Finished Ammaniti's Come Dio comanda today. A Greek Tragedy if ever i've read one. Nevertheless, an enjoyable read. I found myself reading faster than my comprehension, figuratively running through it trying to get to the next page to find out what happened next!
Hmmm...That's eight. What's next?
30 August 2010
28 August 2010
In response to being “clever”
Oh, I get it. Very clever.
Thank you.
How's it working out for you?
What?
Being clever?
Great.
Keep it up, then. Right up.
©
24 August 2010
Three posts in one day!
Meanwhile, back in Detroit...
Who cares about Murder City? Detroit is #3 in bedbugs nationwide!
Courtesy Wikimedia
Well...
After that unsavory news, yr gonna need a shot of something strong. How about a Fat Ass?
I -- Love Detroooiiiiiiitttt! And, Nine, you rule.
Who cares about Murder City? Detroit is #3 in bedbugs nationwide!
Courtesy WikimediaWell...
After that unsavory news, yr gonna need a shot of something strong. How about a Fat Ass?
I -- Love Detroooiiiiiiitttt! And, Nine, you rule.
2010's Book #5 my ass!
I knew i had forgotton something! That's SEVEN books so far. Let's recapitulate...
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
- Other Voices, Other Rooms, Truman Capote
- L'amore dell'assassino, Massimo Carlotto
- High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
- The Raw Shark Texts, Steven Hall
- The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger
- Trilogia della citta di K., Agota Kristof
2010's Book #5
Trilogia della città di K. by Agota Kristof.
Oh. My. God.
I'm still digesting it. What a strange and depressing book. If it weren't written so well, i'd have put it down after the first 50 pages. It is a celebration of the misery, despair and wretchedness that is life. I could never relate to the characters in this book, mainly because i have a different (read: positive) outlook on life, plus that fact that the cards that i've been dealt until now haven't been too bad, a full house every now and then and lots of two pairs that save my ass.
Seriously, i had to read an issue of Paperino just to get the taste out of my mouth...errr, mind. And i'm still processing!
So, where are we on Book List 2010...
Five, not counting rereading of the italian edition of Bukowski's Hot Water Music. Y'know, working-on-my-tan summer reading.
Misfires: i keep thinking that i've missed a book somewhere, but it's probably the Roxy Music book i keep trying to read, Re-make/Re-model: Becoming Roxy Music by Michael Bracewell. Much as Roxy is one of my favorite bands, and 60s Pop Art is one of my favorite all-around subjects, this book just isn't doing it for me. I might have read maybe 20 pages so far. And i tried to read Sorry by Zoran Drvenkar. My mistake is that's what i picked up after Trilogia. Big mistake. Ten pages and i said "later." Maybe at a later, lighter date.
Going from print to TV, since when and (more importantly) why has RaiTre become the Telenovela Channel? If i were more conspiracy-minded...
Oh. My. God.
I'm still digesting it. What a strange and depressing book. If it weren't written so well, i'd have put it down after the first 50 pages. It is a celebration of the misery, despair and wretchedness that is life. I could never relate to the characters in this book, mainly because i have a different (read: positive) outlook on life, plus that fact that the cards that i've been dealt until now haven't been too bad, a full house every now and then and lots of two pairs that save my ass.
Seriously, i had to read an issue of Paperino just to get the taste out of my mouth...errr, mind. And i'm still processing!
So, where are we on Book List 2010...
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
- Other Voices, Other Rooms, Truman Capote
- L'amore dell'assassino, Massimo Carlotto
- High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
- Trilogia della citta di K., Agota Kristof
Five, not counting rereading of the italian edition of Bukowski's Hot Water Music. Y'know, working-on-my-tan summer reading.
Misfires: i keep thinking that i've missed a book somewhere, but it's probably the Roxy Music book i keep trying to read, Re-make/Re-model: Becoming Roxy Music by Michael Bracewell. Much as Roxy is one of my favorite bands, and 60s Pop Art is one of my favorite all-around subjects, this book just isn't doing it for me. I might have read maybe 20 pages so far. And i tried to read Sorry by Zoran Drvenkar. My mistake is that's what i picked up after Trilogia. Big mistake. Ten pages and i said "later." Maybe at a later, lighter date.
Going from print to TV, since when and (more importantly) why has RaiTre become the Telenovela Channel? If i were more conspiracy-minded...
17 August 2010
Be reasonable...
...demand the impossible! LINKSAUSAGE
Chrissie Hynde. I used to work with a woman many years ago, a few years older than i, that was physically similar...well...now that i think about it, there were certain differences...but nevertheless, reminded me of Chrissie Hynde.
It's funny...Chrissie Hynde's face never really imprinted in my mind. Must've been her bangs always covering her brow.
And speaking of women a few years older than i, have you seen Joan Jett lately? Yes, she'd have nothing to do with me even if i was giftwrapped, but does she have a portrait of herself in an attic somewhere doing her aging for her??? Nine sez she's had some cosmetic surgery done (she's got that cat-eye thing goin' on), completely popping my ever-naive bubble. Well, i think she looks great!
Bed.
Chrissie Hynde. I used to work with a woman many years ago, a few years older than i, that was physically similar...well...now that i think about it, there were certain differences...but nevertheless, reminded me of Chrissie Hynde.
It's funny...Chrissie Hynde's face never really imprinted in my mind. Must've been her bangs always covering her brow.
And speaking of women a few years older than i, have you seen Joan Jett lately? Yes, she'd have nothing to do with me even if i was giftwrapped, but does she have a portrait of herself in an attic somewhere doing her aging for her??? Nine sez she's had some cosmetic surgery done (she's got that cat-eye thing goin' on), completely popping my ever-naive bubble. Well, i think she looks great!
Bed.
27 July 2010
16 July 2010
22 June 2010
Monsanto's Chicken or Egg
Hell in a Handbasket, Part 20,215,486,657 Dept.: Monsanto is allowed to sell their GM alfalfa before all safety tests have been completed. Monsanto's GM alfalfa is resistant to Monsanto's own herbicide, which makes me wonder why the hell did they even develop it? And seven of the nine Supreme Court judges found it unconstitutional that Monsanto was barred from selling the genetically modified seeds before all safety tests were completed...??? What? Aren't these things supposed to be completely tested before sale? Isn't that what the FDA is for?
Book corner: two more down for 2010. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall: i found it a bit smug but ultimately liked it. And one of the Never Read It In School books, the gateway to becoming a serial killer (according to Joey), The Catcher In The Rye. I liked it. I really did. I also understand why Nine never finished reading it as you do want to slap Holden (or Salinger) around for being so annoying. But whereas i found him entertainingly annoying, Nine obviously found him smackworthy.
Book corner: two more down for 2010. The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall: i found it a bit smug but ultimately liked it. And one of the Never Read It In School books, the gateway to becoming a serial killer (according to Joey), The Catcher In The Rye. I liked it. I really did. I also understand why Nine never finished reading it as you do want to slap Holden (or Salinger) around for being so annoying. But whereas i found him entertainingly annoying, Nine obviously found him smackworthy.
29 May 2010
Dennis Hopper 1936-2010
Fuck!
Here's to your fuck, Frank!
Now it's dark...
I can't believe it. Prostate cancer ate his bones. Dennis fucking Hopper.
This blog is becoming a obitorio.
Here's to your fuck, Frank!
Now it's dark...
I can't believe it. Prostate cancer ate his bones. Dennis fucking Hopper.
This blog is becoming a obitorio.
28 April 2010
Feeling a little bulletproof today
...maybe it's because of all the Link Wray i've been listening to lately, a real bent.
19 April 2010
He played it left hand...
...but strung right-handed!!! Thick-ass .016-gauges on that gold-sparkle Strat, strung right-handed!
Dick Dale! Let's Go Trippin'! Riders in The Sky! Banzai Washout! Shake-N-Stomp! The Wedge! Taco Wagon (exceptional rendition)! Dick-fucking-Dale!
House of the Rising Sun! Hey, Bo Diddley! Pipeline! Folsom Prison Blues/Ring of Fire! California Sun! Fever! Smoke On The Water! And...wait for it...Link Wray’s Rumble!
“Where am I?” And the crowd responded “Rome,” to which Dick replied, “No, I’m in Heaven!” Dick, you sly dog!
Actually, with the packed house at Locanda Atlantide and no air conditioning to speak of (a few ceiling fans, turned on about mid-show), it felt like Hell!
Problems with his mike tonight. His vocal was almost buried in the mix. At one point he gave the sound man a lesson on using the mixer's EQ. He then says to the sound man “More high end...make me sound like a special guy.” To which I had to respond, audibly, “But you are a special guy!”, which got a smile out of him and the band (who were right behind him all the way, Brian and Richie, if i remember correctly).
And of course his most-recognized hit here in Italy, thanks to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Misirlou. He even introduced it: “Hey, what's this song?” doing an impression of John Travolta dancing the Watusi! It was at this point i left my spot at near-front-center for the bar for the tourists and met up with my friends Paolo, Francesca...and Jack.
Of course there was more. I can only remember so much. I believed he played for about three songs more.
Dick Dale. Eyein’ and dealin’ the ladies at age 72! Dick Dale, doin’ the sonic version of Hitchcock’s Rope: it seemed like four or five songs the whole night because one thing just segued into another! Played for an hour and a half, maybe more, he was relaxed as hell, California laid-back, and did what the hell he wanted the whole time. He played the Strat, the trumpet and even duoed on the drums. He even took the sticks to his bassist’s bass! Dick Dale!
What? Of course there’re pictures (forgive my cameraphone)!
Dick Dale! Let's Go Trippin'! Riders in The Sky! Banzai Washout! Shake-N-Stomp! The Wedge! Taco Wagon (exceptional rendition)! Dick-fucking-Dale!
House of the Rising Sun! Hey, Bo Diddley! Pipeline! Folsom Prison Blues/Ring of Fire! California Sun! Fever! Smoke On The Water! And...wait for it...Link Wray’s Rumble!
“Where am I?” And the crowd responded “Rome,” to which Dick replied, “No, I’m in Heaven!” Dick, you sly dog!
Actually, with the packed house at Locanda Atlantide and no air conditioning to speak of (a few ceiling fans, turned on about mid-show), it felt like Hell!
Problems with his mike tonight. His vocal was almost buried in the mix. At one point he gave the sound man a lesson on using the mixer's EQ. He then says to the sound man “More high end...make me sound like a special guy.” To which I had to respond, audibly, “But you are a special guy!”, which got a smile out of him and the band (who were right behind him all the way, Brian and Richie, if i remember correctly).
And of course his most-recognized hit here in Italy, thanks to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Misirlou. He even introduced it: “Hey, what's this song?” doing an impression of John Travolta dancing the Watusi! It was at this point i left my spot at near-front-center for the bar for the tourists and met up with my friends Paolo, Francesca...and Jack.
Of course there was more. I can only remember so much. I believed he played for about three songs more.
Dick Dale. Eyein’ and dealin’ the ladies at age 72! Dick Dale, doin’ the sonic version of Hitchcock’s Rope: it seemed like four or five songs the whole night because one thing just segued into another! Played for an hour and a half, maybe more, he was relaxed as hell, California laid-back, and did what the hell he wanted the whole time. He played the Strat, the trumpet and even duoed on the drums. He even took the sticks to his bassist’s bass! Dick Dale!
What? Of course there’re pictures (forgive my cameraphone)!
18 April 2010
Insomnia - late as usual
Just finished High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (no, i hadn't read it before nor seen the film: real life got in the way) and liked it in a light, Saturday-matinée-type way. I liked it lots actually. So what is that, four books so far this year? Not quite there on my quest to becoming as smart as Rory Gilmore.
Tonight i'm going to see the living legend, The Master of the Stratocaster, The King of The Surf Guitar, the reason Leo Fender created the Fender Showman 100W amplifier...the bulletproof Dick Dale! Jesus! Still snapping super-heavies on a European tour at 72! Grow up, man!
Feex is doing make-up videos on YouTube.
As if enough wasn't already written about Lady Gaga (no external link as it's impossible not to know who she is), i've repeatedly expressed my generally-favorable opinion towards her, repeatedly saying she's the new Marilyn Manson. Not the new David Bowie. After just watching her Poker Face video, i can now put a finger on why: Bowie was sexy, Manson never was. And for all of Gaga's truly fantastic art direction and oil-slick music production, she isn't either. She’s Quentin Tarantino, not Martin Scorsese.
Tonight i'm going to see the living legend, The Master of the Stratocaster, The King of The Surf Guitar, the reason Leo Fender created the Fender Showman 100W amplifier...the bulletproof Dick Dale! Jesus! Still snapping super-heavies on a European tour at 72! Grow up, man!
Feex is doing make-up videos on YouTube.
As if enough wasn't already written about Lady Gaga (no external link as it's impossible not to know who she is), i've repeatedly expressed my generally-favorable opinion towards her, repeatedly saying she's the new Marilyn Manson. Not the new David Bowie. After just watching her Poker Face video, i can now put a finger on why: Bowie was sexy, Manson never was. And for all of Gaga's truly fantastic art direction and oil-slick music production, she isn't either. She’s Quentin Tarantino, not Martin Scorsese.
09 April 2010
Malcolm McLaren
Joey just told me that Malcolm McLaren passed away. Full story, of course, from the BBC website.
As i wrote to Joey, culturally speaking, what would our lives have been like without Malcolm McLaren?
Thanks, Malcolm.
As i wrote to Joey, culturally speaking, what would our lives have been like without Malcolm McLaren?
Thanks, Malcolm.
04 April 2010
De-evolution in action
In 2009 when i switched on a light...it came on. Instantly. All my life in the 20th and 21st centuries, that's the way a light bulb worked.
In 2010 i switch on a light...and it takes seconds, many seconds, before i have the equivalent of 75W of lumen.
In 2009, when i turned on the hot water, after a brief wait, i would scald my soapy hands under the hot water, turning on and mixing in some cold water (i had two-valve faucets in the bathroom sink, bidet and shower). If i took a shower longer than 15 minutes, my 50L electric boiler would exhaust its supply of hot water. It would take roughly an hour or more before the boiler would reheat another 50 liters. Not to mention the toll on my electricity bill.
In 2010, when i turn on the hot water, i have to waste two liters of water before my new gas-powered water heater, with a mighty whoosh of ignition, spits out hot water. And when i scald my soapy hands i turn the mono-valve to near-center position where there is an near-imperceptible drop in temperature. If i put the mono-valve position to less than center, the water heater shuts off and i'm left within seconds with cold water. If i shut the hot water off, wait a moment and turn it back on, another two liters of cold water run by before the entire process repeats.
I've yet to see the electric bill.
In 2009 when i wanted to watch television, i switched it on...and it came on. Pretty much instantly. Audio was immediate, the cathode-ray tube warmed up and in 3-5 seconds i was seeing an image. I changed channels, be it network TV or satellite, and they changed...instantly. It would take roughly a half a second, a perceptible but brief moment. When i watched television i watched it in a 4:3 format. Some programs had a horizontal stripe running across the top and bottom of the screen (known as letterboxing, usually when a cinematographic film is being broadcast). But this was a mere PAL analog signal, only 720x576 pixels.
In 2010 when i watch television, with the new 21st century High Definition digital signal, i switch it on...and i wait. Sometimes nearly a minute. Ok, maybe not a minute but an incredibly long time for a television to display a broadcast image. Oh, i'm seeing an image almost immediately, two lines of white text in the upper left corner of a black screen telling me i'm (going to be) watching an HDMI signal either in 1080i or 576i...when the decoder in the flat-screen LCD TV finally decides to decipher the digital signal it's receiving. And when it finally does decode an image to the screen, it's usually distorted. More often than not, my intelligent digital television can't differentiate between a 4:3 PAL signal and a 16:9 PAL signal. And thanks to the love between the italian government and Sky Italia, i can't watch HD DTTV while watching satellite. And thanks to the fact that the italian Prime Minister, ergo the head of the RAI, is also the co-founder and largest shareholder of the largest italian private broadcast network, the RAI still doesn't broadcast normally in HD, while all three Mediaset channels broadcast regularly in HD DTTV.
All this is when you can actually receive a DTT signal...
When i was a kid, videophones were the stuff of science fiction. The Jetsons had them. The crew of the Starship Enterprise had them, but only onboard, come to think of it.
In 2009, cellular telephony had already achieved the ubiquity and reliability (or unreliability) of landlines. But VoIP, now that was finally becoming commonplace. “Jane, stop this crazy thing!!”
In 2010, the conversations via Skype between my wife and her mother are usually along the lines of...
Is this all a "get off my lawn" rant?
In 2010 i switch on a light...and it takes seconds, many seconds, before i have the equivalent of 75W of lumen.
In 2009, when i turned on the hot water, after a brief wait, i would scald my soapy hands under the hot water, turning on and mixing in some cold water (i had two-valve faucets in the bathroom sink, bidet and shower). If i took a shower longer than 15 minutes, my 50L electric boiler would exhaust its supply of hot water. It would take roughly an hour or more before the boiler would reheat another 50 liters. Not to mention the toll on my electricity bill.
In 2010, when i turn on the hot water, i have to waste two liters of water before my new gas-powered water heater, with a mighty whoosh of ignition, spits out hot water. And when i scald my soapy hands i turn the mono-valve to near-center position where there is an near-imperceptible drop in temperature. If i put the mono-valve position to less than center, the water heater shuts off and i'm left within seconds with cold water. If i shut the hot water off, wait a moment and turn it back on, another two liters of cold water run by before the entire process repeats.
I've yet to see the electric bill.
In 2009 when i wanted to watch television, i switched it on...and it came on. Pretty much instantly. Audio was immediate, the cathode-ray tube warmed up and in 3-5 seconds i was seeing an image. I changed channels, be it network TV or satellite, and they changed...instantly. It would take roughly a half a second, a perceptible but brief moment. When i watched television i watched it in a 4:3 format. Some programs had a horizontal stripe running across the top and bottom of the screen (known as letterboxing, usually when a cinematographic film is being broadcast). But this was a mere PAL analog signal, only 720x576 pixels.
In 2010 when i watch television, with the new 21st century High Definition digital signal, i switch it on...and i wait. Sometimes nearly a minute. Ok, maybe not a minute but an incredibly long time for a television to display a broadcast image. Oh, i'm seeing an image almost immediately, two lines of white text in the upper left corner of a black screen telling me i'm (going to be) watching an HDMI signal either in 1080i or 576i...when the decoder in the flat-screen LCD TV finally decides to decipher the digital signal it's receiving. And when it finally does decode an image to the screen, it's usually distorted. More often than not, my intelligent digital television can't differentiate between a 4:3 PAL signal and a 16:9 PAL signal. And thanks to the love between the italian government and Sky Italia, i can't watch HD DTTV while watching satellite. And thanks to the fact that the italian Prime Minister, ergo the head of the RAI, is also the co-founder and largest shareholder of the largest italian private broadcast network, the RAI still doesn't broadcast normally in HD, while all three Mediaset channels broadcast regularly in HD DTTV.
All this is when you can actually receive a DTT signal...
When i was a kid, videophones were the stuff of science fiction. The Jetsons had them. The crew of the Starship Enterprise had them, but only onboard, come to think of it.
In 2009, cellular telephony had already achieved the ubiquity and reliability (or unreliability) of landlines. But VoIP, now that was finally becoming commonplace. “Jane, stop this crazy thing!!”
In 2010, the conversations via Skype between my wife and her mother are usually along the lines of...
“I can't hear you...”...and so forth. My niece and i via iChat are often reduced to pixel art, when iChat actually allows us to video chat instead of throwing an error. My brother knows when i can't hear him on Skype because a wave of amplified ambient noise floods his speakers.
“What?”
“I can't hear you...”
“Is the webcam plugged in correctly?”
“I can't hear you...”
“Grey, what's wrong here?!”
Is this all a "get off my lawn" rant?
28 March 2010
Book Report
Just checking in, listing a few things:
Finished reading…
Workwise, i just delivered four episodes of Studio Universal’s Timeline interstitials: Belinda Lee, Il Padrino, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. This project may possibly be my baby for the remainder of the year. We'll see. After Easter, i’m scheduled to do the opener/closer and other motion graphics for a Boing project.
Finished reading…
- L’amore del bandito, Massimo Carlotto
- Other Voices, Other Rooms, Truman Capote
Workwise, i just delivered four episodes of Studio Universal’s Timeline interstitials: Belinda Lee, Il Padrino, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. This project may possibly be my baby for the remainder of the year. We'll see. After Easter, i’m scheduled to do the opener/closer and other motion graphics for a Boing project.
28 February 2010
Photos
self-explanatory...well, in italian anyway...
*****
*****
There are these...ads(?) in the Metro stations...
...that aren't actually ads for anything...
...they're just serene photos of places far, far away,180° from where you're at while yr looking at them.
Whose idea is this'? I can't just dismiss them as unsold advertising space placeholders, because i can't believe that these prime ad spots are going unleased, first off. Oh, actually i hope i never discover the story behind it.
*****
*****
15 February 2010
Doug Fieger
Last night, my friend since childhood Dave wrote my to tell me that Doug Fieger, lead singer and co-founder of The Knack died. Hmmm. 57 years old. From cancer (unspecified).
I still have the ticket stubs from their concert in 1979 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.
Edit (2010.02.28): Fieger was afflicted with and ultimately died from lung cancer.
I still have the ticket stubs from their concert in 1979 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.
Edit (2010.02.28): Fieger was afflicted with and ultimately died from lung cancer.
08 February 2010
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