Timewaster's Guide Archive

I really dig Jim Emerson's blog about movies, and I found today's entry to be especially intriguing (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060222/SCANNERS/60222004). He's talking about movies, and where they're going, and why, and includes insights such as this one:

True, it seems that the more adaptable medium of television -- once famously derided as a vast wasteland*-- has (in all its programming forms: broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, DVR, DVD -- even iPod) largely usurped the (shrinking) audience for intelligent, well-crafted, broad-appeal adult fare that was once the staple of the motion pictures. Movies, meanwhile, continue to aim lowbrow (with comedies and horror films targeting teens), and occasionally "art-house" highbrow (usually with foreign financing), while largely abandoning the middle.

I found these on the net, and I dig them:

The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.


Glass Box
You know, it's the old glass box at the--
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's--

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But--

Some of you are probably too young to remember those--
Those glass boxes,
But--

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.


A Confession
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.


The Situation
Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.


Clarity
I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
              As to what it is.

And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
              But it will be known.

I've always liked Smashing Pumpkins, but never with any great passion. Then the other day I heard their cover of Landslide, one of my favorite songs, and they rocked it--now I absolutely love them.

My question is this: is there a particular song that has convinced you to love a band you never used to pay much attention to?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10511139/site/newsweek/

Bill Paxton in an HBO series about a Utah polygamist. Let the fireworks begin.

I really loved "Clueless," and I thought that "10 Things I Hate About You" was at least above average, so I was pleased to hear that someone is making a modern retelling a Twelfth Night: http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/shestheman/

I was similarly pleased to see that it had Amanda Bynes, who can be a genuinely funny actress (this movie screams "Lindsay Lohan vehicle," and would have died horribly if they'd gone that direction). The trailer is even pretty funny.

What disturbs me, however, is the overall impression that the story and the humor are getting lost under the weight of a tacked-on teen sex movie a la American Pie. When you're working with Twelfth Night you don't need that kind of stuff, but I suspect they added it in anyway just to appeal to hooligan kids these days. I guess we'll see.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/comments/?entryid=287578

Interesting news. I'm not thrilled about the CG/puppet mix, but I could be convinced.

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2006/oscars

No real surprises in the nominees this year, though it's interesting that the 5 Best Pictures line up with the five Best Directors--that doesn't happen often.

Also of note is the dreamy George Clooney, who racked up four nominations--only two other people have ever had four nominations in a single year (Warren Beatty and Orson Welles), so that's pretty cool.

You may have noticed two new authors in our Local Authors thread. Very few authors can support a forum community all on their own--there's just not that much to say--and we think that bringing them all together  in a sort of author portal will help make that more feasible. Each author is Overlord of his or her own section, and we hope they are able to fill it with fans (and that the fans will trickle over and start reading the other authors).

I realize that despite our best intentions, this may inadvertently result in some newbies joining the site. I apologize in advance, and I urge you to get over yourselves and deal with it. Also, know that I love you, and that I really like that shirt. Is it new?