Perfectionner la Télévision dans Pousser de Pâquerettes

One of the most brilliant shows to appear on "regular" TV is Pushing Daisies. As soon as I heard Barry Sonnenfeld was involved, I of course set my DVR to record and have every episode so far (9 out of an original 13 episode order. 22 episode original projection). As I'd feared, the 10th-13th episodes were interfered with by that dumb-fuck writer's strike (like most of you people are really fucking writing anything anymore), and the 9th was re-written as the season finale. The new season will begin production between March and June of this year. Keep your eye out for this show. I'm not joking, this is brilliant TV. Take a look at the Wiki page on it to see all the reasons it rules.
Perfect Television in Pushing Daisies
(((03)))

Au Clair de la Lune

French recording from 1860 is the oldest known recorded human voice.

The 10-second clip of a woman singing "Au Clair de la Lune," taken from a so-called phonautogram, was recently discovered by audio historian David Giovannoni. The recording predates Thomas Edison's "Mary had a little lamb" — previously credited as the oldest recorded voice — by 17 years.

The tune was captured using a phonautograph, a device created by Parisian inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville that created visual recordings of sound waves.

Using a needle that moved in response to sound, the phonautograph etched sound waves into paper coated with soot from an oil lamp.

"When I first heard the recording as you hear it ... it was magical, so ethereal," said Giovannoni. "The fact is it's recorded in smoke. The voice is coming out from behind this screen of aural smoke."
Under the Moonlight
(((03)))

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Matthew Amyx

As of 6:40 a.m. on 03.26.08:

Age in years 35.28
Age in months 423
Age in days 12877
Age in hours 309059
Age in minutes 18543537
Age in seconds 1112612222
Age in milliseconds 111261222236
Age in weeks 90142
Born on a Thursday

Interesting foot-note about the day I was born: December 14, 1972 -

Apollo program: Eugene Cernan is the last person to walk on the moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 17. This was the last manned mission to the moon of the 20th century.

Thank you Laura for the most interesting Excel spread-sheet.
The Fabulous Destiny of Matthew Amyx
(((03:LMA)))

Appeler la Police

I'm done, shoot your gun
I think it's time to take it back to where we started from
Your pain, my pain
I write it down and tell you exactly how I feel again

And all I see is a mass of confusion of who I am and what I gotta be

Closed eyes, big lines
I get so tempted just to let it ride sometimes
Looks good, tastes bad
Makes me wonder where I buried all the dreams I had

And all I see is a less-good version
Of a man I don't want to be
All I feel is you tying me down
To something that just isn't real
And all I need is some truth, God help me
Before the devil buries me

I can't do nothing if I can't do something my way
Well I must be crazy if I follow every word you say
When the shit comes down you'll be the first to walk away
Call the police, coz I've lost control and I really want to see you bleed

I'm awake, why wait
I don't need someone to tell me who to be today
Quite sure, unlike before
Came off the road and I forgot what I was looking for

Can't just hack at me, you know
You might just have to let me go
Closed in, I need some room to grow
You don't know what you think you know
Hiding behind your pop machine
So you can break someone else's dream

Call the police coz I've lost control and I really want to see you bleed
I can't do nothing if I can't do something my way
I must be crazy if I follow every word you say
When the shit comes down you'll be the first to walk away
Call the Police
(JM:CtP)

硫黄島からの手紙

Yesterday as I lay virtually paralyzed from back pain, I decided to watch some of my more lengthy movies on DVR, some of which I will be reviewing on their own. A major stand out among all the films was the Clint Eastwood directed, opposite viewpoint masterpiece, "Letters from Iwo Jima". Now, I did watch "Flags of Our Fathers" first, and it is a grand film in and of itself, but something in the very essence of "Iō Jima Kara no Tegami" as it is translated, sticks inside your heart, inspiring an air of calm and understanding amongst such brutal and harsh visuals and environment. I should like to go into detail about what I saw, but time on this day is a factor and I need to play catch-up, but I will talk more on the subject. Until then, find these movies and watch them in tandem and see if come away un-scathed.
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
(((03)))

Finalement

Finally, something that isn't animated is ruling on FOX. Pretty much everything else has sucked to high heaven, like that Brad Garrett abortion "'Til Death" (seriously, who the fuck casts that twat Joely Fisher?!), and that torture-fest "Back to You", God...you'd think the execs at FOX could crap out something that was least watchable through the teaser. Well now they have and it's "Unhitched". So watch it Sunday Night's so it's not canceled or I will be REALLY pissed! Seriously, I watched episodes 1-3 last night and this is most excellent. Way to go FOX, maybe you aren't COMPLETE morons after all...now if only you could talk some fucking sense into NBC who have a knack for canceling EVERY good one hour drama they have.
Finally
(((03)))

Je suis triste que j'ai à dire au-revoir

Today is Morgan's last day. She wasn't just a really great person to hang out and work with, but is one of my dear friends. I wish her NOTHING but the very best in her future and hope we keep in touch.
Vous toujours serez mon ami.
I'm sad I have to say "good-bye"
(((03)))

Ceux-là que Dieu a joint ensemble, personne permettent de mettent en pièces

Laura put together an album of pics of us over the last two years and I wanted to share some of her hard work. Aren't we perfect together..?!

Thank you Baby!
Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder
(((03)))

The 1st Annual St. Patrick's Day Film Festival (part II)

The second movie I watched on Monday Night was Richard Linklater's "Fast Food Nation", and the reason it's taken me a little longer to write about this film is that it has stirred up a lot of different emotions in me that I can't quite describe. On the one hand, the film was beautifully shot in parts of Texas and Colorado making for some stunning visuals. The film was also brilliantly cast, starring the likes of Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis, Luis Guzmán, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Patricia Arquette and Wilmer Valderrama (a bold film for him). Also, the film brought up a lot of points, both on the side of the consumer, and the key players in corporate Amerikkka making it all the more difficult to chose a side even though you think you have it all figured out very early on. I've always hated the movies where they just victimize the shit out of one side and vilify the other for the sake of sensationalism (I'm talking to you Michael Moore).

So this film was a roller coaster for me regarding both sides of the spectrum and it's been hard to decide whether or not I liked it, much less if I'll ever watch it again. It was harsh in it's utter lack of direction while it also maintained my interest throughout, which isn't easily done. There were subtle connections between the various story lines while realistically, it really didn't tie anything in at all. The moment you think you know what's what, you're thrown into another drama that may or may not go anywhere or be revisited if it did...confused yet? Don't be, it all makes sense if you watch it, and I may well even be the only coherent writer to have reviewed this film from what I've seen, because I really don't believe it lends itself to being perceived either one way or the other. It's there to provoke thought and raise questions while entertaining, and to me forming a strong opinion one way or the other is to totally miss the point.

Watch the movie, see for yourself, and be warned. There are some scenes and issues that are going to piss you off, make you want to vomit (literally), and you'll be tempted to form an opinion very quickly...just be careful Mr. and Mrs. Hypocritical America...because the people you're going to want to hate in this movie are the very people that YOU'VE put in power and kept there, the children you've raised (or not raised) and the people you call friends and family.

(((03)))

Tout que je peux faire. ..is vous attend (Se reposer dans la Paix - Daniel Macmaster)

All that I can do...is wait for you (Rest in Peace - Daniel Macmaster)
(((03)))

The 1st Annual St. Patrick's Day Film Festival

Last evening I watched two films which had been on my DVR for quite some time. First up was a brilliantly subtle, dark comedy called "Eulogy" starring Zooey Deschanel, Hank Azaria, Piper Laurie, Famke Janssen, Kelly Preston, Ray Romano, Rip Torn and Debra Winger.

This movie is everything most films are not. It was funny, sad, well acted and had a point...that you don't always know the people you think you're the closest to, your immediate family.

When the patriarch of this family passes away, the dysfunctional amalgam of personalities convene for the funeral and find that after all the years, nothing has changed. When granddaughter Kate, played by Deschanel, is asked to do the eulogy, she looks within the family to try to find the proper words to describe the man who created this circus of compulsive misfits. In the end, they all find that "dad" wasn't everything they thought he was and begin to live, not up to what they "thought" they should be, but for whom they really are.

It's a beautiful movie with more character studies than a 4-year psychology program and moves at a pace that's not too slow, but not at all the break-neck, wandering camera fodder we see so much of these days that tends to ruin a films validity.

This movie comes highly recommended by yours truly but may be a little hard to find save a late night showing on IFC. Tomorrow, I'll review film number 2, the very grim, "Fast Food Nation" directed by Richard Linklater and starring an amazing all-star cast.

(((03)))

03.15.08 vs. The Chenoweth Estate

Thank you very much to Michael and Leona for a stellar St. Patrick's Day bash. This was my 3rd one, (haven't missed one yet) and I must say they get better and better every year!!!

(((03)))

Une âme de miroir ne peut pas dire de mensonge

For the FMA
A mirror soul cannot tell lies
(tI:LuttS)

Questionner l'Autorité

Le Sagittaire Questionne

Questioning authority is essential right now -- it will show them that you are not just automatically going to do whatever they tell you to do, and it will remind them that you are no pushover. Healthy dissent is critical if you ever want to improve the process. After all, how can you fix something when no one will let you point out that it's not working right? Turn on your 'critical thinking' powers and stop taking the rules at face value. Ask why they are there in the first place.
Photo by WhiteNoiseMaker
Question Authority
(((03)))

Randy A Décrit l'Eternité

Every thousand years
this metal sphere
ten times the size of Jupiter
floats just a few yards past the earth

You climb on your roof
and take a swipe at it
with a single feather
hit it once every thousand years
`til you've worn it down
to the size of a pea

Yeah I'd say that's a long time
but it's only half a blink
in the place you're gonna be...

Where you gonna be
where will you spend eternity
I'm gonna be perfect from now on
I'm gonna be perfect starting now
Randy Described Eternity
(DM:RDE:BtS)

Que m'a-t-il SI fâché...

FACT! In no particular order, these are things currently and in some cases, constantly pissing me off...

The fact that in this election, many will vote based entirely on whether a candidate is black, female or none of the above...

The fact that while watching the news each morning, at least once I have to say "why the hell do they feel I need to start my day with that depressing piece of information"..?

The fact that women, as a whole, seem less interested in what "men" think about how they look than they are with what total strangers, most of them judgmental "females" think. Real men love curves, real men like you to go easy on the make up, real men like you for what and who you are, not for what you "think" you should be because of what those mongoloids Tyra and Oprah tell you...

The fact that regardless of how often you tell someone how much something they do or don't do effects you, they seem to almost want to do it, or not do it all the more...or less...

The fact that people think it's alright to put the entire body of their e-mail within the subject line...

The fact that the more I prove myself to be a good judge of character, people STILL feel they have to fight me when I say that someone is going to cause problems, and when they do, (and they ALWAYS do) I never seem to get an "I'm sorry, you were right"...

The fact that I don't know how long I have to wait for the second season of "Breaking Bad"...

The fact that of all the releases that Southern Lord has put out, the one I looked forward to the MOST has taken nearly 2 months to arrive and is, in fact, STILL not here...

The fact that American Idol is still on, and people are still watching it and think that talking about it the next day makes them sound like anything but a moron...

The fact that I am still on MySpace even though 1) time and time again it has failed to function properly, 2) most of the time I am just denying bands that suck to high heaven, 3) it's a haven for back-stabbing and useless comments, and 4) it's caused more problems in my life than any single thing has...

The fact that I am an open book, and everyone seems to love that fact except for some of the people I would love to love it the most...

The fact that I am 35 and don't have my journalism degree yet...

The fact that I have to use the word "divorced" when someone asks if I've ever been married...

The fact that I am not yet a father...

The fact that I will never be the president of, owner or have anything to do with Amyx Manufacturing or Amyx Industries Ltd. since it was sold many years ago and has since been shut and torn down with NO record of it's existence going to me what-so-ever...

The fact that "Krush Groove" was on last night, and I actually watched most of it...

The fact that I'm still pissed that "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was canceled ("The Black Donnelly's" too)...

The fact that I miss "Medium" all the time because it was off for so long and I am as far behind on it as I can possibly be...

The fact that I am terrible at French...

The fact that although I embrace my Irish heritage, the only people who have given me shit, and in fact been utter pricks have been "Proper" Irish folk...
What has me SO angry...
(((03)))

La révélation de Qui Vous Etes

Le Sagittaire vous voit

Someone who is usually polished and totally put together will reveal one of their more minor flaws today. This unusually small detail, which they find to be a huge problem, will give you a giggle. Their revelation will also help you have a stronger sense of who they are: An insecure perfectionist! You can identify with being dissatisfied in yourself, and this person will suddenly seem a lot more human to you. It might be time to give them a chance -- and more of your time.
Revelation of Who You Are
(((03)))

Dungeon Wood and our friend Gypsy James

Stop by the site of a fellow blogger, Gypsy James over in the Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK. You'll find his blog as well as his photography most intriguing, covering everything from his lavish photography to poetry to his fondness for Joy Division...how can anyone go wrong? If you have a chance, leave some feedback...let him know you appreciate his efforts and support all of us, the bloggers of the world.

(((03)))

02.22.08 vs. The Fox and Hound

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L'O Lent de Mort › le Garçon de Danny

By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - It's depressing. It's not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. Its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil. Those are only some of the reasons a Manhattan pub is giving for banning the song "Danny Boy" for the entire month of March.

"It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time, and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," says Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley's Pub and Restaurant, just off Fifth Avenue opposite the Empire State Building.

The 38-year-old, who started bartending when he was 12 at his father's pub in County Cavan, promises a guest free Guinness if he or she sings any other traditional Irish song at the pub's March 11 pre-St. Patrick's Day karaoke party. On other nights, guests will be rewarded with a surprise.

Not everyone agrees.

Foley's is going head to head with a pub near Detroit — AJ's Cafe in Ferndale, Mich. — which is staging a "Danny Boy" marathon on St. Patrick's Day weekend, offering 1,000 renditions of the song over 50 hours.

The lyrics for the song published in 1913 were written by an English lawyer, Frederick Edward Weatherly, who never even visited Ireland, according to Malachy McCourt, author of the book "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad." Weatherly's sister-in-law had sent him the music to an old Irish song called "The Derry Air" and the new version became a huge hit when opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink recorded it in 1915.

Some say it's symbolic of the great Irish diaspora, with generations of Irish fleeing the famine and poor economic conditions starting around 1850. Others have guessed it's sung by a mother grieving for her son or even by a desolate lover — depending on how one hears lyrics like "The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying/ 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide."

In the 1940s, "Danny Boy" was recorded by Bing Crosby, became the theme song of television's "Danny Thomas Show" from 1953 to 1964 and has been a vehicle for vocal stars from Judy Garland, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash to Cher and Willie Nelson.

But for the rest of the month, Foley's will be "Danny Boy"-free.

"I'm glad! I'm glad! I'm glad!" exclaimed Martin Gaffney, 73, a retired passenger ship waiter who looked forward to the free beer. "You come in here and have a few pints for lunch. It'll be good."

The great old song is "all right, but I get fed up with hearing it — it's like the elections," he said in a thick Irish brogue.

Instead, Gaffney said Wednesday he looks forward to crooning his own Irish favorites, like "Molly Malone" — whose theme is also hardly a barrel of laughs.

A sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin also known as "Cockles and Mussels," the song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plies her trade on city streets and dies young of a fever.
The Slow Death O' Danny Boy
(VD:AP:Yh)

Entièrement Brillé

Fully Flared is a skateboarding video by Lakai, directed by Ty Evans, Spike Jonze and Cory Weincheque, and features one of the most incredible intros I've EVER seen.

The video's release was postponed for about two years, mainly due to important team additions. Overall it took about four years to make.

Originally, Evans, Jonze and Howard played with different ideas which were all a lot more dangerous. The intro was then filmed 3 weeks before the premiere.

According to Brandon Biebel, the most dangerous part of the introduction was Mike Mo Capaldi's switch flip, which was followed by a staircase being blown up with napalm.

The Soundtrack to the film includes no less than, David Bowie, She Wants Revenge, King Diamond, Bad Brains, Judas Priest, Echo & The Bunnymen, Public Enemy, Unkle and The Flaming Lips.

If the part at [1:03] doesn't almost move you to tears, wait until the part at [3:49] and especially [4:11]! Superior film-making! Thanks to Sean Ingram for the tune in...Photo by A. Favennec.
Fully Flared
(((03)))

Développement arrêté

See if you can do better. 60% in the world of academia friggin sucks. But then, I only got into the show late last year...so all things considered, it's not too bad.

Arrested Development

Score: 60% (12 out of 20)

(((03)))

La Première Lecture de mars

Le Sagittaire dans Porter le deuil

Don't be surprised if you feel like no one in your circle of friends and associates understands where you're coming from, today. They are in their own world, so if you need to find people who share your ideas, you will need to look elsewhere. The good news is that you are sure to find some fascinating people! This is a great day to talk to strangers and find out what makes them tick. Go beyond the small talk, and you will get somewhere.

Thank you to everyone who sent well-wishes yesterday and this morning. Thank you to Laura for lunch, cigarettes, Tylenol PM and friendship above and beyond yesterday. Thank you to Russ, Cristal, Robin and Kari for sympathy and caring. Thanks to Tylar for arena football and UFC Saturday Night. And, thank you to Mike McCormick and Dave Ybanez for their tireless help this entire weekend getting my alternator replaced. Cheers to a good March.
The First Reading of March
(((03:yh)))