Monday, October 30, 2006

Our friends Andrew & Cinnamon eloped this summer, so their Halloween party was themed "Wedding from Hell." I was a wedding ring set, but as the night went on I began introducing myself, in the most nonchalant, confident manner I could muster, as "what every woman wants."

Full photoset here. Where's Kirsti, you ask? She escaped Andrew's camera Friday night, but here we are recycling our costumes at Ellen's the next night.
3-Chord Monday #42-46
Oh yeah, this project. Anyway, Super Happy Halloween Funtime 5-pack!
Robyn Hitchcock - My Wife and My Dead Wife
Roky Erickson - Creature with the Atom Brain
The Misfits - Skulls
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Little Demon
Suicidal Tendencies - I Saw Your Mommy...

get'em!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

I was at a Halloween party this evening and didn't see or hear any of the World Series game. I didn't have a horse in this race, but I can appreciate a Cards' victory for a few reasons. For one, Tigers fans can now stop blaming the Twins for being the last team to keep them from hoisting a World Series trophy. And STL fans (one in particular, and you know who you are) can now stop bitching about being done in in 1987 by the worst team ever to win a Series.

I also appreciate the Cards victory as a particularly nasty four-year run in the cosmic screwjob bestowed upon the Cubs. First Mark Prior folds like a cheap card table against the Marlins (Bartman, shmartman...let's call it what it was). Then the Red Sox get the monkey off their backs. Then the White Sox do the same. Then the Cubs' hated rivals end their oh-so-agonizing 24-year wait. What can screw with the Cubs next season? Maybe Dusty will land with the Devil Rays and lead them to a title.

Finally, I was sad to hear about Joe Niekro passing. The 1987 emory board incident was hilarious -- during his suspension he showed up on Letterman, wearing a tool belt with a variety of sanders. I went to his first home game after the suspension. The A's were in town, and so was Huey Lewis, of all people. After a quite nice anthem, sung a capella with the rest of the News, Huey whips out this huge sheet of sandpaper while throwing the first pitch. Good stuff.

Monday, October 23, 2006

For my Out of 5 selection, I was thinking about a song that more aptly described going to an inner-city magnet school in the mid/late eighties, but nothing really grabbed me. Besides, John Hughes movies are always lily-white. "Kids Don't Follow" has the rebellion angle, is anthemic enough to open a movie (it's a leadoff track itself), is by perhaps the defining band of my youth, and has the hometown shoutout to boot. I first heard this song while taping a show from the 125-watt community radio station which I had to place my boom box just so and put foil on the antenna to pick up. It was like getting shortwave from Nairobi, even though they broadcast from an old church across town. I still have the tape. Oh, the kid who yells "Fuck you, man!" at the police? He grew up to be Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner.

Monday, October 9, 2006

I chose the new theme at OutOf5 this week. My song, "Food Fight," is a thrashy new-wavy song by the Village People. Yes, those Village People.

Here's a recap of the Film Fest things I've seen so far, making this Movie Log 2006: #78-83:
The three shorts presentations were hit/miss. The local filmmakers' program was refreshingly free of students bitching about how their parents ruined their lives, so that's something.

As for features, Summercamp! was a documentary about a session at a nature camp (note that you have to specify "nature camp" now, in the age of "computer camp" and other specializations) in Wisconsin. It was in the vein of Mad Hot Ballroom and I suppose Spelllbound, in that a gaggle of middle school kids goofing off for 90 minutes can make for an entertaining movie.

Street Thief had me really pissed off at the Festival programmers. It's a fakeumentary, but the CIFF listed it in the documentary category. The film itself has its merits: it generates a good level of suspense, and the lead (the director) is a decent enough actor. But that sort of marketing deception for a film festival is lame. I don't want to have to second-guess the entire documentary category.

The best thing I've seen so far was Day Night Day Night. A young woman of undeterminable ethnicity or ideology trains to be a suicide bomber. Very tense; essentially one big slow build. The lead, Luisa Williams, was terrific.

Friday, October 6, 2006

well, that sucked...
If you've visited Batgirl's site and wondered just what the "Ass Bats" were that she occasionally mentions...they were on display this week.

I'm now pulling for a Tigers-Cards series, as that matchup will please the greatest number of my friends and will tweak the greatest number of locals (and make Selig weep). And of course, the offseason looms. Which washed-up veteran can the Twins take a chance on this offseason (aside from Torii Hunter, of course*)? At least Rondell White proved his worth once he was healthy.

* Still hitting well, but can't play center any more, and seems like he'd pout his way off the team if they moved him to right. This is a guy who said of new pitching hitting coach Joe Vavra (paraphrasing), "He has nothing to teach me." As has been said elsewhere, there is no I in TEAM, but there are two I's in Torii.
Let's all go to the mooooo-vies...
Here's what I'm seeing at the Chicago Film Festival, should anyone want to meet up. All are at River East unless otherwise noted)
Fri 10/6 Shorts: Crossroads & Contrasts 6 pm
Sat 10/7 Shorts: Homegrown 1:30
Sun. 10/8 Summercamp! 2 pm
Mon. 10/9
Shorts: Moment of Impact 2 pm
Street Thief 6:15
Day Night Day Night 8:15
Tues. 10/17 Severance 8:30 (@ Landmark)
Wed. 10/18 The Host 7:30 (@ Landmark)