Thursday, May 27, 2010

An Evening with John Waters

I had the pleasure of attending one of those fancy, schmansy speaker’s series last night, billed as an evening with John Waters. Yep, THAT John Waters.

(Here’s the pre-lecture article. Here's another article from the NY Times about his book. Go here)

The evening turned to NOT be fancy or even schmansy, but more of a coming together of your favorite kooks, outcasts, and lesbian neighbors all listening to your naughty uncle by the fire.




The set was simple, two chairs, one for the interviewer from the local newspaper and one for Mr. Waters. They enjoyed about an hour of Q & A. While I don’t think it was a scripted talk, I do believe there was some outline of how Mr. Waters would respond to questions.

Some of my favorite responses were about looking up to Johnny Mathis and having an obsession with the Manson women. And his detail of some of the more colorful characters from Baltimore was a hoot. When describing Zorro the Stripper, he said she would come out on stage already nude, give the audience the finger, and shout “What the fuck are you looking at?”

I’ve seen several of Mr. Waters’ movies and truthfully, didn’t find then all that funny. I think his set-up of the movies’ premise is more funny and when you hear him talk about the cast, they seem like loads of fun. I really wish I knew them. Then again, carnies aren’t a group I usually hang with on Saturday nights!

Here’s a bad pic I took with my phone. That’s Mr. Waters on the right.

Great night. Glad we went!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Aimee Mann

I still can't get the song "Voices Carry" out of my head from 1983, but just to cleanse the brain I've been listening to Aimee's song "Freeway" from her record "@#%&*! Smilers". (I like saying "fucking smilers"!).

What is underrated anyway? Aimee's been nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy and writes some of the sweetest, most haunting songs around. But whenever I mention her to anyone, they say, "who?" I guess she'll never been Madonna-esque, or Ga-Ga, but then again, I don't care.

Here's the "Freeway" song.



And in case you forgot "Voices Carry" (who could, really), here's a live version. I still giggle at all the stupid haircuts we wore.

U2 & Christina Aguilera postpone!

I know it's shallow and a bit selfish, but MAN, am I glad we saw U2 last year at the Rose Bowl, rather than planning on seeing them THIS year. I'm sure emergency back surgery is a serious thing and the postponement is warranted. OUCH! (PP announcement here) Imagine the fans, flying in from all over and now...no show. Ugh! Get better Bono and quick!


But X-tina? You're too busy to do on tour (go here)? Huh? Then why announce a tour? Yes, I would have gone had she come to my town, but this smells of low-ticket-sales-itis. Keep well, X-tina. Maybe next year, there will be more interest in your live show. And I mean that in a good way.


And yea, I'll be seeing her movie "Burlesque". I just hope it's not another "Glitter".

Monday, May 24, 2010

Dhani Tackles the Globe



I've been watching the latest season of "Dhani Tackles The Globe" on the Travel Channel and here's why you should too.
The host, Dhani Jones (pronounced D-HA-nee, not Danni like George Harrison's kid), is some football player. He apparently owns his own bow tie company too. Don't care about any of those. But he's a pretty darned good host: funny, engaging, and can play any sport on the planet (which is the theme of the show - learn a local sport in a week and play a match).

But the best part? Dhani is nearly naked at every chance he gets. Case in point, the Iceland episode (strong man competition):

Or the Croatia episode (water polo)...mmmm, Speedos....:


But the most outrageous to date? The Senegal episode. The sport is some form of wrestling and here, Dhani's trainer shows him how to keep his "bits" safe:



Oh yea. I'll keep watching!

"Revanche"

I watched a terrific Austrian's movie over the weekend called "Revanche". What made me choose the film was that it is in German. I'm trying to educate myself about German cinema. Yes, I know Austria isn't Germany, but close enough for me.

Really riviting piece and apparently nominated for an Oscar in 2009. The trailer is below (yes, there's naked boobies).

And here's what Mick LaSalle said in his review back in 2009. Go here.

I recommend it.

Saturday, August 8, 2009