpg" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(119, 153, 187); ">http://www.mybkk.com/wp-<wbr>content/uploads/2008/02/<wbr>bkkthaiicecreamsandwich.jpg</a></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i dunno maybe its good</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:26 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: hahaha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:27 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>that looks <i>AWFUL</i></span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>it doesnt' look great</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>maybe if it was like french toast or something</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:28 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>then i'd be down</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:29 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: yea, you shld try it</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>and write a bit about it</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah i will</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:30 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i've been meaning to try it for a while</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>but whenever i see it i can't bring myself to do it</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:31 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span style="font-weight: bold; ">America e</span>: i honestly dont blame you</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>theres a lot of shit i still gotta try</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:32 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>weird shit</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: i cant get over the fact that the chocolate in that picture looks like shit</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>like real shit</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:33 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah thats the thing too</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>is the ice cream here is never good</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>chocolates never good</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>unless its from somewhere else</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: looks like bad soft serve</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:34 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: basically anything thats not traditionally thai is done badly</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: such blanket statements only make me lol</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: i guess thats how it always is</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>haha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i'm for real</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: i never use "lol" but there's no other way for me to say it right now</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:35 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: thai made chocolate is just bad</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: i believe you!</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: i don't blame them</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>its a relatively new thing</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>same with ice cream</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>bread</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>cheese</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">America</span>: hahaha</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); ">12:36 AM </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: anyway</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>i gotta get going</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span style="font-weight: bold; ">me</span>: ok</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span>thanks for the laughs</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: yeah</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span style="font-weight: bold; ">me</span>: i shld probly sleep too</span></span></div><div><span style="display: block; float: left; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); "> </span><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Thailand</span>: the laffs are on me</span></span></div></span></div>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-89002661183326512682009-08-01T14:30:00.000-07:002009-08-01T15:24:47.919-07:00Throw a neg? #6: Funny People<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/funny_peepee_18.jpg" width="425" alt="look at the shorts"><br />Judd Apatow sure does love his family. Every shot of Leslie Mann gleams, every shot of daughters Maude and/or Iris Apatow holds just too long. It's not like hiring Janusz Kaminski to light his pictures into "pretty" makes Apatow any better a filmmaker. But the problem isn't directing, per se, it's scope; which points to writing, which points to editing, which of course points to directing, too (we're after harmony after all, aren't we?). Endless coverage and endless post-production work shouldn't really be a problem, in theory, because you'd hope that editing was actually editing, or trimming--cutting off some fat. Hell, it's a recurring joke that Seth Rogen's gotten skinnier since the last time he was on screen. More, Apatow's trying to tell two too many stories at once, and each one is so <i>moral</i>. Granted, I felt good walking to the car; and, I suppose, self-reliance is a about as good a thing to preach as any. But, for every dick joke and for all the let's-get-serious talk, there's still a gauze on mess. It's a satisfied picture, no doubt, happy to know what it knows. It's Hollywood; it's fantasy. Solutions seem easy. After watching so much Hawks recently (a terrible and unfair comparison, I realize, but what are standards for?), I get that, for all his assurance of how the world works, Hawks is more about letting things play--or following a course as it leads. Despite the bloat of the running time, you can feel Syd Field all over Apatow's screenplays/outlines. Bottom line: gimme more movies about competition and more <a target="_blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2201555/">Aubrey Plaza</a> telling our dummy boy-man Rogen she can fuck whoever she wants. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-21669923797049723622009-07-24T18:07:00.000-07:002009-07-24T18:08:30.099-07:00Candles #7: I see a new earth<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nOF23dA7UJg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nOF23dA7UJg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-33748270817897866612009-07-24T13:54:00.000-07:002009-07-24T13:59:29.609-07:00Candles #6: There are smart people<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pEACJzqCQek&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pEACJzqCQek&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br />Say what you will. This makes me feel great. He's such a real person, it's amazing. Biggest sign, clearly, is his commitment to work, and girls. <i>--RWK</i> [via carlton, via <a target="_blank" href="http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2009/07/anakin-skywalker-where-are-they-now">filmdrunk</a>]Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-7822983194311651512009-07-22T13:58:00.000-07:002009-07-22T14:05:45.922-07:00Bag Raiders "Shooting Stars" Music Video<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/feA64wXhbjo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/feA64wXhbjo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Instead of making some crap video of the two guys in the band taking a faggy walk down some Lawnmower Man/Miami Strip re-creation, they should have just filmed a young, beautiful multi-ethnic group of friends driving around in a convertible (slightly drunk) in LA because that's all anyone thinks when they hear this song.<br /></div></div>Julian Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06167747983419486964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-15963920661792652292009-07-21T10:28:00.000-07:002009-07-21T10:35:04.078-07:00Design Poach #19: Hitchclock<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3313/3337831587_428c7a3e25.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3313/3337831587_428c7a3e25.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><b>What:</b> Hitchcock Chromotography<br /><b>Stolen from:</b> <a href="http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/blog/?p=509">Hitchcock Wiki Blog</a> via <a href="http://twitter.com/dwhtwit/status/2761329424">@dwhtwit</a>.<br /><br />Be sure to click through and look at the big versions. This kind of obssesive project is what the internet was made for. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-14160304918822222602009-07-19T10:32:00.000-07:002009-07-19T10:33:19.542-07:00Just an Average Relaxing Sunday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkweZuQTYAEINxiF58Q9dPFgblKhw9SoUtVuCkjH4T5ovyqAeQukG-g_WU8titmcMXW1Id1_EjFtN4j11oEej_QjRxSWTEuHyEJfmru6Ocy8D54ZQq1A8NYaJK79pj0ug4iCEWIN-ukoS/s1600-h/3164_b2f4ae7b53e0f0134c228b1a9c69f504.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkweZuQTYAEINxiF58Q9dPFgblKhw9SoUtVuCkjH4T5ovyqAeQukG-g_WU8titmcMXW1Id1_EjFtN4j11oEej_QjRxSWTEuHyEJfmru6Ocy8D54ZQq1A8NYaJK79pj0ug4iCEWIN-ukoS/s400/3164_b2f4ae7b53e0f0134c228b1a9c69f504.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360225596515985746" /></a>Cuyler Ballengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10345050055866923835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-77261596406074217602009-07-16T20:10:00.000-07:002009-07-16T20:33:11.732-07:00Throw a neg! #5: Harry Potter 6<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/photo_77_hires.jpg" width="425" alt="through something"><br />As soon as he says that line, you know it's over. Or, I did. I got up premature and beat it the hell out of the parking lot. No need to soak credits. For a film that long, with that much "plot," it's pretty damned minor. Yates seems to have a few good ideas about lighting, and jostling the screen sometimes, but there's a certain embalming patina over most <i>things</i> in the movie. It's definitely a movie of things, too, as all these <i>Potter</i> books/movies are, except for when Cuaron really turned the central thing into a theme in his picture. Now, this one cannot be deemed a nadir by any means, but it certainly doesn't mean much to state that. Nor does it mean much by itself, as all the things are just things, attached to very little. A film/story this reliant on "memory" should be a little bit more about the mind, don't you think? (Something Yates' #5 got, kind of.) No, this one's just a different kind of faithful to the book, exclusively a plot delivery machine, even though the color and consequence of the final confrontation/s has been transposed down, dampened or muted, and, quite honestly, smoothed over. We (or I, or other dummies like me who've read the books) know that the series won't deliver on all its mythological possibilities, but there's still hope, maybe, that the next two films (of one book! money! cash! greed!) will at least be loud. God knows there won't be any less exposition. Even without Gambon asking, in just about every scene, "You must be wondering why I've brought you here." My query is why I want to be lead, or why I keep on following.Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-27769697114773477562009-07-16T14:31:00.000-07:002009-07-16T14:35:52.851-07:00Quick Lit Shit #25: Eyes Wide Shut [BFI monograff]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/9780851709321.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px;;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/9780851709321.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>A fine elucidation that pays strict attention to the film itself and hardly interprets away from what we're given. I wish I was as rigorous to stay within the film as Chion. This isn't to say he doesn't talk of associations, or of the filmmakers and their process, but that all his interpretation is grounded, firmly, in details from the film. Also: I dig its simple, intuitive structure. The best film criticism reorganizes the film in a particularly non-linear way that activates the film again and again in flashes for the reader; this does that. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-75258492300043294652009-07-16T14:29:00.000-07:002009-07-16T14:36:55.345-07:00Quick Lit Shit #24: Vulgar Modernism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/41BV1JFHZ8L_SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/41BV1JFHZ8L_SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Wish I had more free time to spend with this but from my thumbing (no, didn't read it cover-to-cover) it proves, again, how talented and sharp and well rounded Hoberman's criticism reads. Also cool to see what was happening in the NYC film world before VHS and Laserdiscs and DVD changed (devalued?) rep and foreign programming. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-68495766178129184232009-07-16T14:28:00.001-07:002009-07-16T14:37:04.493-07:00Quick Lit Shit #23: Hitchcock's Films Revisited<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/images/24/hitch_revisited.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px;" src="http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/images/24/hitch_revisited.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Wood's is a fine primer. And a thoughtful guide for the familiar, too. Still a few things I'd challenge, though, like all that talk of identification solely in terms of a equals b techniques without further investigation. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-80528638367973313032009-07-14T08:29:00.000-07:002009-07-14T08:36:57.300-07:00Design Poach #18: Heights<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/wuthering-heights_209541s.jpg" width="425"><br /><b>What:</b> A cover of <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, which I've never read, but want to for the number of film adaptations there are, including one by our man of the moment, Mr Manipulator himself, Rivette.<br /><b>Stolen from:</b> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-art-of-book-cover-design-1736014.html">An article in the Independent</a> about the art of book covers, of course. Found via <a target="_blank" href="http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/the-missing-links-115/">this recent 3:AM link dump</a>.Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-69507909441773000772009-07-13T16:14:00.001-07:002009-07-13T16:14:51.000-07:00No Capes #16: Pialat<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/pialat/21-01-4.jpg">Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-73786658580357208022009-07-11T22:02:00.000-07:002009-07-11T22:07:22.318-07:00Candles #5: Best Death Metal Elevator From London<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/31892366lx7.jpg" width="425" alt="slide"><br />Pretty amazing. Pretty damned amazing, <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/Cambomb/status/2594150883">Carlton</a>. Imagine I'm yelling, imagine I'm John Darnielle: <blockquote><br />Let's save our pennies and dimes! Let's get along real well! <br />Let's go ahead, let's book a flight, let's find things to sell! <br />Oh I want to slide dow that tube; oh I want it, I want it oh so bad. <br />OH I can't find my right mood, oh I want, I want to never be mad!<br />Jump into that chute! <br />Jump into that chute! <br />Let's jump intooOOOooo that chute.</blockquote><br />More pix <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zuzafun.com/elevator">over here</a>. <i>--RWK</i><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/56591381cu9.jpg" width="425">Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-3261205274445737552009-07-10T10:08:00.000-07:002009-07-10T10:25:13.193-07:00Freaks Flock Together<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD49QkXw-pZEEu1yDRopcc4c-mt0UWtu_TzYwSooNF1AqAVNy20zSCEI14Hi5ILMMkJFaE82MJq7QpOM576CmqVkk27MHdYGpap82AOAL9zDFoVuXfdLfEEKGlfe5uOBhAZYTx4dHstlGX/s1600-h/hunger-01207.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD49QkXw-pZEEu1yDRopcc4c-mt0UWtu_TzYwSooNF1AqAVNy20zSCEI14Hi5ILMMkJFaE82MJq7QpOM576CmqVkk27MHdYGpap82AOAL9zDFoVuXfdLfEEKGlfe5uOBhAZYTx4dHstlGX/s400/hunger-01207.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356882261728234434" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085701/">The Hunger, 1983, Tony Scott</a><br /><br />Utterly bewildered to find this "vampire lesbo" movie is actually a stately, gorgeous piece of movie making, and it's directed by <span style="font-style: italic;">Tony Scott</span>. It's like Dan Brown coming out with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Road </span>and then he goes onto Oprah and says "I just wanted to write this quick, fun little apocalypse novel while I was researching the next <span style="font-style: italic;">Da Vinci Code</span> sequel." Fuck you.Julian Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06167747983419486964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-55401690016504836522009-07-09T11:28:00.001-07:002009-07-09T11:30:11.281-07:00Chain Gang<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bRhW1cAcAW0ytmPSnXrKe0WuJEJZmAmABqm6tfRp9-4d39SCB4O2voXj0DSWQHoqqnbZcJ7RE12WT02GWt_m-wSF7Z9DWnLIYmz4iIzhJkPWCgW0zwPk0OivKM1JEf6n1chgtEZKbzZ1/s1600-h/rJnL6CYo8pnxmx07oPWnNMIQo1_500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bRhW1cAcAW0ytmPSnXrKe0WuJEJZmAmABqm6tfRp9-4d39SCB4O2voXj0DSWQHoqqnbZcJ7RE12WT02GWt_m-wSF7Z9DWnLIYmz4iIzhJkPWCgW0zwPk0OivKM1JEf6n1chgtEZKbzZ1/s400/rJnL6CYo8pnxmx07oPWnNMIQo1_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356529239038680866" border="0" /></a>(via <a href="http://hrstudioplus.com">hrstudioplus</a>)Julian Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06167747983419486964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-55808189267425375072009-07-08T08:11:00.000-07:002009-07-08T08:14:50.875-07:00Two Goths, The Desert & Karl Lagerfeld<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEdSTClhEBhz-5sF_PUVuzS26dYTQ8vbWnqnm13B0TxjTn54ii1AhmJYAakICUf0eo83339typ7dd5_iZAubALdfuze75EatTJZxlS32jAOBt3xIDftt3UKWKMpTY_Lih5ynytAQB8NPv/s1600-h/tmlym_promo01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEdSTClhEBhz-5sF_PUVuzS26dYTQ8vbWnqnm13B0TxjTn54ii1AhmJYAakICUf0eo83339typ7dd5_iZAubALdfuze75EatTJZxlS32jAOBt3xIDftt3UKWKMpTY_Lih5ynytAQB8NPv/s400/tmlym_promo01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356107347449460754" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXvqF-L_cMGDPZ2sCe9VqM9PJFt6evmJsGQoviRX-HKtowMevJ6Ef7apbI-O7jOU-FoYPCuZ5_Etbxdy7EbpXyIj-PCnRfykCYJfqnCHa_xJAJeXpEblbJgIshInCWSe7ob3NnBZS3c-z/s1600-h/tmlym_promo02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXvqF-L_cMGDPZ2sCe9VqM9PJFt6evmJsGQoviRX-HKtowMevJ6Ef7apbI-O7jOU-FoYPCuZ5_Etbxdy7EbpXyIj-PCnRfykCYJfqnCHa_xJAJeXpEblbJgIshInCWSe7ob3NnBZS3c-z/s400/tmlym_promo02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356107343221496242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEowFW0ZYDk2RNjCuo4bkri1ihrnp5R_ACqHPHhKroQxpPUtZqSDx_aBVwV-Rco8TYhrPDhzigAygxQCbmKZqv0d8d1mmz5CJWfIBO1LTcPhycL85WYLUSRKzuw9UAH71IJWKv2Nlkz3N/s1600-h/tmlym_promo03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEowFW0ZYDk2RNjCuo4bkri1ihrnp5R_ACqHPHhKroQxpPUtZqSDx_aBVwV-Rco8TYhrPDhzigAygxQCbmKZqv0d8d1mmz5CJWfIBO1LTcPhycL85WYLUSRKzuw9UAH71IJWKv2Nlkz3N/s400/tmlym_promo03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356107340146933410" border="0" /></a><br />Teasers from the new Jonathan Glazer-directed DEAD WEATHER <a href="http://www.thedeadweather.com/treatmelikeyourmother/">video</a>. Did anyone see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337876/">BIRTH</a>? I mean, come on, it was <span style="font-style: italic;">the fucking shit</span> wasn't it??Julian Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06167747983419486964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-89676274571357202652009-07-03T15:46:00.000-07:002009-07-04T10:18:23.480-07:00Enjoy the Fireworks, my Young Comrades<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9mpZ1RRmZR_K3_pCNrkSXw1evtipBTSSQH5EBpbxFHHLylgXELIxMwFOcnOGiCz5GRMZiqn1Dvn-b-wyE1WkfWader0bCMJgQtecFtpxhXz8UufWp-X9nFaJvOKb5t3aS9Y8G38lFoHh/s1600-h/blow+up"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi9mpZ1RRmZR_K3_pCNrkSXw1evtipBTSSQH5EBpbxFHHLylgXELIxMwFOcnOGiCz5GRMZiqn1Dvn-b-wyE1WkfWader0bCMJgQtecFtpxhXz8UufWp-X9nFaJvOKb5t3aS9Y8G38lFoHh/s400/blow+up" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354369192480254082" /></a><br />San Francisco has a nice way of dulling the 4th of July, not intentionally of course, but atmospherically. Who can get in the spirit of things American, such as explosions, if fog guards their glory? This year, the forecast is the same, and to tell you the truth, this time around, this particular summer, so varied and abstract for me, I would prefer a deep and disguised rumbling of the clouds to just about anything else. For all seven of <span style="font-style:italic;">you</span> though, if any of you barbeque and party the night away tomorrow, I wish you the best, on our sweet collective birthday. In other words Blow (it) Up.Cuyler Ballengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10345050055866923835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-17276915544061007252009-07-02T13:35:00.000-07:002009-07-02T13:37:10.531-07:00Encounter #145: Watermelon in Spain<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/ept_sports_nba_experts-508275430-12.jpg" width="425" alt="seeds"><br />Seeds spring life. I've never been to Spain. I'd like to go there. Everybody I know says it's the best. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-1594030653032715702009-07-02T10:39:00.000-07:002009-07-02T10:40:28.799-07:00Candles #4: Oh Three, Twenty One<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/narcissus/juansplace003.jpg" width="425" alt="Juan's Place">Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-45459993454443986662009-06-30T13:13:00.000-07:002009-06-30T13:14:30.698-07:00Why dont the Warriors draft this BadBoy?<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o-fOdbB3ESU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o-fOdbB3ESU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Cuyler Ballengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10345050055866923835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-59096698517655870682009-06-29T14:12:00.001-07:002009-06-29T17:43:44.245-07:00What Community? #92: Vervet blitz - UPDATED<object width="425" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSm7BcQHWXk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pSm7BcQHWXk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="295"></embed></object><br />Vervet monkeys steal alcohol (and other drinks) from "unaware" tourists at some kind of "resort" and get real wasty, falling and tripping and making a racket. Parallel lines. Except, I've not had a single drink in a week, and I feel fine, though the thirst is there. I haven't seen any bikinis here, either, for the record. <i>--RWK</i><br /><b><br />UPDATE:</b> Whoops, forgot the [via Carlton] tag... as <a href="http://twitter.com/Cambomb/status/2395746133">this tweet</a> will tell you.Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-13215031568419489352009-06-27T20:32:00.001-07:002009-06-27T20:48:34.568-07:00Throw a neg! #4: Transformers 2<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/megan-fox-transformers-2.jpg" width="425" alt="look up so we can look down"><br />I'm happy this was the first flick I saw in the Green Country Cinemas. And I'm happy the crowd was talkative. I'm happy I could point out who was an Autobot and who was a Decepticon in some of the "fight scenes" to the kid on my right. Maybe I'm just worn out, or maybe I just have way less invested in getting riled up at windmills, but I couldn't muster the kind of anger this idiotic mess warrants on an ideological level for the simple fact that Michael Bay makes images that swoon and pop, burn and thud, go bang and lazy, and all at once, as it's true spectacle: always in motion, always useless beyond aesthetics and the pleasure of light and color. But there <i>is</i> a soundtrack, and dialogue, and, as many have griped, some really fucking terrible attempts at comedy -- plus, of course, all the obnoxious hate one can expect from a lame-brain adolescent -- not to mention it's 150 minutes without previews. And, while we're at it, we might as well mention how terrible Ms Fox is (and how crazy Bay's idea of sexuality is; ditto "love") despite, somehow, in the midst of the wooden line readings and anime posturing, she's still pretty sexy in a middle school fantasy way. The most dispiriting thing about the enterprise is just how much fucking money this will make, and how much fun that is for those involved, since I don't get paid to do what I love, and since I think this thing is genuinely cancerous for culture. Still, I had a fine time. Orange is a good color. <i>--RWK</i>Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5901987875265355832.post-9123023787363139382009-06-27T06:57:00.000-07:002009-06-27T07:00:34.720-07:00No Capes #15: Seberg<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/bonjour_01.png" width="425"><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/rynhauld/bonjour_02.png" width="425">Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.com2