The 1in5
Sunday, January 28, 2007
We feel fine.
From the O'Reilly Radar, the very data visualization stylings of We Feel Fine.
Me? I feel pretty lucky. ¶ 1:53 PM 1 Comments
Me? I feel pretty lucky. ¶ 1:53 PM 1 Comments
Notes on Pan's Labyrinth
I saw Pan's Labyrinth last night, and enjoyed it on several levels. When I went to Spain long time ago, I studied the Spanish Civil War, and fell in love with Spanish culture. Here's some notes on the movie:
There were two uniformed outfits at the Mill. The regular army wore the blue uniform with the Yoke & Arrows of the Falange. The Yoke & Arrows were a symbol the Falange, a right wing political movement headed by the son of Primo de Rivera, Jose Antonio. Franco's movement subsumed the Falangists, and appropriated their symbols. The uniformed men handing out the "pan de Caudillo" (translated in the subtitles as "Franco's bread") with the leather hats were
the Guardia Civil. The hats date back to Carlist wars, and the Guardia Civil travel in pairs (la pareja), generally stationed in frontier towns. The Guardia Civil had a particularly bad reputation in southern Spain, and were the first targets of the Andalusian
anarchists. I recall a joke that their hats are designed with the flat backs so they can sleep while leaning against a wall. Their "souls of patent leather" were the subject of a Lorca poem,
Romance de la Guardia Civil Espanola.
The faun speaks to Ofelia in a very formal se
cond person, as someone would address royalty. The Spanish use the second person familiar most commonly (it isn't used much at all in Latin America). When Pan addresses her as "vuestra merced" it sounds medieval.
At the dinner table, it is disclosed that the capitain's father fought in the Morroco. Probably the Moroccan Rif War, so his father likely fought alongside Franco.
Edit to add the following (thanks to Julie Beth):
According to this interview with del Toro, the line
"Remember, my sons, you should confess what you know because God doesn't care what happens to your bodies; he already saved your souls."
is from a Spanish priest to Republican prisoners at a post-Civil War concentration camp. ¶ 8:51 AM 0 Comments
I saw Pan's Labyrinth last night, and enjoyed it on several levels. When I went to Spain long time ago, I studied the Spanish Civil War, and fell in love with Spanish culture. Here's some notes on the movie:There were two uniformed outfits at the Mill. The regular army wore the blue uniform with the Yoke & Arrows of the Falange. The Yoke & Arrows were a symbol the Falange, a right wing political movement headed by the son of Primo de Rivera, Jose Antonio. Franco's movement subsumed the Falangists, and appropriated their symbols. The uniformed men handing out the "pan de Caudillo" (translated in the subtitles as "Franco's bread") with the leather hats were
the Guardia Civil. The hats date back to Carlist wars, and the Guardia Civil travel in pairs (la pareja), generally stationed in frontier towns. The Guardia Civil had a particularly bad reputation in southern Spain, and were the first targets of the Andalusiananarchists. I recall a joke that their hats are designed with the flat backs so they can sleep while leaning against a wall. Their "souls of patent leather" were the subject of a Lorca poem,
Romance de la Guardia Civil Espanola.
The faun speaks to Ofelia in a very formal se
cond person, as someone would address royalty. The Spanish use the second person familiar most commonly (it isn't used much at all in Latin America). When Pan addresses her as "vuestra merced" it sounds medieval.At the dinner table, it is disclosed that the capitain's father fought in the Morroco. Probably the Moroccan Rif War, so his father likely fought alongside Franco.
Edit to add the following (thanks to Julie Beth):
According to this interview with del Toro, the line
"Remember, my sons, you should confess what you know because God doesn't care what happens to your bodies; he already saved your souls."
is from a Spanish priest to Republican prisoners at a post-Civil War concentration camp. ¶ 8:51 AM 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Anybody got a spare $10M or so?
If so, buy me Texas World Speedway. I'll put it to good use.
¶ 4:45 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Book: The Perfect Thing by Steven Levy
Steven Levy's book, subtitled "How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness," has a number of shuffle-able chapters. Good stuff overall, filling in the gaps in the history of listening to music in public on headphones, and the discovery and acceptance of digital media, and the impact of carrying your entire musical catalog with you everywhere you go.
¶ 10:53 AM 0 Comments
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Waiting for the Barabarians, Austin Lyric Opera, January 19, 2007
After the truly disappointing Madame Butterfly, the ALO rebounds with a real spectacle, the American premiere of Philip Glass' "Waiting for the Barbarians." Adopting the Erfurt Theatres initial production for the low tech Bass Concert Hall worked well, demonstrating to Austin audiences what innovative sets, lighting and direction look like. (More on the production at the Austin Chronicle) Unfortunately, the some of the parts did not result in an ass-kicking whole, and I walked away from the production with more of a "cool" than "wow."
A chorus that flings sunglasses, a baritone that is swung across the stage wrapped in a sheet, and an angry chorus in sunglasses wielding baseball bats were some of the visually stunning moments in this well crafted story of oppression and fear-mongering.
The voices were solid up and down the line, but Richard Salter as the Magistrate was a force of nature, a skilled actor and singer. The orchestra settled into a groove and performed Glass' music admirably.
However the impact of the visuals were not matched by an impact in music. Glass' music was most effective in the reflective moments between scenes, and in the choral pieces. However, the smaller scale domestic moments seemed to run at the same pace as the big emotion set pieces. Despite the well crafted libretto, the brilliant sets and direction, and terrific acting, the kick-in-the-gut that I should have had leaving the theater, the kick-in-the-gut that I had at the end of "Lady Macbeth of Mtensk" last year.
A couple notes - It was a bit humorous to see the purient rush for the opera glasses around me during the scene of "partial nudity."
Also, the supertitles omitted the word "fuck" when it was clearly sung. And, checking the libretto, the f-bomb is there. Is it different to sing "fuck" than it is to project it?
After the truly disappointing Madame Butterfly, the ALO rebounds with a real spectacle, the American premiere of Philip Glass' "Waiting for the Barbarians." Adopting the Erfurt Theatres initial production for the low tech Bass Concert Hall worked well, demonstrating to Austin audiences what innovative sets, lighting and direction look like. (More on the production at the Austin Chronicle) Unfortunately, the some of the parts did not result in an ass-kicking whole, and I walked away from the production with more of a "cool" than "wow."
A chorus that flings sunglasses, a baritone that is swung across the stage wrapped in a sheet, and an angry chorus in sunglasses wielding baseball bats were some of the visually stunning moments in this well crafted story of oppression and fear-mongering.
The voices were solid up and down the line, but Richard Salter as the Magistrate was a force of nature, a skilled actor and singer. The orchestra settled into a groove and performed Glass' music admirably.
However the impact of the visuals were not matched by an impact in music. Glass' music was most effective in the reflective moments between scenes, and in the choral pieces. However, the smaller scale domestic moments seemed to run at the same pace as the big emotion set pieces. Despite the well crafted libretto, the brilliant sets and direction, and terrific acting, the kick-in-the-gut that I should have had leaving the theater, the kick-in-the-gut that I had at the end of "Lady Macbeth of Mtensk" last year.
A couple notes - It was a bit humorous to see the purient rush for the opera glasses around me during the scene of "partial nudity."
Also, the supertitles omitted the word "fuck" when it was clearly sung. And, checking the libretto, the f-bomb is there. Is it different to sing "fuck" than it is to project it?
Labels: Austin Lyric Opera, Opera
¶ 6:54 AM 0 Comments
Thursday, January 18, 2007
My Dream Last Night
Restless sleep shoved this dream into several different episodes, but here's the Classics Illustrated version.
I was in Vegas for Curtis Jackson's wedding. I was a bit disappointed in the studendous lack of bling - there were only strip mall produced buttons with the words "50 Cent" provided to the guests. The hotel seemed less Vegas and more National Park Service Cafeteria and Gift Shop.
Fortunately for me, The Meat Purveyors were working at the gift shop. Unfortunately for me, they stole my trousers, and refused to return them. I saw them put them in the cabinet behind the counter.
Restless sleep shoved this dream into several different episodes, but here's the Classics Illustrated version.
I was in Vegas for Curtis Jackson's wedding. I was a bit disappointed in the studendous lack of bling - there were only strip mall produced buttons with the words "50 Cent" provided to the guests. The hotel seemed less Vegas and more National Park Service Cafeteria and Gift Shop.
Fortunately for me, The Meat Purveyors were working at the gift shop. Unfortunately for me, they stole my trousers, and refused to return them. I saw them put them in the cabinet behind the counter.
Labels: 50 Cent, Dream, The Meat Purveyors, Vegas
¶ 4:32 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Nicky Can't Sell Motorcycles
Interesting series of reactions to Honda's apparent cluelessness in using Nicky Hayden to market cycles in the US.
But when marketing to the sport bike crowd, you'd think Honda would expend a little more effort (despite their banking on Dani Pedrosa to be the new RCV messiah). Watching SPEED, you can't help but realize that Ben Spies and Matt Mladin ride GSXRs (one came on as I typed this during a Barrett Jackson auction show) and that the grinning Italian fellow rides a Yamaha. Nicky is a good looking, down home dude. Why not exploit him?
Interesting series of reactions to Honda's apparent cluelessness in using Nicky Hayden to market cycles in the US.
But when marketing to the sport bike crowd, you'd think Honda would expend a little more effort (despite their banking on Dani Pedrosa to be the new RCV messiah). Watching SPEED, you can't help but realize that Ben Spies and Matt Mladin ride GSXRs (one came on as I typed this during a Barrett Jackson auction show) and that the grinning Italian fellow rides a Yamaha. Nicky is a good looking, down home dude. Why not exploit him?
Labels: MotoGP, Nicky Hayden
¶ 5:52 PM 0 Comments
Monday, January 15, 2007
My Print Habit, volume 1
Catching up on some books I've read recently.
The Yom Kippur War by Abraham Rabinovich
I was hoping this would serve as a sequel of Micheal Oren's excellent Six Days of War. Oren is a historian, and Rabinovich is more of journalist. The story rips along, with highly entertaining descriptions of the battle in the Sinai and Golan. The book's focus is on Israel, with some information on the Egyptian military, and Sadat. But no Syrians really appear in the book, except from the point of view of an Israeli Centurion.
Best American Crime Writing of 2006
Worth it if only for Skip Hollandsworth's "Last Ride of Cowboy Bob" and Mary Battiata's "Blood Fued."
The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad by Stacy Horn
Not as entertaining as I hoped. The way Horn alternates the chapters between several cases makes it difficult to follow, especially when trying to keep track of a dozen or so organized crime folks. Horn is a booster of the ComStat, which I discuss in more detail here.
Two Wheels Through Terror by Glenn Heggstad
Man rides KLR650 from California to Tierra del Fuego and back (mostly). Heggstad is an interesting character. He was kidnapped by ELN, and eventually released, and then continued his tour. Singleminded doesn't begin to describe him, and his narrative provides interesting contrast to Dan Walsh's journey through much of the same territory as chronicled in Bike Magazine. (Walsh's almost unreadable post in the latest issue is worth the price, but also provides a contrast to the Striking Viking's approach. Walsh couldn't wait to mix it up with Buenos Aires traffic, Heggstad parked. There is doubt that Walsh will stay sober enought to make it to Ushuaia, but Heggstad makes it on pure determination.
Half done - The Perfect Thing by Steven Levy
Just started - Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael Oren, and Right as Rain by George Pelecanos. ¶ 1:11 PM 3 Comments
Catching up on some books I've read recently.
The Yom Kippur War by Abraham Rabinovich
I was hoping this would serve as a sequel of Micheal Oren's excellent Six Days of War. Oren is a historian, and Rabinovich is more of journalist. The story rips along, with highly entertaining descriptions of the battle in the Sinai and Golan. The book's focus is on Israel, with some information on the Egyptian military, and Sadat. But no Syrians really appear in the book, except from the point of view of an Israeli Centurion.
Best American Crime Writing of 2006
Worth it if only for Skip Hollandsworth's "Last Ride of Cowboy Bob" and Mary Battiata's "Blood Fued."
The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad by Stacy Horn
Not as entertaining as I hoped. The way Horn alternates the chapters between several cases makes it difficult to follow, especially when trying to keep track of a dozen or so organized crime folks. Horn is a booster of the ComStat, which I discuss in more detail here.
Two Wheels Through Terror by Glenn Heggstad
Man rides KLR650 from California to Tierra del Fuego and back (mostly). Heggstad is an interesting character. He was kidnapped by ELN, and eventually released, and then continued his tour. Singleminded doesn't begin to describe him, and his narrative provides interesting contrast to Dan Walsh's journey through much of the same territory as chronicled in Bike Magazine. (Walsh's almost unreadable post in the latest issue is worth the price, but also provides a contrast to the Striking Viking's approach. Walsh couldn't wait to mix it up with Buenos Aires traffic, Heggstad parked. There is doubt that Walsh will stay sober enought to make it to Ushuaia, but Heggstad makes it on pure determination.
Half done - The Perfect Thing by Steven Levy
Just started - Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael Oren, and Right as Rain by George Pelecanos. ¶ 1:11 PM 3 Comments
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
