Jackson West’s Obsessive Compulsion

This torrent is a must-download. Directed by Todd Haynes, it never got released because of legal complications — rumor has it that Karen’s brother Richard, who succesfully sued to limit the film’s distribution, was particularly incensed that the film insinuated that he is homosexual. I’ve only ever seen it on a multi-generation bootleg VHS dub. To give an idea of how fantastic it is, here’s a great quote from the end of the Wikipedia article on the film:

“The Museum of Modern Art retains a copy of this film but has agreed with the Carpenter estate not to exhibit it.”

Fuck Jesus. If there’s one man who’s done anything to help my wounded spirit make it through the difficult times in life, it would have to be the Messiah of Funk, James Brown. To give you a sense of how deep the feeling runs among his acolytes, a friend of mine texted me this morning with the news — while we had never had an in-depth discussion about the man, the followers of Mr. Brown just know these things about each other I guess.

Peace be unto you, Brother James. The good news is that I’ve heard heaven has a half-decent horn section. Update: Christmas in Heaven by the dearly departed (Gwen via George); Anil Dash, “James Brown could stop riots;” and I put together a top ten online clips, because that’s the way I know how to show my love.

Photo sent from Tim, mourning in Montana.

So I’m casually reading the Wikipedia article on Buddhism (long story), and I stumble across the following. I don’t know what’s funnier — the comment itself, or that a flame war has broken out on the Wikipedia article on Buddhism. Emphasis mine:

According to the scriptures, the Four Noble Truths were the topic of the first sermon given by the Buddha after his enlightenment[4], which was given to the five ascetics with whom he had practiced austerities, and were originally spoken by the Buddha, not in the form of a religious or philosophical text, but in the form of a common medical prescription of the time…I’ll Kill you dead Ben Murphy. Then I’ll bury you in a shallow grave, then dig you up and kill you again.

I’m sure this will be edited shortly, if it hasn’t already.

Ghetto Pass Person of the Year: You, Caucasians

Nine Circles of Gentrifranchise Hell - These are the nine primary franchises that signal the Gentrevolution of your ghetto:

• McDonalds - Always the first to plant the flag. Many have suggested they change the “Golden M” to a “Blackened N,” thus far to no avail.
• KFC - Once Mickey D’s is in, the chicken chain is not far behind to provide variety.
• Domino’s - Once the fast-food chains have their depots set, here comes the pizza delivery.
• Starbucks - The first great threshold of gentrification, a true line of demarcation. Once Starbucks comes, there’s no turning back.
• The Gap - Builds on Starbucks. Once there’s a coffee shop Caucasians need mock turtlenecks and tepid sweaters to drink them in.
• The Body Shop - And with mock turtlennecks and tepid sweaters you need specialized soaps and oils to rub on and smell good.
• The Multiplex - Caucasian women must have access to the movies. Especially if they can smell good via specialized soaps and oils.
• American Apparel - A dash of faux-trendiness comes after all the mainstream land is paved. Here come the Hipsturds™.
• Bed Bath & Beyond - The Final Hurdle. Once you have the BB&B, the Plain Jane & Joes can feel maximum comfort. The transition is complete.

Genius.

I have something of a hobby researching cults, new religious movements, mind control experiments and the like. And yes, I’m constantly asking myself if it’s a less-than-healthy pursuit. I have my own problems with mild megalomania and less mild grandiosity. So it was with trepidation that I followed the link to “10 Ways to Build a Cult-Like Following.” From the author of Mindcontrol 101!

Honestly, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. That said, I have an easy time drawing examples for each one of these suggestions from the worlds of advertising and publicity, not just religion and politics.

My grandmother raised my mother on the banks of the Columbia River in beautiful Wenatchee, Washington. I remember my grandmother telling me stories about a particularly nasty train explosion that blew debris all the way up to her house from the switching yard over a quarter of a mile away. Now, this video of a warehouse fire in the downtown business district has turned up. Sigh. More on the accident from the Wenatchee World.

“By the way, we are looking into producing a full 22-minute episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad for the DVD release. I am serious.” - David X. Cohen

So I was in Berkeley yesterday afternoon to meet with some friends for dinner. Since I can’t take my bike on BART between four and six, I went over early, figuring I’d spend some time at a cafe and finish up the work day. So I locked my bike outside the People’s Cafe on Addison and went inside.

When I returned to unlock my bike, I found the following note tucked under the brake cable:

“Why do you selfish people park this way? This type of bike rack should accomodate two bikes: I bet you criticize others for selfishness of all kinds!”

First of all, there was no reason another person couldn’t have locked their bike to said stand. Two or three people could have if they’d really wanted. And while yes, I criticize the selfishness of others, I don’t generally stop, write out a note, and then leave it where they’ll find it. I just do it behind their back like a normal person.

It was all just so typically Berkeley, I had to share.

Angel Island Immigration Station

Originally uploaded by Jackson West.

I’ve put up a set of camphone photos from my overnight stay on Angel Island. The immigration station is currently being refabbed, and the ruinous hulks are pretty damn spooky.

For $30, I picked up a DVD player at Asiastar Entertainment on Grant and Broadway. The extra $10 over what I would have paid at Best Buy got me a region-free DVD player and VCD playback — so that I can continue to shop at Asiastar for movies from Hong Kong.

I was looking for “The Curse of the Golden Flower,” the latest from Zhang Yimou, since you can usually pick up English subtitled of releases on VCD well before the films get US distribution. I couldn’t find that, so I took a chance on a couple of random selections.

First, “My Name is Fame,” starring the legendary to some but unbeknownst to me Lau Ching Wan as Poon Kar Fai, an over-the-hill actor who takes a chance on helping a ravishing young ingenue (Huo Siyan) and in the process finds himself. While it had every chance to slip into maudlin melodrama, it didn’t.

Best line was, while drunk and reciting an award acceptance speech to no one in particular, Lau cracks, “We copied Hollywood, now Hollywood copies us. Who’s the auteur now?” Even the denoument, which teetered on the brink of movie-ruining cliche, was satisfyingly ambiguous. I felt like I deserved gwai lo bonus points for catching all the jokes about Andy Lau. Very little fu, though the master-student relationship has fundamental elements of fu.

Next up was “My Kung Fu Sweetheart,” with Cecilia Cheung playing a young girl raised by kung fu master parents who has to free the lover she’s destined for from clutches of the evil industrialist-slash-grandmaster White Eyebrows. Wah Yuen and Qiu Yuen, whom you’ll recognize from Kung Fu Hustle, are wonderful as the bickering, divorced parents of Cheung.

While it’s not Stephen Chow funny, it is funny. The 1000 Year Old Hawk ‘character’ is just a dude in a cheap bird outfit, some of the special effects are tres janky, and the lines like: “But to save him from the poison, I can’t wear my clothes” make the movie a campy classic. The fu is more funny fu than strictly fu, but fun all the same.