Movies of July (6)

Another relative slow month for movies, I focused on checking out some movies that are considered standards from the 70s and 80s. Didn't make it out to the theater this month, as I was making a conscious effort to avoid giving anything in the way of money to Michael Bay. Coming Home tells the story of Vietnam war vets and their difficulty adjusting to life back in the states, Silkwood tells of a whistle blower in a plant where she is exposed to radiation and The Accused takes a haunting look at rape.

6: Coming Home
11: Get Shorty
26: Silkwood, Incredible Hulk
27: Deep End of the Ocean
30: The Accused

July iPod Update

{for last month's What I'm Hearing, click here}
{for all music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

July's iPod update was an extremely diverse one, not just for the artists, but for the songs themselves. Taking a new tact, I made July an all mash-up month, checking out some of the ways in which DJs have started taking on the mix and match genre full-throttle. While Danger Mouse helped pioneer it with the Grey Album and AmpLive took it another step with his remixes of Radiohead's In Rainbows, the mash-up culture is far past those now. But while there is much to be said for the style of Girl Talk where there are more layers than you can reasonably dissect in a listening, I find the club mash-ups utilizing 2 to 3 songs to be a most effective use of the genre. The best news? As all of these are off the grid, they're all available for download, so follow the links to check the music out for yourself. July's iPod update included 118 songs.

50 Cent vs. The 50s, DJ Doc Rok: Currently residing in Washington, D.C., DJ Doc Rok's (djdocrok@gmail.com) work is among the strongest of all artists I heard this month. What's more is that while he does have a collection of odd mash-ups and various artists, he also sets out to create complete albums of one to two artists. On this album, Rok focuses on all lyrics from 50 Cent songs and combines them with Golden Oldie hits from the R&B and Pop genres. The result? 50 Cent party songs with a touch of flair, moved out of the straight club motif that dominates so many of his songs and saturated with style and soul. Using songs like Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry," and Booker T. and the MG's "Green Onions," Rok flips the 50 acapellas on their head with fantastic result. Definitely my favorite download of the month. Don't Sleep On: "Rowdy Rowdy/It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)," "Like My Style/One Fine Day," and "The Good Die Young/Little Susie."

Best of 2007 (Mash-Up Your Bootz), Various Artists: If you're looking for a comprehensive blog that provides a vast cross-section of the variety of mash-ups available online, check out Mash-up Your Bootz. They provide comprehensive year-end wrap-up mixes, links to other mash-up sites, and breaking news in the genre. I downloaded both their 2007 and 2008 Best of Mixes and wasn't disappointed with either. Beck takes on Green Day, AC/DC meets 50 Cent and the Scissor Sisters, Peggy Lee and Iggy Pop collide and Peter Bjorn and John find their whistle backing both Bloc Party and Amy Winehouse. Some of the mashers on this mix include DJ Peaking, DJ Le Clown, CheekyBoy, DJ Lobsterdust, and Party Ben. Perhaps the most pleasant track is by Norwegian Recycling who put together a very simple acoustic mash-up called "How Six Songs Collide" featuring Jason Mraz, Howie Day, Five For Fighting, Angela Ammons, Boyzone, and 3 Doors Down. This one is mirrored nicely with the eerie and melancholy mash of Placebo, Kate Bush and the Pet Shop Boys called, "Love Comes Running Up That Hill Quickly." Don't Sleep On: "Young Folks Rehab" by DJ Topcat (Amy Winehouse's v. Peter Bjorn and John), "Love Comes Running Up That Hill Quickly" by DJ Magnet (Pet Shop Boys v. Placebo v. Kate Bush) and "Break Through Love" by DJ Zebra (The Doors v. Led Zeppelin)

Best of 2008 (Mash-Up Your Bootz), Various Artists: The 2008 mix picks up where 2007 left off and offers an impressive array of very different artists finding their songs blended with people of opposite genres. The album kicks off with Bryan Adams going head to head with Metallica, James Brown duels The Offspring, and Rage Against the Machine gets thrown together with AC/DC, Joan Jett, Queen and Red Hot Chili Peppers. To say that these songs stretch the concept of mashable genres is an understatement. Contributors include Wax Audio, MadMixMustang, DJ Morgoth and Divide and Kreate. Best track has to come when DJ Schmolli brings the haunting guitar lilt of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and fills it with a slowed down Billy Idol singing "White Wedding." The result is astounding. Don't Sleep On: "Wicked Wedding" by DJ Schmolli (Chris Isaak v. Billy Idol v. HIM) "The Low Anthem" by Bass 211 (Flo Rida v. Pitbull) and "Dance Dreams" by Divide and Kreate (Eurythmics v. Lady Gaga)

For the rest of the music I was listening to in July, click here.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Perfect storm of a Friday...iPod update, July movie list and 10 Things all at the same time.  Not sure I'll make it to all of them, but figured I'd start with the one that will keep  y'all from doing something stupid at work, like urinating in the water cooler or putting fire ants in your boss's office.  Let's keep it classy and reflect on the things that were important to us this week.

1) When it comes to the question of race, we have a country divided along racial, ethnic, gender, sexuality, economic and religious lines. This leaves us with gaps of understanding as to what we should and should not talk about.  Within the Matrix of Domination, we still have a lot to understand.

2)  Lot of brew-ha-ha over Michael Phelps and what swimsuit he's going to take into the water for the Worlds this weekend.  I loved this swimmer's comments about buying a suit for Phelps if necessary.  Like he needs your money.  He smokes pot and still gets endorsements, I couldn't even remember your name to put it in here, swimmer.

3)  Time to start getting excited.  It was announced months ago that the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm would have the Seinfeld cast guest starring.  Turns out that it's actually being done in the format of them making a Seinfeld reunion show.  Brilliantly excellent.

4)  Speaking of HBO, True Blood, Hung, and Entourage have all been picked up for another season.  Don't forget Eastbound and Down, which will also return.  HBO seems to have gotten over the doldrums that almost dragged them down with John From Cincinnati.

5)  I watched The Accused last night.  For any of you that haven't seen it, Jodie Foster plays an under-educated borderline white trash woman who is gang raped by three men in a bar.  It brought to mind this question...why are we so willing to have a death penalty, but we're not willing to castrate sex offenders?

6)  What'd y'all think of the Beer Summit up at the White House?  I'm a little curious why the common citizens were smart enough to go with two of my favorite beers, Red Stripe and Blue Moon, and the leader of the free world went with a beer I deem only barely worthy of filling my Beirut glasses.  Has Obama just not tried good beer, and which beer would you ask for if you were invited to booze on the White House Lawn?  I woulda told that man to get me a Mickey's.

7)  This weekend, we must say good-bye to the -amie section of Damie.  What does this mean exactly?  Well, we'll go back to calling him D, we're sure to see more of him out at the bars, and we'll have no one to throw candy at when she's passed out on the couch.  I can only hope that her nickname, "Pass Out ____" makes it to the east coast.  A fond farewell goes out to her on her journey.

8)  As in tomorrow is August, 8/1.  Is it just me, or did this year friggin' fly?

9)  Yesterday, the coach for the University of Hawaii stepped out of bounds and used a homosexual slur to describe Notre Dame's football team.  I'm not sure when people will get it, but using derogatory labels, especially ones that only further subjugate minority groups of any stripe, is uncalled for, wrong and stupid.  Where did these people learn to talk?

10)  Finally, here's a list of 5 folks that you should get on Twitter just to follow...

a) @bakemyfish: "Facebook is the junkie standing on the street corner, nodding out. Twitter is the punk kid stealing his smack and works out of his pocket."

b) @aimee_b_loved: "If I go to work tomorrow hungover I'm blaming peer pressure.

c) @carrmah: "Officer, we can either quarrel over this speeding ticket now or we can resolve this over a few beers with the President of the United States."

d) @jane_bot: "In bed, thought there was an earthquake. Quickly realized it was only my 1-night stand having a seizure. Some men are so "it's all about me."

e) @xrayedman: "My wife asked me to explain my mess. I said All things in the universe attempt to find the lowest energy state.  She did not seem satisfied."

That's it folks.  -Amie's going away party tonight, Foster's tomorrow, be good and remember to floss everyday.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

I know, I've been lagging. Two Fridays without 10 things to think about, and I can only blame excessive fun, too much tweeting and early departures from work. Wait a second, those are all great things to blame. But, since I'm about to leave, and you probably still have some time here, I'll put you out of your misery with some of life's greatest mysteries to ponder.

1) Finally, they've gotten a budget plan in place to fix California's economy. Of course, it involves no additional revenue from marijuana and cuts 4 billion from schools, but hey, locking up smokers is more important than sending kids to college, right?

2) I don't know about you, but if I were Tom Brady, someone stole my flower pots and sold them, I'd probably just buy some more. Instead, this guy who made the mistake needs to pay for it by panhandling. Justice is served.

3) Those smart Brits. The Royal family is now on Twitter. A huzzah goes up through all the land.

4) Drunk? Suicidal? Lemming? These are the only things that come to mind when I read about someone driving over the edge of the Grand Canyon. I mean, how else do you miss that? It isn't a pothole, it's the grand frickin' canyon!

5) Christian Bale is known for fluctuating his weight wildly to play movie roles. Just a word for Mr. Bale...you look better when you're not doing roles that require you to look like this...

6) Finally music justice has been served. John McCain has been forced to settle with Jackson Browne for his unauthorized use of the man's music. And you say you wanted to be President. Learn how to ask an artist if you can use his work first!

7) In unrelated news, add LeBron James to the list with Michael Phelps of incredible athletes who have smoked pot...

8) This is just plain cool...someone has enough time on their hands to use Legos to recreate famous album covers.

9) Which would you rather be? A lean, mean, and possibly dead fighting machine pit bull in Michael Vick's back yard (could face 4 games of suspension) or a lean, nasty and feces covered chihuahua in this guy's house with 100 other chuhuahuas?

10) First off, jackasses, by delaying a qualified Supreme Court justice, you are making yourselves look retarded. Secondly, don't we have enough financial issues in our country that maybe we should focus our money on problems at home?

And that's it for me today. Remember, if it's not here, maybe it doesn't exist.

Coming Storm

Sad to say,
But that sole sharp edge of your double standard sword
Got in the way.
Rather than find a worthy tree for us to chop together,
You flipped it over and assaulted me
In your time of foul weather –
As if that would build the house that would shelter us from the storm.

But maybe you don’t want to be warm.

Maybe the bitter sting of long burning tears and all too real jeers
Leave you content to stand in the cold,
screaming against the temperature.

Meanwhile, we’re both freezing.
Stripped long ago of innocent notions never come to fruition,
we stand here in the skin we came in.
I’d get dressed,
but in the backpack packed tight with the horrendous experiences of your years,
The only warm clothing are the coats of the abominable forefathers

that I fear,
So size me up and fit them to me if you wish,
But I can’t shoulder their history any more
Than I can wish myself out of pain
or single-handedly mold a solution for all of us out of this sick hurricane.
And the clouds are getting worse,
Threatening to blow us all up up and away
If we can’t find a way to live to agree another day.

In the end,
We can’t make only one sound to hear,
Or one person to be,
Or the same exact sight to see,
But the storm is here and
You and I?
If we want to survive?
We need to trade in our swords for a hatchet we can bury,
And start looking for the same tree.

Free Pizza, Free Beer, Random Girl

This past weekend had it all.  From fun in the sun to heavy inebriation to massive amounts of food, nothing was overlooked.  And, in startling fashion, while I've had great weekends out lately, this one returned to the level of randomness that I had come to expect from weekends.  On Friday evening, after doing laundry and then leaving some of it accidentally in the washing machine, I head up to the city a bit on the later end to meet up with ChengJ, Topher, SG, Mr. Jang, Pao and Marc.  They're playing Bridge, which confuses the Hell out of me, so I watch until they switch to Liar's Dice, which I still only watch.  About 11:15 we decide to head down to Bar None where Sis is working as a beer promoter.  What this means is that for the next 40 minutes, we try to drink the free beer she brings us as fast as we can, and she tries to bring it faster than we can drink it.  This is a win-win competition.  

And talk about out there at the bar.  Not only is Weil from high school there, but one of Spearman and I's old colleagues from the law office is drinking as well.  Of course, the bar is filled with idiots, including two who at one point almost engage in a fight over a football jersey.  I send Marc over to break it up, he steps in and tells them to knock it off before security comes in and throws them all out of the bar.  Luckily, Marc wasn't close enough to be included.  Topher and SG get their ass kicked in a game of Beirut, and CA and Sis start to get marginally fed up with the douchebags hitting on them.

At 12, they get off work and we decide to head en masse over to the Silver Cloud to see Spooky.  There, a bachelorette party is in full swing, and, more importantly, the portable rum and coke I've been working on has started to hit the other members of my party, most notably Topher who has shared a great deal with me.  At around 1:30, CA and Sis are ready to head off, Topher has disappeared and ChengJ and I decide to make a last swing by City where they're in the process of kicking everyone out.  It gives me the spot I need to finish my drink and when we finally do leave at 2, we're both starving.  This is where the night gets odd.

We decide that the line at Orgasmica is once again too long, so we swing around the corner to Pizza Pino.  ChengJ introduces me to some of his friends and I remain outside smoking with them as he heads inside.  He's been in there about two minutes when a brawl breaks out at the corner of Fillmore and Lombard.  And I'm not talking about fisticuffs.  We've got about 15-20 people of mixed ethnicities and genders involved in some sort of dispute that has them throwing each other into walls, hitting each other, a great deal of yelling and to top it off, they can't seem to stay on the sidewalk, twice spilling into Lombard and almost getting one of the combatants hit.  I see one guy take a boot to the face while he's on the ground and another get clocked in the face after being pinned up against a building.  Of course, it's only after 5 minutes that the police finally cruise by, turn on the light and the entire mob scatters like roaches.  I realize that I've been engrossed in this fight for an awful long time and turn around to see that I can't see ChengJ in the pizza place.  

I stand around, slightly confused, looking in, looking down the sidewalk, wondering if perhaps I missed it when he tapped me on the shoulder and told me to come along.  I'm contemplating what kind of mission I need to embark on when I see ChengJ in the pizza spot, coming out from behind the counter with a large pizza in his hand.

I'm even more confused.  He gets out to the sidewalk and I ask him where the hell he went.  "I was making our pizza."  What do you mean, making it?  Well, turns out that ChengJ has gotten himself so in with the late night crew here that they allow him to go behind the counter and make his own pizza.  So the large he comes out with is not only hand produced by him, but, more importantly, only cost him three dollars.  So, there's free food.

Walking back to his place, trudging up the hill with pizza in one hand and the remnants of my rum and coke in the other, we pass by a girl sitting on a stoop.  She looks a bit upset, so I ask her if she's alright.  She says she is, ChengJ offers her a slice of pizza which she declines and we keep walking.  Up at the top of the hill, he and I are getting ready to go our separate ways when I turn around to kick a box off the sidewalk, only to find out upon almost cracking my toes that the box is actually a full 12 pack of beer.  Full as in un-opened at all.  I pick it up and hand it to him.  Thanks for the pizza, here's some free beer!

As I'm getting him into position to take a picture so I can tweet the fact that he's gotten free beer and free pizza all after 2am on a Saturday, the girl we passed earlier starts walking past us.  ChengJ asks her to jump in the picture with him, I snap the shot, bid adieu, and head to a cab as ChengJ starts back towards his apartment and the girl starts up the hill. I'm only 5 minutes at my destination when I get a text from him..."She came back."

**********************************

On Saturday after I almost induce a heart attack at Nini's, Chaz comes over at around 7 to start playing Beirut, which we decide will be well played with Mickey's instead of beer.  This is perhaps one of the greatest decisions of the evening.  The night wears on and Hosin and JPA show up from dinner to continue the festivities, including a rare appearance from Cam and Ri.  The highlight of the Beirut evening comes in Game 7 with Chaz and I tied 3-3.  I hit three cups in a row, and on the fourth cup, I shoot after Chaz starts moving the cup and sink it anyways.  That's the end of that, we play a few more games and head out for a Mateo Shit Show.  

We skip Glow, McGovern's and O'Neill's and head to our new favorite spot, Azul.  It looks like a shady dance club from the front, and the inside doesn't help that image with an all black interior and dance floor, but the back patio at this place is smoke friendly and incredibly pleasant to sit out on during a warm summer evening.  Of course, before we head out there, Hosin thinks it's a great idea to buy us all shots of Patron.  I'm in the mood, figure throwing one back shouldn't be too hard, and go for it.  I've got about a quarter of the shot in my mouth before I realize just how bad an idea it is, and spend the next five minutes on the patio attempting to contain myself and avoid puking.  Chaz isn't served much better, but, of course, Hosin leads the pack and invites us to finish our drinks.  

Jarles disappears, Hosin JPA and myself head up to Mr. Pizza Man where I have the bright idea to completely douse my slices of pizza with the parmesan cheese on the table.  Literally to the point that my pizza looks more like a snowstorm hit it than a piece of dough with cheese on it.  But, we trudge on home and call it an evening.  

And in case you're wondering, when I wake up, I indeed finish what was left of the slice that I had abandoned on the table the night before.

Next up?  Chaz's birthday weekend!

Candy, The Trip From Hell and Pride

The last two weeks...verging on insane. It started on the 25th of June, where, having geared up with Sis to head to Lollipop for Pride festivities, we're told that the morning after, we'll need to fly to Iowa for our Grandma's funeral. Of course, we've already bought our tickets, so we need to go, which I know is about to set up a Friday night and Saturday morning combo that won't be easy to swallow. Friday night I head up to the city around 9, pick up Za, Nah, JJ and a few others and we head over to Lollipop.

I'm not sure why they changed the venue from Kelly's Mission Rock (which is friggin' awesome) to some club in the SOMA, but the change was unappreciated as it offered less in the way of space and smoking areas, and way too much in the way of not enough bars for all the drinkers. The line was long, and my sister of course shows up as we're going in, so rather than go back outside or make her wait in line alone, I simply grab her and move her around the rope and past the bouncer. She's got CK and Hessica in tow. Luckily, no one sees this so it works. The smoke section in there is horrendous...literally an enclosed room, which means I leave most of my js in my back pocket til afterwards, but the vibe is still great, our group found a great open spot to dance upstairs.

After the party ends, it wouldn't be a Friday night in the city without crepes, so we head over there, after which I drive everyone home to various parts of the city.

Here's where it gets fun.

I don't get home until around 3:30-45, and I have to be at the airport at 6 for a 7:15 flight to Denver so Sis and I can meet up with the Gibs family and take a flight to Des Moines. Logically, it makes no sense to sleep, so I stay up, finish packing and get dropped at the airport on time, if not a bit groggy. As our flight is full and we're flying standby, the next hour ticks by and reminds me that I've been up for 24. And another flight leaves full. And another. And another. Sis and I spend the afternoon trudging back and forth from terminal to terminal trying to get a flight to Chicago or Denver or anywhere that might get us closer to a flight that goes to Des Moines.

This leads to multiple airport meals. For dinner, we go to Gordon Biersch where Sis's beer comes with a fly in it, her water glass with lipstick smudges on it, and a "bowl" of clam chowder served in a 10 oz. paper cup. I promptly write an email to the company, and am proud to say that they're going to be sending us out some free beer coupons to enjoy at one of their restaurants in apology. While what happened to us in that restaurant was not fun, the company has gone out of its way to make up for it, so I'm not going to blackball them just yet.

Finally, we get on a plane. It's an 8pm plane, only 13 hours after our scheduled flight, and it's not quite to Denver...it's to Las Vegas. But we're reassured that there's an 11pm flight from Vegas to Denver that looks very good, so we'll aim for that. We get into Vegas, eat at Quiznos and then head for the gate. Only, we don't make this flight either. Which doesn't just leave us stranded in Vegas, it leaves us stranded in the Vegas airport where every chair has an arm rest between it, so you can't lay down on any of them. And the neon lights are on all night. And the music from the speakers is awful adult contemporary into the wee hours of the morning. And the constant sounds coming from the omnipresent banks of slot machines replay through your head at 4am.

I'm exhausted, so I resort to laying down on my back with my coat as a blanket and my garment bag as a pillow. I'm not sure if the "Wheel of fortune!" shout is in my dream, or coming from the slot machines that aren't letting me get fully to sleep. I open my eyes at one point to see a custodian sweeping garbage away from me in a two foot radius.

And, as our luck would have it, we don't make the first flight out that morning either. In fact, the loads for flights look so bad that we're told by a supervisor that our best bet at getting out of the Vegas airport is to fly back to San Francisco, which we do, arriving at 9:30 in the morning. I believe it may stand the test of time as the longest round trip travel plans for nothing, ever.

The grandparents pick us up at the airport and drop us off at home. I lay down for a two hour nap which turns into 4, and when I get up, I'm fresh, ready and shower before heading off to BART to catch it up for my first Sunday Pride ever. The Civic Center is packed on every street, and the people are roaming. I'm not sure what it is, but there's not much I like more than roaming flocks of people on city streets as music pumps and alcohol flows. The whole crew is out there, and I hang around for an hour or two before Za and I decide to hit Bart back to the Peninsula. She passes out on the entire ride back, and when we get back to my place, she passes out. I lock, reload and head to the family BBQ at Casa de F.

The night, weekend and 48 hour period ends Sunday night when we head to Yogurtouille, then back to my place for True Blood. Not a bad way to end it, and certainly more in 48 hours than most people might like to manage. Up next...tales from the 4th of July.

June Movie Jubilee (12)

2: Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels
3: Layer Cake
4: Human Traffic
7: Brick
9: Up
14: Wall-E, Into the Wild Green Yonder
21: The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Into the Wild Green Yonder
22: Mystic River
28: Layer Cake
30: Oldboy