Archive for the 'Have you seen?' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
war
Hello everyone and happy summer. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything but I’ve been stockpiling some new music (no Death Cab or Coldplay here; their new releases are great but I’m sure you’ll be hearing them everywhere else in the world until you don’t want to hear them again for awhile, so I’ll leave that to your professional mainstream dj), and yes, finally going to print soon with those new designs I’ve been promising so thanks for continuing to check in and know that some product updates are in the works.
I thought I’d dive in again on this Memorial Day with something old and somethings new. The older one is unfortunately timeless, especially given the state of the world and this nation in particular - again. An impressive and extensive history of the song War is available by clicking on the link. In brief, the Temptations were the first to record it. It was included on their 1970 album “Psychedelic Shack”. Motown had no intention of releasing it as a single, but many people protesting the Vietnam War made it clear that it would be a big hit if they did. Since Motown head Berry Gordy had other plans for The Temptations, he had Edwin Starr record it and his version was released as a single. It was #1 on the charts for three weeks and Starr won a Grammy for Best R&B Male Vocal. This is a classic, and war is nothing but a heartbreak, good for absolutely nothing. Go ahead, say it again:
The other one is much newer. “Light Up Ya Lighter” was originally on Michael Franti’s “Yell Fire” in 2006 and more recently found amongst the music of many other artists on the soundtrack of a Phil Donahue/Ellen Spiro film in very limited release called “Body of War“. I guess I’d feel remiss if I didn’t point out that in as much as we tend to associate Memorial Day with the fun-filled onset of the summer season, its about our soldiers, active and veteran, dead and alive. We are at war and they are there, not on a sandy beach or a sunny slope in their homeland but over there, fighting for their lives and God only knows what else or why at this point 5 years and 2+ months later. Do enjoy your day, and do enjoy your summer, and do pray for those who cannot.
Click here to view a trailer of “Body of War” and go see it if you have the opportunity, and say (or sing) it too: NO MORE… Written by Eddie Vedder for Tomas Young, the 25-year-old Iraqi War veteran featured in the film, who joined the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan and find bin Laden but was deployed to Iraq instead, and was paralyzed one week into his tour by a bullet to his spine.
One of the current Green Tee causes directly addresses the plight of war veterans and their families. Read more about the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust here. Buy a tee or send something directly. Light up ya lighter for the troops. Make peace.
Other “Body of War” Links
Phil Donahue: Body of War - In his own words
“Donahue Tackles Iraq” from Wired Magazine
frontline rocks
I had a plan to share some sweet music to start the week with today. That was until I spent the better part of this spring Sunday afternoon in front of the television. Out of character for me on any given Sunday, I’d heard about and then sat compelled by the latest segment of “Frontline” on PBS. Timed to coincide with the previously observed 5th anniversary of the US occupation in Iraq, there aren’t many surprises in Bush’s War, but many illuminations; interviews with key players, from intelligence agents to State Department staff to five-star generals; and insights to what was really playing out behind the scenes as the news was relayed to us through filtered lenses. In typical Frontline fashion, the segments (it’s a two-parter) are concise, compelling and in the case of this war entirely exasperating. Not exactly a carefree way to pass the time on a Sunday, but just because we don’t live in a war zone doesn’t make the atrocity of it go away, or make it any easier for those with loved ones far away fighting Bush’s War.
On March 24, BBC News posted an article entitled “American Interest in Iraq Slumps“. It’s neither easy nor desirable to consider the horrors of war in which our troops and the people of Iraq have been subjected to daily. I get to walk a spectacular stretch of coastline daily, and cannot help but be thankful for the freedom to do so and for the blessings to have been born here and not in an oppressive or impoverished state. I force myself to remember the violence and loss. It’s up to us to never forget that this administration has been the cause of more deaths than 9/11. It’s like salt in the wound that our nation has been so often deceived by the very leaders we’re meant to rely upon; the self-serving political agendas, the cover-ups, the pardons… The change cannot come too soon, and no, we will never forget.
Explore FRONTLINE’s full collection of reports from 9/11 to the present: Iraq and the War on Terror
Tune in tomorrow for some sweet stuff… and have a peaceful, blessed week.
swell sunday
I admit it - I can be a bit of a sap every now and then. Tonight, on the 80th anniversary of the Oscars I got misty on more than one occasion as many of Hollywood’s memorable moments were revisited. None got me more choked up than the following moments, though. First, the performance of “Falling Slowly” by Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, aka Swell Season (a previous and way less formal version was posted on this site on 7/5/07), and the warm audience response. Then, their pleasantly surprising win and subsequent charming acceptance speeches. I was lucky enough to have seen them live in a pretty intimate venue a few months ago, and I can attest that they really are just that affable, personable, passionate, fun and deserving. Again, if you haven’t yet seen “Once”, rent it. And make art, make art, make art…
Cheers, enjoy, be inspired, and have a wonderful week…
And thanks to John Stewart for doing the right thing, and allowing for what may have been the best speech of the evening.
Bonus track and trailer:
War is Over
Since this week begins on the eve of Christmas Eve I thought this song appropriate. It’s prefaced by a few interview clips with John Lennon, sharing his thoughts on peace and love and world leaders, etc. He may not have had different questions (what ARE we trying to do?) or much different to say today… No violence, no violent minds or households, no starving children, no frustration, no fear. Amen.
My thoughts go out to our soldiers in Iraq at this time of year when they and their families must miss each other so. When they are moving targets as we shop at Target and brave merely the mall and its crowded parking lots and walkways, some people have real problems. Godspeed to them. I’m grateful for the comfort I’m able to live in, from my personal freedom to going to a movie, to dinner, to my warm cozy bed with a roof over my head. We live in what could easily be considered obscene abundance by some as compared to so many. We are blessed. Be joyous and be well, and enjoy a safe and peaceful holiday week.
this is all from the Imagine Peace website
click on the poster for a printable link.
everybody’s gotta learn sometime
One of my favorite covers ever, by Beck, from a memorable movie about erasing memories, written by one of my favorite screenwriters ever, Charlie Kaufman. Unlikely, but if you’ve never seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or Adaptation, or Being John Malkovich, or… (well, you can view his entire filmography here), I highly recommend committing some time and attention to them. Keep an eye open also for Kaufman’s newest writing and debut directorial effort, Synecdoche, New York, to be released in ‘08. A few reviews of the script are out there, and so far no surprises and loads of adjectives such as “ambitious, epic, astounding, sublime, scary” and ”completely illogical”. For me, utter intrigue as to what he might accomplish by adding his own direction to his own inimitable writing.
Bonus feature and some fun film trivia for you: This is from the movie “Being John Malkovich” and is on the director’s commentary. Apparently an extra on the film got drunk, and decided to throw one of his beer cans at John Malkovich. The director (Spike Jonze) liked the scene so much that he left it in the film. The extra got his SAG card and a pay raise since he now had a line in the movie. Just goes to show that for better (the extra) or for worse (Malkovich), life can throw some interesting surprises (and beer cans) at you every now and then, just when you least expect it.
whale rider
It was a rainy weekend in Southern California and I rented some films to watch. The only one I did was Whale Rider. I’d seen it before so I knew it was worth a revisit. It got my eyes almost as misty as the skies (in the good and touching kind of way). If you’ve never seen it (or even if you have), and are wandering through your neighborhood video store wondering what to rent, check Whale Rider out. It’s an inspiration.
pacific garbage patch
Let’s start with some music… wish I didn’t have to post a video for every song but until I can figure something else out it’s all I can do. Today I make a request: buy something! No, that’s not really my request (although please don’t let me stop you), my request is that you start the song and scroll south and read this post and heed it well, and try to buy less plastic, recycle more, and do what you can. I’ll be the first to admit that I find it quite challenging, bottled water is an ingrained habit, but I’m gonna try to break it.
Thanks for visiting…
Released in 1971, the quintessential melodious call to environmental awareness, Marvin Gaye’s Mercy, Mercy Me (the Ecology).
So a week or so ago, on a walk on Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, I came across some trash; the usual beer bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers and whatnot… unfortunately not an uncommon occurence. On this day, right at the edge of the cliffs, there was a corrugated cardboard box. Typically I don’t pick up porous paper products (I try to limit myself to non-biodegradable trash collecting), but this time there was a plastic bait bag laying next to the box, a feather breeze would’ve blown it into the sea. I went to pick up the bag (and the box, since I was there), and lo and behold, the box, right there on the edge of the cliffs, was FILLED with plastic bait bags. Close by was a bag of hard plastic ties, opened and strewn about. I spewed some expletives about the @#$%* idiots who abuse the same ocean they rely on for sustenance, and continued on my way.
Interestingly, that very same morning after my walk I went for coffee at a little shop at the beach and noticed some kind of ruckus going on at the shoreline. Turns out an “extreme athlete” named Tom Jones (not the same Tom Jones women used to toss their panties to) was paddling through and making a landfall on his way to Imperial Beach on his California Paddle. His cause:
“Tom is drawing world-wide attention to the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans. A recent study has found that there is six times more plastic in the ocean than plankton off the coast of California. A United Nations Environmental Report estimated that there is more than 5.76 million tons of plastic in our oceans. To put that in perspective, that’s enough to put 2/3 of California in a plastic bag. At the current plastic usage acceleration rate of 5% per year, according to the Resin Review published by the American Plastic Council, we could cover the entire state of California in plastic by 2014 and every landmass on Earth by the year 2042.”
As obsessive as I am on the topic I had to start researching and then, only a few nights later, there was a segment on Countdown about the ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’, “an area twice the size of Texas that’s become a toilet bowl of plastics“… I’d never heard of it but turns out oceanographers have been researching and warning us about it for years. The Countdown segment isn’t available but here’s some mainstream (sorry) video, the most recent and concise information I could find to share:
To view the motion of the vortex in the ocean click here. Since they sell it, I’m not gonna post a 9 minute video entitled “Synthetic Sea”, by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. You can find it online but I’m not going to post it. There is a dizzying amount of information out there, you’ll find more links below.
There is a new continent in the Pacific Ocean. Actually it has been forming for years. It was documented in the 1950’s. It is larger now, by some reports twice the size of Texas. And growing. The most amazing thing of all is the substance of the island.
Plastic. Trash. Junk. The North Pacific Gyre is an area of swirling currents moving in a clockwise pattern that the major ocean currents lead into. Think of it as an aquatic roundabout in heavy traffic- very difficult to get off of. Over time the plastics and trash that has been intentionally and accidentally dumped into our oceans has found its way to the North Pacific Gyre and remains there. Accumulating at an alarming rate it is literally forming a continent made of trash. click here to continue…
Here are a few things you can do:
1. Use canvas bags to shop.
2. Take your own mug to Starbucks.
3. Recycle plastic as much as you can.
4. Use glass and other recyclable materials when possible.
5. Limit the amout of things you buy that are encased in plastic.
6. Pick something up, else it will likely end up in the sea (that’s from me)
7. Boycott balloons. Balloons released even inland will also likely end up blowing into the sea (yep, that one too).
More information:
Plastic Ocean by Susan Casey from Best Life
Trash Vortex from Greenpeace International
Drowning in an Ocean of Plastic by Stephen Leahy in Wired Magazine
Trashed by Charles Moore
Navigating the Pacific’s ‘Garbage Patch’ from NPR
Surfrider tips for reducing plastic debris
Cryptic Moth: Two guys, two cameras, and a world full of plastic…
tonight i have to leave it
I wanted to say hello before heading out for a love (oops, that was a Freudian), I mean LIVE performance by Glen Hansard and singer/pianist Markéta Irglová, a.k.a. The Swell Season. If you’ve not seen the film “Once“, then be sure to rent the DVD when it becomes available. It’s really touching. I’d previously posted a performance - to view click here.
I’d planned to relay some important oceanic issues today, fueled (sorry) and exacerbated by the catastrophic 58,000 gallons of oil spilled in San Francisco Bay on 11/7/07, but Sunday just isn’t the day. Sunday’s the day to give and send some love and gratitude. Please return soon for some updates on the state of the oceans and the ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’ of plastics in particular. It ain’t pretty but pretty scary, and the information is critical. I will share soon and relay tips on what we can (and must) do to save our seas.
For now, the Ship Project by the Shout Out Louds - click here to browse while listening, enjoy, and whatever you do, give some love…
I detected more than a slight Cure influence so… I just had to. Here’s a little Love Song, with
Robert Smith at his most Edward Scissorhandsish.
A Forest. Have a splendid evening and a wonderful week!
Once
If you’ve not yet seen it, you should. Once is a totally charming film; a deconstructed musical about the friendship and collaboration between a ‘Guy’ and a ‘Girl’. The music is wrenchingly beautiful, the story is short and sweet. This performance of Falling Slowly isn’t from the movie (it was filmed on a beautiful snowy morning at Sundance), but the song is. Still gets me a little misty…
click here to browse while listening…
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Tee of the Month
