ten good things (november, 2006)

[danschank]

10. bridget st. john’s album thank you for is the perfect record for the month of november. it’s the album equivalent of a comfortable sweater-it’s warm, but most appropriately brought out when it’s busy getting cold outside.

Comments

[myglock_yrface]

10: I saw Bridget St. John at Terrastock 6 in April [seems so much longer ago!] I've been meaning to listen to that album ever since.

8. Glad to see someone else enjoy The Uninvited! The imagery is part of what I found so powerful, too.

[danschank]

yeah, i think i remember the post... sounds like that was a pretty amazing event. it's nice to hear that bridget st. john is still good too, most people lose their mojo over the years.

the uninvited has really stuck with me... i keep coming back to that weird story about the girl and the umbrella... i like the way it sorta serves as a metaphor for the entire movie itself, or as a minaturized way of saying the same thing, on a certain level...

[danschank]

i wish i had the stamina/free time/ability to find 40 good things in my life in a single month that would be needed for a weekly version. definitely looking forward to your post about the umbrella scene. i had a really interesting conversation about stuff like this the other night that got into some christian vs. atheist territory in a way that wasn't stupid or petty, and that movie's been back on my mind ever since.

i think you'll like casino royale... though i've been hyping it lately, and i fear it may get a little overexposed.

still haven't watched bolshe vita yet. i did, however, watch the new superman movie last night though (blech!). i should have watched it then.

[kirkinson]

Thanks for linking to returning's post, that was a good read. I heard about the people in that Romanian village when that story first "broke," and I had the same reaction as you. Up until then, the Borat film had been one of the few instances in which I was slowly being convinced to check out a film that didn't interest me on its own, based almost solely on its mass popularity.

When I saw What is It? a couple weeks ago, Crispin Glover actually had some interesting things to say about Borat. He was talking about his film being a reaction to the absence of uncomfortable material in corporately funded films and their tendency to present every idea as being absolutely either "good" or "bad," and one audience member tried to challenge that assertion by arguing that the Borat film, which was corporately funded, made some people extremely uncomfortable. Glover said that although he hadn't seen the film yet (he said he did want to -- apparently he's been getting this challenge a lot lately) based on the clips that he had seen he expected that

[danschank]

yeah maybe john bolton's moustache and hair are actually fake, and when he pulls them off he's really marlon brando in apocalypse now. or don rickles.

i kinda sorta still want to see borat i guess, but before i legitimately thought i would like it... now i wanna peer into the wreckage a la the passion of the christ... apparently that guy is funny and all, but personally i think there are limits as to where you can draw lines.

that glover lecture sounds pretty weird. from what i've read of his agenda with what is it?, i actually think he's kinda simplifying hollywood and corportate america a bit, not that i'm particulary sweet on either of them. i know he takes speilberg to task in that statement he released. though i would argue speilberg himself has made some morally ambiguous films. say what you wish about munich, but it's not a film that offers easy solutions to anything. i wanna see glover's movie though. i have a feeling i'll either admire it or really seriously hate it.

[chocolatebark]

Well, shoot. This is much better than my last post and gives me a bunch of things to explore. If I wasn't so busy clicking links, I would shake my fist at you sir!

/shake shake shake

[danschank]

hahahaha. yeah, but you give us a glimpse into your personal life a bit... i just make myself out to be a human library (which is totally inaccurate). it's all good...

[chocolatebark]

Man, I would love to have a human library in my basement!

thanks for the shoutout

[hooveraardvark]

eva green WAS great in the movie, and don't worry - i also felt embarrassed that i found the romance both poignant and touching. um, i may have to buy it on dvd when it comes out. i'm going to go hide under a couch now.

what other african literature have you been reading? and oh man, i want to see black orpheus. the afi silver theater had a screening, but at a really inconvenient time . . . and it's kind of far away from me as it is.

Re: thanks for the shoutout

[danschank]

hahaha, i think we might end up under the same couch. i even offered to see it AGAIN with my roommate (to his complete indifference).

as for african lit, mostly chinua achebe... i read things fall apart, no longer at ease and a man of the people (which is amazing!) earlier this year. i've also been trying to get my feet wet with african history, via ryszard kapuscinski (who i posted about last month) as well as philip gourevitch's terrifying book about the rwandan genocide we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families.

it's a new interest really. ngugi just wrote this big epic novel called wizard of the crow that i'm dying to read (but waiting for paperback). i also picked up this totally insane book called the palm wine drinkard, which i put down temporarily because it's totally batshit crazy. stuff like that, i guess...

Re: thanks for the shoutout

[hooveraardvark]

i DID see it twice! because . . . i had to drag my best friend who normally only watches boring movies and stuff like rabbit proof fence. i had to confirm that i was not nuts!

i will have to dig up some of those books. i've been looking for a good general book on east african history, but am not sure where to start.

[olamina]

you're great. i have to remember to go back through this post when im not at work. lots of good stuff here. the dreamers was such a let down. just not sexy or thoughtful enough.

[danschank]

thanks! yeah, few movies have pissed me off as much as the dreamers... i think it's a really disingenous way of handling the time period. truth be told, i don't like bertolucci much to begin with.