Secret London
via facebook.com
This group is for Londoners to inspire Londoners by sharing the secrets of the city.
Better Off This Way |
Out and About in LA |
This group is for Londoners to inspire Londoners by sharing the secrets of the city.
Directed by Andrea Arnold, this was a breath of fresh air during a year of weak movies in my opinion. Its honest and gritty and takes place in an housing estate in Essex, England. Arnold won the Jury prize at Cannes AGAIN for this one (her first award winning film was "Red Road"). Arnold found her lead actress on a tube platform in East London where she witnessed her having an argument with her boyfriend.
If you like Arnold's films I recommend another British female director named Lynne Ramsey ("Morvern Collar" and "Ratcatcher") who begins shooting her next film this spring with John C. Reilly in the lead.
Fish Tank is currently playing at the Laemmle on Sunset. Run don't walk...
I don't follow a lot of bloggers, but I laughed so hard when I read her book (Dear Diary) a couple years ago that I've always kept an eye out for what she's up to and what she's got to write.
I don't even know this woman, but last night she was in my dreams and I woke up to find that she posted an excerpt from one of my favorite films. This film, along with "The Rachel Papers," were big ones for me growing up.
You can read Lesley at
cafeconlesley.blogspot.com
And her twitter feed makes me smile, like this one,
@STAGEMOMZ
It's weird how I walk through my front door and suddenly my housepants are on.
First Hot Chip and now Four Tet. Maybe I should just move to Silverlake and buy a summer house in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. Anyways, I'm digging this.... Put this song on and think big...
First Hot Chip and now the newest from Four Tet. Maybe I should just move to Silverlake already and buy a summer house in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. Here it is anyway. Put this on and think big.
I've written about it before, but if you haven't signed up for Goldstar.com you are really missing out. I got two $10 seats to see "An Oak Tree" at The Odyssey Theatre on Sepulveda this past friday. The show was pretty strange and I can't really recommend it to anyone but I did hit a really good burger joint that is just around the corner. We had an hour before curtain and were seriously contemplating breaking my Koo Koo Roo cherry. I'm glad we didn't. We ventured to the place around the corner and I had a beef burger on a pretzel bun (mandatory), cheddar cheese, house-made zucchini pickles (amazing and gave good flavor to the burger), apple wood smoked bacon and sweet potato fries. The place is owned by an ex husband and wife and former set caterers. They were on site and really sweet. Fuck Umami Burger and if you're tired of father's office, than definitely hit this.
I went out West last week to meet up with the photographer (and new friend) Marc Lemoine. You know how sometimes you meet people and right off the bat you're like, "this dude is cool." Well, that's Brother Lemoine. He's doing a portrait project that asks people to pick their favorite album of all time and bring it along for a one-on-one photo/chat session. I brought along The Cure's Disintegration (which I can't believe is over 20 years old) and when my copy didn't work it turns out he was just listening to it in his car that week and we loaded it up on his iPod. We talked a lot about life, making the decision to it devote to the arts, and the theater. I had a great time and you can see some of the photos here.
I encourage you to check out his site. He's got a great eye and I look forward to the commercial and art photography from this guy for years to come. I'm also glad that I've met a new friend in town. Thanks Jimmy Jazz. http://marclemoine.blogspot.com/
Heard this new Hot Chip track on Morning Becomes Eclectic today. It took me all the way to LAX and back feeling good.
The past week I've had the pleasure of reading a first-rate novel ("Let The Great World Spin" by Colum McCann) and watching an equally amazing documentary both based on the tight rope walk of Philippe Petit between the Twin Towers in 1974. I know I'm a little late to the game on the documentary, but upon reading the book it occurred to me that I had never seen that film even though it was highly recommended by a few friends last year.
The novel follows approximately eight characters as their lives play out on or around August 7, 2004. My favorite part was a Molly Bloom-like chapter from the point of view of a Mother living on the Upper East Side who recently lost her son in Vietnam. We read her perspective and hear her thoughts as she meets with a support group of other mothers who have all lost their children in the war. Its beautifully constructed and very moving. We follow Irish brothers, a drugged up couple as they fuck and make art, a hooker in the bronx and briefly the tight rope walker himself. At first I was wondering how (and if) McCann was going to tie all these characters together and the last 1/3 of the novel reveals his masterful (and subtle) skill in rounding them all up. This is an award winning book and one of the best I've read in a long while.
I've just started using Blockbuster Online (but that's another blog entry), and the movie "Man On Wire" was the perfect compliment to the novel and I was equally moved by Petit's eccentric passion. The film ignited my vertigo and sparked within me the sense of adventure and determination to follow your passions.
I like reading new novels, thrillers and historical fiction. An appreciation of historical fiction is fueled by my nostalgic inclination. My love of reading and history was instilled in me by my parents. While growing up my mother owned a small mystery bookstore in my town called Scotland Yard Books. If I can get good characters, plot as well as a lesson in history than I'm happy. Early memories of historical fiction around the house would be the novels of John Jakes. He was the creator of the North & South series on TV (starring Swayze) that were based on his trilogy of novels.
In December I read the latest from Edward Rutherford called "New York."
Rutherford is a master of this genre and has written an historical fiction gem with this latest title. Starting out with the Dutch settlers and ending near 9/11 this epic novel gives you just enough plot and characters during all the key points in NYC history. Real figures like Ben Franklin and George Washington make appearances along with Rutherford's own creations. I recommend this book for anybody that loves the city and good stories.
I got my bases covered.
