New additions to my overburdened bookshelves...
Johnny Rotten's Scrapbook: this massive, 14" x 14", velveteen boxed, 250+ page monster is (to quote from the website) "an exciting and intimate journey through John Lydon’s life, from inception to now, in high quality pictures and hand written text commentary." Limited to 750 signed and numbered copies and priced at a wallet-busting 450 pounds, it is quite the museum piece. Chock full of photos, personalized with individual hand-drawn sketches, with a 12" vinyl record of Public Image material glued to the back cover... who would have thought the guy who belted out "I am an anarchist!" would one day be doing a coffee table book. I'm still in the examination phase, but it's kind of overwhelming. Which I suspect was the point... (ordering info at www.concertlive.co.uk/mrrottensscrapbook).
Hammer Films, The Unsung Heroes: this hefty paperback examines "the team behind the legend" at Hammer, with chapters devoted to every craft from production design to sound recordist to wardrobe to the assistant directors. I have been endlessly fascinated with Hammer's horror films since I was a kid, so I find this behind-the-scenes stuff compelling... but those without a burning passion may get a little lost in the weeds. Lots of great backstage photos and info...
Fuzz, Acid and Flowers - A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage Progressive And Hippie-Rock 1963-1977 (Expanded Edition): "Expanded" undersells this project. Because this is a BOOK. 1400 pages (!) devoted to exactly what the cover promises. Illustrated with hundreds (thousands?) of album covers, biographical tidbits, recording info... if you have any interest in this era and would like a back-breakingly heavy encyclopedia to help you navigate the waters, this is for you. As for me, I'm currently searching for the album by the Unbeatables, "Live At Palisades Park." And I'm sure as I continue plowing through this book my want list will grow...
The Acid Archives (second edition): Similar to the above, but clocking in at a mere 400 pages, here's a pile of acid music, all reviewed and illustrated with tons of color album photos. So much music, so little time...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
I Was Gone, Now I'm Back...
Been out gallivanting for awhile, but now I'm back in the saddle, tanned (as much as SPF 85 will allow), rested and... well, not that rested, but... oh never mind.
Work continues on the post-production of Falling Skies Season One... we have cuts of all the episodes and our highly capable CGI folks continue to refine and create the special effects required to make these shows sing. It's hard to believe we're still months away from the TNT debut (Summer 2011! Be there!), but I suspect the date will sneak up quickly.
I've been trying to catch up with my movie watching, to varying degrees of success. I saw parts of a silent, tiny TV version of "The Social Network" on a recent flight (I opted to listen to my i-pod in a vain attempt to fall asleep) and wow, there are sure a lot of scenes of people sitting around a conference table! Yes, it's erudite criticism like that that should land me a spot as guest reviewer on the new Roger Ebert movie show any day now. I have a stack of discs on the queue waiting to be viewed, but somehow when it's time to hit the play button I've been opting for old "Highway Patrol" episodes and whatever's easily accessible on the TiVo.
Theatrically, "The Mechanic" looks interesting... both because I enjoy Jason Stathem in just about anything, and because the Charles Bronson original is one of those rare 70's films that doesn't feel dated. I'm very curious if the remakers opted to go with the original film's rather bleak worldview...
And that's the rather unimpressive update. Hopefully there will be somewhat more impressive news soon!
Work continues on the post-production of Falling Skies Season One... we have cuts of all the episodes and our highly capable CGI folks continue to refine and create the special effects required to make these shows sing. It's hard to believe we're still months away from the TNT debut (Summer 2011! Be there!), but I suspect the date will sneak up quickly.
I've been trying to catch up with my movie watching, to varying degrees of success. I saw parts of a silent, tiny TV version of "The Social Network" on a recent flight (I opted to listen to my i-pod in a vain attempt to fall asleep) and wow, there are sure a lot of scenes of people sitting around a conference table! Yes, it's erudite criticism like that that should land me a spot as guest reviewer on the new Roger Ebert movie show any day now. I have a stack of discs on the queue waiting to be viewed, but somehow when it's time to hit the play button I've been opting for old "Highway Patrol" episodes and whatever's easily accessible on the TiVo.
Theatrically, "The Mechanic" looks interesting... both because I enjoy Jason Stathem in just about anything, and because the Charles Bronson original is one of those rare 70's films that doesn't feel dated. I'm very curious if the remakers opted to go with the original film's rather bleak worldview...
And that's the rather unimpressive update. Hopefully there will be somewhat more impressive news soon!
Monday, January 03, 2011
Ten Resolutions for 2011 (low bar version)
1) I will finally frame my Boris Karloff "Body Snatchers" movie poster.
2) I will charge up my i-phone every evening.
3) No more than six cups of coffee for breakfast.
4) I will TiVo and not watch many movies and shows.
5) Change oil at least every 5,000 miles.
6) No more than ten computer solitaire games per hour.
7) Substitute low cal margaritas when available.
8) Write at least one page of something, anything a month. (This counts!)
9) Learn at least one word of another language.
10) Post to blog at least every six months.
That's it! Adios! (check off #9!)
2) I will charge up my i-phone every evening.
3) No more than six cups of coffee for breakfast.
4) I will TiVo and not watch many movies and shows.
5) Change oil at least every 5,000 miles.
6) No more than ten computer solitaire games per hour.
7) Substitute low cal margaritas when available.
8) Write at least one page of something, anything a month. (This counts!)
9) Learn at least one word of another language.
10) Post to blog at least every six months.
That's it! Adios! (check off #9!)
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