Yes,its a week to exams but I have this cracked system where I read something then reward myself with a cookie or something equally enjoyable.So here are some microreviews of the most recent eps,of the only shows I still tail-SPOILERS ahead.
The Office-I honestly believe the show's jumped the shark,its been a steady fall since the new season debuted a month ago and so far its shown to be highly inconsistent,hinting heavily at a lack of material (the most obvious being the re-placement of Ryan in Scranton) and not knowing how to handle the existing relationships.Jim-Pam don't look like they'll be veering off the cutesy anytime soon,and the Jan-Michael-Holly triangle wobbled on sappy before concluding abruptly on account of Michael's extreme fickleness.We're missing the sharpness of the first two seasons ,and I believe it peaked in 3rd season when they handled the drama-romance balance best-I hate to see one of my beloved shows self-destruct so easily,but really,the writing has been shaky and a mid-season cancellation wouldn't be shocking.
Gossip Girl-I've even begun to like it,its cheesy (that orchestral take on Muse),awkward ("Actually,I'm a Count" is this season's "I killed someone") and big on high-drama (Blair-Chuck story's fit for Bold & Beautiful/Home & Away) but all in a good way.They never restrain from abusing characters to steer the story into a certain direction,i.e Vanessa's perpetual lurking and her new role as the force of evil (she tends to appear solely to fuck up things) and most recently this Agnes character,her pedo mate and their part in launching the Nate-Jenny sure to be short-lived "fairy-tale romance".But all is forgiven,I'm curious to see how far they'll go for the sake of entertainment-nothing's sacred anymore,'moral' characters have proven otherwise (both V & D now have 'scheming weirdos' engraved on their cv's) and even the sturdiest have had their soft sides exposed,everyone's a chameleon with their identity and no other show has been as brute or experimental.
30 Rock-How I've missed Tina Fey & Co,but having seen all the preceding episodes to last night's season premier,I've adjusted my expectations to fit the bill.30 Rock season openers have been big hits (last night was the show's most-watched,Fey's still on a high from the Palin sketches),but the show as a whole is thin and full of pointless,witty dialogue where substance should be.So its unsurprising that the story developed in the whole of last season-Jack's departure & Devin's rise-was completely undone within a single 20 minute episode.Instead the adoption lady loses her memory at the end,but Jack returns to power-its a safe and cowardly move,to phase out the Jack-Devin rivalry to re-enter the no-drama zone,clever distracting us with this 'adoption lady' story that turned out inconsequential.But we've got a lot of surprises lined up,starting with Oprah on next week's ep-then sometime later Jan Aniston and a rumoured Jon Damm stint.
Have a good weekend.
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31.10.08
30.10.08
Femme Fatale
cos everybody knows
the things she does to please
This clip is amazing beyond anything on earth or Mars.
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the things she does to please
This clip is amazing beyond anything on earth or Mars.
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28.10.08
Kyla
World's most shocking stories was on,tonight it was "World's Smallest Kids"-they introduced two characters,the first Kyla and the other Tyler.Kyla apparently weighs 17 pounds,has a disproportionately large face and the top half of her jaw juts out weirdly,but she's as arrogant and sassy as any other 14 year old teen.Tyler's about 7 years old,can't speak well and has limited hearing-he was diagnosed with MOPD Type 2 (not so sure what that was-primordial dwarf syndrome or something),while he walks around the mall with his mom a kid perhaps a year or two older clad in an oversized jersey comes to him,raises both his hands and shouts "I'm bigger than you!" for no apparent reason,then runs off.Tyler coveres his eyes with one arm,begins to sob while his mom tries to console him.Kyla's turning 14,she organizes a huge birthday party and calls parents all over America with children like her to attend-she doesnt't like mixing with little people,a 16 year-old dwarf asks her if she wants to go golf later-she considers it,then walks off.The episode ends with an interview with Kyla,who says "People laugh at me and stuff,but for some reason I wouldn't want to not be me.I don't know why,but I wouldn't want to be anybody else",I'm sure all of this converts to some message,so I won't patronize you with my personal take on it.
After that,it was time to tune into my new favourite show-Girls of the Playboy Mansion.I'm just waiting for the Kendra-Holly rivalry (they never say it explicitly,but their body language speaks plenty) to explode.
The album's pretty good too,they remind me of Black Kids without the excessive hyperactivity.Try 'strobe','lovesick' & 'in the hospital.
+1st review for Synedoche,New York out,not so good.
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After that,it was time to tune into my new favourite show-Girls of the Playboy Mansion.I'm just waiting for the Kendra-Holly rivalry (they never say it explicitly,but their body language speaks plenty) to explode.
The album's pretty good too,they remind me of Black Kids without the excessive hyperactivity.Try 'strobe','lovesick' & 'in the hospital.
+1st review for Synedoche,New York out,not so good.
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27.10.08
24.10.08
Beach House
Beach House: Used to Be from shoottheplayer on Vimeo.
+Santogold & Lykke Li both playing solo gigs in January,I'm hoping the Arctic Monkeys & Sam Sparro will announce side gigs when they come for BDO & Good Vibrations,respectively.Also,its highly unlikely,but I'm hoping Sufjan and John Mayer find their way here somehow too.
(via Stereogum)
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23.10.08
Van She Hype Machine
This is what Van She's calendar looks like (plucked from their MySpace),as for now.
1 Nov Malaysia (Venue TCB)
10-30 Nov Touring as a supporting act for Block Party's 'Intimacy' Tour
Holy fuck man.
To anyone in Malaysia reading this,GO FOR THEIR GIG.
Tickets for the Bloc Party gig are sold out,I was considering going for my beloved Van She alone (honestly,they're unbelievable)-but the thought of spending a single cent on Bloc Party disgusts me,when you produce an album as bad as 'Weekend in The City' (seriously,the shitmeter just went past the roof) you're bound to attract some passionate haters.
Anyway,I can't believe Van She's not doing their own thing by now-to tag along beside some overrated english band is below them at this stage.And by the way,where was Van She at the ARIA's (not that anyone actually takes the program seriously,I mean Gabriella "That One Fuckin Song" Cilmi winnning over Kylie?Ha fucking Ha guys,joke of the year).If I sound angry that's because I just came out of a meeting that was basically without an agenda,so people kept interrupting all the time and we covered different issues in the most retarded way possible,but more so because Van She shouldn't play second fiddle to BP.Ok,go buy their album now-this won't be my final endorsement,so you might as well just buy the damn thing so we can both be Van She maniacs/BFFs.
1 Nov Malaysia (Venue TCB)
10-30 Nov Touring as a supporting act for Block Party's 'Intimacy' Tour
Holy fuck man.
To anyone in Malaysia reading this,GO FOR THEIR GIG.
Tickets for the Bloc Party gig are sold out,I was considering going for my beloved Van She alone (honestly,they're unbelievable)-but the thought of spending a single cent on Bloc Party disgusts me,when you produce an album as bad as 'Weekend in The City' (seriously,the shitmeter just went past the roof) you're bound to attract some passionate haters.
Anyway,I can't believe Van She's not doing their own thing by now-to tag along beside some overrated english band is below them at this stage.And by the way,where was Van She at the ARIA's (not that anyone actually takes the program seriously,I mean Gabriella "That One Fuckin Song" Cilmi winnning over Kylie?Ha fucking Ha guys,joke of the year).If I sound angry that's because I just came out of a meeting that was basically without an agenda,so people kept interrupting all the time and we covered different issues in the most retarded way possible,but more so because Van She shouldn't play second fiddle to BP.Ok,go buy their album now-this won't be my final endorsement,so you might as well just buy the damn thing so we can both be Van She maniacs/BFFs.
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22.10.08
Asshole
Kebengonan Maksimum.
While using the laptop last night,I heard a buzzing sound and turned the laptop around to discover sparks emanating out of the end of the ac adaptor.I wondered if perusing more gossip websites and chatting online was worth risking having the laptop blow up and my face is pieces all over the bedroom wall.So,I'm officially without a laptop (big deal).Then the phone started acting funny and a 'dishonour notice' came in the mail for a bill I apparently had no money to pay for,so the bank took the liberty of paying it for me hence the $30 charge.
But no,I remember paying the bill and a quick check online confirms this.So I visited the bank (the nice unibrow girl was there,in her usual mismatched pantsuit) and turns out it was a wrongdoing on Tru Energy's part-they took my money from a secondary account that wasn't meant for bills,and more importantly,they took it even after the bill was paid well in advance of its due date.Hence fate takes us to this 15-minute argument on the phone with a fantastically stupid superbitch who,under the delusion of being an omnipotent Judge Judy figure-proceeded to grill me in a lawyer-like fashion,"Sir,you're not answering the question-as pointed out blabla,the account information was incorrect hence blabla"-clearly I was able to see through this pathetic double-talk to highlight her own elusiveness from the truth.I kept pressing that the amount was taken EVEN AFTER the bill was paid,a sarcastic comment or twelve might've slipped out (''Oh,so even after the customer's paid you take the money-I wasn't aware that's how we do business nowdays",in a pretentious house-wife voice),what happened was they took the money (that wasn't there-BAM comes the $30 fee) then reversed the transaction a day later,mindful about the mistake made.It came to a point where both of us were screaming into the phone (we were well past "Lower your voice down,sir,there's no need for shouting" or "Could you please re-explain that?") and then this guy came (I was in the union lab,where people come mainly to blog,facebook and do crap stuff) and said "Excuse me,could you please take your call outside-you're intefering"-whatever,he was polite enough to warrant avoiding a bleeding nose,so I took the call outside-where the line deliberately died.
So I left the cursed reception blackhole of a building to call outside,on the other end was a guy-I insisted on continuing our unfinished war (I imagine the superbitch wearing a second-hand tiara she bought in Chinatown,some chinchilla fur coat she stole from a wheelchair-bound grandmother,happily downing a pack of discounted wine and smiling to the big portrait of herself stuck above that was captioned "I IS POWER") but this guy took over instead and the matter was resolved within 3 minutes ("I'll credit your account for $30,sorry for the blunder").
There,my exciting story about fighting with some lady over the phone.
...
While using the laptop last night,I heard a buzzing sound and turned the laptop around to discover sparks emanating out of the end of the ac adaptor.I wondered if perusing more gossip websites and chatting online was worth risking having the laptop blow up and my face is pieces all over the bedroom wall.So,I'm officially without a laptop (big deal).Then the phone started acting funny and a 'dishonour notice' came in the mail for a bill I apparently had no money to pay for,so the bank took the liberty of paying it for me hence the $30 charge.
But no,I remember paying the bill and a quick check online confirms this.So I visited the bank (the nice unibrow girl was there,in her usual mismatched pantsuit) and turns out it was a wrongdoing on Tru Energy's part-they took my money from a secondary account that wasn't meant for bills,and more importantly,they took it even after the bill was paid well in advance of its due date.Hence fate takes us to this 15-minute argument on the phone with a fantastically stupid superbitch who,under the delusion of being an omnipotent Judge Judy figure-proceeded to grill me in a lawyer-like fashion,"Sir,you're not answering the question-as pointed out blabla,the account information was incorrect hence blabla"-clearly I was able to see through this pathetic double-talk to highlight her own elusiveness from the truth.I kept pressing that the amount was taken EVEN AFTER the bill was paid,a sarcastic comment or twelve might've slipped out (''Oh,so even after the customer's paid you take the money-I wasn't aware that's how we do business nowdays",in a pretentious house-wife voice),what happened was they took the money (that wasn't there-BAM comes the $30 fee) then reversed the transaction a day later,mindful about the mistake made.It came to a point where both of us were screaming into the phone (we were well past "Lower your voice down,sir,there's no need for shouting" or "Could you please re-explain that?") and then this guy came (I was in the union lab,where people come mainly to blog,facebook and do crap stuff) and said "Excuse me,could you please take your call outside-you're intefering"-whatever,he was polite enough to warrant avoiding a bleeding nose,so I took the call outside-where the line deliberately died.
So I left the cursed reception blackhole of a building to call outside,on the other end was a guy-I insisted on continuing our unfinished war (I imagine the superbitch wearing a second-hand tiara she bought in Chinatown,some chinchilla fur coat she stole from a wheelchair-bound grandmother,happily downing a pack of discounted wine and smiling to the big portrait of herself stuck above that was captioned "I IS POWER") but this guy took over instead and the matter was resolved within 3 minutes ("I'll credit your account for $30,sorry for the blunder").
There,my exciting story about fighting with some lady over the phone.
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20.10.08
All the wild horses
May no man's touch ever tame
May no man's reigns ever chain you
And may no man's weight ever defray your soul
(the soul prevails)
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13.10.08
11.10.08
10.10.08
Jenny Humphrey for Crash magazine
As Blair would say,"Little J,you've got no class so you and Vanessa should kill yourselves for our viewers' sake".Nah,she'd just smirk and walk away,to leave Little J sliding into self-loathing.These pictures are quite bad (that last one is decidedly tryhard,I've nothing to say about the straw & the stick-on eyebrows),but I don't mind her character on the show-she's whiny and self-obsessed,but nowhere near as annoying as 90% of the cast(via BWE)
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9.10.08
Satanic Verses
Woke up earlier than normal,spilled coffee on my pants.Lecturer talked more about interest rates,my enthusiasm went in and out the door like a gratuitous party guest.I had this crazy schedule planned for the day,the line broken with the spilled coffee for which I had to walk back home for.A huge black folder shielding the crotch,I looked like a 5th grader trying to conceal a hard-on so to avoid social contact I took to faraway lanes and alleys so shady only pimps and perverts would use them.I'm not exactly done with the book (a small pinch left),its one of those books that completely lose steam towards the end and become deliberately slow-paced and hard to finish.The problem is this-the book's not complicated,if you have the time and patience its a straightforward ride.Its stuffed.To me at least,it felt like the author had several ideas and many different stories (all turning out quite magnificent,well-written individually) but he chose to squeeze them all under one umbrella.So what you have,is alternating stories that seem inconsequential to one another-the two main stories (first the story of Gibreel and Chamcha,the other the story of Mahound and his youngest wife Ayesha with her Islamic pilgrimage) are tied together loosely but each are dealt with at length.And there are these little stories that spawn from the main branch-of characters whose personal histories are dedicated many pages for,but don't appear significant and mostly just die.But the story does have many strong moments-the story of Bilal in disguise at the whorehouse and the prostitutes adopting the personalities of Mahound's wivesfor business,the part about the terrifying Imam and his use of Gibreel as a warrior,and the depiction of Ayesha with her many butterflies.
As for the apparent controversy surrounding the book (you can read about that here),I don't have any comment.I don't take fiction novels as textbooks,maybe the other way around.
There is a place that I have seen
Somewhere between waking and sleeping
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8.10.08
6.10.08
Huh
Wow.
What an inactive cow I've been.
Saw about half of the VP debate (thanks to the good folks on ABC-who I believe televised it live-a rare feat in a time when most Australian channels lay terms like "fastracked from the US" to deceive viewers),it was interesting at first but once they strayed away from the economy and into the apparently more "controversial" issues.Before anything,I must say Biden has a smile that is absolutely blinding they could put that smile on a milk carton and I'd buy it everytime.Palin was unamusingly elusive,but she did uncover a lot of statistical facts I didn't know about Obama's true position on certain things-and while I felt Biden did a better job at attacking the questions head-on (Palin rambled incessantly about "the American people" and her supposed connection with the common folk ie Joe 6 pack and hockey moms and whatnot-a strategy which I find transparently hollow-next thing you know she'll do a "Jenny on the Block" video emphasizing on how "real" she is),neither candidates displayed a strong position and were both neither here nor there.It wouldn't be surprising if McCain dropped Palin (an unwise decision at this point in the race,but the toughest decisions are the most important),I'm saying this because I think she's genuinely incapable of managing an entire country (the way she bases her potential on her experiences in Alaska-ie foreign policy and Russia being the most obvious-its just an incredibly dumb thing to say),plus both McCain and Palin were decidely rocky on the bailout issue-see how she kept reverting to taxes when pressed to respond to Biden's points,that sly ox.
I'll leave you with a vid of Tina Fey doing Palin for the 3rd time.I didn't enjoy it as much,but you might.But I could have Tina Fey striking her yearbook pose all day and it'd be fine.Its going to be a worky (?) week,and I think that chihuahua movie looks like a good weekender.Talking dogs,when has that ever not worked?
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...
What an inactive cow I've been.
Saw about half of the VP debate (thanks to the good folks on ABC-who I believe televised it live-a rare feat in a time when most Australian channels lay terms like "fastracked from the US" to deceive viewers),it was interesting at first but once they strayed away from the economy and into the apparently more "controversial" issues.Before anything,I must say Biden has a smile that is absolutely blinding they could put that smile on a milk carton and I'd buy it everytime.Palin was unamusingly elusive,but she did uncover a lot of statistical facts I didn't know about Obama's true position on certain things-and while I felt Biden did a better job at attacking the questions head-on (Palin rambled incessantly about "the American people" and her supposed connection with the common folk ie Joe 6 pack and hockey moms and whatnot-a strategy which I find transparently hollow-next thing you know she'll do a "Jenny on the Block" video emphasizing on how "real" she is),neither candidates displayed a strong position and were both neither here nor there.It wouldn't be surprising if McCain dropped Palin (an unwise decision at this point in the race,but the toughest decisions are the most important),I'm saying this because I think she's genuinely incapable of managing an entire country (the way she bases her potential on her experiences in Alaska-ie foreign policy and Russia being the most obvious-its just an incredibly dumb thing to say),plus both McCain and Palin were decidely rocky on the bailout issue-see how she kept reverting to taxes when pressed to respond to Biden's points,that sly ox.
I'll leave you with a vid of Tina Fey doing Palin for the 3rd time.I didn't enjoy it as much,but you might.But I could have Tina Fey striking her yearbook pose all day and it'd be fine.Its going to be a worky (?) week,and I think that chihuahua movie looks like a good weekender.Talking dogs,when has that ever not worked?
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3.10.08
Barn Fest
The official 1st announcement for BD0 09's full lineup.BIG DAY OUT 2009: NEIL YOUNG, ARCTIC MONKEYS, THE LIVING END, THE PRODIGY, SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM, MY MORNING JACKET, PENDULUM, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, TV ON THE RADIO, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, THE TING TINGS, TIKI TAANE, CUT COPY, COG, YOUTH GROUP, THE GRATES, BIRDS OF TOKYO, TZU and EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING.Oh,COME ON.
The only notables would be the Arctic Monkeys & TV on the Radio-but still,what is this-2005?They got so many good ones earlier this year-The National,Bjork,LCD Soundsystem,Spoon,Arcade Fire-and this is what we've come to,bands with names like TZU and EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING.They didn't even get Van She or Sam Sparrow for god's sake,what use is it having exceptional local acts when you exclude them from major events and instead opt for irrelevant people like Neil Young to headline?
BS.
I expect the 2nd announcement to give us a proper reason to purchase the $145 tickets.
Predictions: Tokyo Police Club,Bon Iver,Santogold,MGMT,The Virgins,The Presets.
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1.10.08
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