Review::Songs for Cassavetes

Alright, I'm totally biased. I can't even pretend I'm not in this case and normally I try to be pretty objective. The good points, it's a styley original film that look pretty and gritty and reflect the environment of underground music along with the beauty that the scene contains. The quotes are reflective of the drug induced artistry or the personal reflective character of all the people protrayed. Some characters you will like, some will strike you as just plain odd, but all are compelling in some way or another.

This is where my aesthetic diverges from the film makers, and probably why I'm totally biased. I'm not saying that my aesthetic is better or whatever, just different. I think that the movie got off to a great start, but I started losing it. Too much time was given to bands that didn't have compelling music while their personalities were what drove the scene. And at other times there wasn't enough live footage to keep me interested when the band couldn't either communicate their ideas effectively or their ideas just weren't that interesting to begin with...

All told however. It was a worthwhile film for the documentary fans, and it was well executed. As one that can relate to the difficulties of creating a documentary about the subject and making it both artistically interesting and accessible, I feel that the director was walking a tightrope and did the best he could with no major falls.

It scores nothing on the dancing monkey scale, but I'll give it a 7 out of 10 with a bonus point for having great bands involved, and a great conceptual seed (a John Cassavetes quote).

Site link: Songs for Cassavetes homepage

SF Gay Marriage Protestors

I've been conspicuously quiet about the whole gay marriage thing here in SF lately due to the desire to see how the whole thing plays out in court. I respect what Newsom is doing but think it's brash and could potentially be a little short sited. Hopefully that won't be the case, but my past experience has shown that it's best to prepare on all fronts before marching into dangerous terratory. Regardless, that's not my gripe. My issue is with the protestors. And it's not what you may think. They have the right to protest. They have the right to voice whatever concerns about gay marriage they want. But they aren't. They have slogans like, "Thank God for AIDS" and "Thank God for 9/11"... this is way beyond protest of gay marriage. It's downright treason. To expand the issue beyond the redefinition of marriage and into the realm of AIDS and terrorism is not only inappropriate to the topic of gay marriage, but promotes ignorance of the AIDS epidemic, and praises those fanatics that have dragged America into this international war on terrorism. It's rediculous. I'm absolutely for free speech, but I wish that freedom was used more judiciously by those ignorant enough to exploit it toward their own end. If they can't properly use their freedom of speech, and we can't lock them up for being morons, then I pray that the American public is intelligent enough to realize these extreamists for what they are and ignore them until they crawl back into the holes from which they came.


This image says it all... image courtesy of www.indybay.org

When is Enough, Enough?::Janet's Tit

In other news this week, there was the war that was started for no reason. There was the suicide bombing that killed a major portion of the candidates for the upcoming Iraqi elections. But the story that overshadowed all others? Janet Jackson's tit was on broadcast television (not cable) during the Super Bowl. All day monday on CNN, or Local News, on frickin' Tech TV even! That's all there was, Janet Jackson's tit. No offense Janet, it's a nice tit and all, but seriously, who cares?!? Was it risque? Yes. Was it a little inappropriate? Probably. Was it worth the scandal that has been unleashed? I say NO! In fact, I would go so far as to say that it's a good thing.

Let's examine the worlds most puerile nation for a moment and look at the obvious benefits being overlooked by the puritanical pundits.

1 - Breasts are good - They feed our children. They excite and titilate a portion of the population. They don't poison senators or shoot kids in schools. It seems obvious, but it's overlooked that not one breast throughout history has ever marched into a public school -or any other venue for that matter- and killed anyone.

2 - Breasts are an economic benefit - Breasts excite people. Excited people are happy people. Happy people are productive people. Productive people make more money. People that make more money spend more money. Spending money is good for a capitalist economy. Therefore, Janet Jackson exposing her breast is *good* for the national economy. She's an "economic stimulus package" so to speak. If only GW had thought of that one.

3 - While people are happy and excited, they are easily distracted. This makes it really easy for our leaders to slide little things they don't want us to know about right by us, like say... Reports of there being no WMD in Iraq... No one mentioned how several suicide bombing deaths would delay plans on establishing elections in Iraq. See? Distraction works for the Republicans. They should be happy Janet is on their side. Just think what could have happened if this were a well placed publicity stunt during the Democratic Primaries? Howard Dean? Are you listening?

And lastly, number - 4 - The Socialogic impact of having Janet Jacksons breast exposed on National Television during the Super Bowl is... there is finally an outlet to publicly address the scandelous way parents refuse to confront the "Breast Issue" with their children. It's often thought that by ignoring the problem, kids will grow up never having to be subjected to the sexual tyranny or stigma of the "Breast Fetish." But studies indicate the contrary. Children are asking their parents questions such as, "Can I get pregnant if Billy looks at my boobs?" and "Do dirty nipple clamps cause STD's?" as well as the ever popular misconception, "Breasts are a 'girl only' disease." The answers are there, but parents are just afraid to talk about it.

So lets not, as a culture, instantly condemn the public health advocacy, economic growth, and national security benefits that come from having breasts on television. In fact, perhaps we could export this tactic as a way to desensatize others to the violence and disease all around them. Or just make them blindingly ignorent of the real issues they may face.