In retrospect, I should have said “Happy Mark-O-The-Beast Day, everyone.”
06-06-06
Happy Armageddon, everyone.
Storm Clouds
These pictures were taken from my back deck yesterday of the storm that rolled through late in the afternoon. The air temperature dropped signifigantly and the wind really picked up, but all it did was rain. It certainly looked like we were gonna get a mean storm. I stood on the back deck and watched a section of clouds race across the sky while the dark clouds that hung over my house were still in the afternoon sky.
Congrats, Jake!
Even if the wins are for the MTV Movie Awards (“Best Kiss” in Brokeback Mountain with Heath Ledger and “Best Performance” in Brokeback Mountain) you deserve them, Jake!
Gay Marriage
“Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society,” Bush said in his Saturday radio address. “Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves the interests of all.”
Ah, the Gay Marriage debate is back in full swing just in time to get out the vote for November. There is so much that disgusts and disturbs me about this whole thing … more than I would ever want to get into here because I have some Republican friends that would never speak to me again if I went off on a true rant about this.
What I think would interesting to see (since Republicans are always talking how we gays are destroying families and very fabric of society) would be rates or stats on the following subjects which pertain to that sacred institution of Male/Female Marriage:
1. Divorce
2. Adultery
3. Multiple Marriages
4. Children Abused/Neglected
5. Children in Foster Homes
6. Children Given up for Adoption
7. Pre-Teen Pregnancy
8. STD’s
Eyes Wide Shut: Some Thoughts
Re-watched “Eyes Wide Shut” this past weekend. It’s infamous for several reasons. First: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman together on screen as a married couple complete with (gasp!) sex scenes and major nakedness for Ms. Kidman. Second: Warner “dumbed” down the orgy scene by digitally adding in people to “cover” certain sexual acts. Third: Kubrick died while editing the movie which leads many to believe that the finished movie is a combo Kubrick/Warner Bros. cut instead of being a totally Kubrick’s cut.
The thing that struck me when I saw “Eyes Wide Shut” in the theater was the very uneven tone of the film. If you have watched enough Kubrick films, you can really tell when he’s in charge or when the Warner editor’s are just trying to get the rest of the film finished. I liked the movie but it didn’t knock my socks off.
What struck me this time around was some of the actual story content. I am now of the opinion that “Eyes Wide Shut” (the story) is really just a glorified marriage counseling film.
But on the revese side, I suspect that the “story” is totally secondary to the visuals of the film. I don’t know why I missed it the first time but “Eyes Wide Shut” is visually a beautiful film. Just look at that photo above. Kidman is bathed in a warm light, framed in deep red curtains and backlit with that intense blue. And every scene is like this. Lots of warm colors in the foreground with vivid blues and whites in the background. For that alone, you should check this film out if you haven’t seen it already. Oh yeah … and there’s that kickin’ Chris Issak song in the movie too!
Chris Issak – Baby Did a Bad Thing [2.7 MB]
Retro-Candy
Mmmm … Farley Granger!
Friday Afternoon
Gah. Seem to be floundering here for some reason. The week has been pretty busy (as evidenced by my lack of posting) but distraction isn’t always a good (or distracting) thing. Feel like the killer is starting to lurk somewhere in the background … ready to make his move.
Re-watched “Angel Heart” last night. I had forgotten what a fun movie it is. Golly. I hadn’t seen it since high school. All the buzz about the film back then was beacuse ‘lil Cosby kid Lisa Bonet had that blood-soaked sex scene with Mickey Rourke. You know … Mickey Rourke was quite handsome back-in-the-day. Yup.
Afternoon Statement
Mmmm. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream makes life better.
Ho-ho-ho!
I have had Jake and his Santa hat on my brain for the past few.
Get Thee to a Show
For those of you in the area, you should know that there’s a butt-load of theater going on in Asheville right now with Stoneleaf: A Festival of North Carolina Theater. The festival is mid-way through its run, but there are still a lot of good shows to see before it ends this coming Sunday. So far I have seen the Asheville Arts Center’s production of “The Last Five Years” (good but not great), the Raleigh Ensemble Players production of “Beautiful Thing” (really awesome) and the Playmakers Repertory Company’s production of “I am My Own Wife” (breath-taking). Hopefully I will get to hit at least one more show. I hearts me some theater … and you should too.
X-Men: The Last Stand
“The Last Stand” is an appropriate title for this film as it sucked big time. They took my favorite X-Men comic book story (Phoenix/Dark Phoenix) and fucked it up.
Fucked. It. Up.
I am so disappointed.
“Building code?”
Laugh and point fingers all you want. I proudly admit that I love “The Towering Inferno.” What’s not to like about big name stars in big time peril? I finally got around to buying the new special edition dvd of the film last night. Oh. My. God. I was totally surprsied by what a super job Fox Video has done. I knew that I was gonna get two discs packed with audio commentaries, deleted scenes and tons of “making of” featurettes and documentaries. What I didn’t expect was the reproduction of the movie’s original press book and lobby cards. Whoo! Plus, it cost under $15! Double Whoo!!! Let me tell you … I am in some Irwin Allen heaven right now.~