May

29

Channel 101 Roundup.

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Once again, “Your Magic Touched Me” placed first in primetime. Why? I cannot explain it. The show’s poor production quality, poor acting, silly premise and execution, and nearly completely lack of humor render me rather confused in attempting to justify to myself why I continue to trust the opinion of the denizens of Cinespace.

The new “Classroom” is amusing enough in parts. But it feels like treading water, just waiting to be bumped by something new.

Something new to come along this month is the modestly funny “Fire Guys,” that has the premise of the month: male firefighter sluts fighting fires…but the twist is that the entire cast is female. Hot, huh. Well, sort of. A few of the sight gags were amusing. But this seems more like a number four or five primetimer.

Or it would have had “Yacht Rock” not fucked up by casting Dan Harmon in a role. Why do so many shows make this mistake? Oh, right. The “shit gold” song. Anyway, it is one of the better episodes as of late, and I’m not quite sure why the audience didn’t recognize its brilliance.

The other newcomer, “Blood Oath of Three Men and a Baby,” however, is the best of the month. Funny, mysterious, and apt to go places.

May

29

Sexual harassment training video.

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I think I may have seen this before, but I got a few chuckles out of it. From the makers of “Classroom” and “French Toast Sticks” comes an amusing faux sexual harassment training video.

May

29

Dangerous Dave.

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For a pleasant rehashing of the classic Pingu Throw (the first “Yeti” game), check out Dangerous Dave, where the landmines are replaced with gophers, the yeti is replaced with some guy with a bat (presumably the titular character), and the penguin is replaced with a guy on a bicycle. Managed to get 877.8 meters on my first try. How ’bout you?

May

28

Newgrounds.

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Despite the constant popups, Newgrounds continues to be one of the more frequently checked online game sites. But I just discovered from whence Newgrounds’ name comes. Apparently it started as a Neo Geo fanzine in 1991. Get it? Neo Geo = New Ground?

May

27

Dr. David Thorpe.

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“Still getting ridiculous blowback over my April 18th post in which I called Kanye West a ’step-and-fetch-it show-coon Uncle Tom house-negro.’ Certain bloggers, whose names I shan’t mention, had the absurd gall to call me a racist, and even worse, a rockist. Apparently these stuffy crybabies have no concept of irony. I made the racist statement about Kanye West with the utmost sincerity, but I’m certainly not actually a racist, making it ironic.”

I bow down before the comedic prowess of Dr. David Thorpe.

May

26

iTunes Shuffle, part six.

Filed Under Music, Science & Technology | 3 Comments

I’ve been fascinated by the algorithm that iTunes uses for its random play feature–confusingly called “shuffle,” because that’s also the name of the smallest iPod–for some time now. [For earlier posts on the topic, see parts un, deux, trois, quatre, and cinq.] I downloaded an updated version of iTunes recently (6.0.4.2) and found its “shuffle” feature to be more conscious of artist name, more often pairing songs by the same individual from different albums. Interesting development. Not sure I like it, however.

Anyway, here’s the last ten:

  1. Matt Thorpe’s “Watch Out.”
  2. Modest Mouse’s “SWY” from Sad Sappy Sucker.
  3. They Might Be Giant’s “Dallas.”
  4. Mike Doughty’s “Rising Sign,” from a 2003 live show in Chicago.
  5. Soul Coughing’s “Bus to Beelzebub” from Ruby Vrooom.
  6. Bette Midler’s “Friends,” from The Divine Miss M.
  7. The Arctic Monkey’s “Dancing Shoes” from Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.
  8. Rob Crow’s “Never Alone,” from My Room Is a Mess.
  9. Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha’s cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
  10. Outkast’s “We Luv Deez Hoez,” from Stankonia.

May

25

Sounds.

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A couple of days ago, I recorded my own version of “Cover of the Rolling Stone.” In order to avoid nasty copyright issues, I declined to use any of Shel Silverstein’s lyrics. I was inspired to record this because Rolling Stone–the magazine–just published its 1000th issue, and that issue included a holographic cover. The cover was ribbed. So I basically just scratched the microphone across the cover, then filtered the sound a bit. The result is eerie and typically unlistenable.

May

24

Channel 102 Roundup.

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The new crop of 102s are out. And there were some surprises. First, the beloved Puppet Rapist self-cancelled. Second, Cakey! self-cancelled as well. Both went out on a high note–”I like carrots sticks, and spelling” and “Mad? Frankly I’m relieved. I just thought you were buying dozens of black forest cakes and playing with them.”–and hopefully we can expect good things in the future from Christopher Ford (and Waverly more broadly) and Kirk Damato and Dyna Moe.

So 28 Day Slater moved into the top spot. The plot developments are getting a bit too Laser Fart-esque for my tastes. The Showgirls scene made me chuckle. But I’m starting to think that 28 Day Slater has run its course.

“You had an orgasm from being hit with a fish?” Sexual Intercourse American Style is still a puzzling affair, with too little funny. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. But then again, I felt much the same way about The Outer Limit at first, and that grew into one of my favorite 102s.

“You know women always get excited when you throw the corsage at a wedding, and whoever catches it is supposed to get married, right? Well I came up with this thing where whoever catches the foreskin is supposed to be pregnant. It’s fun.” Newcomer Mohels is an amusing, but ultimately unsustainable, look at the life of professional penis clippers of the Jewish faith. Good concept for an episode or two, but not bright enough writing to have much of a lasting impact.

Fresh meat Movin’ Moms looks like shit, sounds like shit, and plays like a failed “Kids in the Hall” sketch. Still, the characters are just irritating enough to be interesting in the long haul. I expect this one will hang on the bottom rung for a couple of more months.

The final prime timer, Craig’s Next Great American Wish, was virtually unwatchable. A silly premise, a truly abhorrent execution, and a slapstick playfulness that gave me a headache.

Needless to say, I didn’t think much of the current crop. Hopefully 101 will come through next week and defy my predictions about 102’s superiority.

May

21

Funny Games.

Filed Under Film | 1 Comment

Wow. I saw Cache a few weeks ago. Mostly I came away confused. Pleased, but not overly so. But I read several reviews of Cache before and after viewing, and most of them seemed to refer back to one of Haneke’s earlier works: Funny Games. After tonight’s viewing, I can safely affirm the reviewers had good reason.

Funny Games is the type of senseless torture film that Hostel and its kin were going for, but failed to meet. Funny Games is much more self aware. And it is much more economical, which is something I appreciate. No wasted effects budget here. Just pure tension. I haven’t been this impressed for a while.

The film opens with a family–mother, father, and sonny boy–driving to their lakehouse with a boat in tow. Watch for clues, but don’t be surprised when some fall by the wayside. Some business with eggs escalates. A dog-related fear results in…well, I mustn’t spoil it. Suffice to say that, barring a few films like Irreversible and Gozu, this is one of the hardest films to watch I have ever seen. And yet… I really cannot imagine stopping it. I cannot imagine someone starting this film and having any love of the cinema and not seeing it through.

Would I recommend it to all? Likely not. But certainly those with stength and an interest in film…

May

21

Back in Idaho.

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After a grueling whirlwind weekend, Deb and I have settled for a two bedroom apartment in the Bitter Lake neighborhood in Seattle. Just barely in Seattle, mind you. But for the price range we were looking within, it was that (with its 900+ square feet) or a place in a very nice location (in terms of proximety and neighborhood quality) without much in the way of space (less than 500 square feet). More on the apartment, with pictures, soon.

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