For the life of me I can't understand why, in this age of over-population, the majority of texts our mainstream culture manages to produce still preach the doctrine of reproduction above, and instead, of all other acts of creation.
Kevin Flynn has attempted the god-like act of creating an entire alternative universe from scratch, and he expects to get results from it that will benefit our world as well - something about perfecting the human genome, eliminating disease and so on that I didn't entirely follow. But oh no! He has been swallowed up, literally, by his work, and can't spend time with his son. How unfortunate. Too late he realizes that the only perfection he should've ever attempted is the one that hides inside this child. All his ideas about making the world better for the kid to grow up in - too bad, he should've scrapped those the moment the stick turned blue.
Well, I'm sorry, but screw you, Mr. Kosinski, and screw you, eight (!) people it took to write this script, and screw you (passionately and at length, and sleep for a while and wake up and then screw you again, but always with contraceptives), Mr. Bridges, but being able to create something other than offspring is what separates us from the animals. It's one of the few good things that separate us from the animals. If you don't mind, some of us would like to keep that option open.
Dec 27, 2010
Dec 23, 2010
Dec 15, 2010
OK, one more. This one is really cool:
"Which represents good and which represents evil --" he asked me, "the rifle or the rubbery, jiggling, giggling bag of bones we call the body?"
I said that the rifle was evil and the body was good.
"But don't you know that this rifle was designed to be used by Americans defending their homes and honor against wicked enemies?" he said.
So I said a lot depended on whose body and whose rifle we were talking about, that either one of them could be good or evil.
"And who renders the final decision on that?" he said.
"God?" I said.
"I mean here on Earth," he said.
"I don't know," I said.
"Painters -- and storytellers, including poets and playwrights and historians," he said. "They are the justices of the Supreme Court of Good and Evil, of which I am now a member, and to which you may belong someday!"
How was that for delusions of moral grandeur!
Yes, and now that I think about it: maybe the most admirable thing about the Abstract Expressionist painters, since so much senseless bloodshed had been caused by cockeyed history lessons, was their refusal to serve on such a court.
I said that the rifle was evil and the body was good.
"But don't you know that this rifle was designed to be used by Americans defending their homes and honor against wicked enemies?" he said.
So I said a lot depended on whose body and whose rifle we were talking about, that either one of them could be good or evil.
"And who renders the final decision on that?" he said.
"God?" I said.
"I mean here on Earth," he said.
"I don't know," I said.
"Painters -- and storytellers, including poets and playwrights and historians," he said. "They are the justices of the Supreme Court of Good and Evil, of which I am now a member, and to which you may belong someday!"
How was that for delusions of moral grandeur!
Yes, and now that I think about it: maybe the most admirable thing about the Abstract Expressionist painters, since so much senseless bloodshed had been caused by cockeyed history lessons, was their refusal to serve on such a court.
Dec 14, 2010
From Kurt Vonnegut's "Bluebeard"
At the very end, her brain-surgeon husband couldn't talk anymore, but he could still scrawl short messages with his left hand, although he was normally right handed. His left hand was all he had left that still worked a little bit.
According to Circe, this was his ultimate communiqué: "I was a radio repairman."
"Either his damaged brain believed that this was a literal truth," she said, "or he had come to the conclusion that all the brains he had operated on were basically just receivers of signals from someplace else. Do you get the concept?"
"I think I do," I said.
"Just because music comes from a little box we call a radio," she said, and here she came over and rapped me on my pate with her knuckles as though it were a radio, "that doesn't mean there's a symphony orchestra inside."
"What's that got to do with Father and Terry Kitchen?" I said.
"Maybe, when they suddenly started doing something they'd never done before, and their personalities changed, too --" she said, "maybe they had started picking up signals from another station, which had very different ideas about what they should say and do."
* * *
I have since tried out this human-beings-as-nothing-but-radio-receivers theory on Paul Slazinger, and he toyed with it some. "So Green River Cemetery is full of busted radios," he mused, "and the transmitters they were tuned to still go on and on."
"That's the theory," I said.
He said that all he'd been able to receive in his own head for the past twenty years was static and what sounded like weather reports in some foreign language he'd never heard before. He said, too, that toward the end of his marriage to Barbira Mencken, the actress, she acted "as though she was wearing headphones and listening to the 1812 Overture in stereo. That's when she was becoming a real actress, and not just another pretty girl onstage that everybody liked a lot. She wasn't even 'Barbara' anymore. All of a sudden she was 'Bar-beer-ah!' "
He said that the first he heard of the name change was during the divorce proceedings, when her lawyer referred to her as "Barbira," and spelled it for the court stenographer.
Out in the courthouse corridor afterwards, Slazinger asked her: "Whatever happened to Barbara?"
She said Barbara was dead!
So Slazinger said to her: "Then what on Earth did we waste all this money on lawyers for?"
¬
* * *
I said that I had seen the same sort of thing happen to Terry Kitchen the first time he played with a spray rig, shooting bursts of red automobile paint at an old piece of beaverboard he'd leaned against the potato barn. All of a sudden, he, too, was like somebody listening through headphones to a perfectly wonderful radio station I couldn't hear.
Red was the only color he had to play with. We'd gotten two cans of the red paint along with the spray rig, which we'd bought from an automobile repair shop in Montauk a couple of hours before. "Just look at it! Just look at it!" he'd say, after every burst.
"He'd just about given up on being a painter, and was going into law practice with his father before we got that spray rig," I said.
"Barbira was just about to give up being an actress and have a baby instead," said Slazinger. "And then she got the part of Tennessee Williams's sister in The Glass Menagerie."
* * *
Actually, now that I think back: Terry Kitchen went through a radical personality change the moment he saw the spray rig for sale, and not when he fired those first bursts of red at the beaverboard. I happened to spot the rig, and said that it was probably war surplus, since it was identical with rigs I had used in the Army for camouflage.
"Buy it for me," he said.
"What for?" I said.
"Buy it for me," he said again. He had to have it, and he wouldn't even have known what it was if I hadn't told him.
He never had any money, although he was from a very rich old family, and the only money I had was supposed to go for a crib and a youth bed for the house I'd bought in Springs. I was in the process of moving my family, much against their will, from the city to the country.
"Buy it for me," he said again.
And I said, "O.K., take it easy. O.K., O.K."
This is a very Vonneguty month for me :)
According to Circe, this was his ultimate communiqué: "I was a radio repairman."
"Either his damaged brain believed that this was a literal truth," she said, "or he had come to the conclusion that all the brains he had operated on were basically just receivers of signals from someplace else. Do you get the concept?"
"I think I do," I said.
"Just because music comes from a little box we call a radio," she said, and here she came over and rapped me on my pate with her knuckles as though it were a radio, "that doesn't mean there's a symphony orchestra inside."
"What's that got to do with Father and Terry Kitchen?" I said.
"Maybe, when they suddenly started doing something they'd never done before, and their personalities changed, too --" she said, "maybe they had started picking up signals from another station, which had very different ideas about what they should say and do."
* * *
I have since tried out this human-beings-as-nothing-but-radio-receivers theory on Paul Slazinger, and he toyed with it some. "So Green River Cemetery is full of busted radios," he mused, "and the transmitters they were tuned to still go on and on."
"That's the theory," I said.
He said that all he'd been able to receive in his own head for the past twenty years was static and what sounded like weather reports in some foreign language he'd never heard before. He said, too, that toward the end of his marriage to Barbira Mencken, the actress, she acted "as though she was wearing headphones and listening to the 1812 Overture in stereo. That's when she was becoming a real actress, and not just another pretty girl onstage that everybody liked a lot. She wasn't even 'Barbara' anymore. All of a sudden she was 'Bar-beer-ah!' "
He said that the first he heard of the name change was during the divorce proceedings, when her lawyer referred to her as "Barbira," and spelled it for the court stenographer.
Out in the courthouse corridor afterwards, Slazinger asked her: "Whatever happened to Barbara?"
She said Barbara was dead!
So Slazinger said to her: "Then what on Earth did we waste all this money on lawyers for?"
¬
* * *
I said that I had seen the same sort of thing happen to Terry Kitchen the first time he played with a spray rig, shooting bursts of red automobile paint at an old piece of beaverboard he'd leaned against the potato barn. All of a sudden, he, too, was like somebody listening through headphones to a perfectly wonderful radio station I couldn't hear.
Red was the only color he had to play with. We'd gotten two cans of the red paint along with the spray rig, which we'd bought from an automobile repair shop in Montauk a couple of hours before. "Just look at it! Just look at it!" he'd say, after every burst.
"He'd just about given up on being a painter, and was going into law practice with his father before we got that spray rig," I said.
"Barbira was just about to give up being an actress and have a baby instead," said Slazinger. "And then she got the part of Tennessee Williams's sister in The Glass Menagerie."
* * *
Actually, now that I think back: Terry Kitchen went through a radical personality change the moment he saw the spray rig for sale, and not when he fired those first bursts of red at the beaverboard. I happened to spot the rig, and said that it was probably war surplus, since it was identical with rigs I had used in the Army for camouflage.
"Buy it for me," he said.
"What for?" I said.
"Buy it for me," he said again. He had to have it, and he wouldn't even have known what it was if I hadn't told him.
He never had any money, although he was from a very rich old family, and the only money I had was supposed to go for a crib and a youth bed for the house I'd bought in Springs. I was in the process of moving my family, much against their will, from the city to the country.
"Buy it for me," he said again.
And I said, "O.K., take it easy. O.K., O.K."
This is a very Vonneguty month for me :)
Dec 13, 2010
Something Positive
Stephen Fry has over two million followers on Twitter. Sarah Palin, whos every tweet is widely discussed in American media, has over three hundred thousand. To me , this means that people prefer nice and intelligent over mean and ignorant. And that helps me sleep better.
Labels:
nationalism,
people,
politics,
prophecy
Dec 10, 2010
"Galapagos" read by Jonathan Davis
I'm listening to the "Galapagos" audiobook, read by someone named Jonathan Davis, who uses such a heart-breakingly melancholy voice that he makes me want to curl up under the covers in a fetal position and wail like a wounded baby seal. Very appropriate for the subject matter.
Dec 9, 2010
Jon Stewart's interview with Marion Jones
I saw this interview almost a month ago, and I'm still pretty broken-hearted about it. I'm not a big lover of sports, but I remember watching Marion Jones in the 2000 olympics and being completely won over by her. She was so amazing and so charming, and so far ahead of everyone else in every race, it was like watching a new species of human being revealing itself for the first time. Looking through 10 years' perspective and loss of innocence, it's pretty clear that she's on performance-enhancing drugs, but back then it was impossible to imagine anything dishonest behind that adorable face, that wonderful childish excitement. I may be a sucker for a pretty woman, but remembering that glowing victory I do believe her that she didn't know about the drugs.
Whatever happened, I'm appalled that they sent her to prison for it. Prison? For cheating in a sports event? People really do take sports way too seriously, I mean really!
P.S.
It reminds me of something Kurt Vonnegut says in his introduction to "Bluebeard" (one of the best books I know) -
May I say, too, that much of what I put in this book was inspired by the grotesque prices paid for works of art during the past century. Tremendous concentrations of paper wealth have made it possible for a few persons or institutions to endow certain sorts of human playfulness with inappropriate and hence distressing seriousness. I think not only of the mudpies of art, but of children's games as well -- running, jumping, catching, throwing.
Or dancing.
Or singing songs.
Whatever happened, I'm appalled that they sent her to prison for it. Prison? For cheating in a sports event? People really do take sports way too seriously, I mean really!
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Marion Jones | ||||
| ||||
P.S.
It reminds me of something Kurt Vonnegut says in his introduction to "Bluebeard" (one of the best books I know) -
May I say, too, that much of what I put in this book was inspired by the grotesque prices paid for works of art during the past century. Tremendous concentrations of paper wealth have made it possible for a few persons or institutions to endow certain sorts of human playfulness with inappropriate and hence distressing seriousness. I think not only of the mudpies of art, but of children's games as well -- running, jumping, catching, throwing.
Or dancing.
Or singing songs.
Dec 2, 2010
Dinner for Schmucks
Well, I didn't want to see this movie, but now that I have I need to talk about it. If you watch it, which I don't recommend, notice this: it's a movie in which a lot of wonderful British comics take the back seat to a lot of mediocre American comics. There's Steve Carell, who is adorable, but I think everyone is as sick of him as I am at this point. There's Paul Rudd, the ultimate non-threatening "vegetarian" male lead, Zach Galifianakis, who belongs to the Tina Fey school of comedy (i.e. the belief that doing something annoying with a straight face and repeating it ad nauseum equals funny), and a female love interest - Stephanie Szostak - who, frankly, inspires even less passion than Paul Rudd. Then, in the smaller roles, you have a wonderful appearance by Lucy Punch - I've been fixating on her since Woody Allen's "Tall Dark Stranger", David Walliams from "Little Britain", and the hilarious and much loved in our house Chris O'Dowd from the cult "IT Crowd". It's a masterpiece of bad decisions, and mostly inspires wishful thinking. For example, my boyfriend (who made me watch it in the first place) said at the end how great this movie could've been if Wes Anderson had directed it. Could've, would've should've...
Nov 17, 2010
A Revelation
Youtube is the newest stage in the evolution of cats. This is its true purpose and there's no disproving it.
Nov 13, 2010
An interesting actress to keep an eye out for:
From Woody Allen's "You will meet a tall dark stranger", Lucy Punch.
Nov 8, 2010
The dimensional subtraction conundrum
This is, I guess, from the "How to train your dragon" DVD extras. Not the most necessary piece of work out there, but there are two interesting things to be observed in it. One - apparently the studios take care to invent some work for the poor 2D animators out there, maybe as a form of social security or something. Two - as they switch between techniques, notice how the transition from 3D to 2D is relatively passable, but the switch from 2D back to 3D feels odd, it leaves you with the same feeling in your stomach as when you miss a step going downstairs.
The embed video option is disabled, so here: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
The embed video option is disabled, so here: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
Nov 7, 2010
The Social network
I'm not sure exactly how David Fincher has done this, but it's pretty amazing to watch - a story that could be utterly uninteresting and dull, told in a way that makes you hang on the edge of your seat from the very start until the end credits roll up. It's the editing of course, and the way the different parts of the story are woven into each-other. The good actors, the depth of the characters, so unusual in a film about college students. The trailer makes your skin crawl, and the film itself is fascinating.
Jesse Eisenberg is great, I hope he gets more of those serious roles.
P.S. Of course, the answer to "How has David Fincher done this?" is that David Fincher is an extraordinary director.
Jesse Eisenberg is great, I hope he gets more of those serious roles.
P.S. Of course, the answer to "How has David Fincher done this?" is that David Fincher is an extraordinary director.
Nov 2, 2010
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
If you enjoy beauty, sophisticated wit, if you like things that are original and intense, and want to see the great actors of the future in their first role (and Michael Cera and the other Culkin kid), you need to see this film.
Sep 30, 2010
random
I dreamed that I went on a date with Larry David. Not real life Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Larry David. He took me to an expensive restaurant, but then he went out for a minute and got mistaken for a bellboy in the hotel next door, so he spent the rest of the evening carrying suitcases up and down the stairs and whining.
I like it when dreams are plausible :]
I like it when dreams are plausible :]
Sep 16, 2010
WALK! - - my big walk tutorial
How do I put my work after Fellini's? Let's try.
This is a tutorial I've been working on for a while, after thinking a lot about how they teach walk animation in schools and books, and how each animator discovers a very different reality when he or she go out to their first jobs. I've shown the method that works for me, and I hope it helps other people as well.
This is a tutorial I've been working on for a while, after thinking a lot about how they teach walk animation in schools and books, and how each animator discovers a very different reality when he or she go out to their first jobs. I've shown the method that works for me, and I hope it helps other people as well.
Sep 14, 2010
Sep 7, 2010
A quote from this week's "Mad Men"
Don: "Peggy ... I'm glad that this is an environment where you feel free to fail, but..."
I wish I had heard this a couple of months ago, I could've had tons of fun with it at the job I just finished.
I wish I had heard this a couple of months ago, I could've had tons of fun with it at the job I just finished.
Sep 4, 2010
The Chronicles of Narnia, The Problem of Susan
I read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" when I was young, and of course was completely oblivious to the whole Christian agenda in it. This month I finally made time to read the entire series, and I'm very happy that I waited until I was equipped to understand everything they try to teach. It would've been so depressing to have read and loved all the seven books as a little girl, and then at the age of 33 to re-read them and discover all that religious crap in there.
A couple of the books are pretty good, though none of them managed to really move me. Their most exhausting feature is the fact that all the characters are a bunch of religious nags.
Their best quality is that, despite the Christian agenda, they don't suffer from slave morality. It's a Christianity evolved from the Greek traditions, not the Judaic ones. They don't turn the other cheek, they are proud without being vain, they know that they're entitled to certain things and they don't hesitate to fight for them. Oh, and they don't take any crap from Muslims.
The other thing I love is that Aslan is the way we all wish God would be. He is present. He shows up when you call out to him. He is scary, but you can nuzzle his fur, you can bury your face in his mane, and know that he will give you lion kisses and tell you what to do. He might punish you, but always in a way that allows you to keep your dignity, and he'll always tell you his reasons for it. He doesn't leave a cryptic book to try to interpret his will, he comes to you in a flash of light and tells you what to do. How nice of him.
Book seven, "The Last Battle", is to me the worst one. It starts fine with the struggles against the false Aslan, but then the whole storyline of the second coming and the voyage to heaven feels so forced and unnecessary, not to mention morbid. And then of course there's the evil trick C.S. Lewis decided to play on the character of Susan. Evil and mean and pathetic. Luckily, Neil Gaiman has written and answer to this book in his short story "The Problem of Susan", which I enjoyed reading immediately after "The Last Battle". One day I'll meet Mr. Gaiman at some book signing or something and thank him for "American Gods" and "The Problem of Susan".
A couple of the books are pretty good, though none of them managed to really move me. Their most exhausting feature is the fact that all the characters are a bunch of religious nags.
Their best quality is that, despite the Christian agenda, they don't suffer from slave morality. It's a Christianity evolved from the Greek traditions, not the Judaic ones. They don't turn the other cheek, they are proud without being vain, they know that they're entitled to certain things and they don't hesitate to fight for them. Oh, and they don't take any crap from Muslims.
The other thing I love is that Aslan is the way we all wish God would be. He is present. He shows up when you call out to him. He is scary, but you can nuzzle his fur, you can bury your face in his mane, and know that he will give you lion kisses and tell you what to do. He might punish you, but always in a way that allows you to keep your dignity, and he'll always tell you his reasons for it. He doesn't leave a cryptic book to try to interpret his will, he comes to you in a flash of light and tells you what to do. How nice of him.
Book seven, "The Last Battle", is to me the worst one. It starts fine with the struggles against the false Aslan, but then the whole storyline of the second coming and the voyage to heaven feels so forced and unnecessary, not to mention morbid. And then of course there's the evil trick C.S. Lewis decided to play on the character of Susan. Evil and mean and pathetic. Luckily, Neil Gaiman has written and answer to this book in his short story "The Problem of Susan", which I enjoyed reading immediately after "The Last Battle". One day I'll meet Mr. Gaiman at some book signing or something and thank him for "American Gods" and "The Problem of Susan".
Aug 29, 2010
Aug 25, 2010
Caution, spoilers:
I never cease to be amazed at how many deep insights into the human condition can be found in the Battlestar Galactica series. I know that every time I rant about it I only get the result of looking like a total geek, because how can there be deep philosophical and social truths in a series so filled with space fights and evil (yet sexy) humanoid robots? A while ago I talked about what good art needs to be, i.e. allegorical, personal and immortal. In its highest form, for me, art deals with what it is to be human. Certainly a story about the battle between the "real" and "artificial" humans, and about the preservation of the human race in face of complete destruction, in the hands of some talented people, has the potential to be amazing. And that is exactly what the Battlestar Galactica series is. An amazing work of art. It looks at how humans relate to their political structure, their religion, their culture, in such a clear way, in such a deep and critical way, that you can see it mirrored in everyday life, and in historical events, and understand them more clearly because of it. It allows itself to be political, yes, but not in a petty, fashionable way which will lose its relevance in five to twenty years (Avatar), but in a way that will always be relevant.
Listen to this: In the end of the series' second season, the humans find themselves electing one Gaius Baltar as their president. This person is incompetent, vain, weak, untrustworthy and prone to playing into the hands of the enemy. He has been flattered into running for president by some malicious forces who aim to use his power as their own.
In 2006 the people of Israel found themselves electing as their prime minister one Ehud Olmert. He was not put in place by malicious forces as head of a puppet government. The conditions which brought him to power were stranger and more complicated, but he did share many of the qualities of the fictional Baltar.
After doing his bit of damage, Baltar is kicked out of power and replaced by the previous president, Laura Roslyn, who then spends a lot of time and energy to punish Baltar for all the mistakes he has made and all the lives he has cost. She never gives a moment's thought to the people who worked behind the scenes, or to her own mistakes, one of them huge, which brought Baltar to the presidency.
After doing his bit of damage, Olmert was also replaced, not by a beloved and able "benevolent dictator" like Roslyn (if only there was one available), but by some people who haven't exactly earned my respect either. Still, to this day, the nation's rage at this man for being a bad prime minister is tireless, and we can see him every day in the news being dragged to court for some old corruption scandal.
What has this bit of science fiction taught us about how people behave in real life? How about this: some people are weak, vain and corrupt. When we give them power, they will use it for vain and corrupt purposes. If there is danger about, their weakness will cost lives. This also: in a democracy, voters are easily fooled by demagogues, and easily made to act on impulse. And if they make a mistake, they don't like to blame themselves, and don't want to look at the people who deceived them. Suggest that the system is flawed? Never. They'd rather take it all out on the person who failed where no one in their right mind could've expected him to succeed.
And so it goes.
Listen to this: In the end of the series' second season, the humans find themselves electing one Gaius Baltar as their president. This person is incompetent, vain, weak, untrustworthy and prone to playing into the hands of the enemy. He has been flattered into running for president by some malicious forces who aim to use his power as their own.
In 2006 the people of Israel found themselves electing as their prime minister one Ehud Olmert. He was not put in place by malicious forces as head of a puppet government. The conditions which brought him to power were stranger and more complicated, but he did share many of the qualities of the fictional Baltar.
After doing his bit of damage, Baltar is kicked out of power and replaced by the previous president, Laura Roslyn, who then spends a lot of time and energy to punish Baltar for all the mistakes he has made and all the lives he has cost. She never gives a moment's thought to the people who worked behind the scenes, or to her own mistakes, one of them huge, which brought Baltar to the presidency.
After doing his bit of damage, Olmert was also replaced, not by a beloved and able "benevolent dictator" like Roslyn (if only there was one available), but by some people who haven't exactly earned my respect either. Still, to this day, the nation's rage at this man for being a bad prime minister is tireless, and we can see him every day in the news being dragged to court for some old corruption scandal.
What has this bit of science fiction taught us about how people behave in real life? How about this: some people are weak, vain and corrupt. When we give them power, they will use it for vain and corrupt purposes. If there is danger about, their weakness will cost lives. This also: in a democracy, voters are easily fooled by demagogues, and easily made to act on impulse. And if they make a mistake, they don't like to blame themselves, and don't want to look at the people who deceived them. Suggest that the system is flawed? Never. They'd rather take it all out on the person who failed where no one in their right mind could've expected him to succeed.
And so it goes.
Aug 22, 2010
Aug 16, 2010
ונדטה עקובה מדם
בקיץ הזה יש לי כוחות לונדטה עקובה מדם אחת, אבל שני נושאים בוערים על הפרק. אחד: תסרוקות ה"הלוואה וחיסכון" שמזהמות את נופי הארץ. שתיים: השימוש הדבילי בקיצור "ת'-". שניהם מציקים לי כבר שנים, ובזמן האחרון הגיעו למאסה קריטית. התסרוקת הנ"ל מהווה מפגע סביבתי כל הזמן, אבל החשיפה המוגזמת של אבי בניהו בימים האחרונים הופכת את הבעיה לצורמת ורלוונטית מתמיד. מצד שני הקיצור של המילה "את" ל"ת'-" נפוץ בקרב שתי אוכלוסיות שאני שונאת במיוחד: אנשים בלתי מגניבים (פרסומאים) שמנסים לדבר לקהל הצעיר והמגניב, ומשוררים עצלנים שלא מסוגלים לחשוב על דרך מקורית יותר להרוויח הברה. אביב גפן, למשל, שייך לשתי הקבוצות האלה, ולכן משתמש בקיצור הזה אולי יותר מכל אדם דובר עברית אחר.י
אז אם, כמו שזה נראה, מלחמה חסרת מעצורים היא בלתי נמנעת, אני צריכה להחליט מי יהיה האויב.י
אז אם, כמו שזה נראה, מלחמה חסרת מעצורים היא בלתי נמנעת, אני צריכה להחליט מי יהיה האויב.י
Aug 11, 2010
A realization:
All things considered, I'm probably not a ... what's that term again? A people person.
Labels:
me me me
Aug 6, 2010
Aug 1, 2010
Proud Mary
Every time that job hunting season rolls around, which can easily happen more than once a year, I find myself looking for "Proud Mary" on Youtube. Something in me wants to believe that I have the option of tossing everything out the window and hitching a ride on a riverboat. The biggest problem with this plan - I live in the desert. Still, it's always nice to hear that song again.
Of course, whenever I search for it, there's a decision to be made: Creedence Clearwater Revival, or Tina Turner. The Creedence version has the obvious advantage of being the original, but it doesn't make you dance around uncontrollably in your chair. The Tina Turner version is much more in line with the rebellious mood of a nearly unemployed animator, but it has several disadvantages: first of all, in every concert version, you have to suffer through a stupid little "nice and easy" speech that she's been doing since the seventies. Secondly, and speaking of the seventies, if you choose a clip from the Ike Turner era, it's hard to enjoy it without thinking about domestic violence. Then again, whichever Tina Turner video you pick, there'll be lots of legs in it.
Here are three options: the Creedence original, the most 80s of the Tina versions, and one thats Ike-included, beautiful but always disturbung:
P.S. The Ike one is the best, there's no getting around that.
Of course, whenever I search for it, there's a decision to be made: Creedence Clearwater Revival, or Tina Turner. The Creedence version has the obvious advantage of being the original, but it doesn't make you dance around uncontrollably in your chair. The Tina Turner version is much more in line with the rebellious mood of a nearly unemployed animator, but it has several disadvantages: first of all, in every concert version, you have to suffer through a stupid little "nice and easy" speech that she's been doing since the seventies. Secondly, and speaking of the seventies, if you choose a clip from the Ike Turner era, it's hard to enjoy it without thinking about domestic violence. Then again, whichever Tina Turner video you pick, there'll be lots of legs in it.
Here are three options: the Creedence original, the most 80s of the Tina versions, and one thats Ike-included, beautiful but always disturbung:
P.S. The Ike one is the best, there's no getting around that.
Jul 25, 2010
80-s hell
I haven't been to Europe in the past few years, but last night we had dinner in kind of a touristy place, and there were several people who were dressed hideously, who all spoke in different European languages (Spanish, Dutch). Therefore, I'm forced to conclude that Europe is drowning in a return of 80-s fashion that's much worse than what we're having around here.
Jul 24, 2010
Thoughts about "Inception"
First of all, I wish Christopher Nolan would watch his films on something larger than his laptop before he sends them out into the world. Then he would know that his action scenes are impossible to follow on a big screen.
Also, Michael Caine is not an exotic condiment that you add just a grain of to your film to give it an odor of sophistication. Either make a film with Michael Caine, or leave the man alone, I'm sure he has things to do.
The same can be said about Pete Postlethwaite, but I feel more strongly about Michael Caine because me love him long time.
Lesson number one in cinema - show, don't tell. This can be said about almost everything in Inception, but I'll give just two examples:
Instead of explaining to us that the hero's wife is a haunting presence, try to find an actress that actually has a haunting presence, instead of one that looks like the best friend in a romantic comedy.
And instead of telling us about how the hero is tortured, hire an actor that has even the minimal ability to look tortured. Ethan Hawke looks tortured. Leonardo Dicaprio looks like he's had a happy childhood, gets along perfectly with his parents, always got good grades in school, eats all his vegetables, works out in the clean mountain air, and dates lingerie models.
And finally, have the balls to commit to something at the end of the movie.
Also, Michael Caine is not an exotic condiment that you add just a grain of to your film to give it an odor of sophistication. Either make a film with Michael Caine, or leave the man alone, I'm sure he has things to do.
The same can be said about Pete Postlethwaite, but I feel more strongly about Michael Caine because me love him long time.
Lesson number one in cinema - show, don't tell. This can be said about almost everything in Inception, but I'll give just two examples:
Instead of explaining to us that the hero's wife is a haunting presence, try to find an actress that actually has a haunting presence, instead of one that looks like the best friend in a romantic comedy.
And instead of telling us about how the hero is tortured, hire an actor that has even the minimal ability to look tortured. Ethan Hawke looks tortured. Leonardo Dicaprio looks like he's had a happy childhood, gets along perfectly with his parents, always got good grades in school, eats all his vegetables, works out in the clean mountain air, and dates lingerie models.
And finally, have the balls to commit to something at the end of the movie.
Labels:
film,
me vs the world,
people,
teachings
Jul 15, 2010
Jul 11, 2010
Based on an actual Bruce Campbell
I've been using this sequence from "Evil Dead 2" as reference for work. My animation probably won't turn out this cool, but I'm having a lot of fun in the process:
Jul 3, 2010
"Let the right one in" vs "Let me in"
This is a trailer of the groovy Swedish film "Let The Right One In":
And this is the trailer of the American remake "Let Me In":
I don't know how the American remake will turn out. I do know that the original was amazing, and I know that the directir of the remake is Matt Reevers, who brought us the unbelievably bad (and unexplicably popular) "Cloverfield".
And this is the trailer of the American remake "Let Me In":
I don't know how the American remake will turn out. I do know that the original was amazing, and I know that the directir of the remake is Matt Reevers, who brought us the unbelievably bad (and unexplicably popular) "Cloverfield".
Labels:
film
Jun 29, 2010
Dinosaurs, in the biblical sense.
I just heard someone on the radio talking about how religious people don't like you to mention dinosaurs around them, because everything that contradicts the Bible offends them. Well alright, but I'd just like to make a note of something fairly basic - dinosaurs do appear in the Bible. In fact they appear on the first page of the Bible. (pause for effect)
I can understand why English speaking people don't know about this, because in most translations it appears as "whales" or "great sea monsters". I had to look in something called "Young's Literal Translation" to find a text close enough to the original. As you can see, it says "the great monsters". The Hebrew text (which has also been interpreted as meaning "whales" in the middle ages) says simply "the great alligators". Well, anyone who has the ability to make the connection between "let there be light" and the big bang, can make the connection between "the great alligators" and dinosaurs. Anyone who doesn't have that ability - I have nothing for ya.
And, of course, it's one of those issues that don't really matter either way.
Resources: http://bibleresources.bible.com/bible_read.php
and http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/t/t0101.htm
In addition, and without detracting from my point, it now occurs to me that the modern Hebrew word for "alligators" (taninim) was probably adopted from this text, and it probably did mean "monsters" back then. Still. Dinosaurs.
I can understand why English speaking people don't know about this, because in most translations it appears as "whales" or "great sea monsters". I had to look in something called "Young's Literal Translation" to find a text close enough to the original. As you can see, it says "the great monsters". The Hebrew text (which has also been interpreted as meaning "whales" in the middle ages) says simply "the great alligators". Well, anyone who has the ability to make the connection between "let there be light" and the big bang, can make the connection between "the great alligators" and dinosaurs. Anyone who doesn't have that ability - I have nothing for ya.
And, of course, it's one of those issues that don't really matter either way.
Resources: http://bibleresources.bible.com/bible_read.php
and http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/t/t0101.htm
In addition, and without detracting from my point, it now occurs to me that the modern Hebrew word for "alligators" (taninim) was probably adopted from this text, and it probably did mean "monsters" back then. Still. Dinosaurs.
Jun 24, 2010
Helen Mirren - 1975 Parkinson interview
Helen Mirren is turning out to be the love of my life. I've certainly been in love with her longer than with anyone else. Anyway, this is a remarkable interview which shows how classy she's always been, and how little she has changed over the years. It's also a very good lesson for us "modern and independent women" on how to keep your dignity in a conversation with someone who insists on keeping it vulgar, how to always be saying something interesting, and still be innocently sexy.
By the way, although she looks like she's in her early twenties, and Michael Parkinson keeps talking to her like she's a hello kitty sex doll, she was actually thirty years old that year.
By the way, although she looks like she's in her early twenties, and Michael Parkinson keeps talking to her like she's a hello kitty sex doll, she was actually thirty years old that year.
Jun 20, 2010
Felipe Bedoya
I've had three attempts so far to use Facebook. The first one was just to see what the hell - under a false name, and just for a few weeks. The second time I went in there for marketing reasons, to publicize my portfolio. That time I used my real name, and I tried to "befriend" everyone I saw that had some kind of artwork in their profile picture. The I left again, and a couple of months ago I went back with three distinct purposes: one, to keep up with my friend Karen who moved to Canada. Two, to draw attention to my blog (hello new followers!). And three, to find an artist who's name I forgot to save, but who's works, especially the one below, left an enormous impression. When I revived my Facebook account I couldn't find him, and I was pretty depressed about it, but last week I finally saw his familiar icon in the "suggestions" box. So this time I don't intend to lose him - his name is Felipe Bedoya, he's from Columbia, and he seems to be enjoying some well-deserved success, which makes me very happy.
This is his website: http://www.felipebedoya.com/
This is his website: http://www.felipebedoya.com/
Labels:
fine art,
me me me,
people,
photography
Jun 19, 2010
Jun 16, 2010
על קו הזינוק - החברים של נטאשה
ממש לא מזמן גיליתי שכולם חושבים שהשיר הזה הוא על סקס. לי היה ברור, מאז הפעם הראשונה ששמעתי אותו, שהוא מדבר על מערכת יחסים. יכול להיות שאני טועה, יכול להיות שמיכה שטרית בעצמו אמר שזה על סקס, אבל אם כן, אני מוכנה להתעלם ולתת לו בכל זאת יותר קרדיט מזה. פשוט כי אם זה על סקס, זה שיר משעמם וגרוע - ומי בכלל רוצה לשמוע שיר על זיון? ואם "המירוץ" הוא מערכת יחסים, הרי שזה שיר די מבריק ושנון ורק הפזמון מעצבן.י
Jun 15, 2010
כתבת השבוע 6
זקפה לאומית - יש
קומיסרית מטעם עצמה - יש
הזדמנות לטמא אמנות בפוליטיקה - יש
אמנים שיסכימו לזה מתוך לאומנות - סביר להניח
אמנים שיסכימו מתוך פחד מחרם - אולי
אמנים שיסרבו - יש לקוות, בטח כן
עונשים פרוצדורליים נגד אותם אמנים - אין לי ספק
קומיסרית מטעם עצמה - יש
הזדמנות לטמא אמנות בפוליטיקה - יש
אמנים שיסכימו לזה מתוך לאומנות - סביר להניח
אמנים שיסכימו מתוך פחד מחרם - אולי
אמנים שיסרבו - יש לקוות, בטח כן
עונשים פרוצדורליים נגד אותם אמנים - אין לי ספק
Labels:
blagh,
music,
nationalism,
politics,
prophecy,
כתבת השבוע
Jun 7, 2010
גבולות 2010
בין האנשים שאומרים "פרס" במקום "איראן" לבין האנשים שאומרים "מומבאי" במקום "בומביי" שוכן טווח השפיות.י
Jun 5, 2010
שיהיה לכם לתפרים
מילא משרד הפרסום, זה ידוע שמדובר בחבורה של זומבים חסרי נשמה. אבל לחברה כמו "דלתא" שמתיימרת להיות רגישה לגוף האישה אמור להיות שיקול דעת שימנע ממנה להוציא פרסומת סנאף מבחילה מהסוג הזה.י
עכשיו הרכות המלטפת של תחתוני התחרה חסרי התפרים של דלתא יתקשר לדימוי של קרע פעור באיבר המין - דבר שכבר גרם לאינספור גברים לאבד את החשק לגעת בנשים שלהם אחרי הלידה.י
Labels:
blagh
Jun 3, 2010
Jun 1, 2010
Chan-wook Park's "Thirst"
This is from the director of the revenge trilogy, but it's not as good as "Oldboy" or "Lady Vengeance" (haven't seen "Mr. Vengeance"). However, the best sex scenes I've ever seen in a movie. And by that I mean cinematicaly good, not "sexy".
Anvil
Some people are evil. We know this with our minds, but every once in a while we get to see what we know, and we feel like we've stepped into a Bosch painting, where everyone has reached out for the closest arm or leg and started chewing on it. I got one of those shocks yesterday as I was watching the documentary "Anvil - The Story of Anvil".
If you haven't seen it I'll summarize it quickly, because what I want to talk about is not the main story but a single event within it. The film is about a heavy metal band called Anvil, which apparently started up in the 80-s along with Metallica, The Scorpions, Guns'n'Roses and some others of that group, were one of the best metal bands at that time, but for some reasons (which you can theorize about as you watch the movie) failed to make it big and disappeared into Canadian obscurity. However, instead of breaking up and falling back into writing or playing for other bands, Anvil stayed together and kept working. They've been together for over 25 years and put out about ten more albums, they have a few dozens of devoted fans in Canada where they live, and a few thousands more around the world. The film talks about what their lives look like now, why they failed, and how they're still trying to pull off a last minute comeback.
The part that had me cursing the TV at the top of my lungs happens about half way through, as Lips (the singer and band leader and a very cute guy) gets a chance to work with their old and still very successful producer, and needs to get together enough money for the guys to fly to London and record an album. It would seem that the advantage of being a metal band in your 50-s would be that your fans have become grown-ups with jobs and assets that might be able to help you in your time of need. And indeed we see Lips meeting with one of the die-hard fans that follow the band religiously to every dingy club they play in, who turns out to be the vice president of a telemarketing company. Every normal human being watching expects this guy to loan or even give Lips the money, but no - his idea of helping his idol is to put him to work as a telemarketer. This 50 year old man, who by the way already has one day job, sat in front of the cameras in a room full of teenagers and tried to sell some crappy sunglasses to people over the phone. Can you imagine, even if he turned out to be good at it, how long it would take him to earn enough money for a flight and several weeks stay in London?
This, to me, is an example of true, real, garden variety evil. Because evil is not talking with a scary Darth Vader voice or an evil cackle and plotting a laser beam that would blow up the moon because your mommy didn't love you enough. Evil is when you have power over someone to help them, not help them, or harm and humiliate them, and you choose the worst one of the three. Evil is something that simple, seemingly harmless people do on a tiny scale every single day.
I can't walk into that guy's office today and punch him in the face, all I can do is post his name and photo. Unfortunately he's using a "cool" pseudonym:
If you haven't seen it I'll summarize it quickly, because what I want to talk about is not the main story but a single event within it. The film is about a heavy metal band called Anvil, which apparently started up in the 80-s along with Metallica, The Scorpions, Guns'n'Roses and some others of that group, were one of the best metal bands at that time, but for some reasons (which you can theorize about as you watch the movie) failed to make it big and disappeared into Canadian obscurity. However, instead of breaking up and falling back into writing or playing for other bands, Anvil stayed together and kept working. They've been together for over 25 years and put out about ten more albums, they have a few dozens of devoted fans in Canada where they live, and a few thousands more around the world. The film talks about what their lives look like now, why they failed, and how they're still trying to pull off a last minute comeback.
The part that had me cursing the TV at the top of my lungs happens about half way through, as Lips (the singer and band leader and a very cute guy) gets a chance to work with their old and still very successful producer, and needs to get together enough money for the guys to fly to London and record an album. It would seem that the advantage of being a metal band in your 50-s would be that your fans have become grown-ups with jobs and assets that might be able to help you in your time of need. And indeed we see Lips meeting with one of the die-hard fans that follow the band religiously to every dingy club they play in, who turns out to be the vice president of a telemarketing company. Every normal human being watching expects this guy to loan or even give Lips the money, but no - his idea of helping his idol is to put him to work as a telemarketer. This 50 year old man, who by the way already has one day job, sat in front of the cameras in a room full of teenagers and tried to sell some crappy sunglasses to people over the phone. Can you imagine, even if he turned out to be good at it, how long it would take him to earn enough money for a flight and several weeks stay in London?
This, to me, is an example of true, real, garden variety evil. Because evil is not talking with a scary Darth Vader voice or an evil cackle and plotting a laser beam that would blow up the moon because your mommy didn't love you enough. Evil is when you have power over someone to help them, not help them, or harm and humiliate them, and you choose the worst one of the three. Evil is something that simple, seemingly harmless people do on a tiny scale every single day.
I can't walk into that guy's office today and punch him in the face, all I can do is post his name and photo. Unfortunately he's using a "cool" pseudonym:
May 29, 2010
Spoiler alert - they die!
Could this be a sign that the decade of stupid is ending? I'll try not to be too optimistic, but certainly the inglorious death of the "cliffhanger genre" is a good sign. "Lost" couldn't offer its viewers any proof that they have been doing something useful with their time. "24" ended in some kind of anti-climax that I couldn't even be bothered with. "Grey's Anatomy", as I said before, changed its ways and learned from its mistakes. "Heroes" was simply abandoned by its viewers and canceled, and the retarded bastard child "Flash Forward" couldn't even get approved for a second season.
I have been comparing cliffhanger series to an asshole boyfriend, who instead of offering you an interesting relationship and making you feel special, keeps you constantly jealous, doesn't call you back, makes you always wonder where he is, and that's the only way he knows to keep you interested. Therefore, if our taste in television has matured enough to stay away from this kind of abusive relationship, we have a reason to be proud and optimistic.
I have been comparing cliffhanger series to an asshole boyfriend, who instead of offering you an interesting relationship and making you feel special, keeps you constantly jealous, doesn't call you back, makes you always wonder where he is, and that's the only way he knows to keep you interested. Therefore, if our taste in television has matured enough to stay away from this kind of abusive relationship, we have a reason to be proud and optimistic.
Ode to the e-book reader
Usually when I talk about how happy I am with my Cybook, people don't understand the point of such a boring gadget - there's no colors, no games, no touch screen (some of them do have it), it costs hundreds of dollars, why can't you read on a laptop, and what's wrong with a good old-fashioned paper book anyway? Well, I'm about to explain exactly why e-book readers are so great, and why I'm so in love with mine.
Space: Remember when mp3-s replaced CDs? Remember how heavy those book boxes were the last time you moved? Now I have this thing that's 19 x 12 x 0.8 centimeters and weighs 170 grams, and a folder in my computer with a bunch of text files. No, I haven't had the heart to get rid of all my paper books yet, and of course there are the comic books, but there are no new books coming into the house, and there's always the memory of the CD shelves that are gone forever.
Comfort: This is going to sound petty, but you'll have to take my word for it - the fact that I can hold the e-book with just three fingers and turn the page without moving, that I can be under the covers in bed, hold the book through the cover and not have to take my arm out to turn the pages, the fact that I don't have to keep propping something to keep the book open, all make an incredibly big difference. Add to that the fact that e-paper doesn't flare in direct sunlight, which means that I can sit in a park or in a bus without going blind.
Adjustable text size: I work about ten hours a day on a computer. After that, even with glasses, my eyes can't focus on normal book text sizes. Between that and some attention deficit symptoms that I suffer from, there was a time when I depended mostly on audio books. The fact that now I can pick a large text size not only allows me to see it better, but it gives the illusion that the reading is going very fast, as the pages become much shorter than usual. Without the e-book I would probably have carried Anna Karenina and Moby Dick around my neck like huge millstones of shame right into the grave. Now I can happily talk about how crap they are.
Availability: I live in the third world. I speak four languages, and I like to read what I can in its original form. Most of the things I want to read are very hard to find here in stores, and many times you have to settle for the translated version. On the other hand, I can find almost everything I want in online stores and download it immediately.
So, why not a laptop, iPhone or the coveted iPad? All of them are heavier than the e-books, and I personally can't stand to read from a computer screen. Also, I don't mind admitting that if I had a choice between computer games and reading, reading would lose every time. So the low-tech is actually an advantage.
As for the people who need the feel, taste and smell of paper, to me they're like the people who miss the scratchy sound of records - their argument is completely irrational to me, and I don't know how to argue with irrational convictions.
Now I read that they have come up with the first Hebrew e-book reader. It's not the first reader that works with Hebrew, but it is the first one that has its own online store. And it's very beautiful (though I might've seen that design before), and it's a great idea. I hope it works well even though it's a prototype, and I hope that people realize how useful it can be.
Space: Remember when mp3-s replaced CDs? Remember how heavy those book boxes were the last time you moved? Now I have this thing that's 19 x 12 x 0.8 centimeters and weighs 170 grams, and a folder in my computer with a bunch of text files. No, I haven't had the heart to get rid of all my paper books yet, and of course there are the comic books, but there are no new books coming into the house, and there's always the memory of the CD shelves that are gone forever.
Comfort: This is going to sound petty, but you'll have to take my word for it - the fact that I can hold the e-book with just three fingers and turn the page without moving, that I can be under the covers in bed, hold the book through the cover and not have to take my arm out to turn the pages, the fact that I don't have to keep propping something to keep the book open, all make an incredibly big difference. Add to that the fact that e-paper doesn't flare in direct sunlight, which means that I can sit in a park or in a bus without going blind.
Adjustable text size: I work about ten hours a day on a computer. After that, even with glasses, my eyes can't focus on normal book text sizes. Between that and some attention deficit symptoms that I suffer from, there was a time when I depended mostly on audio books. The fact that now I can pick a large text size not only allows me to see it better, but it gives the illusion that the reading is going very fast, as the pages become much shorter than usual. Without the e-book I would probably have carried Anna Karenina and Moby Dick around my neck like huge millstones of shame right into the grave. Now I can happily talk about how crap they are.
Availability: I live in the third world. I speak four languages, and I like to read what I can in its original form. Most of the things I want to read are very hard to find here in stores, and many times you have to settle for the translated version. On the other hand, I can find almost everything I want in online stores and download it immediately.
So, why not a laptop, iPhone or the coveted iPad? All of them are heavier than the e-books, and I personally can't stand to read from a computer screen. Also, I don't mind admitting that if I had a choice between computer games and reading, reading would lose every time. So the low-tech is actually an advantage.
As for the people who need the feel, taste and smell of paper, to me they're like the people who miss the scratchy sound of records - their argument is completely irrational to me, and I don't know how to argue with irrational convictions.
Now I read that they have come up with the first Hebrew e-book reader. It's not the first reader that works with Hebrew, but it is the first one that has its own online store. And it's very beautiful (though I might've seen that design before), and it's a great idea. I hope it works well even though it's a prototype, and I hope that people realize how useful it can be.
May 27, 2010
May 25, 2010
May 24, 2010
Grey's Anatomy season 6 finale
I've been watching Grey's Anatomy pretty regularly since it began, knowing that it's an awful show. If you haven't seen it, basically it's a hospital situation, in which all the doctors are all having relationships with each-other, and if a patient should manage to get their attention, it's only to symbolically push them in the rigtht direction through their confused love lives. A perfect show for the self-centered decade we live in, except that its characters are educated professional people who strive to perfection, which is actually a positve message for the youngins.
The second annoying thing about Grey's Anatomy used to be that it belonged to the cliffhanger genre, which I despise with a passion. I even stopped watching it for a while because it was taking "the doctors" half a season to realize that the ditzy blonde was acting ditzier than usual because she had a huge brain tumor (incidentally, an important lesson to all the ditzy females out there). I had to get really really bored to start watching it again.
Surprisingly season 6 brought us some improvement - they gave up on the cliffhanger style, and lost some of the more annoying main characters, which left them with the rounder and more interesting minor characters. Then the season 6 double-episode finale was just damn good.
A pissed off husband of a woman who died in the hospital comes in with a gun and for about two hours walks around shooting people at random. God knows, something I've wished on the cast of that show (mostly on George) many times in the earlier seasons. All of it directed very well, really scary and exciting, as each two or three of the characters are isolated in some part of the hospital in some insane situation. Before it all ends, they even got in a very cool speech by the crazy gun guy about how he only meant to kill three people, but darn it if the ammo wasn't on sail that day, and he couldn't resist buying a lot more than he needed.
Of course the main effect of the entire shoot-out was to give all the unhappy couples a chance to re-think their relationships and realize what their hearts really want, but because it was done so well, it didn't feel as idiotic as before.
I am very pleased. They might yet grow up to be a good show, if they don't get cancelled for their trouble.
The second annoying thing about Grey's Anatomy used to be that it belonged to the cliffhanger genre, which I despise with a passion. I even stopped watching it for a while because it was taking "the doctors" half a season to realize that the ditzy blonde was acting ditzier than usual because she had a huge brain tumor (incidentally, an important lesson to all the ditzy females out there). I had to get really really bored to start watching it again.
Surprisingly season 6 brought us some improvement - they gave up on the cliffhanger style, and lost some of the more annoying main characters, which left them with the rounder and more interesting minor characters. Then the season 6 double-episode finale was just damn good.
A pissed off husband of a woman who died in the hospital comes in with a gun and for about two hours walks around shooting people at random. God knows, something I've wished on the cast of that show (mostly on George) many times in the earlier seasons. All of it directed very well, really scary and exciting, as each two or three of the characters are isolated in some part of the hospital in some insane situation. Before it all ends, they even got in a very cool speech by the crazy gun guy about how he only meant to kill three people, but darn it if the ammo wasn't on sail that day, and he couldn't resist buying a lot more than he needed.
Of course the main effect of the entire shoot-out was to give all the unhappy couples a chance to re-think their relationships and realize what their hearts really want, but because it was done so well, it didn't feel as idiotic as before.
I am very pleased. They might yet grow up to be a good show, if they don't get cancelled for their trouble.
Labels:
TV
May 20, 2010
Glenn Beck has Nazi Tourettes
Lewis Black is one of the best stand-up comics of the last years, and Glenn Beck is a stinking fascist. This week on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Lewis Black went off on Glenn Beck's nazi fetish:
May 17, 2010
May 15, 2010
May 11, 2010
Earth-shattering news: Israel discovers the surgical circumcision
A few days ago, this article had me staring at the screen with my jaw hanging open for a long time. Unfortunately I only have it in Hebrew, but I need to write about it in English because I want as many people as possible to be able to read it (after all, I'm up to ten readers now, and the responsibility lies heavy on my shoulders).
The article tells that most people in Israel aren't aware of the possibility of performing their sons' circumcision in a hospital, by a certified medical doctor. This is exciting news, as the overwhelming majority of circumcisions in the country are done by a mohel, a religious man who has (hopefully) recieved the specific medical training needed to perform the ritual. Apparently the thought of taking the baby to a hospital almost never occurs to any of the proud parents:
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3884593,00.html
So, the situation is as follows: you have decided to create life, fragile and priceless. You have chosen the absolute perfect person to do this with, someone who's genes and personality you can rely on with this task of tasks. You have decided to make the necessary sacrifices of body, time, energy and finance, for as many years as it might take. You have cared for this delicate and magical creature from the time it was smaller than a grain of sand, and until the moment it was ready to emerge into the world. Now it has arrived, tender and helpless, and relying on you for everything it needs to survive.
Now, at this point you are convinced that the Almighty Creator wants you to slice a sensitive piece of this child of yours in His name. This might be an odd thing to wish on your child, but let's say that you really believe that it's the best thing to do. But why does the thought of taking him to a hosplital never occur to you? You were just in the hospital, weren't you?
No, instead you are going to invite a shaman, a primitive man who probably doesn't even believe in evolution, to perform a barbaric ritual, to put his sometimes ungloved hands on your precious little angel, to say an incantation while cutting a piece of him off, and then - just in case the whole event wasn't homoerotic and canibalistic enough - to put his filthy perverted lips on the wound and suck the blood out until it stops running. And just to add the extra touch of festivity to the occasion, you'll have all your loving family in the room to grimace at the baby and eat themselves into a coma.
As usual when I'm scared and confused, I turn to the wise men of my faith for words of wisdom and guidance. Therefore I leave you with this quote by Woody Allen, through the fictional character of Professor Levy from "Crimes and Misdemeanors":
“Now the unique thing that happened to the early Israelites was that they conceived a God that cares. He cares, but at the same time he also demands that you behave morally. But here comes the paradox. What’s one of the first things that that God asks: that God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, his beloved son to him. In other words, in spite of millennia of efforts we have not succeeded to create a really and entirely loving image of God. This was beyond our capacity to imagine.”
And just because it would be cruel not to add them, here are the other two Levy quotes from that film, which are available on Youtube:
This one about love...
...and the voiceover of the ending:
Good night.
The article tells that most people in Israel aren't aware of the possibility of performing their sons' circumcision in a hospital, by a certified medical doctor. This is exciting news, as the overwhelming majority of circumcisions in the country are done by a mohel, a religious man who has (hopefully) recieved the specific medical training needed to perform the ritual. Apparently the thought of taking the baby to a hospital almost never occurs to any of the proud parents:
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3884593,00.html
So, the situation is as follows: you have decided to create life, fragile and priceless. You have chosen the absolute perfect person to do this with, someone who's genes and personality you can rely on with this task of tasks. You have decided to make the necessary sacrifices of body, time, energy and finance, for as many years as it might take. You have cared for this delicate and magical creature from the time it was smaller than a grain of sand, and until the moment it was ready to emerge into the world. Now it has arrived, tender and helpless, and relying on you for everything it needs to survive.
Now, at this point you are convinced that the Almighty Creator wants you to slice a sensitive piece of this child of yours in His name. This might be an odd thing to wish on your child, but let's say that you really believe that it's the best thing to do. But why does the thought of taking him to a hosplital never occur to you? You were just in the hospital, weren't you?
No, instead you are going to invite a shaman, a primitive man who probably doesn't even believe in evolution, to perform a barbaric ritual, to put his sometimes ungloved hands on your precious little angel, to say an incantation while cutting a piece of him off, and then - just in case the whole event wasn't homoerotic and canibalistic enough - to put his filthy perverted lips on the wound and suck the blood out until it stops running. And just to add the extra touch of festivity to the occasion, you'll have all your loving family in the room to grimace at the baby and eat themselves into a coma.
As usual when I'm scared and confused, I turn to the wise men of my faith for words of wisdom and guidance. Therefore I leave you with this quote by Woody Allen, through the fictional character of Professor Levy from "Crimes and Misdemeanors":
“Now the unique thing that happened to the early Israelites was that they conceived a God that cares. He cares, but at the same time he also demands that you behave morally. But here comes the paradox. What’s one of the first things that that God asks: that God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, his beloved son to him. In other words, in spite of millennia of efforts we have not succeeded to create a really and entirely loving image of God. This was beyond our capacity to imagine.”
And just because it would be cruel not to add them, here are the other two Levy quotes from that film, which are available on Youtube:
This one about love...
...and the voiceover of the ending:
Good night.
May 6, 2010
Roger Ebert about the new "Elm Street"
There's a good joke in Roger Ebert's review of the new and unnecessary sequel of the Freddy Krueger series:
The 2010 edition of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is number 8 1/2 in the series. I arrive at that number not out of a desperate desire to be seeing the Fellini film instead, but because "Freddy vs. Jason" (2003) should in all fairness count for half a film on this list, and half a film on the "Friday the 13th" list.
Mention Fellini in the punchline - me likey. The movie appears to be crap.
P.S. Fellini would never use the phrase "me likey".
The 2010 edition of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is number 8 1/2 in the series. I arrive at that number not out of a desperate desire to be seeing the Fellini film instead, but because "Freddy vs. Jason" (2003) should in all fairness count for half a film on this list, and half a film on the "Friday the 13th" list.
Mention Fellini in the punchline - me likey. The movie appears to be crap.
P.S. Fellini would never use the phrase "me likey".
May 3, 2010
The most unconvincing couple in the history of sitcoms:
"Roseanne" season 4, Tom Arnold and Sandra Bernhard:
May 2, 2010
May 1, 2010
Iron Man 2
Above everything else, "Iron Man 2" is a beautiful film. Every frame is beautiful. A few of the scenes, the calm ones that serve as interludes, are beautiful in a stylized, clean way, maybe like a frame from "Mad Men". But this movie doesn't have many interludes, and most of its compositions are beautiful with a gritty, rich, overwhelming beauty, filled with contrasting shapes and colors that fight for your attention. Frames like this one:
The "clean" scenes are the ones that have Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson in them, usually together - unbelievably beautiful. The gritty scenes belong to Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke, who both look amazing. I know that they've both been to hell and back in the last few years, but they've come back as two unbelievably attractive men, and I hope that along with their apparently successful comeback, they get to enjoy their improved appearance at least as much as I do.
Side note - in the last three films I've seen him in, Rourke was wearing the same clothes, boots and beads, which leads me to think that they are his own. Like he's decided to just wear his own stuff to the set from now on, and the production people just write it into the script somehow. Works so far.
Aside from being beautiful, Iron Man 2 is filled with great actors. The main four characters are great, but so are Sam Rockwell, Garry Shandling (love you Garry!), John Slattery in a tiny-big role as Stark's father, and Jon Favreau himslef. The part of Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, is so funny it should've been much bigger. Samuel Jackson shows up at some point and does what he always does, which is fine unless you're tired as hell of it like I am.
It's a hilarious film. The intended jokes are funny, the way people act are funny, even single frames are funny. The scene with the rotating thing on Pepper's desk had me crying with laughter. The exaggerations are funny - one person builds an incredibly complicated piece of machinery all by himself in order to create something that has never before existed in nature. You can get annoyed by that, but you also have to laugh.
On the negative side, the film doesn't have as much soul and story as the first one. There's almost no struggle for the characters, and nobody is fooled *tiny spoiler*
To sum up, Iron Man 2 is two hours of beautiful, entertaining, non-stop action. It isn't much more than that, but it's still better than most comic book adaptations, and style-wise it stands alone.
The "clean" scenes are the ones that have Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson in them, usually together - unbelievably beautiful. The gritty scenes belong to Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke, who both look amazing. I know that they've both been to hell and back in the last few years, but they've come back as two unbelievably attractive men, and I hope that along with their apparently successful comeback, they get to enjoy their improved appearance at least as much as I do.
Side note - in the last three films I've seen him in, Rourke was wearing the same clothes, boots and beads, which leads me to think that they are his own. Like he's decided to just wear his own stuff to the set from now on, and the production people just write it into the script somehow. Works so far.
Aside from being beautiful, Iron Man 2 is filled with great actors. The main four characters are great, but so are Sam Rockwell, Garry Shandling (love you Garry!), John Slattery in a tiny-big role as Stark's father, and Jon Favreau himslef. The part of Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, is so funny it should've been much bigger. Samuel Jackson shows up at some point and does what he always does, which is fine unless you're tired as hell of it like I am.
It's a hilarious film. The intended jokes are funny, the way people act are funny, even single frames are funny. The scene with the rotating thing on Pepper's desk had me crying with laughter. The exaggerations are funny - one person builds an incredibly complicated piece of machinery all by himself in order to create something that has never before existed in nature. You can get annoyed by that, but you also have to laugh.
On the negative side, the film doesn't have as much soul and story as the first one. There's almost no struggle for the characters, and nobody is fooled *tiny spoiler*
To sum up, Iron Man 2 is two hours of beautiful, entertaining, non-stop action. It isn't much more than that, but it's still better than most comic book adaptations, and style-wise it stands alone.
Apr 29, 2010
Apr 27, 2010
Roseanne
Some people are younger than me, and they are too young to remember. Some people are my age or older, and their memory isn't what it used to be. Between these two groups, the number of people who remember Roseanne in her prime are few and far between. My sister is both young and knowledgeable, and she reminded me of good old Roseanne, the domestic goddess, the universal goddess that made one of the best TV shows in history long before TV's "golden age" that we're still enjoying today.
The most remarkable thing I want you to notice about this show is that the characters in it actually laugh at each-other's jokes. The only other sitcom I know of where this occurs is "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - it took about 15 years and a guy like Larry David to repeat this feat - it didn't even happen on Seinfeld. In every other comedy show the character says something funny, and then everyone in the room struggles to keep a straight face wile the audience laughs. Not these people. That's why Roseanne and Dan look like an actual couple, they have an amazing love relationship that any of us would be proud to have. When they fight they actually yell at each-other at the top of their voices and tell each-other really hurtful things, and still manage to be a loving couple through it all (look up an episode named "Lobocop"). They are so believable together that Roseanne's real-life husband made a nuisance of himself with jealous fits and tried to write their love scenes out of the scripts.
If I remember correctly, in its later seasons Roseanne made a point of breaking taboos that people try to keep away from even now. They also had the brilliant idea to cast Shelley Winters as the grandmother. I also know that they jumped the shark a bunch of times before they finally gave up. I'll have to re-watch all the episodes (I'm on season 2) before I can talk about all that.
One day I'll write something long about how artists achieve inner peace at the expense of their creativity, and how we are torn between being happy for them and the heartbreak of losing them forever. Roseanne married and divorced Tom Arnold, then she lost her mind for a while, then she found Kabbalah, lost half her weight and cut 20 years off her face. She had a talk show that got canceled, and now she is mostly a gray-haired political activist. She hasn't lost her edge completely, but the good old days will never return. I am here to shake the dust off the good old days:
This is an episode from the first season of Roseanne:
This is her first TV stand-up appearance:
And here she is annoying a stadium full of baboons:
Finally, this is today's political activist Roseanne:
I've skipped her blonde beauty stage because I find it hard to stomach, you're welcome to Google it yourself.
Please remember this whenever you're tempted to believe that women aren't funny, that there's nothing good on TV, that romance is dead and other dark thoughts that make a person give up on this world.
The most remarkable thing I want you to notice about this show is that the characters in it actually laugh at each-other's jokes. The only other sitcom I know of where this occurs is "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - it took about 15 years and a guy like Larry David to repeat this feat - it didn't even happen on Seinfeld. In every other comedy show the character says something funny, and then everyone in the room struggles to keep a straight face wile the audience laughs. Not these people. That's why Roseanne and Dan look like an actual couple, they have an amazing love relationship that any of us would be proud to have. When they fight they actually yell at each-other at the top of their voices and tell each-other really hurtful things, and still manage to be a loving couple through it all (look up an episode named "Lobocop"). They are so believable together that Roseanne's real-life husband made a nuisance of himself with jealous fits and tried to write their love scenes out of the scripts.
If I remember correctly, in its later seasons Roseanne made a point of breaking taboos that people try to keep away from even now. They also had the brilliant idea to cast Shelley Winters as the grandmother. I also know that they jumped the shark a bunch of times before they finally gave up. I'll have to re-watch all the episodes (I'm on season 2) before I can talk about all that.
One day I'll write something long about how artists achieve inner peace at the expense of their creativity, and how we are torn between being happy for them and the heartbreak of losing them forever. Roseanne married and divorced Tom Arnold, then she lost her mind for a while, then she found Kabbalah, lost half her weight and cut 20 years off her face. She had a talk show that got canceled, and now she is mostly a gray-haired political activist. She hasn't lost her edge completely, but the good old days will never return. I am here to shake the dust off the good old days:
This is an episode from the first season of Roseanne:
This is her first TV stand-up appearance:
And here she is annoying a stadium full of baboons:
Finally, this is today's political activist Roseanne:
I've skipped her blonde beauty stage because I find it hard to stomach, you're welcome to Google it yourself.
Please remember this whenever you're tempted to believe that women aren't funny, that there's nothing good on TV, that romance is dead and other dark thoughts that make a person give up on this world.
Apr 26, 2010
.תושבי רמת-גן יכולים לישון בשקט, נתפס צובע המדרכות הסדרתי
אחרי מצוד ממושך עצרה המשטרה תמהוני החשוד שצבע במשך חודשים באישון לילה את מדרכות העיר מאפור לאדום-לבן וכחול-לבן. הבוקר בהארכת המעצר החשוד נראה מבולבל ומנותק מהמציאות:י לכתבה המלאה
י
י
Apr 21, 2010
כתבת השבוע 3
הפעם - הכתבה המבאסת של השבוע:י
נ.ב. ברור שגיביתי את "היטלר מחפש חנייה בתל-אביב".י
Labels:
blasphemy,
film,
nationalism,
politics,
stand-up,
כתבת השבוע
Apr 18, 2010
A historic event
The first (as far as I know) appearance of Crocs shoes in animation. The show: "The Life and Times of Tim". The episode: "Debbie's Mom". The character wearing the Crocs: the hooker's mother.
Apr 17, 2010
Anna Karenina revisited
I feel the need to clarify - when I said about Madame Karenina "may she never darken my doorstep again" - well I did mean it, but I wouldn't say that the book didn't have any enjoyable parts. I feel like making a list of the things I loved. If you've read the book you might enjoy the reminders, if you plan to read it, the next section is spoilers, and if you're the other 90% of humanity you can just spare yourself this post. Here we go:
The whole beginning where Levin loses Kitty to Vronsky and Kitty loses Vronsky to Anna is funny and moving and an interesting insight into the way people used to interact in those years.
Karenin the husband is a great character throughout the book.
I love the way the book deals with how everyone else's affairs except Anna and Vronsky's are light-hearted little games that revive the spirit and often serve to promote the social status of the couple.
Levin's struggles with metaphysics, if they weren't so draaawwwwn ouuuuut would've been very enjoyable. For sure the part where he joins the peasants in cutting the grass, even as it is six or seven chapters long, managed to move me deeply. After that, the chalk proposal is one of my favorite love scenes ever.
The part where Lavin's brother is dying and Kitty takes care of him is maybe my favorite part, but Tolstoy manages again to drag it out for much longer than necessary.
The character of Varenka, in her influence on Kitty in the times when Kitty thinks she might remain an old maid, and later on when there's a pathetic attempt to get her engaged to Sergey Ivanovitch, is for me one of the most thought-provoking and memorable parts of the book.
There's the episode where Dolly is jealous of Anna's life, and disgusted with her own state of constant pregnancy and humiliation, including a peasant girl she meets that tells her ‘I had a girl baby, but God set me free; I buried her last Lent’ - in her misery, Dolly even manages to be jealous of that girl for a while.
Another thing I loved was the horrible succubus woman that latches herself to Karenin, culminating in the great seance scene they force on Stiva.
--
About the movie: it was pretty weak, but well cast - Sean Bean as Vronsky (naked, yummy!) and Sophie Marceau as Anna, Alfred Molina as Levin (weird) and the always pleasantly annoying Mia Kirshner as Kitty. The actor who played Karenin, James Fox, was as good as Karenin is in the book.
The whole beginning where Levin loses Kitty to Vronsky and Kitty loses Vronsky to Anna is funny and moving and an interesting insight into the way people used to interact in those years.
Karenin the husband is a great character throughout the book.
I love the way the book deals with how everyone else's affairs except Anna and Vronsky's are light-hearted little games that revive the spirit and often serve to promote the social status of the couple.
Levin's struggles with metaphysics, if they weren't so draaawwwwn ouuuuut would've been very enjoyable. For sure the part where he joins the peasants in cutting the grass, even as it is six or seven chapters long, managed to move me deeply. After that, the chalk proposal is one of my favorite love scenes ever.
The part where Lavin's brother is dying and Kitty takes care of him is maybe my favorite part, but Tolstoy manages again to drag it out for much longer than necessary.
The character of Varenka, in her influence on Kitty in the times when Kitty thinks she might remain an old maid, and later on when there's a pathetic attempt to get her engaged to Sergey Ivanovitch, is for me one of the most thought-provoking and memorable parts of the book.
There's the episode where Dolly is jealous of Anna's life, and disgusted with her own state of constant pregnancy and humiliation, including a peasant girl she meets that tells her ‘I had a girl baby, but God set me free; I buried her last Lent’ - in her misery, Dolly even manages to be jealous of that girl for a while.
Another thing I loved was the horrible succubus woman that latches herself to Karenin, culminating in the great seance scene they force on Stiva.
--
About the movie: it was pretty weak, but well cast - Sean Bean as Vronsky (naked, yummy!) and Sophie Marceau as Anna, Alfred Molina as Levin (weird) and the always pleasantly annoying Mia Kirshner as Kitty. The actor who played Karenin, James Fox, was as good as Karenin is in the book.
Apr 15, 2010
Apr 14, 2010
השיר הכי ישראלי
נבואת זעם: ייבחר או "עוף גוזל" או "סע לאט". מקסימום "שיר אחרי מלחמה".י
לא לקפוץ, אני לא אזהם את הבלוג שלי עם אריק איינשטיין. הנה משהו טוב:י
Labels:
blagh,
music,
nationalism,
prophecy
Apr 13, 2010
"Plastic Bag" by Ramin Bahrani
I've been preaching for a while now against art that has a political agenda. I think I will eventually write a full article on the subject, but my main point is this: Art is by definition allegorical, personal and immortal. Politics are by definition literal, generalized to the lowest common denominator and hopelessly current. The only immortal aspect of politics is their never changing repetitive dead-endesness in which the corrupt thrive, the idealists are used and betrayed, and the honest despair.
At the moment I tend to categorize the environmental issue as a political one, beause - well, you've been paying attention in the past ten years or so, right? And so I've been very judgmental towards films like Pixar's "Wall-E" for tackling the most fashionable political issue, and for doing it in such a shallow and literal way.
To demonstrate the right way to do what Pixar couldn't, I've discovered (on my friend Isaac Jacobs' trailer blog) the short film "Plastic Bag". It's a film about the environment, there's no doubt about that. But it's also about a search for purpose, about divinity, about the responsibility of a creator towards his children, about loneliness, friendship, abandonment, the search for identity, the beauty of nature and so on - subjects that belong to the domain of the arts.
Look and listen:
My point is this: two hundred years from now, people will watch this film and be moved. Even if they've cleaned up all the oceans and fixed all the problems, they'll still be moved. Even if a month from now it turns out that the pacific vortex never existed and global warming is a lie, "Plastic Bag" won't lose any of its power. And "Wall-E"? "Wall-E" will be a joke.
At the moment I tend to categorize the environmental issue as a political one, beause - well, you've been paying attention in the past ten years or so, right? And so I've been very judgmental towards films like Pixar's "Wall-E" for tackling the most fashionable political issue, and for doing it in such a shallow and literal way.
To demonstrate the right way to do what Pixar couldn't, I've discovered (on my friend Isaac Jacobs' trailer blog) the short film "Plastic Bag". It's a film about the environment, there's no doubt about that. But it's also about a search for purpose, about divinity, about the responsibility of a creator towards his children, about loneliness, friendship, abandonment, the search for identity, the beauty of nature and so on - subjects that belong to the domain of the arts.
Look and listen:
My point is this: two hundred years from now, people will watch this film and be moved. Even if they've cleaned up all the oceans and fixed all the problems, they'll still be moved. Even if a month from now it turns out that the pacific vortex never existed and global warming is a lie, "Plastic Bag" won't lose any of its power. And "Wall-E"? "Wall-E" will be a joke.
Apr 12, 2010
Anna Karenina
After six years, I have finally managed to get rid of that horrible woman. May she never darken my doorstep again.
Observation: I am not particularly moved by tales of all-consuming, inherently destructive love. Nor am I partial to lengthy lectures on late 19-th century agricultural ethics.
P.S. Now I can finally watch the movie :D
Observation: I am not particularly moved by tales of all-consuming, inherently destructive love. Nor am I partial to lengthy lectures on late 19-th century agricultural ethics.
P.S. Now I can finally watch the movie :D
Apr 9, 2010
A brother from another father
As I was finishing "Midnight's Children", I read somewhere that it's based on "The Tin Drum", so I quickly got hold of "The Tin Drum" and moved straight from one to the other. Conclusions so far: one - if you can help it, it's good to take a little breather between two lengthy books that are based on each-other. Two - George Guidall is beginning to fill the vacant role of a beloved uncle in my life. Three - while Saleem Sinai was an adorable and sensitive child that I would gladly adopt, little Oscar would have drummed all the way to an orphanage at the first broken light bulb if I had been his mother.
I take a minute to amuse myself with photos of the two authors and read on...
I take a minute to amuse myself with photos of the two authors and read on...
איתו לנצח
יש עכשיו גרסה של השיר הזה בביצוע של בחורה. אני לא מאמינה שאני צריכה אפילו להדרש לזה - השיר הזה ל א ע ו ב ד אם הוא לא מבוצע על ידי גבר!י
כמובן שזה משקף בצורה מושלמת את ההבדל בין שנות התשעים לשנות האלפיים: תשעים - חתרנות ושמחת חיים, אלפיים - גיי אור סטרייט, אנחנו רק רוצים להתעבר ולשרת בצבא.י
Apr 4, 2010
How to train your dragon
I know exactly how they pulled this thing off. I can see it in my mind's eye as if I was there when it happened. They struck a deal with the Evil Powers of Hollywood - the Powers agreed to allow a few brave and original things into the movie, but in return they demanded the same number of blood-curdling cliches be put in there as well.
Was the deal worth it? I think so.
Was the deal worth it? I think so.
Mar 29, 2010
Well, I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand.
Some days you wake up, and you don't know that you're about to have an experience that will change the way you think forever. Then again, some days you wake up in Paris, with plans to visit the Orsay museum, and it's pretty safe to expect one of these experiences.
In the Orsay museum, there is a painting by Claude Monet named "Effet de neige à Vétheuil". It hangs in a room that I'd like to be buried in, but let's leave that for another discussion. For the point I'm making today, I was lucky enough to find an online reproduction that is clear enough to show what I mean.
So, whenever I look at impressionist paintings, I like to first come up very close and swim in the brush strokes of a while, and only then walk back and watch them turning into shapes. If I manage to get my nose up to the canvas without being really sure what the whole painting looks like, that's my favorite thing.
This "Effet de neige à Vétheuil", when seen up close, has a grayish-green area with these happy, bold white brush strokes on top of it, and I couldn't figure out what they were. Clearly it's a snow landscape, but what are the straight-up pieces of snow?
Then, as I walk back, I realize it's a fence, and the white stripes are the snow behind it!
Does it look exactly how it should? Absolutely. Could I ever have thought until then that it's right to paint the background thing over the foreground thing? Hell no! Will I ever, having seen that, be that liberated in my art? Remains to be seen. Could I ever think of it all by myself the way Monet did? The inevitable answer: not in a million years.
I have managed to carry with me that lesson about how important it is to be daring and free of preconception in art. Last week I came back to it when I heard my friend and colleague Doron talk about a scene he once animated, where the character is pushing a huge boulder uphill. Knowing that in reality it's the character that moves the boulder, he first hid the boulder and put all his effort into animating the character. When it looked almost done, he brought the boulder back and tried to fit it in - it didn't work. Then he realized that the way to solve this scene was to first animate the boulder, and then to build the pushing around it.
In Hebrew there's a beautiful cynical saying: "don't let the facts confuse you". In art, when we're creating new worlds, or re-creating this world in our image, we need to first be free enough from what we know to be true.
In the Orsay museum, there is a painting by Claude Monet named "Effet de neige à Vétheuil". It hangs in a room that I'd like to be buried in, but let's leave that for another discussion. For the point I'm making today, I was lucky enough to find an online reproduction that is clear enough to show what I mean.
So, whenever I look at impressionist paintings, I like to first come up very close and swim in the brush strokes of a while, and only then walk back and watch them turning into shapes. If I manage to get my nose up to the canvas without being really sure what the whole painting looks like, that's my favorite thing.
This "Effet de neige à Vétheuil", when seen up close, has a grayish-green area with these happy, bold white brush strokes on top of it, and I couldn't figure out what they were. Clearly it's a snow landscape, but what are the straight-up pieces of snow?
Then, as I walk back, I realize it's a fence, and the white stripes are the snow behind it!
Does it look exactly how it should? Absolutely. Could I ever have thought until then that it's right to paint the background thing over the foreground thing? Hell no! Will I ever, having seen that, be that liberated in my art? Remains to be seen. Could I ever think of it all by myself the way Monet did? The inevitable answer: not in a million years.
I have managed to carry with me that lesson about how important it is to be daring and free of preconception in art. Last week I came back to it when I heard my friend and colleague Doron talk about a scene he once animated, where the character is pushing a huge boulder uphill. Knowing that in reality it's the character that moves the boulder, he first hid the boulder and put all his effort into animating the character. When it looked almost done, he brought the boulder back and tried to fit it in - it didn't work. Then he realized that the way to solve this scene was to first animate the boulder, and then to build the pushing around it.
In Hebrew there's a beautiful cynical saying: "don't let the facts confuse you". In art, when we're creating new worlds, or re-creating this world in our image, we need to first be free enough from what we know to be true.
Xam'd: Lost Memories
This pencil test sequence was just posted on Pencil Test Depot - one of my favorite blogs. One of their readers later commented that it's from the TV series "Xam'd: Lost Memories", which I will definitely be looking up.
Thought: the rough animation is so much more engaging than the ink-and-paint end result.
Thought: the rough animation is so much more engaging than the ink-and-paint end result.
Mar 24, 2010
Mar 19, 2010
Ganesh
Saleem Sinai, the protagonist of Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children", tied by the time of his birth and the shape of his head to his motherland, is snotty and miserable. I, allergic to my homeland and suffering from a cold after an unexpected meeting with my birth-land, am snotty and miserable. I make a cocktail from my allergy meds and my cold meds and read on...
Mar 16, 2010
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