Jim's Guts

Friday morning pick-me-up...

Obscure facts edition!! - Sirius satellite radio has a station called Iceberg 85 which features only Canadian artist. It's a great place to hear good music that hasn't (and may not) make it here in the States, Major Maker falls into that category. This song was originally created as a 30 second piece for a Maynards Candy commercial (which you can see here), but when Maynards was inundated with requests for the band's name, the group decided to expand the song and release it as a single. Here is "Rollercoaster"; 

Everyone who grow up in the MTV generation know's Kim Wilde "Kids In America", but I actually like this song better. What I didn't know was what happened to Ms. Wilde after she left music - She went to school to become a horticulturalist, was then spotted by a BBC TV crew and went on to host the BBC series "Garden Invaders". Here is her second biggest hit, "Keep Me Hanging On";

Friday morning pick-me-up...

Getting back some of my Indie cred (can I even have "Indie cred"?) here is St. Vincent with a great video for "Actor Out Of Work";

Keeping that theme going here is one of the great Indie bands of the late 70's / 80's - The Talking Heads. This is one of my favorite T-Heads songs (including a kick-arse bass track from Tina Waymouth), from their 1984 classic movie "Stop Making Sense" here is "This Must Be The Place";

They "doth protest too much"...

I generally believe that when someone has an affair, it's their issue. It's sad for the spouse and family affected, but it's basically personal. I understand that when it involves a public figure it's news (see Edwards, John), and I'm fine with that, but I wouldn't necessarily feel the need to comment on it.

That said, this story about Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is a whole different animal. You see, it's not that Sen. Ensign had an affair (we all make mistakes), it's that his hypocrisy goes to 11!

Here is candidate Ensign in 1998 suggesting that Bill Clinton resign because of his affair, saying that he "had no credibility left" (how's the credibility thing working out for you?)

Here is Sen. Ensign explaining in 2004 that we need a Constitutional amendment protecting marriage from Teh Gay (I'm guessing that's why he had an affair, because LGBT people love each other).

Here is Sen. Ensign in 2007 explaining why Larry Craig should resign ""There's too many people that paint with a broad brush that we're all corrupt, we're all amoral. … And having these kinds of things happen, whether it's a Republican or Democratic senator — we certainly have had plenty of Democratic scandals in the past — we need people who are in office who will hold themselves to a little higher standard." (that one pretty much speaks for itself)

Listen Senator - You take care of your own house before you go telling everyone else how theirs ought to be built...

Friday morning pick-me-up...

I've featured these guys before, but in addition to playing great music they also produce really interesting videos. Checkout Mutemath's "Spotlight";

In the annals of "S'cuse Me While I Kiss This Guy" misunderstood song lyrics, this song by Hipsway is a hidden gem (these are the real lyrics, what do YOU think they said);

Sleek big cat, bible black
Honeysuckle I would never deny
The light of deep regret
Let me see what I don't get

Here is "Honey Thief" -

The 2009 NBA Playoffs...

After the Seattle SuperSonics ceased to exist (regardless of what Oklahoma City says, they're dead, they don't exist), I stopped watching the NBA for a while. I came back during this year's playoff run and have in general enjoyed watching the game again, but seeing Rashard Lewis light it up for the Orlando Magic has been a little tough.

Bill Simmons’ long time editor and Seattle native Kevin Jackson summed up my feelings on Lewis;

“It has been painful for me to even look at Rashard Lewis during the '09 playoffs. Not only is Rashard finally playing like the versatile swingman every Seattle fan envisioned when we mercifully plucked him out of the green room as a tearful teenager in 1998 (and not the unemotional second coming of Derrick McKey), he has turned into a walking symbol of Seattle's lack of a basketball existence. The decision to send Rashard to Orlando was the beginning of the deplorable fire sale that allowed Bennett and Co. to move the team in the first place. (Ray Allen played the same role for us in the '08 Finals, but we were at least happy to see Ray finally win a title.) With Rashard, it's a case of a guy finally doing for one team what he could never do for our team with the added wrinkle that our team no longer exists. And this without even mentioning Rashard's no-show in Seattle's spirited 2005 playoff run, including that mysterious sprained toe. I will now have Bill light me on fire.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself…

Eli...

When the Lovely & Talented Mrs. Smith and I got married we had already decided that we didn’t want to have children, we wanted a dog. At the time, we were in an apartment so that was out of the question, but in the fall of 1994 we rented a house so that we could make that a reality.

We knew we wanted a “bigger” dog and did a ton of research on the various breeds; these were the days before the interwebs so we did it the old fashioned way – We read books, talked to owners, and went to dog shows. After much discussion of our requirements – A bigger breed (over 40 pounds), easy going, good with kids (we didn’t have them, but our friends would), easy to train (HA!), and relatively low maintenance, we decided on Golden Retrievers, and in late January 1995 we brought home an 8 week old bundle of energy. Beginning a tradition of naming our dogs after things related to Disney, we called him “Eli” (which is Walt Disney’s middle name).

Eli wasn’t much for obedience (he listened to us when he wanted to), retrieving (he had a tendency to go over to the object thrown and just look at it), or other dogs (dog parks were where there were people who might want to pet him), but he was one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever known.  I was still coming to grips with my IBD when we got Eli, and he would sit with me when I wasn’t feeling well, he saw the L&T and I through many highs and lows. In the early years he traveled with us frequently, from trips to California to Coupeville, bringing love wherever he went.

Unfortunately, for all the love and joy they bring, pets are only with us for a short time and on Friday our short time with Eli came to an end.  Eli wasn’t always a good dog, but he was always a great dog, and he will be missed… Make It So’s Disney Magic “Eli” – 05 Dec 1994 to 05 Jan 2009. Rest well old friend…

Friday morning pick-me-up...

What I like about this video (besides the song) is that they seem to be having a lot of fun making it. Here are Matt & Kim with "Daylight";

We're goin all the way back to 1979 for today's Classic video, from the album "Squezzing Out Sparks" here is Graham Parker and the Rumours with "Local Girls"

Preemptive strike...

...Before folks start sending this to me, I thought I'd post it here. From the always funny "Pearls Before Swine" Click to embiggen, and before you ask yes, I think it's pretty funny (and a little accurate);

SIFF Week 1

The first week of the 35th Annual Seattle International Film Festival is in the books and it’s by far the best opening weekend I’ve had in the 5-6 years we’ve been attending. SIFF asks attendees to rank the films on a 1 – 5 scale (5 is excellent, 1 is “Ishtar”) and using that measurement I had 3 solid “4’s” and a “5”. Here’s a quick recap of the week;

“The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938, USA) – I grew up watching this movie on TV with my folks and have seen it several times, but never before on the big screen which was a real treat. The movie was presented by Turner Classic Movies and their host, Robert Osborne was on hand (the L&T got me an autograph) to introduce the film and tell some of the back story as well. Before the movie started they showed the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon “Rabbit Hood” which added to the old time feel. Because it’s an older film it wasn’t eligible for the Best Picture so there was no voting, but I’d give it a 5.

“I’m No Dummy” (2009, USA) – This documentary gives you a window into the world of ventriloquism (or “vent” as it’s apparently known). Exploring both the history of “venting” and its current state, the film uses interviews and stock footage to both inform and entertain. While it was good, it did drag a little in parts which is why it only got a 4 from me. After the movie the directors as well as three “vents” and their dummies (including Jay Johnson and Bob from “Soap”) answered questions and entertained for about 15 minutes.

“The Answer Man” (2009, USA) – 20 years Arlen Faber wrote a book that changed people’s lives. The problem is, he doesn’t like people. Equal parts rom-com, philosophy, and character study, the movie explores the life of three people all searching for something, even if they don’t know exactly what it is. “The Answer Man” is superbly acted, with wonderful moments making up most of the film. Unfortunately, it also has a few moments that seem a little out of place and unnecessarily slow the film down and for that reason I could only give it a 4 (I’m a tough critic). That said, I’d recommend seeing it to most everyone, and it’s my favorite film of the festival so far.

“The Garden” (2008, USA) – Just after the 1992 Rodney King riots in South Central LA a 14 acre plot of land was set aside for a community garden similar to Seattle’s Pea Patch. The garden thrived until 2004 when the original owner of the land asked the city to allow him to buy it back, which city agreed to in a secret deal. This documentary follows the 4 year legal battle that ensued, and while it was very good I think it missed some things in its story telling that could have given a clearer picture of what happened and what went wrong. It’s that lack of completeness that drops this down to a 4.

Like I said, a great week 1! I’ll be traveling for much of the 2nd week, but we’ll get a couple of movies in toward the end, and I’ll be back with reviews after that.