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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Gongs Across Borders


Music and dance from the highlands of Cambodia and Vietnam. Some beautiful images and sounds.

A Musician from Non Lec Village in Cambodia explains: “The Gong, is very important because all my ancestors no matter what they faced, they always had Gongs. Every ceremony we must play Gongs for the Spirits. Without Gongs it’s useless to hold the Ceremony. The Gongs speak to the Spirit and represent our Tribe. They are so important that if we lost Gongs it will be like we lost half of our bodies. Gongs are extremely important.”

Terrence Koh


"The Voyage Of Lady Midnight Snowdrops Through Double Star Death" By Terrence Koh.

I watched a documentary on Terrence Koh this weekend, Hey Koh Bunny, Hey Koh Bunny!. A cool account of a 'cool' artist. What impressed me about Koh is not so much his art, which is clever and summarizes a lot of what has been happening in the west over the last ten years in art, media and buying, but the whole 'art as reality/reality as art' paradigm that is present in Koh Bunny.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Tim Buckley - Dolphins - Whistle Test (May '74)

The Road of a Thin Man



I am moving house. Me alone. Feels good in a nervous way. I am only listening to Dylan as my CDs are all packed.

A different version from Bob Dylan's "Eat the Document" This was an extra that wasn't actually in the movie.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Here, My Explosion


Here. My Explosion happened when I totally stopped doing some things that I completely hated and free to do what made me be. A story. A magic trick. And a burn. I thought it would be fun to end to have the second half be a long Western, and it would have been, but it totally didn't fit in, so I ended with a longer hope. Yes, Hope of what you want to do. Hope, Dreams. In It. Life. by Reid Gershbein

Download a quicktime version of the entire film here.


Get the soundtrack for free here.

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Hunt For Gollum



An unofficial and free 39 minute Lord of the Rings fan film, made for less than $5,000 by Independent Online Cinema. Based on parts of The Lord of the Rings, it tells of when Aragorn tracked down Gollum between The Hobbit & The Fellowship of the Ring.

www.thehuntforgollum.com
www.independentonlinecinema.com

Bill Brasky-Stock Broker



I saw this on TV late the other night and laughed. Even thought about it afterwards.

Bill Brasky was the subject of a series of sketches on the television sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live between 1996 and 1998. The sketches were written by cast member Will Ferrell and writer Adam McKay.

The format of the sketches resembles the short-form improv game "Two Describe a Third." Three or four friends (known as the "Bill Brasky Buddies") gather in a public place to drink Scotch, smoke cigars, and loudly reminisce about their mutual acquaintance Bill Brasky. While the friends refer to Brasky in both present and past tense on occasion, it appears that Brasky is still alive: some sketches end with Brasky's appearance via a forced perspective shot that makes him look like a giant. (One sketch, set at Brasky's funeral, ends with Brasky breaking out of the coffin holding a glass of Scotch.)

Most of the friends' discussions focus on their admiration of Brasky's superhuman accomplishments, usually focused on his huge size, virility, celebrity connections, amazing tolerance for drugs and alcohol, and reckless disregard for human life. The stories of Brasky's life and seemingly legendary accomplishments are exaggerated to absurd levels in the American tradition of tall tales, similar to the "Chuck Norris Facts" Internet phenomenon, employed nearly a decade later (in fact, Bill Brasky quotes are regularly recycled as Chuck Norris facts). If their stories are to be believed, Brasky is ten feet tall, weighs two tons, possesses a variety of superhuman capabilities, is capable of lactation, and has cheated death on numerous occasions.

The Brasky Buddies are all apparently salesmen who worked with Brasky, as they frequently state that he was "the best damned salesman in the office." They all have red cheeks and red noses (apparently due to the large amounts of Scotch they consume), and extremely large, white teeth (for unexplained reasons). They appear to be coming from a sales conference or a business meeting, and by the time the sketch begins, they are very drunk.

Typically, the three cycle through the same genres of comment four or five times. The first buddy will begin a long anecdote about Brasky, interrupted by the second drunkenly blurting out something embarrassing (e.g. "I masturbate to the Teletubbies..."). The buddies then exchange several shorter claims about Brasky. The cycle will then repeat, starting with the second Brasky Buddy, getting more outrageous each time around. At some point a man not party to the original conversation, usually played by Tim Meadows, will interject with "Are you guys talking about Bill Brasky? I know Bill Brasky!"

Sunday, May 17, 2009

8.08.08 Celebrational Ritual at the Loveland Godfarm



A tenth anniversary celebration of the founding of Bruce Damer's piece of heaven, the Ancient Oak's Loveland Godfarm.. Join us for a celebration of new beginnings and long term friendships.

I have spent some time in the company of Bruce and Galen these last few days and what a pleasure it has been...

Sun City Girls - CIA Man

Friday, May 15, 2009

Unyazi of the Bushveld - 2007



This film by Aryan Kaganof was shot in 2005, during the first symposium organised by our fellow citizen Dimitri Voudouris at the University of Witwatersrand, near Johannesburg. Its final editing was completed this year, as the film is really a formal, musical and, above all, stylistic improvisation, which took time to be transferred onto film.

The film opens with the words of the composer Francisco Lopez and continues with those of the theoreticians George Lewis (an American, thanks to whom the film was shown at the latest jazz festival at Columbia University), Christo Doherty and the musicologist James Sey. The scene is set in a way that’s free and advanced, making us look forward to hearing the improvised and naturally modern music, and goes well with the musical content of the film. Kaganof has brought together a large number of images of the festivities and preparations, and we watch musicians of every nationality experimenting and rehearsing with their musical instruments. These experiments are presented as a visual and acoustic symphony. Voudouris adds that the festival will also be a multi-media event. (More)