Gareth – Page 138 – The Designer Monologues

November 4, 2010November 4, 2010

The Dark Side of the Internet

I posted this link a few days ago via Twitter, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to put it up here. Thank you to John Wick for drawing my attention to it.

This is a 10-minute segment of a longer interview with Kevin Smith, where he talks about his realization that it’s OK to ignore the bullshit that people say about you on the internet. It’s a lesson that sounds easy, sure — but speaking from experience, it really isn’t. We’re sort of hard-wired to defend ourselves — the trick (which I’m still trying to perfect) is in understanding that the only people who care about what’s being said are 1) the one doing the shit-talking, and 2) you — and you can remove yourself from that equation.

Worth watching, and, speaking personally, something that I really need to work harder on putting into practice.

I need to remember to heed the message of the T-Shirt:

November 3, 2010

Tour de Bond: Thunderball (1961)

I have conflicted feelings about Thunderball. On the one hand, it’s one of the best novels — the final book in what I consider the series’ apex. It’s also the book that kicked off the Bond phenomenon, by leading film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli to secure the rights to the franchise. However, the conflict over its origins mired Fleming in a lawsuit that some would argue led to his death in 1964, and kept a shadow over the franchise for decades to come.
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October 29, 2010

Friday Music

OK, let’s get this out of the way. Yes, I’m going to do what everybody else does at this time of year, and post some Halloween-themed tracks. But I’m not making the whole entry themed — you’re only getting a couple. Plus, they aren’t the usual heard-em-a-million-times tunes (“Thriller”, “Dead Man’s Party”, etc.) — but I am sticking with the 80s, since that was, as near as I can figure, the last gasp of the spooky-themed pop song.

First up, we have UK proto-goths doing a positively bouncy song on a “spooky” theme. You might know them from such classic Halloween appearances as the “Video Nasties” episode of The Young Ones: The Damned – “Grimly Fiendish.”

Second, one of the most cheesetastic tracks in horror cinema, forming a big part of the club sequence in my favorite 80s horror film, Fright Night: Sparks – “The Armies of the Night.”

OK. There. I’ve gotten it out of my system.

On to my other choices for the week:

Here’s another brilliant track from the self-proclaimed (and hard to argue that, really) “King of Grime”, with an 80s-film-referencing title that my wife will find amusing (since she refers to Dotta Numba Two as “Teenager Two: Electric Boogaloo”): Wiley – “Electric Boogaloo (featuring Jodie Connor and J2K).”

Another track from Slash’s self-titled solo album, this time featuring Black Eyed Peas front-model Fergie on vocals. I like this song far more than it deserves — and Fergie does a passable Axl impression, which makes me actually want to hear her do more in this style. Slash – “Beautiful Dangerous (feat. Fergie).”

I watched the new HBO documentary The Promise: The Recording of “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, which reminded me of how much I really loved Springsteen, whom I had discovered in the pre-Born in the USA era, thanks to the record collection of a friend’s brother, who was away at school — pretty much how I got into Steely Dan, too. I listened to his stuff all the while I was going New Wave and Punk, and I sorta fell out of the habit once college started. The documentary reminded me of one of the album tracks from Darkness which was a favorite of mine. The melody hook of this track still gives me chills, and I had totally forgotten that. Bruce Springsteen – “Candy’s Room.”

Lastly, because nobody’s week is complete without listening to some 80s-anime-soundtrack rock inspired by Ellen Aim from Streets of Fire: Priss & The Replicants – “Konya Wa Hurricane (from “Bubblegum Crisis”).”

Enjoy.