Besenkopf's Blog

30 Day Movie Challenge in One Day

2011-05-06T19:21:00.002-04:00

I feel like doing this all at one time.

day 01 - your favorite movie-- HALLOWEEN
day 02 - your least favorite movie-- THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
day 03 - a movie that makes you happy-- THE TERMINATOR
day 04 - a movie that makes you sad-- I DON'T KNOW... PROBABLY SOME CARTOON
day 05 - a movie that reminds you of someone-- LOST IN TRANSLATION
day 06 - a movie that reminds you of somewhere-- ANYTHING ELSE
day 07 - a movie that reminds you of a certain event-- AI or THE DELTA FORCE
day 08 - a movie that you know all the words to-- STAR WARS IS THE CLOSEST
day 09 - a movie that makes you fall asleep-- THE USUAL SUSPECTS
day 10 - a movie from your favorite actor-- either THE SEARCHERS or CASABLANCA
day 11 - a movie from you favorite actress-- I ALWAYS LIKED GWYNETH PALTROW, SO I'LL SAY SHAKESEPEARE IN LOVE
day 12 - a movie from a actor you hate-- I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE EVER SEEN ANYTHING WITH ALEC BALDWIN IN IT-- OR ANY OF THE BALDWINS, REALLY
day 13 - a movie from an actress you hate-- GARDEN STATE
day 14 - a movie from your favorite director-- TOO DIFFICULT-- BLADE RUNNER, PSYCHO, OR SEVEN SAMURAI
day 15 - a movie that no one would expect you to love-- THE BREAK-UP
day 16 - a movie that is a guilty pleasure-- I DON'T KNOW IF I BELIEVE IN "GUILTY PLEASURES"-- THAT TERM MAKES ME THINK OF THIS PRETENTIOUS CLOWN WHO WORKED IN RHINO RECORDS AND CALLED A PAT METHENY ALBUM HIS GUILTY PLEASURE. SO I'M NOT ANSWERING THIS QUESTION.
day 17 - a movie that you used to love but now hate-- EASY: THE MATRIX
day 18 - a movie that you saw in the theatre-- THE RETURN OF THE JEDI
day 19 - a movie that you wish you saw in the theatre-- SEVEN SAMURAI
day 20 - a movie that describes you-- THE RED BALLOON
day 21 - a movie that you watch when you’re angry-- DEATH WISH? (I DON'T OWN IT BUT WISH I DID)
day 22 - a movie that you watch when you’re happy-- ANYTHING, TO TELL THE TRUTH...
day 23 - a movie that you watch when you’re sad-- SEABISCUIT
day 24 - a movie that you wish Hollywood would re-make-- NOTHING, REALLY.
day 25 - a movie that you wish Hollywood didn't re-make-- BREATHLESS (I'VE ONLY SEEN A PREVIEW OF THE REMAKE, BUT IT LOOKED AWFUL)
day 26 - a movie that makes you laugh-- SLEEPER
day 27 - a movie that has the best special effects-- THE 60'S VERSION OF THE TIME MACHINE OR EVIL DEAD 2
day 28 - a movie that has the worst special effects-- THE INCREDIBLE HULK(WHATEVER THE ANG LEE VERSION WAS CALLED)
day 29 - a movie from your childhood-- ET
day 30 - your favorite movie at this time last year-- HALLOWEEN

Huh.

2010-12-06T22:30:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time. My attempt to post something meaninful once a week was an utter failure. I will try to post something meaningful in the near future. In the meantime, I will sleep.

Video 1

2010-07-31T02:11:00.003-04:00

I suppose this falls under the category of "video art." It was improvised-- I had a source, and I improvised (thought not in real time) effects, and the video track was the result. I added a piece of music called "Mr. KS."

Here it is embedded:

...and here's the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVAtP4EB2c

New Audio Track: "A Flying Saucer Communicates with a Friend in Pine Bush, New York"

2010-07-13T01:26:00.003-04:00

I'm already behind with my "post something creative once a week" idea. However, I actually have something to post. This track is called, "A Flying Saucer Communicates with a Friend in Pine Bush, New York." To create it, I made a patch on my Novation XioSynth and improvised with only that patch, straight to two-track. I selected part of the improvisation and added a fade-in, and here it is. I would say this is as "out" as I get, but that wouldn't be true.

Here's the widget:

C:fakepath\A Flying Saucer Communicates with a Friend in Pine Bush, New York by Besenkopf

Here's the direct link to the page that contains the file:
http://soundcloud.com/besenkopf/c-fakepath-a-flying-saucer-communicates-with-a-friend-in-pine-bush-new-york

Pop

2010-06-30T02:06:00.001-04:00

No cars pass--
Fireflies brighter
than street lamps

Something Creative

2010-06-27T01:40:00.001-04:00

My goal is to do something creative each week and post the results. I will probably lose focus in less than a week.

By the way, the prices for Samurai movie DVDs are ridiculous. The lack of availability of some titles is even more ridiculous. It makes me regret deleting Three Outlaw Samurai from my DVR.

Samuel Beckett

2009-12-22T22:11:00.001-05:00

Samuel Beckett died twenty years ago today. I didn't read waiting for Godot until the summer of 1993. I taught it for the first time this year. None of this really matters.

Live Soundtrack for Nosferatu

2009-10-28T22:06:00.003-04:00

My electroacoustic music duo will be doing a benefit soon; here are the highlights from the press release:

The Rosendale Food Pantry will be hosting a benefit concert on the night of November 20th, featuring the haunting music of Broomhead/Snyder. The artists will perform a live, electronic improvised soundtrack for the classic silent horror film Nosferatu.

The fundraiser will take place at the Rosendale Recreation Center on Rt. 32 in Rosendale, NY 12472 at 8 pm.

Tickets prices for adults are only $10 and children are free. As always, the Rosendale Food Pantry greatly appreciates any non-perishable food donations as well.

Tickets are available from Brown Paper Tickets.

Nudge Audio Tool

2009-09-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

Check out Nudge, the new audio tool from Hobnox
inudge.net/inudge#/2l7

Korg Wavedrum WD-X

2009-09-04T18:35:00.004-04:00

It seems that Korg is going to release a new Wavedrum. Hopefully, it will be available in the U.S.

Here's a website with pictures, video, and translated text: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miroc.co.jp%2Fmagazine%2Farchives%2F6765&sl=ja&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Since I don't understand Japanese, I don't know what the presenter was talking about in the video. However, judging from what he did with it, it appears that there's now a velocity sensitive rim trigger, along with the pressure and position-sensitive drumhead. According to the text, the sound engine might have elements of physical modelling, but I'm not sure. That said, I'm not sure how one edits sounds on it. The interface appears minimal, with only a few buttons, so it may require an editor. I don't know how that would work, because although outputs and power connections are labeled, I don't see any sign of a MIDI or USB port.

I'm really looking forward to finding out more about this instrument. I've only seen the original wavedrum used once, and I was less than impressed. I actually prefer my own Roland HPD-10 Handsonic, which is currently my favorite piece of music gear. If the new wavedrum is impressive, though, I would definitely consider it as a sister instrument to the Handsonic.

Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHxERq4hWfI

(By the way, I like the fact that the intro music in the video is the same music used on the morning announcements in my school.)

Comic Book Club

2009-08-25T21:34:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid, I used to go to a comic/baseball card shop called TJ's. I was a member of their comic book club, which meant that each week I went in the shop, I would have a green plastic bag waiting for me with the new issues of the books I read regularly. If I bought the books in the bag, I received (I think) ten percent off. I loved it.

This lasted for a while, until "TJ" dicontinued the club so he could make more money. Soon after the club stopped, my comic book reading did, too. It's funny, but I have fond memories of picking up my new issues of The Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, and Wolverine, among other things.

When I was in middle school, it was cool to wear Skids(z?), Umbro shorts, and Z-Cavariccis while listening to Vanilla Ice. It was not cool to read comic books. But I'm pretty sure the comics in my parents' attic are worth more than a twenty year old pair of Cavariccis.

One Sentence

2009-06-29T22:53:00.001-04:00

I love being a dad!

I Love Poughkeepsie Two

2009-06-05T18:48:00.002-04:00

We had a great experience driving past the Price Chopper today. We saw a van waiting to pull out onto Route 9. Driving the van was a man with a long white beard, a red shirt... and a red Santa Claus cap.

Happy

2009-06-01T22:51:00.000-04:00

I am looking forward to the future.

New Music

2009-04-19T02:06:00.001-04:00

I just posted some of my relatively new music on Archive.org.

There are ten improvisations created with a Korg Kaossilator and a Roland SP-404 sampler. I recorded these pieces in December 2008 and February 2009.

Here's the URL: http://www.archive.org/details/TheFuture

Embedded:

I did an "album cover," but my disgustingly slow Verizon connection is giving me some problems. I will try to post it again:

I Love Poughkeepsie

2009-03-08T22:07:00.003-04:00

We were leaving the Poughkeepsie Price Chopper today when we saw something awesome.

Two gentlemen entered the store. The first wore a white fedora (maybe it was a fedora-- it could have been bigger) with blue trim, a tan trenchcoat, and a white and blue 1970s style suit. I'm pretty sure the jacket and pants were white, and there may have been a blue vest. If there was no vest, it was a royal blue shirt. This gentleman's associate also wore white and blue, but he did not have a sportcoat on. Instead, he wore a black sateen jacket with a "Dick Tracy" logo on the back.

We had just checked out and were on the way out of the store; if they had come in earlier, I would have followed them around for a while.

The only character that was almost as cool as this was the gentleman we saw at the one-armed bandits at Foxwoods: he had slicked back hair, sideburns, and a tan, circa '70 sportcoat with many pockets and CORDUROY SLEEVES.

2009-01-31T13:02:00.003-05:00

Here is an email I sent to the Amazon.com vendor "Right Bookss." I ordered a DVD a month ago, and have so far only received excuses from him. He said: 1) the wrong book was sent, 2) he lost his job recently, and 3) there's an ice storm. My credit card was charged on January 8th.

Here's my message:

You have an excuse for everything. I am tired of your nonsense. I want my DVD and a refund.

Companies much larger than yours have tried to rip me off. They have been unsuccessful, and you will be, too.

Please send a refund and the Shakespeare biography DVD to my address. I don't care if you're halfway to Mexico with the profits from your Amazon scam. I just want the DVD and a refund so that you can undo the wrongs you have done me and your other customers.

2009-01-31T02:20:00.002-05:00

Squarepusher is probably my favorite contemporary musician. Here are some videos that feature either interviews, studio shots, or both.

This is the earliest studio interview I know of. It was originally broadcast on MTV Europe, or something like that, and is from the time of Hard Normal Daddy. He shows off some of his older gear (tb-303, sh-101, etc, as well as some highlights from his record collection, including the Death Wish soundtrack (fantastic!) and a Buddy Rich album) There's also some amusing footage of him interacting with a "festival worker."

Here's the link, if you're following along on Facebook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdI4jiDz_Fs

Here's a short clip from the Modulations documentary (1998). His bedroom studio is still a mess.

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzOGueZOpNw

When Go Plastic came out, he was interviewed by Techtv. Here, the editor tries to do to video what Jenkinson does to audio. My favorite part is when he talks about extended drum machine techniques. There's a setup with a Korg Prophecy, but it's not Squarepusher's.

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knnLsJ37PLI

Here's a 2006 interview from BBC's The Culture Show. The interviewer is pretty unprepared, but there's some solo bass that doesn't suck.

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ0LL1SJ-6U

Here he is in 2008, in his much cleaner, new studio. He plays a duet with drummer Alex Thomas.

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dPI129bJw

That's it for now!

2009-01-26T18:03:00.000-05:00

Snow falls.
Kids stay home
and watch TV.

2009-01-11T00:51:00.003-05:00

Here is a letter my wife and I sent to Capital One after they messed with her account:

January 11, 2009

“General Correspondence” or “Richard Fairbank, President and CEO”
Capital One
P.O. Box 30285
Salt Lake City, UT 84130

Dear Mr. Fairbank and his employees,

I am writing this letter in order to lodge a formal complaint against several employees of Capital One.

My story begins on January 3rd, when I called to activate a card that was sent to me. The person I spoke to tried very hard to sell me various unwanted and unneeded products. He also asked about my address, phone number, and email address. He even said he activated the new card I received.

The next day, I attempted to use the new card at a local business. Imagine my embarrassment as I stood in line and found out my card was declined. I called Capital One soon after I left the store because I wanted to find out what happened. The first person I spoke to said the card was never activated. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and was transferred to a rude and condescending man who would not identify himself. I told him I was unhappy with the level of service Capital One was providing, and wanted to know how he would help me. His rudeness escalated, and he stated he would do nothing. Frustrated, I then asked, “How do I close my account?” and hung up. I want to make it clear that I did not give him the directive, “Close my account.”

Later, I called back and found out the card had been deactivated. I told the representative that I wanted to reactivate my account. He told me that he had started the reactivation process, and that it would take two weeks. He advised me to call back in the future in order to find out the status of the account.

I called back today, January 10th, 2009, and spoke to two people; the second person was a supervisor called “NME868.” NME868 first told me that no information about the status of my request was available, but that I could open another account with Capital One. NME868 then told my husband, who was speaking on my behalf, that the request had been denied on January 5th, and that we might receive a written reason for this denial in several weeks. My husband was not told who issued the denial; he was only told that it was a “back office” that apparently does not have telephones or an address. He found this out because he wanted to either call that office or go there in person in order to get a timely response to our questions.

I have a number of problems with this situation. Obviously, my account was closed for no good reason, despite the fact that I am a customer in good standing and am in fact owed money because I overpaid on my account. What is even more frustrating, though, is that there is absolutely no accountability when it comes to the employees of Capital One. My husband and I repeatedly asked for ID numbers of employees we had previously spoken to, and were told that this information could not be provided because it violated their privacy. How does an identifying number violate privacy? We simply wished to be able to document the misdeeds of the Capital One employees. We were also told that phone calls are not identified by number; they are simply linked to accounts. To top it all off, we were told there is not even an office that handles customer complaints; we were instead given this general mailbox. What all this means is that Capital One employees are able to be rude, disrespectful, evasive, obnoxious, vulgar, and incompetent, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

To put it simply, my husband and I are disgusted by this behavior. It has been a colossal waste of time. I could have simply opened an account with another credit card company and moved on with my life, but instead, the Capital One employees gave me incorrect information in order to waste my time. I can think of no other reason for them to act this way.

For the record, my account number is/was XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Now you can fully
research the scenario that is outlined above.

I realize I am writing this letter in vain, because Capital One clearly thinks nothing of customer service and does nothing to hold its employees accountable for their actions. However, there are some measures you can take in order to satisfy my needs as a customer:

The nameless employee who deactivated my account at 3:59 PM on January 4th, 2009, can send me a written apology at my home address. In addition to his apology, I want a full explanation for the events I listed above. I would especially like to know why my card was not activated, why my reactivation request was denied, why Capital One insists on wasting my time, and why nobody will take any responsibility for the misdeeds of Capital One and its worldwide network of employees. Finally, I want my money, plus interest, to be returned to me immediately. This is the least you can do, considering you, Mr. Fairbank, made at least $17,084,879 last year.

I'll keep you updated about the response I get.

If anyone else out there has a problem with this company, the overcompensated, scumback CEO's direct address is, apparently:

Mr. Richard D. Fairbank, President and CEO
Capital One Financial Corporation
1680 Capital One Drive
McLean, VA 22102

I don't know what the "D" in his name stands for; it's probably "Demon," but it might be something else. By the way, the guy also has a horrible orange dye job. Look it up.

2008-12-30T00:23:00.002-05:00

Here's the result of the "speed test" after I reset the modem:

That's a little bit better, but I'm still no fan of Verizon.

2008-12-29T17:16:00.003-05:00

She doesn't know what she's talking about. She's about to buy it from a bus anyway.

My wife typed that.

Here are the results of the speed test I performed on our pathetically slow Verizon DSL service:

Wonderful, huh?

2008-12-17T18:08:00.003-05:00

Fun With (Fair)Light Pens

For those of you who aren't electronic music enthusiasts, the Fairlight CMI was a high-end synthesizer/sampler that was popular during the 80s. There were many famous users, and there are a lot amusing and interesting Fairlight-related videos online.

Here's a segment from an Australian news show:

Here's the link to a Sesame Steet episode where Herbie Hancock improvises and then samples some kids' voices.

Peter Gabriel used the Fairlight quite a bit when he recorded So. Here's a French Documentary. Don't worry, much of it is in English.

Jan Hammer also owned a Fairlight. It's featured in the video for the "Miami Vice Theme." There are many great moments in the video; my favorite is probably when he slams the 8" floppy disk into the drive. Oh, and there's a keytar, too.

2008-11-26T01:17:00.001-05:00

"That thing doesn't belong here... She robbed the bank with expeditious factors of love... stand back, stand back."

2008-11-13T17:57:00.003-05:00

I was going to post another anti-Zappa rant-- and, okay, I can't resist. I was listening to Make a Jazz Noise Here, an album I haven't put on in years, and I checked the liner notes to see who was given songwriting credit on the obviously improvised pieces. Guess what? Zappa himself-- nobody else. Look, I know people will say that he "conducted" some of those pieces, but I don't care. They're basically free improvised, and the performers deserve credit. I know Don Preston, among others, complained about this years ago. I used to make excuses for Zappa. No longer.

On a sad note, Mitch Mitchell died. What a great drummer! I always liked his flappy/boingey (I know, I could do better) tom sound. I just loved the way he way slightly out of control-- that "Elvin Jones plays rock sound."

2008-10-22T18:47:00.002-04:00

It was just announced that the Guns n' Roses album Chinese Democracy is going to be released in November. This is the first original GNR record since 1991. 1991! Appetite for Destruction was released in 1987! If this makes me feel old, how must it feel for the "band?"

Now, I've got to say, I have no intention of buying the album. I just want to see if it breaks The Spaghetti Incident's "straight to the remaindered bin" record.

I am, however, looking forward to the CD release of the new Squarepusher album. I already know I'll like that.

2008-10-01T18:22:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed the fact that VH1 Classic had non-stop Rush stuff on yesterday. The only thing I didn't like was that they played the video to "Countdown," then played it again fifteen minutes later. In any case, it was better than watching reality shows.

2008-09-18T19:03:00.002-04:00

I just found out about something called the Hobnox Audio Tool, and I've got to say, it's awesome. Basically, it's a virtual TB-303/Vintage Drum Machine/Stomp Box setup. Very nice. Thanks, Matrixsynth!

2008-08-18T02:08:00.000-04:00

Typed by E. while sleepwalking: "T--- is a scaredy pants!"

2008-07-10T02:03:00.002-04:00

You've got to love Web 2.0. Every once in a while, I review things on Amazon.com. Sometimes, my reviews get comments. Actually, my negative reviews always get comments. Many times, the comments are just personal attacks. Here's the latest example.

When I evaluate something, I basically ask, what is this "thing" trying to do, and how well does it do it? I loathe the book Things Fall Apart because, to me, it tries to be "great tragic literature," or what have you, and fails miserably. Here's my review:

This is a must-read book... if you want to learn how not to write., June 15, 2008
By Besenkopf

When I taught English 9 Honors, I would ask my students what they thought of the books we read. _Things Fall Apart_ always won the "worst book" award. They were right. This is one of the most overrated novels of the English language.

If Achebe had a B.S. detector, he might have been able to chisel this text down to an almost-bearable short story. Alas, he didn't, and this is what we have.

Okonkwo, the protagonist, is supposed to be tragic, but he's not. He's pathetic. He's utterly revolting, from beginning to end. The other characters aren't much better.

The plot starts nowhere and ends in the same place. Sure, there's an obvious structure to the novel, but it doesn't matter. Not much happens. The characters are lifeless, the plot is lifeless, and the prose is lifeless. I know, Achebe crafted the prose to be what it is-- but that doesn't make it any good.

It amazes me that this book is placed alongside (or above, if you listen to some people) works such as _Moby Dick_, _The Great Gatsby_, _Ulysses_, _The Sun Also Rises_, and _The Sound and the Fury_. The truth is, last month's issue of _Bop_ has more value than _Things Fall Apart_.

Here's how A. Auerbach responded:

Wow, it's rare that you find someone who is as monumentally stupid as Besenkopf is and yet can still operate a computer. Clearly, they have no background in African history, non-British literature, or even common sense. Things Fall Apart will still be read by generations of readers long after much of the literary canon of the West is dust. Go back to Moby Dick and whatever else turns you on and, for the love of all that's is decent in the world, get out of the classroom. Someone as narrow-minded, arrogant, and ignorant as you has absolutely no place there.

Here's my response to Mr. or Ms. Auerbach's comment:

Boo, hoo, Auerbach. Auerbach says, "Clearly, they have no background..." That could mean one of a few things: A) Auerbach thinks Besenkopf is plural; B) Auerbach doesn't know that "they" is not a singular pronoun; C) Auerbach doesn't have bad grammar; he or she is just politically correct. I tend to think it's either B) or C). Auerbach says _Things Fall Apart_ will be "read by generations of readers long after much of the literary canon of the West is dust." Clearly we have a revisionist here. Maybe Auerbach enjoys studying "theory." Maybe Auerbach wants me to show off and give him or her a lesson on Tang Dynasty poets. Or, maybe Auerbach wants to come over and play kpanlogo for a few hours, which is something I used to do in my youth. That's right! I didn't like _Things Fall Apart_, and I own and play many African drums, including an Udu! It's amazing!

I just looked at Auerbach's profile, and, big surprise, there's a negative review of a "conservative" book.

I'd also like to add that Auerbach says I'm "stupid" and don't belong in a classroom, yet he or she thinks "alot" is a word. Brilliant!

*****

I know, it's juvenile of me to get involved in some name-dropping back-and-forth, but his comment really irritates me. He obviously has some emotional (or professor-programmed) connection to Things Fall Apart and was deeply hurt by my review.

Two things really piss me off. 1) I'm pretty sure I've absorbed more art in my life than Auerbach has in his (or hers), and 2) the fact that Things Fall Apart is written in English puts it up against other English-language works, and that's why it really fails. The novel is basically a response to Heart of Darkness, and in my opinion, there's no comparison. Heart of Darkness really does delve into fundamental issues of humanity; I don't care how many negative essays Achebe writes about it. Things Fall Apart is superficial-- there's no substance, no grit, no guts... there's just nothing... not even decent prose.

Another thing... I think I know my American history, yet I don't like Dos Passos and many other American writers. How does that fit into Auerbach's theory of criticism?

Oh well, I'm done for now. I'm going to go write about more things I think are crap...

By the way, I think Cry, the Beloved Country is an excellent African novel, if we need to label novels the way some people do...

2008-07-07T11:15:00.004-04:00

Fifteen years ago, I had tickets to see Rush at Madison Square Garden, but an ice storm kept me upstate. I finally got to see them at SPAC Saturday night.

Many Youtubers have videos up. Here's "Red Barchetta"-- this song, "Subdivisions," and "Tom Sawyer" were definitely the highlights for me. Oh, and the fact that many, many people were airdrumming along... that was great.

Anyway, it was all great... AND THEY ACTUALLY PLAY THEIR INSTRUMENTS ON STAGE!!!

2008-06-10T18:08:00.003-04:00

I love how Rick Dutrow blames Desormeaux for Big Brown's defeat. Big Brown was absolutely uncontrollable going into the first turn. I had a bad feeling when I saw that, so I wasn't surprised when he didn't fire later on. Anyway, I can't believe Dutrow blamed the jockey. But then again, I can... that guy has no class. Big Brown was great before the Belmont, but his connections always left a lot to be desired. Desormeaux was the only one I liked.

In any case, I'm glad Nick Zito was the trainer who won. I can't think of any time he's been in trouble. When I saw Birdstone beat Smarty, I was also glad Zito was the trainer, and not just because I had show money on both Birdstone and Royal Assault.

I wish Pompa never sold the majority of Brownie.

2008-06-06T23:33:00.000-04:00

Big Brown brings joy to my heart. Go, Big Brown, Go!

2008-05-07T22:58:00.001-04:00

"I've got to cut the pieces out!"

2008-05-03T18:55:00.002-04:00

It WAS a sign when the UPS truck drove by as I watched Big Brown's workout the other day.

2008-05-03T13:00:00.001-04:00

Postal Workers, Teachers, and Prisoners alike seem to like Pyro.

I plan on betting conservatively: Colonel John, Big Brown, and a few live longshots.

2008-04-30T19:44:00.003-04:00

I watched the Kentucky Derby Post Position Selection show earlier. It was quite enjoyable. I still feel like Colonel John is my Derby horse. He's got the look, the moves, and the breeding. That said, I think Big Brown is very, very, talented, but I am always hesitant to back a speed horse in the Derby. That doesn't mean I wouldn't cheer my head off if Big Brown ran away with the race, though.

I am reading The Best American Poetry 2007. I am not finding it very enjoyable. There are a few poems in it that aren't bad, but McHugh's selections highlight the two most intolerable things about the contemporary poetry world: politics and cronyism. I have two pieces of advice to McHugh. 1. A poem is not good because it is written about the war in Iraq, and 2. A poem is not good because it is written by someone who works with you.

2008-04-03T19:16:00.002-04:00

Today, I teamed up with another teacher in order to catch the "door kicker" who had been kicking the English Office's door between periods. We caught him, and he denied it. When we were interrogating him, I wanted to yell something like, "We know you're guilty, son," but I didn't.

Yesterday, I had to have a talk with a student about not being too "creepy."

2008-03-29T17:59:00.002-04:00

This video shows that Curlin's the best horse in the world. My other Derby horse, Great Hunter, closed for fifth. But as they say, Curlin was "much the best."

2008-03-12T23:49:00.003-04:00

I've attempted to add my made-in-February EP The Pneumonia Files to this page. I hope it works. In any case, here is the link.

I made it all on my Korg Kaossilator. There are no overdubs other than those I did live with the Kaossilator's looper. And it's all improvised.

2008-02-12T23:42:00.003-05:00

I CAN'T STAND FRANK ZAPPA

If you went to college with me, you know I used to be a huge Zappa fan. I have a large collection of Zappa CDs that used to be in heavy rotation in my car and at home. Now all those CDs are in a box in a closet. The box is covered with sweaters.

The first thing that drives me nuts about Zappa is that there's a cult that has taken residence in his old home and studio. The ultimate manifestation of this cult was the recent spree of "Zappa Plays Zappa" concerts. People asked me all the time if I was going to go to one of those shows. I always said no, and have never regretted it. I've already seen a Zappa cover band; I don't need to see another. I was REALLY glad I didn't see the group after reading the Modern Drummer interview with the group's drummer, Joe Traver (or is it Travers? Whatever). That was the worst article I've ever read. I don't know why it's possible to get coverage in a major music magazine when all you do is cop other peoples' styles.

The other thing that I've realized is that I'm just too old for the old Zappa tunes. I was never really crazy about his vocal music; now I can't stand it. Whenever I hear it, I... wait, let me revise... whenever I hear his music or think of the man, I think of someone who's trying to prove he's smarter than everyone else out there: other musicians, critics, listeners, it doesn't matter.

Yet all I hear is, "Frank Zappa was a genius." No, he wasn't. Charlie Parker and Eric Dolphy-- now those are geniuses. Go listen to their music.

2008-02-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Here's more proof New York State has an absolutely worthless governor. Apparently, NYS Troopers assigned as SROs in schools are going to be reassigned. It really makes me angry that I had to receive irritating mail from NYSUT (my union) telling me to vote for that lizard Spitzer, yet he's done nothing but stab the teachers in the back. Granted, I always loathed this clown, and I would have voted for a bowl of Jello before I voted for him, but this just fires me up.

And don't get me started on the fact that he's pissing on state agriculture with the crap he's been pulling regarding the thoroughbred racing franchise agreement.

2008-02-04T00:15:00.000-05:00

I'm still wired from that game.

That was just too awesome.

Yeah Giants!

2008-01-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

The closet shelf fell down. It's time to find some giant wooden boxes.

*****

I am going to participate in something called the RPM Challenge. The idea is this: musicians have the month of February to record an album, start to finish. It doesn't matter what genre it is, and there's no prize. You just have to make something.

My idea is to record improvisations, throw out the dull ones, and have a collection of sound by the end of the month.

2008-01-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

When We got home today, we found that the six foot shelf in Emily's closet had fallen down. There were clothes and shoes everywhere. Shoeboxes needed to be moved in order for the door to be opened completely.

I went to the Home Depot and got the proper repair parts, but I'm still a bit iffy about Closetmaid's support system. If this thing falls down again, we'll put in giant wooden boxes.

I know, this is all very exciting.

2008-01-11T00:07:00.000-05:00

We had a new water heater installed today. Last night I took the coldest shower ever-- worse than when the hot water went out at Mountain Brook. I felt like I was being punched.

2007-12-11T18:22:00.000-05:00

GOOD SIGNS:

I found a copy of Saratoga Bestiary in the mailroom the other day. It's the only Charlie Bradshaw mystery I haven't read. Dobyns needs to take a break from poetry and write a new one.

I was walking past Nancy's room the other day, and she was using one of my lines-- but she added to it:

"If you can't follow the rules of the classroom, you can't follow the rules of society, and if you can't follow the rules of society, you go to jail. I've already had two students go to jail, and I don't want you to be the third."

Excellent!

Evening Attire won the other day:

Not bad for an old man! Supposedly, the railbirds at Aqueduct gave him quite an ovation.

2007-11-24T20:37:00.000-05:00

I heard on the radio that Return to Forever is having a reunion tour this summer. I would actually pay money to see that.

*****

I got Aphex Twin's old album Drukqs today. It's fantastic. Filled with really interesting stuff.

*****

My left hand is still crap. I worked it out for a while tonight, but I don't know if it did any good. I realized it's wobbly when I play German (or as some would say, American) grip, too. I'm sure it's just from muscles that haven't been used regularly.

*****

I've been reading Don Delillo's White Noise, and I've got to say that I'm quite unimpressed. The premise seemed amusing, but once I got to the kids who talk like adults and the generally pretentious writing, I have to think that this is one of the most overrated books around.

2007-11-23T02:24:00.000-05:00

Happy late Thanksgiving! We had a nice little dinner.

*****

I played drumset for two hours this evening. I usually don't practice, so this was the best session in a long time. I realized my left hand is crap, especially when I play French grip. My goal is to rebuild it. I need to stabilize it and develop those atrophied muscles.

2007-11-17T01:31:00.000-05:00

We played the Loft tonight. Never again.

We were there for hours, and ended up playing a 40 or so minute set. The schedule changed so many times... a band was in Long Island traffic, a band walked after their set was cut to 20 minutes...

The only fun part was checking out the other bands. The London Souls were very, very good. Rob and I heard them as we stood outside guarding the equipment in Dan's car. (While we were out there, only one gentleman came to beg for money) The Souls had a drummer who looked like a young Brian May, but played VERY Bonham-derived drums.

Anyway, that place is for the birds. Maybe we're spoiled from playing three-hour shows, but I don't think so.

2007-11-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

How long has it been since I blogged? This is crazy.

I'll add some new links to the side, and move old, pretentious ones like "the Valve" to the bottom.

Poetry is boring. Music is the best.

Well, not all poetry is boring, but music is still the best.

2007-05-26T03:14:00.000-04:00

I was behind the drumset, ready to start playing at the Hyde Park Brewery, when this exchange took place:

Woman at Bar: Do you know any Coldplay?
Besenkopf: No-- we play all original music.
Woman: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-23T23:47:00.000-04:00

COMMENTS ON BLOOD MERIDIAN

The Kid (then the Man) did himself in when he killed the boy in the woods; the Judge let him go years before and he even sat out the Civil War. As soon as he kills the boy, the Judge shows up.

The Judge is pure evil-- there's no way to escape that. He's a psychopathic child molester with alopecia. He's clearly a monster. (interestingly enough, he looks like Charlie Villanueva) Words are his ultimate weapon; for example, he seems to tell the man in the bar to kill the bear, and the man carries through with it. The expriest tells the Kid not to listen to the Judge-- and of course, he's right. Speaking of the expriest...

The expriest is last seen carrying a cross; the Judge implies he's dead, but I'm not sure that's the case (unless I missed something).

The priest is also the one who tells the kid to kill the Judge; that, to me, is the clearest parallel with Moby Dick. In Moby, Starbuck considers killing Ahab with a musket, but he stops his thought and keeps on with the journey. Starbuck and the crew choose to mutiny, even though Ahab's mission is absurd and is costing the entire crew their shares of the profits. Some critics compare the Judge to Ahab, but they're very different; Ahab is trying to control nature, whereas the Judge is a pure destroyer; he kills men, women, children and animals.

I think the epilogue drains strength from the ending; the logical conclusion is the immortal Judge at his most Dionysian.

The Judge is quite vampire-like.

2007-04-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

Dreamspeak:

"I got married to the elements of danger long before I met you."
(3/20/07)

"Peapods don't go right in the rain-top drains."
(3/24/2007)

"Mr. Greenhands took a turn for the worse-- I think he died."

"If you put a second rate chimp on the witness stand, our whole case will be blown apart."

"I'm not nice, I'm a bear."

"I don't believe everybody needs nostrils-- no. I'm going to defend my position."
(4/6/2007)

[concerning Allie] "Shoots trees with its eyes."

2007-04-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

The wedding was fantastic, of course!!!!!!

We are now happily married!!!!

I was just going through photos-- We wish we had more!

(There's still one camera out there that didn't find its way back to us. Where could it be?)

We can't wait to relax this weekend.

2007-03-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Emily broke into Michael Jackson's "Black Or White" rap before she went to bed. It was awesome.

2007-03-15T21:50:00.000-04:00

You mean, if you throw up free throws that clang off the rim, you lose?
You mean, if you turn the ball over, you lose?
You mean, if you get your ankles broken, you lose?

That's right, Duke. You do.

2007-03-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Now that my recording gear has arrived, I can begin work on my "secret project." It's going to be more mysterious than Prince's Black Album.

2007-03-04T00:45:00.000-05:00

The Santa Anita Handicap was today, too... I completely forgot. Guess who won? Lava Man! Today was a great day for racing.

I'll have to find the video somewhere.

I like Great Hunter. Since Tiz Wonderful's out of the action, I think Hunter's going to be my Derby boy. I like Scat Daddy, too, but I think it's his name more than anything. Then there's Tagg's Nobiz like Showbiz...

2007-03-04T00:44:00.000-05:00

I turned on Thorougbred Action tonight just in time for the Stymie Handicap. My old friend Evening Attire won! The 9 year old gelding made his move coming out of the backstretch, broke through the crowd near the pace, and won by 2 1/2. I loved it.

2007-02-19T02:11:00.000-05:00

I really need to start blogging again. Maybe I can start again when I take a break from searching for free recordings of early electronic music.

2007-01-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

Sometime during the night I had a dream about Showing Up; he was running in some turf race, or I was watching a replay of one of his races, and I was discussing him with what could have been some old railbird.

This morning, Emily woke me up and told me, "I have bad news. Barbaro died." I turned over and put a pillow over my head. I tried to go back to sleep for the next fifteen minutes but couldn't.

Barbaro is like King Kong of Faulkner's Old Ben: a giant-- a force destroyed by man's attempt to dominate nature.

I love Moby Dick because nature leaves only wreckage at the end.

2006-12-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Jockey Club changed the name of the Sir Barton Stakes to the Barbaro Stakes. It's nice that they're naming the Preakness undercard for Barbaro, but what about Sir Barton? Surely the first Triple Crown winner deserves to have a race named after him. Maybe at another track.

I'm intrigued by the jockey who are being banned left and right; the most well-known one is Rene Douglas. I assume it's about race fixing, but we'll have to see.

2006-12-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

Greeley's Galaxy, a fine horse with a good pedigree, is going to stand his fist season at stud at Sugar Maple Farm, which is right up the road from my place of employment. I remember Greeley's Galaxy's Illinois Derby well; unfortunately, he never matched that effort.

2006-11-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

"If you put a tree in the sandwich post of time, does it come out with burnt wood?"

"I love Allie and I love cheese."

"Take a toast and [...] a ranch to the high life!"

2006-11-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

Kiaran McLaughlin just said Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamden are the "greatest owners in the world." He should have explained if he meant "racehorse owners" or "slave owners."

2006-10-30T22:35:00.001-05:00

Tiz Wonderful might be my Derby horse when the time comes.

2006-10-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

"For a writist did not speak of heart but of ecstasy of the mind."

"Do you think the speakeasy labyrinth of pain is equal to the triumph of justice in the free world?"

*****

We had a great Revel at Midnight show at the Oasis last night. We played two long sets with lots of songs, solos, and other strangeness. A lot of people came out to see us, so it was definitely a nice crowd for a 7-10 pm gig. We'll probably be back there in December.

New Paltz never changes. It could be 2006, 1996, or 1976-- it's all the same.

2006-10-14T20:01:00.000-04:00

As soon as Ordonez hit that, you had to know it was gone. I was listening to old Buddy Rich albums and was thinking, "Ordonez is going to do something..." and sure enough...

2006-10-14T00:24:00.000-04:00

I knew the Mets would lose tonight when I saw a pack of my coworkers preparing to go to the game. I've been worried about the starting pitching and the fact that the bullpen will probably be overused. Now I'm REALLY worried.

At least Bravo is showing Friday the Thirteenth...

And Scott's Tigers seem nearly unstoppable. Those guys can pitch. (I know, that's the most obvious comment of the year)

2006-10-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, I haven't blogged in a long time...

Saturday the band had a really good gig in Hurley. The non-musical highlight was some clown (the drummer in the band that followed us) yelling in Dan's ear WHILE HE WAS SINGING AND PLAYING GUITAR. It was totally ridiculous. In any case, the gig was a success. We're going to try to get some audio and possibly video up at the website. I played a very "free" drum solo-- I was happier playing it than I was watching it on video. But overall, I was happy with my playing-- I kept it pretty solid, Buddy Miles style.

*****

Tomorrow's open house-- that's always fun. Last year it was brutally hot, which is extra-fun when you're giving the same speech ten times in one day and trying to talk enough so that parents don't start asking questions.

2006-09-15T17:35:00.000-04:00

I was just looking up some articles on Bob Dylan's lyrical debt to Henry Timrod, and I came upon this article about my two least favorite thoroughbred owners. Sheik Mohammed (Bernardini's owner) and Sheik Hamden (Jazil's owner) were served with a class action lawsuit in Florida. It turns out they were major players in enslaving up to 30,000 boys and making them work as camel jockeys. Apparently this story was revealed in a State Department report on human trafficking last year. In any case, more information about these sleazoids and their disgusting behavior can be found in the article I referenced.

2006-09-07T21:00:00.000-04:00

Jose Reyes just hit a three run inside the park home run off of Brad Penny. It was Reyes's first inside the park homerun, which I can't believe, considering the fact that he was rounding the bases faster than some of the horses Penny owns.

2006-08-31T02:15:00.000-04:00

You can now download classic out of print books at google books. The current books are not available for download, so you have to sit there and burn your eyes out while you read. However, the classics are another thing altogether. I've already found some early 20th century books, such as Raymond Weaver's book on Melville, some Sherwood Anderson, and WCW's Sour Grapes.

2006-08-31T01:34:00.000-04:00

An article in the September issue of American Teacher poses the following question: "Should high school students declare a major?" Apparently, students in Florida will complete "personalized academic and career plan[s] during the seventh and eight grade." Then, high schoolers will select areas of interest and will take a certain number of courses in their chosen areas. Apparently the areas of study are the arts, advanced academic studies, or career preparation. Why not a choice of two areas: college prep and vocational. In my opinion, more vocational training is needed, and students in those programs should focus their learning, as they will most likely be in the job market earlier than those in a college prep program. Students on the college track, however, should take a wide range of courses, in my opinion. Students already lack a great deal of core knowlege; specific "majors" would only further narrow that range.

2006-08-30T01:54:00.000-04:00

I just learned that Gunter Grass has admitted he served with the Waffen SS. I admire Grass's novel The Tin Drum, and I enjoyed My Century. He has always been, politically, a very outspoken leftist. He admitted he was in the German military during WWII. However, he kept his affiliation with the Waffen SS a secret. That's what pisses me off. He knew that when people hear "SS," they think, "Concentration Camp," even though Waffen SS was the combat arm of the SS. So he kept it a secret. What bullshit. A few weeks ago, he gave an anti-Bush/anti-America speech in which he talks about "the hubris of the world's only superpower," and says "hypocricy is written all over [Bush and Blair's] faces." Who's the hypocrite now? If he had come out with this fifty years ago, fine; but to come out with it now-- come on!

2006-08-29T02:15:00.000-04:00

"Don't put it on that-- we'll never exchange the gloves."

2006-08-29T01:46:00.000-04:00

"...or did she take a potatoride on the haysack?"

"Who took the timestock out of the peacecore?"

2006-08-28T15:11:00.000-04:00

"They put the cheesecloth on the perriwinks."

2006-08-26T23:47:00.000-04:00

Bernardini won the Travers. He put away Bluegrass Cat, but the Cat had absolutely no second gear to challenge Bernardini; his challenge was very soft. In addition, Bernardini got away with very slow early fractions. Someone's got to get right on his rear end and run him down early. Then we'll see what he's got. People are making him out to be a super horse, but who has he faced? What horse in top condition has run against him? The best horse in the Preakness broke down, and the other top horses in that race were tired from having rough Derby trips. Since then, who has he faced? Anyway, the bottom line for me is that the bad guys win again. Actually, twice, since Henny Hughes won the undercard.

Add that to Barbaro's situation, Lost in the Fog's illness (although now they're saying he might have a fighting chance), and the sad demise of Saint Liam, and this year really, really sucks.

2006-08-26T00:20:00.000-04:00

I was reading The Valve a few minutes ago, and learned that Samuel Beckett used to drive Andre the Giant to school. I did some searching, and apparently the story is told on The Princess Bride DVD. In any case, I think that's pretty cool.

2006-08-20T19:54:00.000-04:00

If Lava Man still gets disrespected in the press after that race, I don't know what to do. He showed he DID deserve to be the even money favorite. When he makes that long move, nobody can catch him. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I prefer the west coast horses this year, and Lava Man's the best in the west. He's better than Invasor, Flower Alley, and anyone else the east coasters and Sheiks can dig up. Lava Man's just a fantastic horse. He's a class act.

2006-08-20T16:59:00.000-04:00

The Pacific Classic is going to be a great race. Lava Man deserves to be the favorite, but he drew an inside post next to the other speed horse, Preachinatthebar. We'll have to see what happens early in the race. If Lava Man gets cooked, it's wide open for Giacomo, Perfect Drift, and even Magnum. I don't know anything about Top This and That, Super Frolic (I've at least heard of him), and Good Reward. Who knows. The toughest part for me is having three horses in there I like a lot: Lava Man, Giacomo, and the old warrior Perfect Drift. I just hope they all have safe trips.

2006-08-20T01:18:00.001-04:00

This has been a terrible year for Thorougbred racing; after all the high (and not so high) profile stuff that's happened, Lost in the Fog has terminal cancer.

2006-08-18T15:16:00.000-04:00

There was a shooting at the playground of my apartment complex. I don't have any details, but the cops sent us a memo saying that one individual is in custody and that the weapon was ditched somewhere nearby. I have not seen the weapon in my travels around the complex.

*****

Earlier, Emily went to the bank and had to deal with a remote teller. She said it was like a Bradbury story. In my opinion, that experience was more frightening than the shooting.

2006-08-18T00:46:00.000-04:00

Here's a Book Meme from The Valve.

1. One book you have read more than once

Virginia Woolf-- Mrs. Dalloway. I first read it in Grant Webster's "Literature of London" course at Binghamton; I read it again a few years ago. I just love the prose-- and it's a nice counterpoint to Ulysses, another book I love.

2. One book you would want on a desert island

Finnegans Wake would be a good book to be stuck with, but then again, I would need some reference books as well. So, if it was Finnegans Wake without any supporting material, (i.e., it's the current Penguin edition, text only) I'd have to go with The Riverside Shakespeare.

3. One book that made you laugh

This is tough. My first thought is Saratoga Fleshpot, by Stephen Dobyns. Any of his mysteries set in Saratoga are worth reading, especially the later ones that focus on Victor Plotz (though I sometimes miss Charlie Bradshaw). When is Dobyns's next novel in the series coming out?

4. One book that made you cry

Seabiscuit. I love that book.

5. One book you wish you had written

Holy cow. The Great Gatsby? Maybe I'm focusing too much on style. My instinct was to say On the Road, but when I thought about it again, I took it back. Maybe The Old Man and the Sea or The Sun Also Rises.

6. One book you wish had never been written

I'm very tempted to say Sister Carrie. What a painful book. My next two choices are The Time of Man by Elizabeth Maddox Roberts and All the King's Men. It's funny that I read all of them in Stoneback's class.

This is my favorite question so far because there are so many books I could list... but then again, some of those books give lessons on how not to write. If I look at it that way, I'll have to leave Sister Carrie off the list.

7. One book you are currently reading

I have to admit I'm still reading Moby Dick. I'm enjoying it, but I'm stretching it out all summer. That novel makes me think of what Vernon Reid said about Hendrix's solo on "Machine Gun." After you hear it, you have to take a nap. Now I'm thinking of the first note of that solo... Hendrix holds it so long...

8. One book you have been meaning to read

There are a lot of them on my shelves... and there are so many I'm reading and have to finish... so I'll say I need to finish Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae.

9. One book that changed your life

Kerouac: On the Road. I often call Kerouac the hero of my youth. I read On the Road as a freshman in college, for Paul Dean's class "Beat Aesthetics." That really changed things for me. I remember being amazed that someone so into jazz could be a writer and actually write about the music. Kerouac seemed to get "It"-- which was what I wrote my first paper on. That class "cracked it wide open," and Kerouac led the way. Soon after that, I stood on my dorm bed and read excerpts from Burroughs's masterpiece.

10. Now tag five people:

I don't even know what that means. Does it mean readers are supposed to repeat this process?

2006-08-17T01:29:00.000-04:00

"I did a good job scraping the bed, didn't I? Now you can just resurface it."

2006-08-17T00:38:00.000-04:00

Here are my top ten poets, in no particular order:

1. William Carlos Williams
2. Allen Ginsberg
3. Frank O'Hara
4. Walt Whitman
5. William Blake
6. William Shakespeare
7. Andrew Marvell
8. Billy Collins
9. Ron Padgett
10. Geoffrey Chaucer

Why did I choose those ten, you might ask. To be honest, they were the first names that came to mind when I thought of someone whose work I'd want to read. Five minutes from now, I might put E.E. Cummings on the list. Who knows.

Let me take a closer look. The first four were easy. I love WCW, especially "Asphodel", "Red Wheelbarrow", "This is Just to Say", and of course "The Young Housewife". He's probably my favorite overall.

When I think of Ginsberg, I think of three poems: "Howl", "Kaddish", and "Supermarket in California". To me, "Howl" is THE jazz poem.

I never get tired of O'Hara's work, especially the "I do this, I do that poems", like "The Day Lady Dies", "A Step Away From Them", "Personal Poem", and "Poem (Lana Turner has Collapsed!)". He's so fast and loose.

Whitman is the first poet I ever took an interest in. The Civil War poems got me first, but now I love Song of Myself, especially the first and final sections.

Blake I admire as both a poet and visual artist, so he was easy. If I had to choose a favorite poem, it would be "London".

Shakespeare's an obvious choice. Lear. Prospero. Iago. Mercutio.

I think of Marvell because of one poem: "To His Coy Mistress". Sometimes that's my favorite poem of all time.

The next few were difficult choices, because I could have included anyone (Kerouac, Bly, James Wright, Lehman, even John Donne... rarely).

Billy Collins was my contemporary choice because he's so much fun and his line is easy on my ears.

Padgett is another one who's fun-- and he's a poet I love to teach. "Nothing in that Drawer" usually gets a rise out of my ninth graders.

I had to put Chaucer on the list because of "The Miller's Tale".

What I really should have done is created a list of top poems. Maybe another time.

Top drummers?
Buddy Rich, Dave Weckl, Tony Williams, Vinnie Colaiuta...

Top guitarists?
Zappa, McLaughlin...

Top visual artists?
Duchamp, Man Ray, Schiele, Pollock, Durer, Van Gogh...

2006-08-16T02:46:00.000-04:00

How could I have forgotten Alien? Now that's a movie-- and it has the best tagline, ever.

2006-08-16T02:26:00.000-04:00

I should have mentioned below that Saw also belongs to the toothpaste category because it is basically a revisioning of Se7en-- but without any of the qualities that made Se7en entertaining.

2006-08-16T01:52:00.000-04:00

TOOTHPASTE FILMS AND FILTER FILMS

When Scream was released ten years ago, the slasher genre died. So what's left? Films of two categories: toothpaste films and shock-value/ filter films.

Toothpaste films include the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Dawn of the Dead remake, 28 Days Later, and Dog Soldiers. The last three I mentioned are the most successful films because they use the tried and true "Zombies (or Werewolves, in the case of Dog Soldiers) + Sartre's No Exit = entertainment" formula.

Shock-value/ filter films were the impetus for this blog. I just watched Saw, and I have to confess I still don't believe the hype. The ending was blandly interesting, and everything that built up to it had my checking my watch. I've never seen Hostel, and don't plan on it, but from the advertising campaign, it appears that it also suffers from the same disease as Saw: "Hey, let's shoot with filters (or edit in post) to give us a cool, spooky, mostly green palette" syndrome. My least favorite filter film has to be The Ring; the scene in Shocker where characters were running around between television channels was more interesting than that piece of crap.

After writing that, I realize I don't have a category for The Blair Witch Project, the worst horror movie ever made, so I'll just call it crap.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to see horror movies with some substance-- that little something extra. Halloween had classic music and great scares, Nightmare on Elm Street dealt with puberty, Friday the Thirteenth had the best closing scare, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had atmosphere, Night of the Living Dead had what I discussed earlier, and Psycho had it all. What do Saw and The Ring have except the ability to produce yawns?

2006-08-14T00:35:00.000-04:00

It's pretty cool that The Tin Man won the Arlington Million-- he's eight, a gelding, a son of Affirmed, and won wire to wire.

I was also happy to see that Showing Up won the Secretariat.

It seems that all the horses I like are on the west coast; the Pacific Classic, for example, will probably feature Lava Man, Giacomo, and Perfect Drift. What do we have out here? The latest Sheik-owned specials. That's one of the reason's I haven't been to Saratoga yet.

2006-08-14T00:24:00.000-04:00

Here's an article about an old Pine Bush Teacher and the "complaint" against him. What are "gender-based comments," after all?

*****

Em & I stripped paint yesterday and painted today. More painting the rest of the week!

2006-08-10T16:31:00.000-04:00

"...then God made sunshine... on the tenth day... he didn't need a rest, he just made the sun... with a snowcone..."

2006-08-10T02:35:00.000-04:00

I'm looking forward to reading this.

2006-08-09T02:27:00.000-04:00

This interview with Camille Paglia says what I want to say. I'll quote her here:

I meet them everywhere, people who started graduate school and left it, OK? They’re in publishing, they’re in media, they’re in all kinds of jobs, because they couldn’t stand it. They wanted to study literature and art, but had every obstruction put in their paths. They not only had to read Lacan, Derrida and Foucault, who had nothing to do with literature, but they had to read critics talking about Lacan, Derrida and Foucault, none of whom are philosophically trained, okay?

I had a conversation with one of those individuals (someone who left a PhD program) at my gym. Granted, he's a free spirit who works at the gym and as a substitute teacher, but he became very passionate when we started talking about theory. He said that in his program you would find people who knew all this theory bull, but had never read King Lear. They were semi-literate. He thought theory was dead; I broke him the bad news that it isn't. Another interesting note is that he said the only critics he's read lately were Paglia and Bloom; I could say the same thing.

2006-08-09T02:17:00.000-04:00

This article is a few years old, but I think it's still valid. Most of the "famous" or "respected" university writers write crap that makes me physically ill. I started reading the Valve because I thought it was created as a reaction against the rubbish this article talks about. However, it's filled with the same undigestible crap. I'd say over eighty percent of the writing on the site is pseudointellectual bullshit.

2006-08-08T02:22:00.000-04:00

Sun King almost beat that damned Invasor in the Whitney.

My two least favorite horses are Invasor and Bernardini. And they both won at Saratoga. That makes me not want to go. I'm pretty disenchanted with horse racing, anyway. I would like to see the Green Monkey fail, though.

My only solace will come if Bluegrass Cat (or anyone else) kicks Bernardini's ass in the Travers. But who cares.

*****

Moving in the heat was not fun, but the place is starting to look pretty good now.

2006-07-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

Q: Why is Paris Hilton famous?
A: Because she's on television all the time.

Q: Why is Paris Hilton on television all the time?
A: Because she's famous.

2006-07-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

"I'm gonna put the circle on the TV screen..."

"If you think that sounds confusing it's because it is."

"The grey goose took a trip to the Florida Keys-- he didn't pack lightly enough, so he had to come back."

"Napalm love [...] toot toot."

"It's pasta mostly... the red beats on the shoestring it comes out all right."

"The funny thing about the trifecta is that there's only [...] Barbaro [...]
what about it and that's maybe [...] the race. He put that trick ankle on and Edgar Prado helped him."