DAMN YOU MCCLATCHY!

I'm more than a little peeved. I have been peeved for quite some time now. The Raleigh News & Observer is the source of my frustration. It was never a brilliant paper that had exciting journalism going on, but since the McClatchy-Bastards laid off about 70 people in June, it has been steadily going down hill. They've decided that if something must go it's going to be the news not the drivel, and thus the front page has been shrinking and the 'Life' section (with comics) has been getting fatter and fatter. Part of the bloating comes not from content, but from the addition of a prodigious classifieds section stuck to the back of the comics. Unacceptable. The comics are sacred. You do NOT attach ads to the funnies, man. *Ahem* Anyway, it's an unfortunate and unpredictable situation--you never know what they're going to cut or change in order to cut costs. The editorial section has suffered and is generally only one page on Mondays. What?!?!?!?

Not only am I ticked about their organizational choices etc, but their content has been quite lacking as of late. I've already complained about Jesse Helms, and their coverage of Edwards' affair over the conflict between Russia and Georgia was horrifying! On the day that Russia invaded, that story was a tiny bit in the corner while Edwards' baby-mama was taking up almost the entire front page. This ridiculous coverage lasted for a good 3-4 days! How can any respectable newspaper justify ignoring serious world news in favor of the sex life of a man who isn't even running for office anymore?! It was sickening. This is just one of their desperate and craven attempts to garner attention and sell papers. They've abandoned journalistic integrity to become a tabloid.


"So their organization and their story content has gone to pot, Jessie, but there can't be anything else wrong", you say. Au contraire mes amis--their recent choice to distribute the propaganda film "Obsession". With the support of publisher Orage Quarles, the N&O VP of display advertising said, "Obviously, we have distributed other product samples, whether it's cereal or toothpaste." The News and Observer has lost the ability to distinguish between basic consumer products and propaganda.

I don't know what the hell they're thinking, but they'd damned well better fix things.

ROBOTIC BEINGS RULE THE WORLD!

I love robots.  I can't help it.  But really, who doesn't?  They permeate our culture-- we read books about robots, write songs about robots, draw robots, make movies about robots, and build real robots.  We're fascinated by these creations that are so like us, but so unlike us.  Although they tend to fall into a farcical troupe of pirates, ninja, samurai etc, I would contend that there's something more serious at work here.  Robots are an avenue for us to discuss what humanity means.  Stay with me-- all the drama that we write regarding robots centers on the distillation of what we think makes us different from other animals and from our beloved computers.  We exist at a strange intersection between the primal and the logical, and we seek out a third source that pulls it all together.  We're looking for the 'soul'-- that strange and ethereal concept that theologians and laymen alike are so fond of bringing up.  It is a magical essence that has no physical indication of presence, and we are adamant that it must exist, or else... how are we special?  We MUST be special! 

 

H'anyway...  although I'm certainly willing to believe that there's more to the universe than modern science can detect or quantify, I'm NOT willing to buy into this tripe about spirits and souls.  In other words: Awa' an' bile yer heid religion!

O.K.  I'll admit: that's really not where I thought this was going.  

Robots.  

I've made a video about the day when robots take the earth back from us.  I was looking at my robot playlist (yes.  I have a robot playlist), when I thought, "Y'know what would be fantastic?  Yes, self, I do know.  How about a robot video?!"  It's to the tune of Yoshimi Battles the PInk Robots (part 1).  I'll post it soon!

Robot Playlist:

• Fight Test -- The Flaming Lips
• One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21 -- The Flaming Lips
• Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (part 1) -- The Flaming Lips
• Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (part 2) -- The Flaming Lips
• Robots -- Flight of the Conchords
• The Robots -- Kraftwerk
• Mr. Roboto -- Styx

The Fall

When I was little, I watched movies differently. I was entirely removed from the characters and their emotions; the most soul-crushingly sad film had no effect on me, and I derided those who 'got weepy', but I have begun to slide down the slippery slope towards emotional connection with films. I was reminded of the demise of my sarcastic inner child the other day at the Galaxy Cinema where 'The Fall' was showing. It was fantastic. It blended the drug-addled grime of 'Trainspotting', the magical realism of 'Pan's Labyrinth', and the sheer fun of 'The Princess Bride'. It is less focused on the linear, action-driven plot, and more on the style, artistry, and emotion--leaving the theatre, I was less interesting in tearing at plot holes than trying to preserve the beautiful, haunting images and transitions. It had a slightly art-house feel, yet it had a sufficient sense of humor established in the story sequences to avoid taking itself too seriously.

All the reviews of 'The Fall' that I've seen complain about the emphasis on style over plot, which, quite frankly, ticks me off. Why can't a film tell emotional truth rather than factual truth? 'The Fall' absolutely enthralled everyone in the theatre, and we were not merely oohing and aahing over the costumes (which were, by the way, fantastic). We were deeply invested in the interpersonal relationships. We cared about what conclusions they would come to, and what those conclusions would mean for the rest of us. It takes a lot to gain the trust of an audience to the point a which they are willing to listen to what you have to say about life. Anyone can hit viewers over the head with the ultimate meaning of their story, but it requires much more effort to get them to listen and take it seriously.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: films are not all created for the same purposes, and cannot all be judged in the same way.

Anyway...I like it...