Thursday, September 20, 2007
BWB is now a B Corporation
Just heard the internal announcement that we'll be officially be enrolling as a B-Corporation instead of an S- or C-Corp. Check out the homepage of B-Corp.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
If Prizio did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him
~Gauche is back in town. He's infuriating and indispensable. The world is right again, as I can view the Solip and reassure myself of our existence on a regular basis.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Go see the Bourne Ultimatum right now
Seriously, drop what you're doing and go see it. You owe it to yourself to catch this on the big screen. I'm going to have to go back and re-watch what I previously considered to be the all-time best action flicks (The Killer, Hard-Boiled, Die Hard, etc), but walking out of the theater last week I had to rank Bourne 3 at or near the top of the list.
Basically, B3 makes the decision that you're already invested in the characters from the first two movies, so they're free to devote the entire movie to absolutely brilliant action sequences. And they're some of the best I've ever seen. The first of the three big sequences, in London's Waterloo station, is a fantastic game of fast-moving chess in terms of trying to lose a concerted tailing effort. The second, the motorcycle/foot chase in Tangiers, is one of the best action sequences I've ever seen, in terms of set-up, editing, direction, action, music - everything. Absolute work of art. And the third big one, the car chase in New York, is a pure adrenaline that's right up there with the car chase in Ronin, even if it never slows down long enough for you to catch up to it.
If you love well crafted action, like I do, go see this NOW!
Basically, B3 makes the decision that you're already invested in the characters from the first two movies, so they're free to devote the entire movie to absolutely brilliant action sequences. And they're some of the best I've ever seen. The first of the three big sequences, in London's Waterloo station, is a fantastic game of fast-moving chess in terms of trying to lose a concerted tailing effort. The second, the motorcycle/foot chase in Tangiers, is one of the best action sequences I've ever seen, in terms of set-up, editing, direction, action, music - everything. Absolute work of art. And the third big one, the car chase in New York, is a pure adrenaline that's right up there with the car chase in Ronin, even if it never slows down long enough for you to catch up to it.
If you love well crafted action, like I do, go see this NOW!
Friday, August 10, 2007
On the association of girls with music
One of the reasons I love Wong Kar-Wai is that any time I start to get interested in a girl, there is a 95% chance it ends in ruin, depression, and humiliation for me as I go through the process of acquaintance, infatuation, and subsequent rejection once I get up the balls to make a move. Also, in one memorable instance (thank you Megan), before I got up the balls to make a move. Pre-emptive rejection - it makes for a funny anecdote.
Anyway, the piece that is always the most interesting and terrifying, the infatuation, in the best cases, leaves behind a legacy for me in the form of the one song that comes to express that girl to me. What follows is a list in no particular order of those girls and those songs. Enjoy.
1 - Jen, "Umeji's Theme", aka the main waltz from In the Mood for Love.
How did Jen, who I never even tried for because I was too busy crashing and burning with Bethany, end up being linked in my mind with what I consider to be the most romantic piece of music I know? Simple answer - we danced to it. It was after one of the winter dances, we'd just watched the movie with B&S, and the theme is of course what plays on the DVD menu. Jen and I went out to smoke in the driveway of the Mustard House - the snow was drifting down through the light, big flat lazy flakes of it like you see in a John Cusack movie, the cello was aching its way out through the open upstairs window, she looked brilliant wrapped up in her coat with snowflakes melting in her hair, and we ended up waltzing in my driveway. A perfect moment, absolutely disconnected from the rest of the year.
God knows I'm a moron with women, but I'll settle for being a romantic fool and end this first one with a WKW quote from Chungking: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
2 - Bethany, "All That Jazz", Chicago Soundtrack.
This non-relationship's already legendary (it was responsible for Prizio's great double-disc mix on un-requited infatuation he made for me out of pity that year, along with a few other moments I know there are stories about), but I spent a fair amount of time that year drinking at Bethany's place watching her, Jen, and occasionally a couple of others dancing around belting out the lines to accompany the CD. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was there when she bought the damn thing. It's funny, I didn't have a song in my mind for BB when I started this post, but then this popped up. The association isn't as strong as some of the others, but it's there.
3 - Lexy, "Don't Feel Right", Game Theory by the Roots.
Mostly just a simultaneous timing thing here. I've been listening to this album pretty much non-stop the last couple of months, thinking about whether or not it was viable as brainy dance music, and at the same time I was wondering that, I was wondering if there was anything except the alcohol talking when Lexy and I were flirting by text message for a couple of weeks.
4 - Megan, "Sweet Child of Mine", Use Your Illusion by Guns'n'Roses
This is a call-back to a band I don't listen to much anymore, because this one lasted a good 8 years with me skirting the issue before she finally dropped the pre-emptive rejection (and who can blame her? 8 years is a long-ass time to wait for a guy to finally ask you out so that you can clarify the issue by saying no.) This song first crystallized as being Megan (and was also the first time a song became inextricably tied to a girl) for me when we were in D.C. for Senior Trip in High School. I remember sitting on the steps outside the National Cathedral, having ditched the tour to get some alone time, listening to Use Your Illusion on my walkman, and feeling that great, sweet rush of terrified yearning that I would eventually feel towards so many women through the years. All centered on one brown haired Hispanic-Irish girl in my class in H.S.
Ah, the good old days.
5 - Katie, "Girlfriend is Better", The Talking Heads.
Katie's dating Dan right now, and I'm very happy for both of them and have zero regrets. But two years ago, I'd spent a few months quietly crushing on Katie, getting some vague but positive-seeming signals back, and we ended up making out for an hour on the dance floor at a gay nightclub in Chicago. That ended up being the breaking point for what might-have-been, but the next morning, driving out of Chicago, I remember feeling pretty damn happy, pumping my fist in the air while I blasted this song on the car speakers. Whenever I listen to this now, I remember that drive, full of adrenaline, happiness, and crisp February air shooting through the open car window. It was a pretty damn good drive. :)
6 - Ariana, "Beautiful Day", All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2.
For Ariana, there really isn't a song that encapsulates it. I mean, it was 2 years of her being my other half, there's a thousand things associated with her. The one relationship that actually went somewhere, even if it didn't work out in the end. I can't sum all that up in one song. But this song does always bring her back - it was the tail-end of soph. year, Scott was out somewhere, and we spent an hour just lying in my bunk in the dorm kissing each other. It was back when everything was still fresh and new and wonderful and tender, and I remember her liking the album way more than I did, but I was happy that she liked it, so I liked it.
Eh, what can you say about that? I think this is a good place to end.
Anyway, the piece that is always the most interesting and terrifying, the infatuation, in the best cases, leaves behind a legacy for me in the form of the one song that comes to express that girl to me. What follows is a list in no particular order of those girls and those songs. Enjoy.
1 - Jen, "Umeji's Theme", aka the main waltz from In the Mood for Love.
How did Jen, who I never even tried for because I was too busy crashing and burning with Bethany, end up being linked in my mind with what I consider to be the most romantic piece of music I know? Simple answer - we danced to it. It was after one of the winter dances, we'd just watched the movie with B&S, and the theme is of course what plays on the DVD menu. Jen and I went out to smoke in the driveway of the Mustard House - the snow was drifting down through the light, big flat lazy flakes of it like you see in a John Cusack movie, the cello was aching its way out through the open upstairs window, she looked brilliant wrapped up in her coat with snowflakes melting in her hair, and we ended up waltzing in my driveway. A perfect moment, absolutely disconnected from the rest of the year.
God knows I'm a moron with women, but I'll settle for being a romantic fool and end this first one with a WKW quote from Chungking: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
2 - Bethany, "All That Jazz", Chicago Soundtrack.
This non-relationship's already legendary (it was responsible for Prizio's great double-disc mix on un-requited infatuation he made for me out of pity that year, along with a few other moments I know there are stories about), but I spent a fair amount of time that year drinking at Bethany's place watching her, Jen, and occasionally a couple of others dancing around belting out the lines to accompany the CD. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was there when she bought the damn thing. It's funny, I didn't have a song in my mind for BB when I started this post, but then this popped up. The association isn't as strong as some of the others, but it's there.
3 - Lexy, "Don't Feel Right", Game Theory by the Roots.
Mostly just a simultaneous timing thing here. I've been listening to this album pretty much non-stop the last couple of months, thinking about whether or not it was viable as brainy dance music, and at the same time I was wondering that, I was wondering if there was anything except the alcohol talking when Lexy and I were flirting by text message for a couple of weeks.
4 - Megan, "Sweet Child of Mine", Use Your Illusion by Guns'n'Roses
This is a call-back to a band I don't listen to much anymore, because this one lasted a good 8 years with me skirting the issue before she finally dropped the pre-emptive rejection (and who can blame her? 8 years is a long-ass time to wait for a guy to finally ask you out so that you can clarify the issue by saying no.) This song first crystallized as being Megan (and was also the first time a song became inextricably tied to a girl) for me when we were in D.C. for Senior Trip in High School. I remember sitting on the steps outside the National Cathedral, having ditched the tour to get some alone time, listening to Use Your Illusion on my walkman, and feeling that great, sweet rush of terrified yearning that I would eventually feel towards so many women through the years. All centered on one brown haired Hispanic-Irish girl in my class in H.S.
Ah, the good old days.
5 - Katie, "Girlfriend is Better", The Talking Heads.
Katie's dating Dan right now, and I'm very happy for both of them and have zero regrets. But two years ago, I'd spent a few months quietly crushing on Katie, getting some vague but positive-seeming signals back, and we ended up making out for an hour on the dance floor at a gay nightclub in Chicago. That ended up being the breaking point for what might-have-been, but the next morning, driving out of Chicago, I remember feeling pretty damn happy, pumping my fist in the air while I blasted this song on the car speakers. Whenever I listen to this now, I remember that drive, full of adrenaline, happiness, and crisp February air shooting through the open car window. It was a pretty damn good drive. :)
6 - Ariana, "Beautiful Day", All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2.
For Ariana, there really isn't a song that encapsulates it. I mean, it was 2 years of her being my other half, there's a thousand things associated with her. The one relationship that actually went somewhere, even if it didn't work out in the end. I can't sum all that up in one song. But this song does always bring her back - it was the tail-end of soph. year, Scott was out somewhere, and we spent an hour just lying in my bunk in the dorm kissing each other. It was back when everything was still fresh and new and wonderful and tender, and I remember her liking the album way more than I did, but I was happy that she liked it, so I liked it.
Eh, what can you say about that? I think this is a good place to end.
Spook Country
Thank you Salon for reminding me that the new Gibson is out, and for the decent interview with the man. Here's a quick excerpt:
" I've always felt a serious obligation to be absolutely agnostic about emergent technologies. I think a case can be made for technology being morally neutral. I think what scares people most about new technologies -- it's actually what scares me most -- is that they're never legislated into being. Congress doesn't vote on the cellular telephony initiative and create a cellphone system across the United States and the world. It just happens and capital flows around and it changes things at the most intimate levels of our lives, but we never decided to do it. Somewhere now there's a team of people working on something that's going to profoundly impact your life in the next 10 years and change everything. You don't know what it is and they don't know how it's going to change your life because usually these things don't go as predicted.
To get back to Fredric Jameson, I find that both dreadful and exhilarating."
Gibson is one of the handful of people who actively inspires and propels me to better myself occasionally. If only so that I can get a fragment of his references. :)
" I've always felt a serious obligation to be absolutely agnostic about emergent technologies. I think a case can be made for technology being morally neutral. I think what scares people most about new technologies -- it's actually what scares me most -- is that they're never legislated into being. Congress doesn't vote on the cellular telephony initiative and create a cellphone system across the United States and the world. It just happens and capital flows around and it changes things at the most intimate levels of our lives, but we never decided to do it. Somewhere now there's a team of people working on something that's going to profoundly impact your life in the next 10 years and change everything. You don't know what it is and they don't know how it's going to change your life because usually these things don't go as predicted.
To get back to Fredric Jameson, I find that both dreadful and exhilarating."
Gibson is one of the handful of people who actively inspires and propels me to better myself occasionally. If only so that I can get a fragment of his references. :)
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
On things that are cool
Kanye West is making you harder, better, faster, stronger; also he has sanctioned a great video by Zach Galifianakis.
Dresden Codak walks without rhythm, so as not to attract the worm.
Our long national nightmare is almost over: enjoy these choice bits of Kissing Suzy Kolber to get you back in the mood for football.
Dresden Codak walks without rhythm, so as not to attract the worm.
Our long national nightmare is almost over: enjoy these choice bits of Kissing Suzy Kolber to get you back in the mood for football.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Yay!
Whoooooooo Hoooooooo!
It is the return of Metzger drunk-blogging!
Item A) I love the Midwest/South Bend/my local bar - where the fuck else can you get a Jim & Coke, 8 beers, and a shot of Jameson and have the tab come out to 20 bucks even?
Item B) I pulled the trigger over 20 bucks worth of booze - that has to be a first, even for me.
Item C) Not this drunk night, but the night before, I induced Team Larry to watch Dave Chappellle's Block Party w/ me. That is officially my 2nd favorite concert video after the Stop Making Sense video by the Talking Heads/Jonathan Demme. Portions that give me chills every time I watch it:
I) When Erykah Badu's wig starts to blow off in the wind, and she goes "aw fuck it" and chucks the wig and goes crowd-surfing
II) During the Roots set, when Jill Scott pops in to do some vocals, and then they talk Erykah into hopping in for some guest vocals as well.
III) When the fucking Fugees re-unite for the Block Party, and Lauren/they do "Killing Me Softly" - fucking goosebumps, man.
In conclusion - I LOVE BEING DRUNK AND NOT HAVING TO WORK THE NEXT DAY!!!!!
It is the return of Metzger drunk-blogging!
Item A) I love the Midwest/South Bend/my local bar - where the fuck else can you get a Jim & Coke, 8 beers, and a shot of Jameson and have the tab come out to 20 bucks even?
Item B) I pulled the trigger over 20 bucks worth of booze - that has to be a first, even for me.
Item C) Not this drunk night, but the night before, I induced Team Larry to watch Dave Chappellle's Block Party w/ me. That is officially my 2nd favorite concert video after the Stop Making Sense video by the Talking Heads/Jonathan Demme. Portions that give me chills every time I watch it:
I) When Erykah Badu's wig starts to blow off in the wind, and she goes "aw fuck it" and chucks the wig and goes crowd-surfing
II) During the Roots set, when Jill Scott pops in to do some vocals, and then they talk Erykah into hopping in for some guest vocals as well.
III) When the fucking Fugees re-unite for the Block Party, and Lauren/they do "Killing Me Softly" - fucking goosebumps, man.
In conclusion - I LOVE BEING DRUNK AND NOT HAVING TO WORK THE NEXT DAY!!!!!
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