Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'n' Watch Yer AndroidTube

With not even a half-hearted attempt at chronological order, here is a
crude dump of my latest and greatest android-tubing:

30 Rock (Seasons 5 and 6): it's probably past its best at this stage,
but it continues to do what it says on the tin. I had no problem
mugging up to 2-3 episodes per0 bus ride.

Hung (Season 1): short-lived HBO comedy/drama about a high school
teacher who, thanks to the GFC and a messy divorce, ends up
moonlighting as a male gigolo. It's mildly entertaining here and
there, but it's awfully contrived and none of the characters are
really engaging, so it's not hard to see why the show didn't last too
long. The opening theme by The Black Keys is probably the highlight
for me.

Control: a well-done biopic portraying the brief and predominantly
unhappy career of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. On the face of it,
there's little to pity, or respect for that matter, about a guy who
ditches his wife and newborn for a french floozy as soon as his band
starts to get a whiff of success, and who returns home to the family
fold only to get drunk and hang himself in the back kitchen. But the
film does a good job of conveying Curtis' depression as a real (and
debilitating) affliction, and invites compassion without going
overboard and heroizing him.

Alien Quadrilogy: I treated myself to a bit of revision here in the
run-up to seeing Prometheus on the big screen (more about that below).
Nothing fundamentally new here, so I'll limit myself to two
observations. (1) Aliens is still, for my money, the apex of the
series: much as the alien is the perfect organism, this is the perfect
action film. And the automatic sentry guns (which, in what can only be
described as a moment of pure cutting-room folly, were edited out of
the original, but can be seen in the "special edition") are simply
awesome. (2) Alien Resurrection is an appalling turd of a film that,
in hindsight, could be said to herald the beginning of the violent and
protacted rape of the franchise that would really get going in earnest
with the farcical "Alien vs. Predator" installments. Of course, the
writing was already on the wall with Alien 3 -- a film that I'll go to
my grave arguing should never have been made and wishing I could
somehow unsee (Hicks and Newt -- dead? Just like that? Why?), but at
least it was a sort-of okay film on its own terms.

Mad Max Trilogy: out of curiosity more than anything else, I decided
to check out these cult favourites (from a happier age in which the
"mad" tag applied to Mel Gibson's movie alter-egos more than
himself..). The first one was actually okay, but the sequels were
pretty silly. The bad guys dressed and acted, for the most part, like
they belonged to a Sydney Mardi Gras stage float that had somehow
taken a wrong turn on the way to George Street and ended up in the
outback. But I did like the elasticated cage fighting in the
Thunderdome.

Inside Job: excellent documentary film exploring the causes of the
GFC. Check out the weaselly squirming of some of the economists who
had (unwisely for them, as it turns out) agreed to be interviewed for
the film.

Margin Call: a fictional story set in an investment bank, loosely
based on the events leading up to the collapse of Lehmann Brothers.
Good performances from a surprisingly strong ensemble cast, including
Kevin Spacey, Simon Baker, Demi Moore and Jeremy Irons. There are a
couple of slightly over-the-top moments (Irons' theatrical boardroom
speech being one of them), but for the most part it rings quite true
and is as authentic a portrayal of investment banking culture as I've
seen.

Cloudstreet: thoroughly enjoyed this charming mini-series adaptation
of the Tim Winton novel.

Stardust: fun little fantasy/fairy tale film based on the book by Neil
Gaiman. Robert De Niro camps it up as a whoopsie pirate captain,
Michelle Pfeiffer plays a witch, and Claire Danes is a star fallen to
earth in human form (with a remarkably good english accent). Look out
for a scene-stealing cameo from Ricky Gervais.

Sweeney Todd: I didn't realise going into this one that it was a
musical, so there was a moment of serious trepidation a few minutes in
when a street urchin, apropos of nothing, burst into song. Despite my
early misgivings, however, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Johnny
Depp and Helena Bonham Carter manage to stay on the entertaining side
of quirky (a remarkable achievement, given that it's Tim Burton at the
helm), and Alan Rickman is enjoyable as always.

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil: a fairly interesting documentary film about
Canadian heavy metal also-rans Anvil who, despite promising early
success back at the beginning of the eighties, never quite made the
big time. Now in their fifties, they still haven't abandoned the dream
of breaking through and prepare to risk it all for one last shot. I'm
usually one to root for the million-to-one shot, but here it just
seems a bit sad.

Moon: haunting and thought-provoking little sci-fi flick in the vein
of 2001:A Space Odyssey. I wish more sci-fi films had this ratio of
budget to entertainment value.

Dr Strangelove: early Kubrick film, this is a very entertaining
satirical commentary on cold war madness, much in the mould of Catch 22.

Shame: a brooding film about one man's struggle with sex addiction.
For those of us who still thought of the latter as something faintly
glamorous to be read about in the tabloid media in conjunction with
the likes of Michael Douglas or Dave Grohl --- in short, as something
that applied to those more fortunate than us -- this film gives a
decidely smuttier take. Stars a Patrick Bateman-esque Michael
Fassbender.

Prometheus: this has the dubious distinction of being my first cinema
visit since living in Sydney. My initial reaction was one of general
underwhelmedness (and no, I don't think it's because I saw it in
boring 2D on the non-VMAX screens). But that opinion improved steadily
over the following day or two, and in the end I've come round to
thinking it was actually a pretty reasonable effort. Michael
Fassbender, playing the main non-human character, gives the most
entertaining (and probably the most human) performance.

Shut Up 'n' Watch Yer AndroidTube Some More

More mobile film fodder...

Milk (2008): excellent film about the life and death of San Francisco's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk. A career-defining performance from Sean Penn.

Flags Of Our Fathers (2006): tells the true story behind the historic photograph showing American soldiers planting a flag on a Pacific island hilltop during WWII. It's a bit long and fairly dry overall, but it does feature some of the most amazing footage of a beach landing since Saving Private Ryan.

Das Wunder Von Bern (2003): heart-warming story about West Germany's victorious world cup campaign in 1954 in which, against all the odds, they triumphed over the hitherto invincible Hungarian team. 

Shine A Light (2008): over-hyped Rolling Stones concert film directed by Martin Scorcese. The concert, like the whole project, seems lazy and self-indulgent and doesn't really change my long-standing opinion that --- Keif's classic riffs notwithstanding --- the Stones are one of the most overrated acts in rock music history.

Hancock (2008): incredibly silly, but surpisingly watchable, action-hero flick with Will Smith and Charlize Theron. 

Black Orpheus (1959): film adaptation of a Brazilian musical based on the classic Greek love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The soundtrack by Antonion Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa includes several classic Bossa Nova standards ("Manha de Carnival" and "A Felicidad"). It's a bit dated but quite interesting.

Big Business (1988): camp and ridiculously contrived comedy starring Bette Midler. Strictly for 80s purists (as such, I rather enjoyed it).

Indian Runner (1991): fairly depressing yarn about a pair of brothers in the post-Vietnam American heartland. Directed by Sean Penn and featuring a young (pre-Strider) Viggo Mortensen.

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988): a film about working-class life in Liverpool in the 50s and 60s, before the Beatles. Not really my cup of tea.

The Ides Of March (2011): recent political drama with George Clooney, Paul Giamatti and an ever-more-spherical Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not bad, but not great either.

Shut Up 'n' Watch Yer AndroidTube

The irresistible combination of my Android smartphone (with its
whopping 4.3 inches of viewing pleasure), my noise-isolating Klipsch
earphones, and two cosy 1-hour bus commutes each day has continued to
facilitate an unprecedented decimation of my "To Watch" list. Here are
the latest casualties:

Archer - Season Three: this smart, funny, and surprisingly racy
cartoon spy comedy continues to entertain. Be sure to catch the
3-episode pirate island prequel to the season proper.

Californication - Season Five: a show that's well past its used-by
date, but continues to be midly entertaining. It actually got slightly
better towards the end of the season.

Band of Brothers: I'd heard a lot about this WWII series by HBO, and I
have to say I wasn't disappointed. It's a great watch -- and with its
standalone 10 x 1-hour episode format, it's roughly equivalent in
length a 3-part mini-series epic.

Battle Royale (2000): a cult classic, this ultra-violent Japanese film
was the inspiration for Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1, and supposedly
shares many similarities with the new Hunger Games franchise. I really
enjoyed it, and suspect that so will most Tarantino fans.

The Player (1992): Hollywood self-satire flick, starring Tim Robbins
and Greta Scacchi, as well as half of Hollywood as themselves (also
look out for a bit part from Jeremy Piven). I found it kind of boring
-- and not quite as clever as it tries to be.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007): French film based on the
memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby who. following a stroke, awoke to find
himself literally trapped in his own body -- able to communicate (and
ultimately write his book) solely by blinking one eye. It's a sad but
beautiful film and well worth a look. I watched it sans-soutitres ftw!

Morvern Callar (2002): low-budget BBC flick set in Glasgow. It's the
classic story: boyfriend commits suicide before publishing his novel;
girlfriend hides the body and publishes the novel under her own name.
It's a dreary yawnfest that leaves you wondering, why?

My Name Is Joe (1998): another hard-hitting Ken Loach film set in
gritty working-class Glasgow. I enjoyed it even if I did find Joe's
character and his transformation a little implausible.

Valkyrie (2008): starring Tom Cruise as the eye-patching wearing and
utterly hapless Colonel von Stauffenberg who led an (obviously)
unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler towards the end of the war.
Pretty forgettable fare.

Woodstock (1970): concert film from the 3-day musical hippiefest. I
was surprised by the overall mediocrity of the performances ---
Hendrix was probably the only real highlight for me.

Micmacs a tire larigot (2009): another quirky, nostalgia-drenched
Parisian fable from the director of Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The
formula that worked so well in that film (and many of the same actors)
are shamelessly trotted out again here, but not to quite as good
effect.

AndroidTube

A very brief overview the movies and t.v. I've been mugging up to on the bus courtesy of my new smart-phone (reading is soooo 2011):

Deadwood (Season 1): watched the first season of this short-lived HBO series from a few years back. Set in a fictitious gold rush town in the mid 1800s, it's a gritty western drama very much in the same vein as Tombstone. It's a little slow for my taste (an issue which is compounded by the 55-minute episode length), but it features some great performances and offers a very convincing portrayal of life in the wild west.

Dexter (Season 6): for a show that "pretty much jumped the shark in the first episode", as one friend puts it, this show has held up surprisingly well given that it's into its sixth season. This season features Edward James Olmos (Adama Sr. from the excellent Battlestar Galactica series) as well as an interesting turn from Mos Def. I don't want to give anything away, but it looks like we're set up for an interesting beginning to Season 7...

Treme (Seasons 1+2): an interesting show set in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It deals with the lives of a diverse group of characters, most of them in some way connected with music, as they try to get their lives back together. The music is a big focus of the show, featuring many real-life jazz and blues musicians, and is a treat for fans of these genres. I found the storylines in the show to be somewhat patchy: there is some great acting, but there is also fair bit of cliche.

Gomorrah (2008): a grim, bleak film from Italy dealing with the mafia-like Camorra crime syndicate from the poor south of the country. It's depressing viewing and raises some real concerns about the consequences of the systemic corruption (e.g. illegal dumping of toxic waste, resulting in heightened levels of cancer in the local populations).

Public Enemies (2009): I sort half-watched this depression-era crime flick starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. It looked like it contributed very little to a genre that has already been thoroughly explored (most notably by The Untouchables).

The Damned United (2009): very enjoyable biopic on mercurial football manager Brian Clough's unsuccessful stint at the helm of Leeds United.

Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001): great little doco-film on the surfing and skating scene in California in the 1970s. It's a fascinating insight that the whole "vertical" revolution in skating came about, at least partly, as a result of a long drought in California that caused swimming pools everywhere to dry up and thus become the perfect venues for skating innovation.

Sweet Sixteen (2002): another in the "grim and bleak" category, this Ken Loach film is a sad coming-of-age story set in the working class slums of Glasgow. Worth a look.  

Kurt Vonnegut on the American dream

(courtesy of The Guardian):

Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.

This was written in 1965, mais plus ça change... 

Introducing the GekkAndroid

Just a quick test post using the Android Blogger App on my spanking new Xperia smart phone. Gekko is in geek heaven!

And heeeeeere's KITTEN!!!!

Care to make it interesting...?

I love the concept of New Year resolutions: the idea of taking stock of one's progress (or lack thereof) over the previous year, and vowing to make concrete, positive changes for the year ahead. Trouble is, such resolutions tend to be made in the state of advanced enebriation that usually accompanies New Year's festivities and are thus so wildly unrealistic that, even if they are remembered upon waking up on Jan 1, they are likely to have been forgotten (and probably violated) by Jan 2.

So for 2012, I've decided to get a jump on proceedings and at the same carry out an experiment on basic economic incentivization as it applies to my own psyche.

Viz: I propose a series of objectives to be met within the first six months of 2012 (more precisely, since the first full day of this self-wager will be tomorrow, 21/12/11, let's make the deadline 21/6/12). Should I succeed in meeting ALL of these, I will have earned the right to buy myself the super-strat dream guitar of my choice (currently, I'm favouring the Ibanez Jem, but I reserve the right to modify my preference).

1. Get body weight <= 75kg. I'm currently weighing in at a cool 80.5kg, so this represents a substantial but not outrageous reduction. Last year I managed to get down to around 78kg within about a month of abstaining from alcohol and exercising concertedly. 

2. Specific fitness metrics. It's no use simply atrophying my way to weight loss, so I'm imposing the following (body-weight-based) measures of strength and fitness:

100 press-ups

20 chin ups (easy grip)

30 tricep dips

40 lengths freestyle (no specific speed requirement, but not allowed rests longer than 10 seconds between lengths)

3. Guitar: picking technique. This is an important area that I have neglected over the past year-and-a-half of my guitar renaissance. But no more: it's time to build up a decent level of picking speed and endurance. To wit: I must be able to play 16th note scalar runs (groups of 3 and 4 ascending/descending, all positions) at 120bpm 16th notes, for 2 minutes. Currently I can probably only manage around 90bpm, so this will require considerable woodshedding.

4. Related to picking technique is metal repertoire: I want to lay claim to a reasonable set of classic metal songs. So here is a 10-song set list for which I vow to be able to play all rhythm parts (and solos where indicated) at full tempo:

four horsemen

seek & destroy

fade to black (incl. solos)

creeping death

master of puppets

welcome home (sanitarium) (incl. slow leads)

...and justice for all

one (incl. slow leads)

aces high

rime of the ancient mariner (incl. solos)

If I'm meeting the above picking technique requirement, these should be pretty comfortable.

5. Jazz repertoire: just to make sure I don't throw myself into practising picking technique to the exclusion of all the jazz material I've been learning, I'm also setting a minimum repertoire of jazz standards. No fancy technical requirements, or specific recordings: I just have to know the chords, melody, basslines, guide tones (all that Aebersold stuff) and be capable of some rudimentary improvisation at a comfortable tempo (we're not aiming to keep up with Charlie Parker here).

autumn leaves

YATAG

ornithology

minor blues

regular blues (with standard II-V-I substitutions)

something using "rhythm" changes (there are a few bebop standards to choose from here, e.g. Anthropology, Moose the Mooche, Oleo)

So that's my challenge, should I choose to accept it (and I do).

Inevitably, there's a slight bias here towards things that are most readily measurable (e.g. I've excluded things like ear-training, or flexibility). But I trust myself not to completely neglect these areas, and I think the above criteria are balanced enough to avoid any really perverse outcomes.

So here goes. With a little perseverance I may just be posting a photo of my new guitar in six months from now! I will provide monthly updates on my progress, so stay tuned...