God Bless Ameica

There are a bunch of kiosks around downtown Dallas that hold advertisements for various products/events. Some right wing group put up several Pro-War banners in the kiosks that feature shots of freshly scrubbed troops, emblazzoned with the headline, "Our Hero." Unfortunately on EVERY SINGLE ONE of the posters, they SOMEHOW misspelled "America." I took a picture with my cameraphone of the kiosk in front of my workplace. Unbelievable.

The Great Silence

Italian composer Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns go together like...er, hold on, let me think of a good analogy here -- how about, bacon and lettuce...and tomato? No...how about peanut butter and jelly? What's up with the food references?

Forget about it. Sergio Corbucci's "The Great Silence" is considered one of the very best spaghettis ever...My take on it? It's okay but Corbucci can't hold a candle to the maestro Leone. Fair enough, but Morricone's score for "Silence" is one of his best ever. The title track is totally haunting and really makes the movie. Actually, I think the title score is probably one of the reasons that the film is held in such high esteem. Decide for yourself:

"Restless" Theme from "The Great Silence".mp3

House

I don't know why I've never posted these before, but here are some pictures of our house down in Oak Cliff. Actually, here's one picture, I'm putting the rest over in my Flickr account, which you can access by scrolling down and clicking on the right column. These were taken about a month and a half or so. Got it? Good.

Hotel Pennsylvania -- Going, Going...

The Hotel Pennsylvania in midtown Manhattan was one of the true bargains in a city where bargains are few and far between. Located right across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station around 7th Av and 33rd, I'd recommended the place to a few friends in need of a place to stay. You could get a fairly roomy suite for under $100. Unfortunately, time waits for no one and the New Jersey holding company which owns the site is planning on tearing it down. The place became famous back in the 40s thanks to its gigantic ballroom which hosted such greats as (and inspired songs by) Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington. My mom and sister stayed there when they first visited me back in 2001. Frankly the place has seen better days but its sort of weird to think that it will no longer exist. Look for a gigantic office tower to go up in about four years.

Luke Haines is Dead

Just a note - to cleanse the palette, so to speak, following my entry on Pete Walker -- I'd just like to say that IT'S FREAKING COLD IN THIS HERE BEE-YOTCH!. For those not in the know, Dallas experienced a surprise mini snow storm Wednesday. Once again the DISD did NOT call a snow day, although how they expected the little monsters to get to class on time when the roads were obviously and dangerously iced over is of no small wonder to me. And as you may recall, when the DISD doesn't call a snow day, my workplace doesn't call a snow day. I was the first one into the studio around 9 am. Only mild slipping and sliding around on the way to work. I'd say roughly 1/3 of the employees didn't show which meant more coffee for meeeeeee!

My little recommendation of Luke Haines' latest, "Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop" whetted my appetite for more so I ordered the expansive 3-disk "Luke Haines is Dead" set from 2005. I gotta say it's for fans only but reminded me why I disliked "Now I'm a Cowboy" so much. I still think his early stuff with The Auteurs is the best although I really do like "After Murder Park" and "How I Learned to Love the Bootboys"...and, oh yeah, the Baader Meinhof stuff...and the "Das Capital" album is pretty good...Forgetaboutit...it's all pretty good as far as the rock and roll stuff goes. Also got an Ennio Morricone compilation of some of his more obscure stuff. I'll post some mp3s when I get home...Maybe that's a subject for a separate post.

Frightmare

Frightmare (1974)
Produced and Directed: Pete Walker
Written: Pete Walker, David McGillivray
Starring: Rupert Davies, Sheila Keith, Deborah Fairfax
Media Blasters/ Color / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 83 m.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but the allure of finding the ultimate "creepy horror movie" has led me down some pretty dodgy paths. Hearing that Pete Walker's "Frightmare" was a unique, English take on the grisly powertool murder films of the '70s, ala "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," well...I just had to check it out. After all, this movie was produced at the height of the creepiest part of the '70s...THE decade of creep. And yes, all of that era's polyester and shag is in full effect here. Bad haircuts, smoking everywhere -- you can almost smell the Pall Malls -- and a bucktooth British dollybird in the form of Ms Fairfax. But, alas, those are about the only good points in this rather pointless affair concerning a family of deranged cannibals (are there any other kind?) who mack out on any losers who happen to cross their path -- and being a relation doesn't give you immunity from ending up as part of the main course. The "shock" ending is pretty cool although the trailer totally gives it away! The scratchy print from Media Blasters is servicable. At least its anamorphic. But don't take my word for it, dig in for yourself if you're looking for a downer of an evening at home alone (nobody is gonna watch this moldy, old flick with you).

Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop

I spent part of the weekend catching up on some listening. I'm talking about music here. I bought the new Luke Haines album, the amusingly titled Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop, a couple of weeks ago but didn't really give it more than a cursory listen. Dug in a little deeper...wow...what a great album. Haines is one of those artists whose work functions on an onion-like level...you can peel away layer after layer and its so good it might even make you cry. Surely a "difficult" artist of the highest caliber, good old Luke may be an acquired taste but one worth acquiring. I've included a couple of mp3s below for your amusement and edification. The album, unfortunately, hasn't been released in the States as of this writing but you should be able to get if off iTunes or Amazon.

On another note, checked out the new movie, Children of Men. Pretty good. Not the best sci fi I've ever seen, but one of the more visually convincing. Some plots holes to go around but the photography, effects and acting are first rate with a satisfying ending. At least it was satisfying to me. Your mileage may vary.

Also, today marks the first time since 1992 that I've had a full set of choppers. That's right, I finally got my porcelain crown cemented on my molar. I had a root canal in Brooklyn at the tail end of 2005 but due to financial issues, wasn't able to get the actual crown till this month.

Luke Haines - Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop.mp3
Luke Haines - Here's to Old England.mp3

The Honeymoon Killers

The Honeymoon Killers (1969)
Directed and written: Leonard Kastle
Produced: Warren Steibel
Starring: Tony LoBianco, Shirley Stoler, Doris Roberts
Criterion Collection/ B&W / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 115 m.

I must've seen The Honeymoon Killers about 15 times. It became one of my favorite films back in the early 90s. Some of my friends still quote lines from the movie. All I can say is, if you haven't seen this gritty, ultra-low budget, true crime drama, then go out and get it this weekend. And there's really no excuse not to since none other than the Criterion Collection released it on DVD a few years back, enhanced for widescreen TVs no less. Back in my day, we had to walk 16 miles -- both ways...in the SNOW -- to see this film and it was only available in a fuzzy, pan and scan VHS version. AND WE LIKED IT. The Criterion DVD is absolutely breathtaking, looking better than I've ever seen it. I doubt that it would look much better on the big screen to be honest. The only problem is the tinny and distorted mono soundtrack which underlines the film's no dollar production origins. Unfortunately it also makes it hard to understand some of the dialog. Famous Frenchie director Francois Truffaut apparently used to tell people that this was one of his favorite films. Whether that's true or not, I'm sure John Waters got a chunk of inspiration for Pink Flamingos from this.

Hollywood is mounting a "sort of" remake to this movie...at least it's based on the same true story. Lonely Hearts will star John Travolta, James Gandolfini and SELMA HAYEK in the role of Martha Beck!!!! Unbelievable. I'll probably wait and rent it.

The Man from Planet X

This year, I plan on documenting my viewing habits with a bit more disipline than usual. With this in mind, I give you a little review of the very first film I've watched in the year 2007:

The Man from Planet X (1951)
Director: Edgar Ulmer
Produced and written: Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, William Schallert
MGM DVD/ B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 71 m.

Hungarian director Ulmer has long been a fan favorite thanks to his down and dirty work in such genre pictures as the Karloff-Lugosi vehicle The Black Cat (1934) and the cartoonish noir, Detour (1945). 1951's The Man from Planet X, regarded by many as the first film to deal with an alien invasion of Earth, is one of those movies that I'd been hearing about since I was a kid but had never seen. Thanks to a trip to the local used CD/DVD shop, I picked up a copy of MGM's out of print, full-frame DVD for $5. The film itself is a rather hokey melodrama starring B-grade actor Robert Clarke and Margaret (mother of Sally) Field as his underage love interest. The much ballyhooed alien is nothing more than a midget in a papier mache mask with a diving helmet who speaks in musical tones and may or may not be a bad guy. Actually, he looks a little like the banjo player from Deliverance. The downbeat, ambiguous ending is pretty cool and Ulmer actually makes good use of the low budget, painted sets and miniatures. Most people would find this 50s sci fi completely useless but I enjoyed its atmosphere and the B&W MGM presentation is as crisp as can be. Now if only Detour could receive the same attention!

Interestingly, Ulmer has Dallas roots. His 1960 films, Beyond the Time Barrier and The Amazing Transparent Man were both filmed right here in town.

Happy New...whatever

First thing's first, I apologize for the lengthy, techie posts that I put up last month. Let's just say I was a little taken by the LCD. And although I believe I touched on some genuinely relevant points, I don't know if anybody really knew what the heck I was saying...this poor craftsman won't blame his tools...I just had so much to tackle, a simple blog post wasn't going to cut it.

So here we are. 2007. It's hard to believe the "oughts" are more than halfway over...I guess they were more than halfway over last year...but still...time is flying. The holiday break brought some interesting developments. The Denver blizzard forced a reunion between my friends JB and Kim Welch. Hey there, guys! Drop me a line and tell me how everything turned out for ya.

In other news, the internets gave us another Mideast snuff film courtesy of Cheneyburton and Shia Islam, the oldest living ex US president EVER kicked the bucket along with the Godfather of Soul (RIP) and I got a pair of pajamas! And how was your week? I'm back at work after a 10 day sabbatical and now its time to get busy with a financial budget and back into my Y workout schedule. And cut down the drinking...and meat eating...and pie eating...and coffee drinking...

Drop me a line and let me know how its going. I'm working on a few projects and hope to have news out sooner than later.

Cheers,
Erich