funk to funky.
Today I bring you David Bowie's 1979/80 promo video for "Ashes to Ashes". Here he's appearing in his Martian Marrionette or Synth Pierrot persona which, for obvious reasons, didn't last long.
In a related link, here is a clip of Bowie on The Dinah Shore show proving that there was once a time when pop stars were intelligent, insightful and interesting.
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Ebrett & the Movies
Kairo (Pulse), 2001
Are there any ghosts in the Japanese film Kairo? It's hard to say. The truth is, there are several shadowy figures in the movie that appear and then disappear, silent and lonely as they wander the Earth searching for something that may not exist. However, these people aren't even dead yet.
Kairo, which translates to "Pulse," was directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who also wrote the novel. This film was treated to the Hollywood remake machine in 2006, and while I haven't seen the American Pulse, I have good reason not to. From what I hear, the American version is about a computer virus that has breached the boundary between life and death, allowing scary malevolent spirits to jump out of people's computer screens and attack blonde girls. As I watched the original Japanese film, I was surprised that Hollywood would even think of remaking it, considering they basically scrapped every element that makes Kairo so effective (including a pretty non-blonde actress like Kumiko Aso).
Admittedly, like some other Japanese horror films, Kairo is a bit hard to follow. The parallel storylines and lack of explanation may discourage viewers expecting some straightforward, scary ghosts. But this movie isn't about evil spirits jumping out at you or dramatic music bursts, and maybe that's why I like it so much. There are no quick cuts or narrow escapes, and even the assumed premise of good vs. evil/living vs. dead dissolves as the story unfolds. You may not find an explanation for everything that happens in this movie, but Kairo does leave you with some interesting questions:
What if the metaphysical space we call the afterlife had reached its maximum capacity, causing spirits to leak back into our realm through certain man-made portals?
What if death, instead of being a grand journey towards meaning, was merely a continuation of our lonely existence on Earth?
What if human beings, confronted with the fact that they will never be more than social atoms, simply gave up and disappeared, leaving nothing but a shadow-like mark on the wall? Once everyone you know had vanished, how long would you keep living before you opted to join them?
Perhaps, for the characters in Kairo, seeing a ghost is terrifying due to the fact that they might be doomed to become one. The existence of ghosts confirms everything they hoped wasn't true, the possibility that instead of resting in peace you end up walking in place, like the figure in a video Kawashima finds looping over and over on a laptop screen.
Several shadowy figures appear in webcam videos throughout the film. Are they ghosts? Or are they just lonely shut-ins, dead to the world but not actually dead? The internet plays an important role in this movie, both to illustrate Kurosawa's theme of a socially disconnected society and also as the most puzzling story element. In any case, the long shots of grainy dark webcam feeds, framed by the edges of the computer monitor, are one example of the director using simple techniques to make some genuinely creepy scenes. Kairo doesn't go for any quick, intense scares. The film is slow, but the feeling of dread gradually increases, and elements that were creepy at the beginning only continue to get creepier. Kurosawa constructs an uncomfortable atmosphere thanks in large part to the objective quality of the camerawork. Some scenes unfold as though we are watching through a security camera, and other times we seem to be looking through a character's eyes, fixed and unblinking, trying to figure out if there is something standing right there in the shadows. And sometimes there is. The scenes involving ghosts are surreal in a David Lynch kind of way, when the camerawork and the audio transcend the traditional movie feel and create a nightmarish sense of unease. There is one scene in particular, near the end, that gave me honest-to-goodness goosebumbs, partially because I loved how it was shot but also because I was just plain freaked the freak out.
While Kairo is slow-paced, a bit confusing, and altogether strange, I would like to see more movies like it. It's refreshing to see a director leave the textbook horror movie cliches behind and start from scratch. When you think about it, scaring people isn't very difficult, and it's about time filmmakers bring a different approach to doing so.
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Kairo (Pulse), 2001
Are there any ghosts in the Japanese film Kairo? It's hard to say. The truth is, there are several shadowy figures in the movie that appear and then disappear, silent and lonely as they wander the Earth searching for something that may not exist. However, these people aren't even dead yet.
Kairo, which translates to "Pulse," was directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who also wrote the novel. This film was treated to the Hollywood remake machine in 2006, and while I haven't seen the American Pulse, I have good reason not to. From what I hear, the American version is about a computer virus that has breached the boundary between life and death, allowing scary malevolent spirits to jump out of people's computer screens and attack blonde girls. As I watched the original Japanese film, I was surprised that Hollywood would even think of remaking it, considering they basically scrapped every element that makes Kairo so effective (including a pretty non-blonde actress like Kumiko Aso).
Admittedly, like some other Japanese horror films, Kairo is a bit hard to follow. The parallel storylines and lack of explanation may discourage viewers expecting some straightforward, scary ghosts. But this movie isn't about evil spirits jumping out at you or dramatic music bursts, and maybe that's why I like it so much. There are no quick cuts or narrow escapes, and even the assumed premise of good vs. evil/living vs. dead dissolves as the story unfolds. You may not find an explanation for everything that happens in this movie, but Kairo does leave you with some interesting questions:
What if the metaphysical space we call the afterlife had reached its maximum capacity, causing spirits to leak back into our realm through certain man-made portals?
What if death, instead of being a grand journey towards meaning, was merely a continuation of our lonely existence on Earth?
What if human beings, confronted with the fact that they will never be more than social atoms, simply gave up and disappeared, leaving nothing but a shadow-like mark on the wall? Once everyone you know had vanished, how long would you keep living before you opted to join them?
Perhaps, for the characters in Kairo, seeing a ghost is terrifying due to the fact that they might be doomed to become one. The existence of ghosts confirms everything they hoped wasn't true, the possibility that instead of resting in peace you end up walking in place, like the figure in a video Kawashima finds looping over and over on a laptop screen.
Several shadowy figures appear in webcam videos throughout the film. Are they ghosts? Or are they just lonely shut-ins, dead to the world but not actually dead? The internet plays an important role in this movie, both to illustrate Kurosawa's theme of a socially disconnected society and also as the most puzzling story element. In any case, the long shots of grainy dark webcam feeds, framed by the edges of the computer monitor, are one example of the director using simple techniques to make some genuinely creepy scenes. Kairo doesn't go for any quick, intense scares. The film is slow, but the feeling of dread gradually increases, and elements that were creepy at the beginning only continue to get creepier. Kurosawa constructs an uncomfortable atmosphere thanks in large part to the objective quality of the camerawork. Some scenes unfold as though we are watching through a security camera, and other times we seem to be looking through a character's eyes, fixed and unblinking, trying to figure out if there is something standing right there in the shadows. And sometimes there is. The scenes involving ghosts are surreal in a David Lynch kind of way, when the camerawork and the audio transcend the traditional movie feel and create a nightmarish sense of unease. There is one scene in particular, near the end, that gave me honest-to-goodness goosebumbs, partially because I loved how it was shot but also because I was just plain freaked the freak out.
While Kairo is slow-paced, a bit confusing, and altogether strange, I would like to see more movies like it. It's refreshing to see a director leave the textbook horror movie cliches behind and start from scratch. When you think about it, scaring people isn't very difficult, and it's about time filmmakers bring a different approach to doing so.
.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
happy stadium mud buggies day!
Super rad custom SMB controller overlay.
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Super rad custom SMB controller overlay.
I understand that most of the world celebrates Stadium Mud Buggies day in a different fashion that we do here at the Radiogram. Instead of playing Stadium Mud Buggies, talking about Mud Buggies, or thinking about how much Mud Buggies rock, I hear that other people have what they call 'Valentine's Day', I guess in reference to Rudolph Valentino. From what I gather, you can celebrate Valentino Day in a variety of ways, such as:
-buy your girlfriend some flowers.
-buy your girlfriend some chocolates.
-buy your girlfriend some jewelry.
-buy your girlfriend dinner (note: you could make her dinner at home, but keep in mind that it won't mean as much to her, because you did not spend money).
-buy your girlfriend some lingerie.
-buy your girlfriend a car.
-buy your girlfriend one of the Cayman Islands.
-buy your girlfriend nice card (note: you could make a nice card for her, but keep in mind that it won't mean as much to her, because you did not spend money).
-OR, buy her an Intellivision and Stadium Mud Buggies, then when she asks you 'what the hell is this?', launch into an explosive rant about how Stadium Mud Buggies rock the guts out of little kids and make you yell "AWESO-" (you don't even finish the word because your head explodes).
And apparently girls can celebrate Valentine's Day in this fashion:
-wait for your boyfriend to buy you something. Then act grateful.
-if he does not buy you something, give him the cold shoulder for the following week, and then when he asks why you are upset, yell at him. Enjoy.
Have a good one!
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Wednesday, February 07, 2007
my alarm clock is a bomb.
A paranoid Boston officer uses a stick to remove a light-up Err while peeing his pants.
Campaign Triggers Boston Bomb Scare.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called it "unconscionable" that the marketing campaign was executed in a post 9/11 era. "It's a foolish prank on the part of Turner Broadcasting," he said. "In the environment nowadays ... we really have to look at the motivation of the company here and why this happened."
Ignigknok and Err, looking like bombs. "On the moon, we have advanced beyond rules and manners."
"It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires." -Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
Let me present a little story problem:
1. Say there is a guy who really likes Pokemon, and just as a silly joke one day he places a little Pokemon toy on top of his neighbor's car. The neighbor comes out to go to work and finds the toy on his car. He's never heard of Pokemon, in spite of their popularity with his own children, because he spends all his time watching the terror alerts on Fox News. He could just drive to work, but he sees that the toy has wires and a battery, and he remembers that terrorists are everywhere in this post-9/11 world, waiting to destroy America, and we must all live in fear of them to be good citizens. So instead of going in to work, he calls the police and the bomb squad, and his whole neighborhood is evacuated, and his place of work cannot function without him being there, and his whole district of town is essentially shut down until the Pokemon fan is detained and he explains that it is just a damn toy.
A. Who can be blamed for the widespread panic?
B. Who cares?
Extra Credit: List 10 things found in your own home that Boston authorities would think are bombs. You can list more than 10, but be aware that you are a threat to national security.
.
A paranoid Boston officer uses a stick to remove a light-up Err while peeing his pants.
Campaign Triggers Boston Bomb Scare.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called it "unconscionable" that the marketing campaign was executed in a post 9/11 era. "It's a foolish prank on the part of Turner Broadcasting," he said. "In the environment nowadays ... we really have to look at the motivation of the company here and why this happened."
Ignigknok and Err, looking like bombs. "On the moon, we have advanced beyond rules and manners."
"It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires." -Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
Let me present a little story problem:
1. Say there is a guy who really likes Pokemon, and just as a silly joke one day he places a little Pokemon toy on top of his neighbor's car. The neighbor comes out to go to work and finds the toy on his car. He's never heard of Pokemon, in spite of their popularity with his own children, because he spends all his time watching the terror alerts on Fox News. He could just drive to work, but he sees that the toy has wires and a battery, and he remembers that terrorists are everywhere in this post-9/11 world, waiting to destroy America, and we must all live in fear of them to be good citizens. So instead of going in to work, he calls the police and the bomb squad, and his whole neighborhood is evacuated, and his place of work cannot function without him being there, and his whole district of town is essentially shut down until the Pokemon fan is detained and he explains that it is just a damn toy.
A. Who can be blamed for the widespread panic?
B. Who cares?
Extra Credit: List 10 things found in your own home that Boston authorities would think are bombs. You can list more than 10, but be aware that you are a threat to national security.
.
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