Now located somewhere else…

Hi there.

If you are reading this, that means you either hooked up to my old rss feed or you stumbled in here. I have switched hosts. My blog is still located at http://listofnow.com. However, it is now being hosted somewhere. So please follow that link above and resubscribe to the new feed. This one will cease to be updated.

-b

ps. Leave a comment with your thoughts about the new layout!

Ordered List: Wes Anderson Films

I really enjoy all of Wes Anderson’s work.  The Rushmore vs. Royal Tenenbaums: “Which is a better film?” debate has been bounced around numerous times in my social circle.  This list is not actually representative of the BEST*, as much as explicit favoritism, in order from most favorite to least:

1.  Rushmore

2.  The Darjeeling Limited

3.  The Royal Tenenbaums

4.  The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou

5.   Bottle Rocket**

*Rushmore.  CLEARLY.
**I think Bottle Rocket is actually a better film than Life Aquatic.  For some reason, I really just enjoy watching Life Aquatic more.  I speculate it’s Seu Jorge’s Bowie covers that edge it up on the favorite list.

T-t-tonight, T-t-tonight, T-tonight… I’m loving my new Mates (of State)

Joe gave me the newest album by indie-pop duo Mates of State for my birthday, back in June.   The album, Re-arrange Us has been out since May, so this is less of a review and more of a love letter.  Because now, in the days counting down to the close of summer, I have a crush on this album and don’t really want to stop listening to it.  Even though I tend to lean towards more moody, even melancholic, indie-folk-rock kinds of tunes, while driving around on starry summer nights, I can’t seem to find a reason to take the damn cd out of my car player.

It’s just so damn fun.  I can’t think of the last album that reminded me that pop can be poetic.  It is well-crafted and smart, both lyrically and musically.  Maybe it’s just the timing and how much I am enjoying this summer – my first in a long time, living so close to the ocean and enjoying the simplicity of being outdoors again – but the music is providing a perfect soundtrack.  It makes a certain kind of sense in it’s lightness and I find that listening to it actively encourages me not to take myself so seriously.  From the moment that the first deliciously catchy track, Get Better, starts: “Forget your politics for a while/Let the color schemes arrive”… it’s ok for me to be taking the back roads home just because it’s a prettier drive, it’s ok for me to go to the beach for an hour to read or write in my journal, before work and it’s ok for me to drink entirely too much iced coffee and then be hyper and wanting to do cartwheels in the sunshine.  It’s all ok.  And that is how it should be in the summertime.

WB steals Christmas delays release of Half-Blood Prince until July 2009!

I know I’m posting about this late and I really don’t have much new to say that hasn’t already been said here or here.  The quasi-official sounding reasons from WB:

The press release says the reason for the move was two-fold: First, the studio says summer releases are better for “family tentpole” events, and second, they are still feeling the aftereffects of the writers’ strike and need the time to make sure the film reaches the widest audience possible.

I think that sounds like post-damage control reasoning.  I mean, I don’t think I’m just being a whiny fangirl here, I just think it sounds really fishy.  I think some problem was discovered, they decided the only way to fix/avoid the problem was this and then sat around coming up with reasons to make it look like a reasonably premeditated move.   Other bloggers are speculating it’s all about the money.  However, I just read this on /film and it’s absolutely true:

The three Potter films released in November averaged $916 million worldwide, while the two summer releases averaged $866 million worldwide, which is about a $50 million difference.

It’s also worth noting that ICE Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs opens two weeks earlier, Ronald Emmerich’s sci-fi disaster movie 2012 opens the week before, and Land of the Lost opens on the same day as the new date. The november release had virtually no competition until a month later when Twilight hit theaters on December 12th.

So this would be a bad money move, no?  Unless they are hoping for another Dark Knight in terms of box office success, which would be extremely short-sighted on their part. The Dark Knight didn’t have success due to timing, it had success due to it being one of the best films of the decade.   Not to mention, It was brilliantly executed at every level of business (from the production itself to the marketing) and there is no way ANY Harry Potter film will touch that.  These are HUGE huge films, but they just do not have the mainstream/adult appeal that The Dark Knight has.

I’ve also read people speculating that they moved the film due to Daniel Radcliffe’s starring role (and nudity) on Broadway in Equus. I doubt this is true, because The Half-Blood Prince is not exactly the “family fare” that the early Potter films were marketed as.  WB has clearly already made the choice to introduce the more serious/dark elements of that story in it’s very first teaser.  (No, I do not count that crappy IMAX one-line, 15 second piece of BS).   So why would they shy away from the (mild) controversy of D-Rad’s nudity now?

Regardless of the reason, I’m sad.  Luckily I have this new picture of the “Unbreakable Vow” scene to cheer me up.

Well played, WB.

Bastards.

The Geek Out List: Special LOST Edition!

The thing I love about LOST spoilers that I find online is that I don’t need to avoid them. They never give away any information, just give us more to chew on. (and chew on and chew on and chew on… until January)

So here’s the juicyest new things I’ve heard/read/seen about the new season of LOST:

1.  The title of the first episode of the new season will be “Because You Left”. (Via: EW)

2.  Literary Nerdy + LOST Geeky = LOST Book Club LOVE LOVE LOVE!

The LOST book club is home to any and all literary references made on the show – from Stephen King to Kurt Vonnegut.  Browse the book list and get all the details.

It’s ALL there.  Now I know that the LOSTpedia has already run circles around every reference in the show to just about ANYTHING.  So this isn’t exactly new information.  But for an official show website feature, I have to say, the DESIGN of this is brilliant!  You can view them indexed by season, by what kind of reference, or just peruse all the books in a very convenient little floating book widget thingie.  Extremely fun to play with!  You can also discuss the significance of the books with other fans in the forums.  Thanks, ABC.  I’m a fan.

3. Check out these totally HAWT promo pictures, released last week! (via Remote Access)

What does it all mean?  I don’t know if these photos mean anything, except “Hey look at our sexy cast… don’t you want to see more of our sexy sexy cast in January?”

Not that it matters.  They could draw a Dharma Initiative logo on a f’n cocktail napkin, scan it and leak it online and I would still be excited to find it.  “A cocktail napkin?  What does it all MEAN?”

Click the link to see the full spread.  These are my two favorites:

Although, to clarify, I wouldn’t necessarily call Ben HOT… I don’t think that is the point.  I think everyone in these photos was “dressed up” to fit their characters somehow.  I picked the “Ben” photo as a favorite because it captured a kind of energy very strongly.  That vest has a really sharp + vintage look that really suits his character – classy, yet still very mad professor.

And I don’t think I need to explain why the “Sun” picture was a favorite.  She is one of my favorite characters and I love that she got the shiny, space-diva dress.

Oh and one more thing.  I think Elizabeth Mitchell is gorgeous and I love the character of Juliet.   So why does everyone else look glam or at least moderately spiffed-up and Juliet looks like you just caught her leaving a yoga class?  Upon closer look, it appears that she is wearing a skirt, which would make the top look a little dressier.  Kinda.  Maybe it’s the colors?  I don’t know, but I look at this and I see Fruit of the Loom commercial:

Maybe it’s just me.  Thoughts?

List of things to remember while you are watching the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics opened last week and will continue for the next two weeks. There will be unprecedented coverage of these games, with television viewing available nearly around the clock on NBC and streaming of many events available through their website.

Personally, I love watching the Olympic games. Seeing that I live in America – where female athletes and international sports are virtually invisible – I really enjoy the Olympics’ emphasis on “the others” that Americans typically are not able to see, support and embrace. It is one of the only times in sports coverage/media coverage that mainstream America really looks at or thinks about what it means to have a positive global convergence of any kind.

Beyond inspiring us to be more athletic and active people, I hope that it inspires Americans to learn more about other cultures, current events and simple geography. Because we need it. (I am always reminded during the opening ceremonies alone, how truly weak my education in simple geography has been).

With the Olympics happening in Beijing, China there have been calls to boycott these games. There are many people who will not watch and urge others to not support the very happening, let alone the coverage of these games. I believe this is unfair to the athletes who have trained, competed and deserve their moments to celebrate their accomplishments as extraordinary human beings, as well as the overall spirit of global unity that these games represent.

It is perhaps especially because of this spirit of global unity, that I think we also have an obligation to remember the context in which these games are happening and not turn a blind eye to the injustices committed by China and other oppressive regimes around the world.

So if you do watch, please also take the opportunity to learn about the controversies. Find out what is happening there and why people are protesting, speaking out and worried for the future. After these two weeks, the spotlight will go away and the world will no longer be looking at China, but it is crucial to remain aware of what is happening there. This is my attempt to join other writers in calling attention to the things that China does NOT want you to think about, while it is playing host to the world.

Here is a list of things to remember while you are watching the 2008 Olympics in Beijing:

1. China has a truly horrifying record of human rights violations.

Amnesty International has documented widespread human rights violations in China. An estimated 500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other media has grown. Repression of minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians, and of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians who practice their religion outside state-sanctioned churches continues. While the recent reinstatement of Supreme People’s Court review of death penalty cases may result in lower numbers of executions, China remains the leading executioner in the world.

Amnesty International’s page about China
Wikipedia entry about Human Rights in the People’s Republic of China

In fact, there has been a documented surge in human rights violations leading up to the Olympic games as the government tries to crack down on protests, do some PR damage control and cover up what is happening there in the face of more media coverage than ever before. (via Human Rights Watch)

2. China does not allow its people free access to information in the media, online, in public record or in learning about their own history.

This is a topic I’ve been following for the past few years. The government of China has denied the erasing and rewriting of history, as well as the physical harassment, impediment and detainment of journalists and media who attempt to report within the country and to the rest of the world about what is happening there. They do not deny some of the blocks placed on the internet, although it is not overt and several websites are just redirected to an error message or blank page due to a “poor connection”. In a large public move, Google caused outrage by agreeing to censor search results in accordance with a request from the Chinese government.

In 2006, PBS devoted a Frontline program to commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre. It is available for viewing (in full) on their website. It is a comprehensive look at the events leading up to the protest, the fall-out and the state of Chinese society, two decades later where many do not remember or have no recollection of the event, because it has been erased from their cultural memory.

A week ago, a Beijing newspaper was recalled, had their website and distribution of their paper instantly blocked by the government, for publishing a photo of wounded protestors in Tiananmen Square. (via Yahoo news, AP) The editors may face further punitive measures by the government’s media authorities. The “major political mistake” was apparently an accident by a young staff editor who had no memory of the events in 1989, and therefore did not know what it was a picture of. I don’t know which is more disturbing, the fact that this “mistake” is being punished, or the fact that it happened because the youth don’t have any recollection and therefore don’t know what they are supposed to be prohibiting the public from seeing.

The BBC is reporting that its website is unblocked to Chinese access for the first time. Although the government has not admitted that this website has been censored, the BBC reports that blocks have been documented for over a decade, since the inception of a comprehensive BBC news site. They have been flooded with comments from people within China, able to view unhindered content for the first time. This is excellent news, but many have speculated that this has been done to keep up appearances for the international tourists that are currently in Beijing and expect it to return to normal after the games are finished.

On the flip side, in this same article, the BBC reports that they are still encountering many problems on the ground, even though the Chinese authorities had promised to give foreign journalists more freedom during the preparations to the Olympic games. For example, the BBC and other media outlets have been prohibited from entering and reporting on events and protests in Tibet. You Tube, the Times and the Guardian websites were also blocked while trying to post coverage of the protests.

For everyone watching press coverage of the Olympics, we need to be aware that things are happening there and we are not being allowed to see them, hear them, or read about them. The BBC is one of the best sources that remains vigilant in discussing these issues. I highly recommend going to their website, reading and listening to their incredibly informative public radio reports.

3. China’s political, economic and military relationships with Sudan have directly contributed to the genocide in Darfur.

Furthermore, as a part of the UN, the government of China does everything in its power to stand in the way of UN sanctions, action and aid to the people on the ground who are being slaughtered.

(Quote) No country has done more to support the regime in Khartoum than the People’s Republic of China: no country has offered more diplomatic support, nor done more to provide money to buy the weaponry that fuels the engine of genocidal destruction.  And no country has done more to insulate Khartoum from economic pressure or human rights accountability. (Via Dream for Darfur)

Read also: China and Sudan Fact Sheet at SaveDarfur.com

I’m surprised this is not more widely known and publicized in America. Many people don’t realize that China has any link to the genocide in Darfur. I’m hoping that the controversies surrounding these games bring those facts to light, but the authorities are doing their best to keep these issues out of the arena.

Even if that means denying entry to athletes who are speaking out (Via the Guardian)

Joey Cheek, a speedskater who won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, was informed yesterday morning that his visa had been revoked, hours before he was due to travel. Cheek is a co-founder of Team Darfur, which has encouraged 73 athletes to use the platform provided by the Olympics to protest at China’s support for the Sudanese government, which is accused of sponsoring genocide in the region.

4. China continues to occupy Tibet.

There is so much to say here, I don’t really have adequate time or space with this list. If you don’t know about the occupation of Tibet, the ethnic and cultural cleansing, the violent military state imposed on its people and the exile of the Dalai Lama – go read all about it here.

Recently, during the preparations for the Olympic games, the people of Tibet have been bravely protesting and revolting against the occupation and struggling to draw attention to the injustices occurring there. They have been violently restrained and as I mentioned above, the global media has been prohibited in reporting about it. Please learn more about this and spread the information.

5. The United States of America has done and said surprisingly little to condemn these actions.

In the past few days, Bush gave an address, reportedly to “condemn” human rights violations in China, but his speech proved to be very light and nuanced instead of the specific and harsh words that would be entirely appropriate right now. He brushed over the topics and focused on Burma additionally (which is a worthy topic, but in this case took away from the point that needed to be made on the eve of the Olympics in China). He talked about the positive elements of the relationship between China and US in the areas of trade and foreign policy. In the following few days, the only mention of their policies took the form of criticism of their heavy restrictions on religion, specifically in reference to Christianity. Bush neglected to visit any of the underground churches or acknowledge the organizations and people fighting for the freedom of religion, including the protestors in Tibet.

While religion is also an important issue and inextricably linked to much of the oppression, censorship, imperialism and violence that China inflicts on its people, it is not the cause of the human rights violations. I believe that the people of China should have the freedom to be a part of any religion they choose, and so I am pleased this issue was addressed at all. However, I feel that Bush and other American leaders have a responsibility to be more comprehensive in their condemnation of the human rights violations of China – all the time – but especially right now.

I urge you to be public and vocal in your support of media outlets, writers, reporters and bloggers that are including these issues in their Olympic coverage. Celebrate the Olympics with the rest of the world, but don’t be silent about the issues surrounding these games while you are doing it.

Hot! Shirley Manson featured in new TV promos for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I am really looking forward to the upcoming season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox.  I know I’m in a minority here, but I really enjoyed most of the episodes in the first season.  I love the Sarah-John-Cameron trio and was surprised how quickly the series dove into action, but maintained good writing and consistent plot and character development.  Having not been a huge Terminator fan in the past, I didn’t go into with expectations and therefore, didn’t measure it up to the films.  I just watched it, expecting it to be fun, looking forward to seeing Summer Glau in a different role and I was surprised how strong a first season it turned out to be.

While watching So You Think You Can Dance last week, I saw the new extended Fall TV preview spot for the show and loudly exclaimed “NO WAY! WAS that just SHIRLEY F’N MANSON?”

Yes folks.  I’ve apparently been living under a rock, because Shirley Manson joined the cast for this upcoming season.  (via io9)  She will be playing the CEO of some high-tech company, which will probably be on the cutting edge of robotics production and have questionable ethics.  HOT.

If I made a list of my favorite women of the 90’s (and I should), Shirley would most definitely be on that list.  And the music?  Totally rocks my little 90’s nostalgia universe.  I’m Only Happy When it Rains might be in the top ten of “Strongest Debut Singles Ever”.  It was just so damn fierce.   Just like Shirley, herself.

Snapshots of the Vermont Road Trip

Follow-up: My Breaking Dawn Predictions

Spoiler Alert:  DO not read this if you have not completed Breaking Dawn.  I will give away a few REALLY crucial plot points.

Road Trip!

Q: What’s heaven for you?

A: Me and my wife on Rte. 66 with a pot of coffee, a cheap guitar, pawnshop tape recorder in a Motel 6, and a car that runs good parked right by the door.

-Tom Waits (from this interview)

Yesterday, after I got done with work, I went home and we packed.  We packed: a suitcase with some clothes and bathing suits, the laptop in its case, two cameras – one new and great /one old and unreliable, rechargeable batteries, the books we are reading, my three notebooks (journal, sketchbook and writing book), some google maps directions and a 1 liter bottle of peppermint iced tea with honey that I had made the day before.

We drove up into the mountains.  We took pictures on the highway of the rolling corrider of clouds.  We stayed in an OK hotel and ate a four-course dinner in a mansion.  We slept in a big bed.  We swam in a little pool.   We got up, checked out, drove into town and ate breakfast and then drove home again.

The end.

(Pictures and actual travel review to come later).