Shlep D-O Double Gizzle's Web Pizzle

Milk was a BAD choice

Just another quick plug for the Huffington Post. This week they're running some of the best entries from the past year, including posts by Norman Mailer, Larry David, Walter Cronkite and Vernon Jordan (yes, THAT Vernon Jordan, the dude that gave Monica Lewinsky a job after she'd had enough of the cigar).

So far, my favorite Huffington blogger has been Adam McKay. McKay was head writer at SNL for four years and wrote and directed Anchorman which, along with Dodgeball , has become a staple on HBO the last couple of weeks and provided hours of cheap comedy for me ("Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Dia-go, which of course in German means a whale's vagina"). Needless to say his entries are funny, but more than that I like him because 1) he's a big basketball fan and not only wrote an entire entry on the NBA, but usually throws in one or two basketball references in every post, and 2) he takes the time to respond to the comments (even the crazy right-wing ones) that people leave on his posts. Highly recommended, especially the "Larry King"-posts.

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I can't WAIT for the Rose Bowl!

Did you know...?

...that Mark Cuban owns Landmark theatres ? That's right, the local theater chain that shows all the latest and greatest in independent cinema (including Dobie for all you Horns out there) is owned by none other than everyone's favorite loopy Internet-billionaire turned Dallas Mavericks team owner. I found this out one day while surfing the Net at work and wondering if Cuban had gotten into any new beefs lately. So I went over to his blog and saw that yes! he did have a mini-tiff with the NY Times. The actual situation wasn't as interesting as discovering that through 2929 Entertainment Mark Cuban, with partner Todd Wagner, runs both HDNet , HDFilms , as well as the Landmark Theatre chain.

Even though I admit he can be annoying at times, I've always been a big fan of Mark Cuban. He's the perfect example of a super-fan who all of a sudden gets to own his favorite team. But beyond that, he's a really smart super-fan. He's come up with innovative ideas about the way a pro-sports team can be operated and marketed, and that's affected franchises across the nation. He's made supporting the Mavericks (something which was not easy at all in Cowboy-crazy Dallas) cool and fun. The thing I really like is that he's never afraid to try anything new, and even when he's wrong, he's sincere and genuine about everything. I love that he's bringing that same energy and attitude to the film industry. 2929 helped produce Good Night, and Good Luck and recently signed a six-picture deal with none other than Steven Soderbergh. You can read more about Cuban's ideas about digital film and digital projection in the "mini-tiff" link above, but another idea he brought up in the blog that I really like is the "Collapsing Window". Basically, it does away with the idea that a movie premiers in the theaters, then after a few months goes to DVD, then after a few more goes to TV (unless it's a crappy movie and it goes "straight-to-video"). The past few years, theater box offices have slumped badly while DVD sales have gone through the roof. But what if a movie came out on DVD and on the big screen at the same time? People who relish the theater experience can still go, while people who would rather stay at home don't have to wait the few months anymore (Soderbergh's Bubble is the first to be simulataneously released). I think there are plenty of cross-promotions and incentives available to make it work financially and I'm really excited to see how Cuban runs with it.

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...that Korn has a new album out? That's right, the standard bearers of the very late 90's rap-rock movement (movement? not really, more like a blip) have released a new album. Not that I particularly care I was never a huge fan, but their video for the first single Twisted Transistor is HIE-LARIOUS. Rappers Lil' Jon, Snoop Dogg, David Banner and Xzibit play the four band members (the fifth member, Head, left to pursue Christianity) as they go through the motions of making a video and promoting a record. Not only is it interesting and a little surreal to watch these rappers, whose hip-hop images are pretty cemented, run around with instruments, it's ridiculously funny to watch as they go through Almost Famous-ish rock band adventures. The band gets jealous as David Banner's modeling career takes off, and Snoop gets overly artistic and refuses to be shoot a video because it will compromise the song. The best moment is when the "band" meets with the label execs (played the real band) and they ask what the song is about, to which Snoop, totally in brooding-guitarist character says, "Naw man, it's about....transistors, yah feel me?" High comedy.

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In last week's edition of Sports Illustrated there was a feature on Alonzo Mourning entitled PlayStrong about how he aspires to have a Lance Armstrong-like affect on transplant survivors. Brilliant!

Lastly...Kobe sucks. That's all.

I drink a mousse for breakfast, and Ensure for dessert

On Sunday December 4, I made a quick trek to the UCSD campus to cross another act off on my Personal Pantheon list. My man Kanye made a stop here on his Touch the Sky tour. Since my last rambling post on Kanye, he has indeed become ubiquitous, winning a bunch of Grammy's, releasing a second mult-plat album (more on that later), landing on the cover of Time magazine, and causing a quite the stir with his now infamous "George Bush doesn't care about black people" comment on live TV. I'm happy to report that in concert, Kanye did not disappoint. The set and effects were relatively simple and never took away from the music. There were some lights, some videos, a few props and a fog machine, but nothing over the top. For most of the show it was just Kanye with a DJ, a couple of singers, some strings and a percussionist (Frankie Knuckles from The Roots) to back him up. It wasn't a "posse" hip-hop show with a bunch of hangers-on screaming lyrics intermittently into their mics, just Kanye and his music. He was engaging and energetic and often very funny (during "Gold Digga" he encouraged the crowd to sing along to the chorus, "White people! This is your only chance to say nigga!"). I love catching acts after only one or two albums because it means we get to hear all our favorite non-hits from the repertoire, and Kanye definitely accomodated. He played most of his latest, Late Registration , all of the singles from College Dropout as well as non-hit cuts such as, "Spaceship", "Get 'em High" and "We Don't Care".

(And since I don't have a good transition, I'll go into my thoughts on Late Registration . On the whole, it's a very good album. It takes the right steps forward for Kanye without losing too much of his essence. Most of the production has more of a pop sheen thanks to the work of Jon Brion, and I think that was a smart move on Kanye's part. That being said, I still think the CD lacks the same visceral impact of College Dropout , some of the hip-hop immediacy is missing. In concert, that feeling was restored to most of Late's songs thanks to Kanye's strong stage performance.)

Kanye was able to segue seamlessly from the gully, straight hip-hop numbers to the more glammed out Puffy-type songs like "Gold Digga" and "Jesus Walks". This, of course, speaks to his greatest asset which is to walk that fine line between art and entertainment, consciousness and club-bangin'. Overall I give the Kanye show an A+.

A couple of photos:

Kanye in front of a wall of light.

Kanye in his Puffy suit.

Kanye about to get jiggy.

A very brief (8 seconds) video clip of Kanye during my first and still favorite song, "Through the Wire" .

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I'd be remiss if I didn't address Kanye's latest flap concerning this year's Grammy nominations. Kanye threatened to "have a real problem" if Late didn't win album of the year. He later backtracked a bit after the actual nominations came out (he got 8), but he didn't do much to change the perception that he's arrogant and egotistical. It also presented quite the problem for Kanye apologists (like me) who feel the need to defend him. Kanye shouldn't be faulted for wanting to make history and win Album of the Year ( Late would be the first all-rap album to do so), but he is continually hurting his credibility with statements like the above. Kanye, in his music, is usually just the opposite, self-assured, but also self-aware. He's open and funny about his flaws and I wish he would try to be just as humble in the press. He needs to relax and realize that everyone is not out to disrespect him. At first, the chip on his shoulder was a good thing. No one believed in him and he still went on to well-deserved success, and he brought that edge to his early work. Now, however, he's already widely respected and admired not just in hip-hop, but in all of music and it just seems like he's manufacturing slights to keep himself motivated.

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"I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!!"
--Will Ferrell

Rowling v. Lucas continued...

Before we continue with the compare/contrast, there are some administrative notes. Two new sites have been added to the Politrix section. The Huffington Post and Truthout.org are great places to browse national media articles, op-ed pieces, and blog entries that might not exactly make it on the next Fox News report. They are both sort of clearing houses of news and opinions from both major media outlets and lesser known ones. Though they are decidedly liberal and left-wing, they don't hold back on any target deserving of criticism. Plenty of revealing information and snarky comments, so please browse and enjoy.

Second, the Spins, Flicks and Words section has been updated to include some of the things that have caught (or re-caught) my attention over the last few months. And lastly, the Gallery section has been taken down for some re-tooling.

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There was some disturbing and sad news this week as well. A suicide bombing in Bangladesh on Monday was the nation's first in it's 34-year history. Although it barely registered as news in a climate where suicide bombings are a more-than daily occurence in Iraq, it was a very personal blow to the pizzle. Bangladesh is about 90% Muslim, and, as East Pakistan, was originally created as a homeland for Bengali Muslims. But we have always prided ourselves on the other parts of our identity as well, like our cultural independence, our language and our values of tolerance and understanding. Extremism is of course, nothing new in any pluralistic society, but only recently has it taken a violent turn in Bangladesh. I always felt a small amout of pride that no matter what other problems the nation had, crippling poverty, pervasive corruption, a barely functioning democracy, Bangalis never resorted to explosions to punctuate their idealogy. With such a strong intellectual, literary and spiritual legacy it's truly depressing to think we've sunk so low.

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Enough sadness though, let's get back to what we do best...distract ourselves.

The Verdict?

We ended last time with my contention that in terms of accessibility, the world of Harry Potter had a small leg up on Star Wars. Is the extra bit of imagination required for full Star Wars immersion worth it? Well, the short answer is yes, it is after all, the Greatest Story Ever Told (Da-da-duuuh-duuuh-da-da-da-daaaaa-da!!). In addition, about 95% of Harry Potter movie viewers have already read the book, meaning there's no real element of surprise, just anticipation. Episodes 4,5 and 6 of Star Wars were brand new to the world. No one knew going in that Vader was Anakin, Luke and Leia's father, and that's pretty huge in terms of storytelling impact. By the time an HP movie hits the theaters the impact is lost. For GOF, we already knew Cedric was going to die and Voldemort was coming back. So in terms of initial impact the slight edge goes to Star Wars.

What about lasting influence? In this case, I'm going to give it up to Harry Potter, and here's why. Looking at it from the present time and place, it's no question that Star Wars has had a more significant effect on popular culture, but Lucas did have a thirty-year head start. And in some important ways the production of episodes one through three may diminish some of that lasting influence. We all had sixteen years in-between episode six and episode one to discover and re-discover the story, and to wonder if we could ever enter that world again. While it was refreshing to return to that galaxy, far, far away, and neat to see all the pieces fit together (and to realize that the originally intended six-part story was really all about Anakin), the whole enterprise seemed like too much explanation, and no revelation. For every hole that was filled in, there was a new hole that opened up. There was too much with the "metachlorins" (I still don't understand what the hell they are, the Force was better as a spiritual, not biological, entity) and the awkward romances. Anakin was supposedly tempted towards the dark side because he loved a little too deeply, first his mother then Padme, but if Padme was so crucial to the creation of Vader, why is she never even mentioned in 4, 5 and 6? Luke eagerly probes old Obi-Wan for details about his father, but remains curiously incurious about his mother.

(As a momma's boy, this was a key difference to me. Padme dies and cannot be a mother to her kids because of the broken love between her and Anakin, which is extraordinary. In a way, Luke's redemption of Anakin is also a validation of Padme's death, but neither Luke nor Leia are ever made aware of this. Harry, as we are constantly reminded, is the only person to have ever survived the killing curse, and is destined to face Voldemort again because his mother sacrificed her life for his. He is continually searching for the love and courage and support he lost from both his parents.)

So even though I look forward to the day when I can sit and watch all six Star Wars DVD's back-to-back and in order, it can't reverse the original experience of seeing the conclusion first...advantage Harry.

HP on the other hand, started as a grass roots, (and sequential) literary movement. Even though, as stated before, Book 6 takes on the characteristics of Episodes 1 and 2, we are all set up now for the grand finale, which should be the biggest literary event ever and (two-three years later) the biggest film event since, well, since Star Wars. Harry's story started with a little kid who discovers he can do magic, and his story has progressed steadily since. After six years of adventures and schooling, Harry has to prepare himself for the ultimate showdown. In the meantime, kids, and plenty of adults, can pick up the books and movies and get acquainted with the kids at Hogwarts. With each new reader/viewer the swelling of anticipation for how Harry will end up after year 7 will grow. I think in a few years time, we'll see the that the influence of Rowling's world will have eclipsed that of Lucas'. The fanclubs and costumes and "I speak Parseltoungue" bumper stickers are already ubiquitous, and the sky is the limit.

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious then, (and inviting the furor of plastic light sabre weilding freaks everywhere), I rule in favor of Rowling in the case of Rowling v. Lucas on the basis of the the tremendous upside potential of Harry Potter. Let's hope we are not disappointed.

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Shout outs are due to the Lord of the Rings (I admit, I never read the books, but the movies were fabulous) and the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia (Religiously read the books as a kid, I may end up doing a Rowling v. CS Lewis piece one day)

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"I wish I...I could make it right, if I would just swallow my pride"
---Common and Kanye