Movie Posters

Posters for all 80 "Best Picture" winners.

My favourites from the list are West Side Story, Midnight Cowboy, The Last Emperor, and Schindler's List.

My absolute, without question, all-time fave movie poster is right here.

Visible Energy

Interesting Wired article outlining the idea of making energy consumption visible to facilitate conservation. Loads of inherent potential.

fin d'ete

Official site for "fin d'ete" - a well done animated short with some beautiful imagery.

The sound design reminded me of Jonathan Clark's Afterlife -The Four Seasons, which is also worth exploring, if you're into the whole quiet/haunting/wistful thing.

Keming

keming. noun. The result of improper kerning.

Due credit.

Remembering and Appreciating Spalding Gray

Take a moment and watch this clip of Spalding Gray. It's just a reminder that we don't really need CGI, huge plasma screens or surround sound to feel captivated by a story.

Official site.
NPR archives.
Overview of his work.

This American Life

I'm strongly recommending Episode 323 of This American Life. Three great stories revolving around apartment building superintendents. Trust me.

Hey, You!

This is beautiful news - the late and supremely wonderful "All Night Show" is rising from the dead for a reunion.

Unless you lived a nocturnal existence in southern Ontario between September 1980 and August 1981, and enjoyed watching Twilight Zone episodes while drunk or stoned, this will mean absolutely nothing to you. But, if you were part of the club and begin to feel light-headed at the mere mention of the names Chuck and Ryerson, this is for you.

Supernatural Superserious

Forgive me, but I still care about REM. This new single is great. "Accelerate" is out April 1. Get off my lawn.

She's a Little Bit...

We often face choices in life. For instance, not listening to Marie Osmond reciting dadaist poet, Hugo Ball's composition "Karawane" versus the alternative.

Background here, for those who care.

Grammy Goofin'

The Village Voice's Tom Breihan kept a running diary during last night's Grammy Awards - and it's pretty entertaining.

CD Cover Meme

CD Cover Meme pool at Flickr

I absolutely love this idea and here's my contribution.

Here's how it works:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

That's Entertainment

Yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the release of "That's Entertainment" - The Jam's brilliant single that's still the best artistic summation of sadness I've ever encountered. Video here.

a police car and a screaming siren
pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete
a baby wailing and a stray dog howling
the screech of brakes and lamplights blinking

thats entertainment

a smash of glass and the rumble of boots
an electric train and a ripped up phone booth
paint splattered walls and the cry of a tom cat
lights going out and a kick in the balls

thats entertainment

days of speed and slow time mondays
pissing down with rain on a boring wednesday
watching the news and not eating your tea
a freezing cold flat with damp on the walls

thats entertainment

waking up at 6 a.m on a cool warm morning
opening the window and breathing in petrol
an amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays

thats entertainment

waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
a hot summers day and sticky black tarmac
feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away

thats entertainment

two lovers kissing at the scream of midnight
two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
getting a cab and travelling on buses
reading the grafitti about slashed seat affairs

thats entertainment

Olias of Sunhillow

A YES fan has created videos for every track of Jon Anderson's 1976 solo album, "Olias of Sunhillow" using a fair amount of Roger Dean's artwork.

I'm a huge fan of this album. There was a long stretch during my first year of high school when I listened to it every morning before heading off to the hellish world of Thorold Secondary. Although I chose to temporarily dismiss it (along with all my other prog-rock records) when the Sex Pistols entered my life 30 years ago, I've since come back and embraced it fully, realizing there's room in my life for both John and Jon.

Related links: the album's Wikipedia entry and Roger Dean's official site.

Music in Dorseyland

I have no idea who Paul Dorsey is or how I discovered this, but I quite enjoy looking over the long list of mostly Toronto area concerts he's attended and documented (including a ton of ticket stub scans), dating back to the early 70's. Here's his top 15 favourite concerts. He's also put together a great list of all the local show venues.

Thanks for all this, Paul Dorsey, whoever you are.

Evoke

Evoke was a massive animated projection that lit up the facade of York Minster in response to the public, who use their own voices to "evoke" colourful light patterns. It's like a multimedia Christo project. Cool.

Speaking of Christo, check out his latest work in progress, "Over the River" - scheduled for 2012. It looks incredible.