1. Via Norm Wilner at Wilnervision, a video post from a rather distressing John McCain rally.
["Crooks and Liars ran this yesterday, and I couldn’t let it go unnoticed. At one of his own town halls last night, John McCain took a moment to tell his supporters that Barack Obama is not the slavering Librul Terrist monster of their racist, paranoid nightmares ... and the crowed booed McCain for defending the enemy. It’s utterly fucking terrifying. And the video is made even more unsettling by the fact that we can’t see the woman’s face as she reacts to McCain’s reassurances that Obama is not “an Arab” — she just sputters “he’s not? He’s not?” as though she’s collapsing inside."]
2. "Holy Grails": A Top 12, at Filmbrain's urging, from The Wind in the Trees. (Originated by MovieMan0283 at The Dancing Image.)
["I wish I could admit to never having seen Birth of a Nation or Citizen Kane or The Seventh Seal but there are few skeletons in my closet of that variety (Doctor Zhivago might be the best contender, or Caddyshack). And often I wish that I hadn’t yet seen McCabe and Mrs Miller or Late Spring or India Song or just one last Tarkovsky film so that I still had treats in store of that magnitude, because one of the curses of rampant cinephilia is that the more one sees the more one wants or needs to see but with increasingly diminished returns. So here is my list of 12 films that have eluded me and remained as beacons of hope that there are still mind-blowing films out there worth waiting for."]
3. Jahsonic offers a tribute to Jamaican musician Alton Ellis. More from CaribWorldNews.
["Alton Ellis (1944, in Kingston, Jamaica - October 11, 2008), was a Jamaican musician best known for such singles as “I’m Still In Love,” “Rock Steady” (which gave the rocksteady genre its name), “Can I Change My Mind “[1]; as well as the originator of the Mad Mad riddim. Ellis is survived by his wife and more than 20 children."]
4. "Strange Waters: A Conversation with Bruce Cockburn": A reprint by Darren Hughes at Long Pauses.
["Beyond: Does the political climate in which you’re touring affect the shows in any specific ways? Cockburn: Normally not, really. I guess it obviously affects the mood of the audience to some degree, but I don’t notice that when I’m on stage. I mean, people are into the show or they’re not. And most of time they are, so that’s what you feel, more than the specifics of what they brought with them. But it affects me, too. I wasn’t totally surprised by the outcome of the election, but obviously it was disappointing. We have to live with what we have to live with for the foreseeable future. Another four years is going to take a long time to correct. We’re going to be living with the Bush world for a long time. That’s the way it is, and it’s regrettable, but we have to find some way to deal with it."]
5. "Kenya's elephants send text messages": From MSNBC.
["The text message from the elephant flashed across Richard Lesowapir's screen: Kimani was heading for neighboring farms. The huge bull elephant had a long history of raiding villagers' crops during the harvest, sometimes wiping out six months of income at a time. But this time a mobile phone card inserted in his collar sent rangers a text message. Lesowapir, an armed guard and a driver arrived in a jeep bristling with spotlights to frighten Kimani back into the Ol Pejeta conservancy. Kenya is the first country to try elephant texting as a way to protect both a growing human population and the wild animals that now have less room to roam. Elephants are ranked as "near threatened" in the Red List, an index of vulnerable species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature."]
Quote of the Day: Cesare Pavese
Image of the Day (click to enlarge): From Rottin' in Denmark.
Clip of the Day: As always in marriage, the first step is a doozy.
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged. Suggestions for links are also welcome. Please send to keithuhlich@gmail.com.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Links for the Day (October 12th, 2008)
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12 comments:
For a complete list of all participants in the Holy Grail you can go here:
http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/09/finding-holy-grail.html
P.S. As the originator of the meme, could I get a link in the post? Homepage will do ( http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/ )
No problem movieman. Have added you to the entry above.
Message from: Dumbo
received at 1:46 A.M. 10/12/08
dude im so fuckin drunk at the circus right now im seeing pink stuff
What's with the recent tendency toward videos-of-the-day that either inspire shock and distress or cruelly detached schadenfreude? A car getting crushed by a falling truck at an intersection? A "best man" tripping and smashing his face on the floor, sending the bride and minister tumbling off a high platform into the swimming pool waiting (luckily) beneath? A reporter (or some such -- and this was some weeks ago) getting clobbered by a giant ball rolling downhill(???)? What is this?
I just don't get the appeal.
It makes me feel kinda strange to see this sort of thing displayed at The House because it seems to run counter to the normally inclusionary atmosphere of the place (... more like fraternity machismo than the usual analytical intelligence). Although, come to think of it, that atmosphere has been challenged and eroded in other ways, too, of late. Maybe it's the fervor surrounding the upcoming election -- which has affected the site both directly (due to the inclusion of politically flavoured posts) and indirectly (due to political tensions bleeding into all other forms of cultural discourse these days) -- but, whatever the case, the level of disrespect and even out-and-out contempt for both contributers and fellow commenters has definitely risen.
Bizarrely, one almost feels as though (and here's a strange thought) the fallout from that Dark Knight debacle back in July -- which opened the floodgates on a previously unimaginable wealth of irrational rage, hatred and filth -- has continiued to cast its long, grim shadow over everything that followed. What, too conspiracy theory-esque? What if it meant we could consider TDK a socially degenerative document? No? How about "a catalyst for rampant social degeneracy," at the very least? Still reaching?
Alright, "signs and portents" and all that, but there has definitely been something in the air these past few months at The House and I don't like the way it feels. Maybe it will change following the November election (once we've left this god-forsaken carnival show behind), but, for what it's worth, the place needs all the inclusionary warmth it can get and (imho) videos of this ilk aren't contributing much to the cause.
On the other hand, maybe I should just put down this borrowed copy of Watchmen, quit reading Cormac McCarthy, and do my best to avoid news reports and videos illustrating the unintended effects of McCain's back-fired hate-mongering....
It's all obviously contributing to my sensitivity. (Or making me paranoid. One way or the other.)
Sorry you feel that way, Kevin. It's certainly not intentional, though I will admit I've been in a bit of a bad place lately, so that might be coming through in the postings I do. I personally agree that the election and pretty much all things related to it are carnival, but I don't believe they're something to ignore, and I think both Matt Maul and Max Winter have done terrific jobs expressing their perspectives.
As to the videos: point taken. I'll do my best to be more cognizant going forward.
Yes, not into these videos either. Have never found this kind of thing funny. Just the opposite.
...Crap. I was going to be commenting on The Dark Knight and the reactionism in Comics Column #3. Am I going to be part of the problem, then?
That said, while I've felt like the comments section has never fully recovered from that weekend, I don't think there's been any drop in THND itself. I don't know, maybe in the site's slow drive towards some diversification in entry styles, subjects, etc., we're drifting from the original purpose?
But at the same time, I don't think any place of "analytical intelligence" can afford to stay staid, either. I think it's important to keep moving, and if occasionally you head in a less-than-optimal direction, then you just turn around and start moving again.
I'm proud to be a (infrequent) contributor to the House, and I enjoy being a reader, as well. The political posts aren't generally what I come here for either, but I've enjoyed the perspectives of Winter and Maul.
..."Winter and Maul" could be a death metal band or an early-90's superhero comic.
Well, for the record, I thought this video was funny, and sort of sweet. Of course, the key is cinematography---if we hadn't seen the bride and priest immediately stand up, clearly unhurt (and the priest flashing a Glare Of Death at the podium), then it would be grim. So there we go---now it is THND-worthy!
THND ♥ TFB. :-)
That Fuzzy Bastard:
Yes, but nobody in the video is laughing....
Keith:
Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to suggest that Maul and/or Winter were doing anything but their best while reporting on (the appalling) political situation in which we find ourselves (nor that this should all be simply ignored until it goes away). Far from it. I don't want to be confused with one of those commenters who condemns you for daring to post politically flavoured material (though I admit to seeing anything but eye-to-eye with Maul's republican sympathies and generally only skim the posts he authors along with their related comments -- a solution I might recommend to those loudly voicing their disapproval). Rather, I'm concerned with the way partisan politics -- and the general air of hostility that follows in its wake -- tends to break down the normally observed codes of civil discourse (which already starts low in an online setting).
Basically, people get bitchy when politics comes up (especially in the whirlwind-media-frenzy environment in which American politics takes place), and the general atmosphere starts to turn sour.
Add this to the fact that you've found yourself "in a bit of a bad place lately" * -- possibly even because of the downturn in reader civility and support -- and the pieces begin to fall into place: no wonder there's a kind of cloud hanging about The House of late!
* In retrospect, this seems strangely unsurprising and one can only hope that the cause is a transient one (or a combination of transient circumstances) and not something unalterable or inescapable. In either case, all the best to you, sir, and please keep on keepin' on, knowing that there are certainly plenty of us out here who think you're doing a fine job and wish to lend you all our support.
Lastly, to Michael Peterson:
I pretty much agree with what you've got to say, only pointing out that "analytical intelligence" was a groping attempt to say what I was thinking / feeling at the time, and should probably be considered only a loose rendering of such. Chalk it up to slippage.
You're right, though: it's important to keep moving; I'd just caution against moving too far in the direction of cavalier insensitivity -- that way darkness lies. But yeah, "signs and portents", etc., as I already suggested. THND still stands strong, I think.
And please, by all means, continue in the direction you'd planned for CC #3. Really enjoying these pieces (though I sometimes fear that the level of specialization / sophistication is getting a little beyond me. Either that, or a stronger eye towards clarity might be beneficial). : )
Great work, in any case.
Kevin H.-
Thanks very much for your response. I think I can say with a good deal of certainty that the cloud I've been under has passed, though it stayed, strangely, much longer than any previous.
Don't want to be an alarmist. I'm one who thinks we have to feel our feelings through, whatever they may be. At the same time, this can come through in the work we put out there, so it's good to have perspectives like yours against which to check and clarify.
Will be as aware as I can of the site's tenor, presentation, etc going forward; I hope any stumbles along the way can be taken in stride, and certainly pointed out if they become too much of a common occurrence.
Very much obliged,
Keith
You're a gentleman and a scholar, Keith.
*tips hat*
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