Incidentally, Gawker tells us, the AP has decided against signing a contract with the ICanHasCheezburger company, for fear of damaging their “journalistic integrity”.
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Early Morning Open Thread: One Reason?
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Via Gawker, the Telegraph informs us that the race is on to make the first 3D porn movie:
Hong Kong director Christopher Sun is currently filming his $3.2 million ‘3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy’, which is due for release in May, but Italian director Tinto Brass has already announced he will produce a 3D remake of his 1979 erotic film Caligula…
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Producer Stephen Shiu said: “This is the future of the movie business — it’s human nature to want to see things in 3D.”
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Adding to the pressure, the American company Hustler is making a pornographic spoof of 3D science fiction blockbuster Avatar…
The (possibly NSFW) Gawker comments are… interesting. My favorite: “I’m a huge 3-D porn enthusiast. I call it ‘sex.'”
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Early Morning Open Thread: Solsbury Hill
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The other night John was discussing rock “classics”, which I once heard a performer — Tom Rush? — describe as “those songs every drunk remembers, and demands”. I’m sure Gabriel regards “Solsbury Hill” as his preeminent ‘classic’, and this arena version is a witty solution, but it’s still the song I want played when I draw my last breath.
Early Morning Open Thread: Solsbury HillPost + Comments (86)
Early Morning Open Thread: Twin Spica
… because we just got back from a modestly successful meteor-watching expedition to Salisbury Beach.
I wish someone would get around to distributing a professional release of Twin Spica here. It’s the story of a little girl who wants to become one of Japan’s first professional astronauts, and who (in very Japanese fashion) works hard and lives honorably to achieve at least the first steps toward her dream. Nothing big or flashy, just a very engaging story — it really reminds me of the Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein YA novels from the 1960s, books like THE STARS ARE OURS and HAVE SPACE SUIT, WILL TRAVEL. I think it’s a great “starter” anime for sci-fi geeks.
Also, I got my copy of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, and the first chapter (“He’s Smart, But His Birds Are Sloppy”) explains why Japan is — seriously! — testing potential space-travel candidates by having them produce a thousand origami cranes. Those of you who’ve seen the fan-subbed versions of Twin Spica (or read the manga, which is now being released in English) will understand why this tickles me.
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P.S. Soonergrunt, you are a most honorable warrior, and my prayers are with you this weekend & going forward.
Late night music post
Okay, so there was some mixed reactions to that first Avett Brothers song I posted. Thought maybe they deserved a second go-round. This one’s for all you anti-purists who don’t give a damn if this counts as real bluegrass or not. It’s just bloody good music.
Standards!
Even though I’ve got work to do, ever since John did his post asking about standards, all I’ve done is peruse this list of 1000 standards and the truly awesome blog Standard of the Day.
What I love is how goofy a song can be and still make a killer standard — if hearing a bunch of possibly smacked-up hepcats murder a tune from “Sleeping Beauty” or “Oklahoma” or “Finian’s Rainbow” doesn’t cheer you up at least a little, you’re in a bad way, my friend.
I was going to hold a contest for who can name the goofiest song that can be classified as a standard, but I don’t think anyone can beat “Rainbow Connection“.
This post has no real point, so open thread, I guess.
To Clap or Not To Clap
In a world where you have to obsessively study everything in order to make the right decision, music is one of those things that I’ve never really studied, I’ve just enjoyed. I don’t know how to read music, I don’t know all the correct terms, and I’m not embarrassed when I’m discovering “classics that everyone should know” when I’m 40. I listen to music because I like it and enjoy it, and because it is one of the few things in life that for me, at least, is a simple matter of taste. I just spent two weeks researching a god damned oven, for chrissakes.
Having said that, two things came up today that I am curious about. The first is a running debate on Performance Today, where they are wondering whether the recent trend of clapping during symphonies is a good thing and should be encouraged. Why is this a big deal. Why did people, in the past, not clap?
Second, was listening to DUQ this afternoon, and a Boz Scaggs toon was played and referred to as a “jazz standard.” What makes something a “standard?”
Sorry to sound like complete unwashed barbarian, but I’m curious.