Saturday, July 26, 2008

Story of our Lives, Vol. 0.5, part the second

Here's the second part of the 80's collection, covering roughly from 1986 to early 1989.

(track listings are in comments)

81 Honda Civic ('86-89; named after the car that I was given permission to drive by my mother after I turned 16. This is mostly pop music with some club/dance that was played mostly on Q104)

John Lander's Hit Music USA ('87-88; named after a syndicated show that aired on Saturday nights on Q104)

Camelot Music ('87-89; stuff that wasn't played on the radio but was discovered when the best record store of my youth (before the arrival of Slip Disc in Saks) came to Gadsden Mall. A great hodge-podge of things)

R.I.P. Christy C.
('85-'88; the most personal of this collection. In tribute to a girl that I held a debilitating crush for about 3 years. The music in this file is still hard for me to listen to at times, although after I wrote her a letter telling her how much I liked her, the love-sickness died away. She was always dating someone else, anyway, and by the time I got around to writing her (I was too chicken-shit to tell here face-to-face), she was practically engaged to the man that she would stay married to until her untimely passing in a car accident a couple of years back. So, this is my Ultimate Mix-Tape to Christy)

Enjoy!

Friday, July 25, 2008

"You don't get it, boy. This isn't a mudhole...it's an operating table. And I'm the surgeon." KRRAKKK!!

After seeing "The Dark Knight" and, of course, Heath Ledger's unbelievable portrayal of the Joker, I had to re-evaluate my list of best (or favorite) movie villains. I have 3 different categories for villains (and keys to a legend so you'll know where they stand with me; # means you love to hate him. ^ means you might actually root for him over the 'good guys'. * means you want him dead, dead, dead. You want his head on a pike so bad you can taste it. These are the truly despicable and are also the actors who do their job the best.) Here's my top 10, in reverse order:


10. Bobby Peru - Wild at Heart.

Played by Willam DaFoe with relish, just the scene in the bedroom with Lula is enough to place him in anyone's top 20. He has the least time on the scene for a major character, as well, but he uses that time to the upmost. #*


9. Gollum - The Lord of the Rings

At times you feel almost sorry for him. Then he does something to make you hate him all over again. The ultimate portrayal of a die-hard addict. #

8. Don Logan - Sexy Beast; Teddy Bass - Sexy Beast.


"Not this time, Gal. Not this time. Not this fucking time. No. No no no no no no no no no! No! No no no no no no no no no no no no no! No! Not this fucking time! No fucking way! No fucking way, no fucking way, no fucking way! You've made me look a right cunt!" - Don Logan (Sir Ben Kingsley) #*

"Where there's a will - and there is a fucking will - there's a way - and there is a fucking way." - Teddy Bass (Ian McShane)#^

Sheer brillance. Go directly to Movie Gallery and rent it. RIGHT NOW!

7. Agent Smith - The Matrix

Do I even have to explain? #*

6. Amon Goeth - Schindler's List.

Pure evil. Satan on Earth. Even when he shows a whit of decency, you know he's just jerking your chain. Ralph Fiennes' greatest moment. *

5. The Joker - The Dark Knight.

Wondered when I'd get to him, right? Words can't express Heath Ledger's performance in this movie. Jack Nicholson can't compare. No spoilers, but perfection awaits at Gotham General Hospital. ^

4. Dr. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs.


What to say? "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." FHHH-FHHHH-FHHHH-FHHHH-FHHHHH!!! #^

3. Liberty Valance - The Man who shot Liberty Valance.

Satan comes to the Old West. I just thought I hated Amon Goeth more than any other movie character. I was wrong. Lee Marvin takes the cake on wanting to see a man get his just rewards: a bullet in the gut. *

2. Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men.

A force of nature. Death on a Pale Horse. Sheer perfection from Javier Bardem. #^

1. Frank Booth - Blue Velvet.

For those who know me and know what my favorite film is, this is no surprise. Although Amon Goeth probably did exist a thousand times over in the War, Frank can be someone that's standing next to you in Wal-mart. Just don't fucking look at him.

"Now it's dark..."

As a bonus, here's Frank Miller's masterpiece (imho), The Dark Knight Returns, in glorious pdf.

Enjoy!


The Dark Knight Returns

"That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs."

Hamlet, by far, is my favorite Shakespeare play, preceding Henry V and 12th Night. Here's a great reading I found on Avaxhome.

Hamlet

Enjoy!

The Power of Myth w/Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers

This series came out when I was a senior in high school, and it really woke me up to the meaning of both mythology and religion as a whole. I had always been interested in mythology, but, until then, always in a comic-book/fantasy sort-of-way. Joseph Campbell changed that for me. For those who don't have this magical series themselves...

power of myth pts. 1-2

power of myth pts. 3-4

power of myth pts 5-6 (down; see re-up above)

Enjoy!