Entertainment Weekly says that George Lucas initially considered handing over Episodes I and II to Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, but both declined. D’ahhhhhhhh!!! Damn you, Spielberg! Damn you, Opie! Look what you have wrought! Only you had the power to prevent Jar Jar Binks and The Sand Speech. Only you could have prevented lame dialogue and wooden performances. The thoughts of what could have been…they will torment my waking hours and at night I will still hear the screaming.
Month: May 2005
Cheap Beer in Crisis
From an article on declining beer sales at Slate:
Millions of consumers have in recent years become connoisseurs (that is, insufferable snobs) when it comes to coffee, cheese, chocolate, you name it.
Demanding quality should never be something that gets one tarred with the epithet “snob.” Unless of course people are demanding quality only because everyone else is doing it, and passing themselves off as faux connoisseurs. But I suspect that, given the economy, people would be less likely to pay the extra bucks for quality beer, coffe, cheese, etc., just for the sake of appearances. I’m sure it happens but I wouldn’t think it would happen often enough to affect Anheuser-Busch’s bottom line.
Anyway, life is too short for bad beer, coffee or cheese, dammit. And I’m certainly no connoisseur. Shame on Slate for assuming that Americans are drinking less beer. They’re not. They’re just drinking less bad beer. And that’s cause for celebration. Why must the media always see the pint glass as half empty…rabble-rousing bastards.
VH1 Classic: The Great Equalizer
One of the many great things about Vh1 Classic is that very often all sense of context is removed. While watching the All Request Hour the perky hostess actually used New Kids on the Block and The Church in the same sentence. It’s as though all semblance of genre or demographics has been completely cast aside.
In short, it’s how I would like the world to be.
I spent almost the entire weekend in the house, recovering from illness. I watched Billy Wilder’s Irma La Douce (mmm Shirley MacLaine circa 1963) and finished reading Steve Martin’s beautiful novella, Shopgirl. Katherine brought me some Vietnamese food last night, which was so good. Today I took a walk around the neighborhood in a warm light rain. I stopped off at Juan and Heather’s to say hi; their daughter Tori just passed the one year mark. I worked in the yard a bit, and washed the car. Matt ordered a pizza and we watched The Big Bounce.
And last but not least, Odie joins the ranks of the Pointed Stick blogs.
These Are the Sites I Live For
Once every year or so, a new site comes to my attention that brings me such joy and revives my interest in the Internet. I find a place I can spend hours exploring. For reference, previous contenders are Engrish.com, SecretFunSpot.com, Lightningfield.com, and GhostTownGallery.com.
Today’s new find: Lileks.com. This site features, among other things, pictorial histories of 70’s Ozark travel destinations, the Gallery of Regrettable Food, and a personal favorite of mine, Matchbook-o-Rama.
The site in general covers a lot of things I’ve found a fondness for in the last few years: old advertising and graphic design. It’s a warehouse of oddities and curiosities. Enjoy.
Highway 64 Visited
Last weekend Superflux had a gig in Tulsa. It went pretty well; we made some new fans with the Women’s International Bowling Congress. I drove over to Fayetteville on Sunday to catch soul/funk legends Tower of Power at George’s Majestic Lounge. I have to say it was one of the single greatest musical experiences I have ever had in my life. Real soul music the way God (i.e. Otis Redding) intended, with the tightest horn line anywhere in the world, plus my all-time number one rhythm section: David Garibaldi on drums and Rocco Prestia on bass.
On the way home I took the scenic route along Highway 64 in search of interesting photos, so that’s the new plog today. I only drove from Alma to Russellville, as the remainder of the route I covered last June.