CHÃO de casa. Direção e produção: Celso Brandão. Argumento/roteiro: Vera Calheiros. Direção de fotografia: Benvau Fon. Montagem: Gilberto Santeiro. Companhias produtoras: Estrela do Norte, Funted. 1982. Curta-metragem (16min), sonoro, cor, documentário, 16mm.
Sinopse: Aborda a construção de casas de taipa como alternativa para resolver os problemas de moradia.
Observações:
Ficha técnica complementar:
Fotografia de cena: Rita Toledo Piza.
Sonografia: Silvio Da-Rin.
Dados adicionais:
Embrafilme informa 17 minutos de duração e 1983 como ano de produção. Selecionado para o Festival Internacional de Filmes Etnográficos.

A Cinemateca Brasileira não possui este filme, mas dispõe informações sobre ele.

CONFLITO de amor. Direção, roteiro, montagem, direção de fotografia e produção: José Jaime Braga Filho. Elenco: Maurício Costa e Zélia Santos. 1982. Documentário, Super 8.

CONVERSA com Fernando Lopes. Direção, montagem e direção de fotografia: Celso Brandão. Assistente de direção: Rogério Gomes. Assistente de fotografia: Eliane Vielmond. Sonoplastia: Nélson Braga. Produção: Pinacoteca da Universidade Federal de Alagoas e Carmem Lúcia Dantas. 1982. Curta-metragem (9min), sonoro, documentário, Super 8.
Sinopse: Sobre o artista plástico Fernando Lopes.

GUENZO. Direção, produção e roteiro: Joaquim Alves. Diretor de fotografia: Nélson Braga. Elenco: Ronaldo de Andrade, Anilda Leão, Isac Bezerra, Edite Camelo, Franklin Martins, Francisco Roger Ayres, Graça Cabral, Luciana Braga, Darlan, Marcelo Brandão, Alexandre Pereira, Marcial Lima, Bartolomeu Dresch, Rubens Mamedes, Maria Calheiros, Edith Camelo. Maceió-AL. 1982. Longa-metragem, sonoro, ficção, 16mm.
Sinopse: Uma mulher da meia idade tem um irmão subversivo que está voltando para o Brasil do seu auto-exílio no exterior e que agora é perseguido pela polícia. O apartamento deles é revirado pela polícia que a leva para ser torturada. Seu irmão que é envolvido com grupos de esquerda, inclusive fazendo jornais/panfletos, também é perseguido e torturado. Ele consegue uma nova identidade e continua sua luta, enquanto sua irmã sai escrevendo nos muros burgueses frases/slogans como “Abaixo a Ditadura”.
Observações:
Ficha técnica complementar:
Música: Ronaldo de Andrade e Nelson Braga.
Dados adicionais:
Trata-se de uma adaptação/atualização do conto “Dois Dedos”, de Graciliano Ramos. Participou da Mostra Competitiva do Festival de Brasília, 1985, Brasília-DF.

A Cinemateca Brasileira não possui este filme, mas dispõe informações sobre ele.

GUERREIROS das Alagoas. Direção, produção, montagem e direção de fotografia: Celso Brandão. Assistentes de direção e produção: Arlette Roubaud e Washington Monteiro. 1982. Curta-metragem, sonoro, cor, documentário, Super 8.
Sinopse: Mostra a apresentação do grupo de Guerreiro Mestre José Inácio de Boca da Mata, município de Alagoas. Traz entrevistas com os participantes do grupo.

A PINTURA de Rogério Gomes. (original perdido). Direção, montagem e direção de fotografia: Celso Brandão. Assistente de direção:Washington Monteiro. Produção: Pinacoteca da Universidade Federal de Alagoas e Carmem Lúcia Dantas. 1982. Curta-metragem, sonoro, documentário, Super 8.
Sinopse: Sobre o artista plástico Rogério Gomes.

POVO de fé. Direção: Antonio de Souza. Penedo-AL. 1982. Curta-metragem, sonoro, cor, documentário, 16mm.
Sinopse: Procissão de Bom Jesus dos Navegantes, em Penedo, Alagoas.
Observações:
Prêmio no VIII Festival de Cinema de Penedo, AL, 1982.

A Cinemateca Brasileira não possui este filme, mas dispõe informações sobre ele.

SUPER-homem contra o imperador da inflação. Direção, produção, roteiro e montagem: Luciano Agrelli Sarmento. 1982. Documentário, Super 8.

ZÉ Gente. Direção, produção, roteiro, texto e narração: Otávalo de Viveiros. Fotografia: Kleyner Gomes. Sonoplastia e montagem: Otávalo e Kleyner. 1982. Curta-metragem (7min), sonoro, documentário, Super 8.
Sinopse: Traz a realidade triste de indigentes que vivem na casas de saúde de doentes mentais.

1982年にグレツキー一家がモスクワのトレチャク一家を訪れた時のレア映像。

Mayo 1982. Haga click para agrandarla

]]> http://praiseofsongs.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/1982-phil-collins-you-cant-hurry-love/ Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:53:04 +0000 praiseofsongs http://praiseofsongs.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/1982-phil-collins-you-cant-hurry-love/

The 80s, as a decade, split rather neatly. There’s the early eighties, when the arrival of video and the aftershock of punk and disco turn the charts into a colouring book. There’s the late eighties, when the combination of club music and cheap high street pop radicalises the landscape again. And in between there’s the mid eighties, when…. when….. when people like Phil Collins got very big indeed.

Actually, that’s a bit unfair. But that big glossy slab of years in mid-decade was the time bit-players and hitmakers alike had their chance to become superstars, for good or ill. And in some ways Collins was the most extraordinary of all, the great survivor, who went from playing drums in one of the most famously flamboyant progressive outfits to becoming the very incarnation of everybloke.

Which made him hated, even before his music deserved it: few wanted to identify with the people who they identified as identifying with Phil – aspirational sales reps and middle managers caught up in the beginnings of Thatcher’s economic red shift. And once his music did deserve that contempt, the awful shadow of latter-day Genesis and “Another Day In Paradise” stopped fair consideration of the earlier stuff.

So let’s set the record straight: yes, some 80s Phil Collins hits were very good, and much of the rest is stodgy rather than dreadful. This cover being a solid example – it’s only when you succumb and play the Supremes’ version that it becomes hard to get through. And this isn’t just Phil being incompetent – he always knew exactly what his strengths and skills were. Whereas Diana and the girls played the song from the point of view of sharp operators revelling in the power their newfound mastery of the game handed them, Phil’s more frustrated – he’s only just found out there even was a game. So he’s turned his clumsiness into a feature, not a bug – which explains the song but doesn’t really improve it.

Released in 1982.

The first solo album from Steely Dan’s Fagen, this is a very slick-sounding nostalgia trip back to the 50s, mixing rock’n'roll, jazz and tropical rhythms to create a unique sound that will insinuate itself right between your ears without you even realizing it.

Here’s a rather Miami Vice-like video showcasing the great ‘Walk Between Raindrops’:

Well, tomorrow morning, like millions of others here in the U.S., the Texas Gal and I – joined by my mother – will head off for Thanksgiving. In our case, we’ll be going to my sister’s home in the Twin Cities suburb of Maple Grove for turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Our contribution will be a plate of deviled eggs, a dish that’s become a holiday tradition for us since the Texas Gal first brought them along in 2000.

We missed Thanksgiving at my sister’s last year due to some health issues. And the plan to return there got me thinking about the various places I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving over the years.

For years – until I was out of  college, I think – we gathered at my grandparents’ home, first on their farm outside the small town of Lamberton, Minnesota, and then at their home in Lamberton itself. Sometime in the mid-1970s, after Grandma passed on, the Thanksgiving celebration shifted to my parents’ home here in St. Cloud. And after about twenty years there, the annual feast shifted venues again, and my sister and brother-in-law have hosted Thanksgiving since then.

Besides last year’s celebration, I can recall two other Thanksgivings that have found me in different places. In 1980, I think it was, the woman who was then my wife had the idea of hosting Thanksgiving in a restored 1860s cabin owned by friends of hers. We prepared the food in our own home and then moved the entire feast about two miles to the cabin. The food was fine, but the cabin was uncomfortably cold despite the presence of a fireplace. It was an interesting experiment, but I’d rather flip it: I’d be interested in using Nineteenth Century recipes and work from a modern kitchen.

The other Thanksgiving that found me in another place was during the time I spent in Denmark. The Danes don’t celebrate the holiday, of course, but my ladyfriend – another American – and I decided to cook a traditional American Thanksgiving meal for my Danish family and a few other students, both American and Danish.

There was no turkey for sale in Fredericia, so we made do with a couple of chickens. Potatoes were easy enough, as was flour for the gravy. Green beans amandine went well enough after a tussle with the Danish language. Not knowing where the nutcracker was, I looked up the word in my Danish/English dictionary and called my Danish mother at her office. Danish uses some sounds that are, well, foreign to English, so it took some time before she understood that I was trying to say nøddeknækker.

Beyond the linguistic difficulties, the main challenge of the day was the pumpkin pie. We could find neither canned pumpkin nor a fresh pumpkin in Fredericia. Luckily, my ladyfriend had made pumpkin pie from scratch with her mother, and she assured me that an orange winter squash would meet our needs. We cleaned it, cut it up and cooked it with the appropriate seasonings and then baked it in a homemade shell. As dinner came to a close that evening, our Danish guests were a bit puzzled by the pie, but our American guests marveled at how close we’d come to the Thanksgiving dessert they’d all had for years.

That may have been my most memorable Thanksgiving ever. Does that mean it was the best? Well, no. As the fourth Thursday of November comes along year after year, each Thanksgiving somehow seems better than the one before it . . . as long as I share that table with my loved ones, especially the Texas Gal.

A Six-Pack of Thanks
“Now Be Thankful” by Fairport Convention, Island WIP 6089 [1970]
“Thank You” by Led Zeppelin from Led Zeppelin II [1969]
“I Thank You” by Mongo Santamaria from All Strung Out [1969]
“Thank You For The Promises” by Gordon Lightfoot from Shadows [1982]
“Thanks to You” by Jesse Winchester from Humour Me [1988]
“Be Thankful for What You Got (Pt. 1)” by William DeVaughn, Roxbury 0236 [1974]

Of these six, only the Fairport Convention tune really seems to fully address the sentiments of the holiday. The others generally work with only their titles; their content has at best only a glancing connection to the day. But that’s good enough for me.

The Texas Gal and I wish you a joyful Thanksgiving. May you all have many reasons to be thankful.

WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release)–The following is the text of a joint Rewards For Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation statement on a reward offer for information about terrorist suspect Husayn Muhammed al-Umari:

The U.S. Department of State has authorized a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Husayn Muhammed al-Umari (also known as Abu Ibrahim).

Husayn Muhammed al-Umari is wanted by the FBI for his alleged participation in the August 11, 1982 bombing of Pan American World Airways flight 830, which resulted in the murder of one passenger, the wounding of 16 passengers, and the attempted murder of 267 passengers and the crew on board. Al-Umari was one of three people indicted for the terrorist act and is alleged to have designed and built the explosive device which detonated while the aircraft was in flight from Narita, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii.

Al-Umari was charged in the District of Columbia’s U.S. District Court with: (1) Conspiracy to commit assault and damage to property; (2) conspiracy to commit murder, (3) murder; (4) aircraft sabotage; (5) damaging aircraft used in foreign commerce (6) placing bombs on aircraft; (7) assault; (8) attempted aircraft sabotage, and (9) aiding and abetting.

In 1998, a co-conspirator, Mohammad Rashed, who placed the bomb on the aircraft, was arrested and brought to the United States. He pleaded guilty to his role in the bombing and signed a cooperation agreement as part of his plea.

Believed to be a master bomb maker and one-time leader of the “15 May” terrorist group, al-Umari also has been indicted by the Government of France for his alleged role in the 1985 bombing of the Marks and Spencer Department store in Paris and the Leumi Bank.

Al-Umari was born in 1936 in Jaffa, in the former British mandate of Palestine. He is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a medium to large build and light complexion. He is believed to have black or graying hair and may be balding. He has brown eyes and is believed to wear glasses. He has scars on both hands and his right forearm. He may possess a passport from Lebanon, where his wife reportedly lives. He is the father of two sons and two daughters. He lived for several years in Iraq. While his current whereabouts are unknown, it is possible that he is residing in Lebanon or Iraq.

He reportedly travels at all times with a firearm and should be considered armed and dangerous. He is reported to have received training from various terrorist and intelligence groups including the defunct Soviet KGB, German Red Army Faction, Irish Republican Army, Basque Fatherland and Liberty, and the Japanese Red Army.

More information about Husayn Muhammed al-Umari is located on the Rewards for Justice website (www.rewardsforjustice.net/umari). The FBI also has placed al-Umari on its Most Wanted Terrorists website (www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/fugitives.htm).

We encourage anyone with information on Husayn Muhammed al-Umari’s location to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, any U.S. military commander, or the Rewards for Justice office via the website (www.rewardsforjustice.net), e-mail (RFJ@state.gov) or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, DC 20520-0303, USA).

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $80 million to more than 50 persons who provided credible information that has resulted in the capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of international terrorism.

The Pan Am Flight 830 investigation is being handled by the FBI’s Washington Field Office (WFO). Inquiries and information about this investigation should be directed to the FBI WFO’s public information office at 202-278-3519.
*
Preceding provided by the U.S. State Department

24 novembre 1991, Freddy Mercury, malato di AIDS muore a seguito di una grave broncopolmonite.

18 anni dopo, voglio ricordarlo così, con una delle mie canzoni preferite in una delle migliori versioni live.

Somebody to Love, Live at the Bowl, 1982, tour Queen On Fire.

Dedicato allo staff Irlandese (Trapattoni, Tardelli e Liam Brady) che lamentano il furto di una qualificazione…

Twenty-five years after it was released, The Dark Crystal, by Jim Henson and Frank Oz of The Muppet clan, still manages to unleash a cult devotion from its die-hard fans. The puppets in the film were designed by well-known fantasy artist Brian Froud. The film begins in medias res, and is set post-apocalyptically on planet Thra, a thousand years after the ancient urSkeks race cracked the Crystal. When the urSkeks damaged the Crystal, they split into two opposing races – the good Mystics and the evil Skeksis – and the Crystal changed into the Dark Crystal. Jen seems to be the last elf-like Gelfling left on Thra, after his race was murdered off on command by the Skeksis. He was raised by the Mystics and it is revealed to him that he is destined to restore the Dark Crystal before the approaching conjunction of the three suns, or else the evil Skeksis will rule for ever.

There are so many things that appeal to me in The Dark Crystal. The puppets, puppetry, décor and set design is masterfully done for one. What I liked especially is that the film does not remotely rely on special effects. It is unashamedly and authentically a film with muppets, and one is contently conscious of this fact throughout. The film succeeds, however, in transposing the viewer to another magical realm where the muppets vanish and become characters. The struggle between good and evil is addressed and thus also serves as a great instructional inspiration to young, growing minds. The film might seem like child’s play, but there is much philosophy that underlie it. The urSkeks splits into the Mystics and the Skeksis, which ultimately have to combine to become one again, and thus denotes a triune harmony in the world which might be interpreted as religious or spiritual in nature. The idea of two opposing forces that transpose their dichotomy and dissolve into a unity of balance, originates from Chinese philosophy and is quite prevalent in Zen-Buddhism. The trinity doctrine is also very prevalent in Christian religions.

SPOILER WARNING: Jen and Kira, the last man and woman left of the Gelflings, reminds one of Adam and Eve, or even of Greek mythology where original humans were split into two by Zeus for fear of their power. Kira offers herself at the end of the film (reminiscent of Jesus in Christian religion), but is resurrected when order has been restored to the earth. She and Jen can now come together in union to give rise to a new population of Gelflings. SPOILERS END HERE.

If you do not have a child inside you, you might not be able to appreciate the contradictory simplicity and mastery of this film. This film is not for everyone, even though it was the highest grossing box-office release in France and Japan in 1983. If you are a fan, though, it is interesting to note the following: A sequel to the film entitled The Power of the Dark Crystal is set for production in 2008 and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. If you want to read more about this, feel free. According to the Wikipedia, a manga prequel by the name Legends of the Dark Crystal, is also planned for publication by TokyoPop on November 13 of 2007. Together with The World of the Dark Crystal, the book created by Brian Froud during the release of the film, these works complete a pretty attractive package for the collector cult member of The Dark Crystal. And International Movies Database contends that Brian Froud and puppet designer Wendy Midener met on the set of the film and later married. All in all, fantasy turns to reality it seems.

Genre: Animation / Fantasy / Family / Adventure
Running time: 93 min
Country: USA / UK
Language: English
Directors: Jim Henson
Frank Oz
Gary Kurtz
Writing credits: Jim Henson (story)
David Odell (screenplay)
Producers: Jim Henson
David Lazer
Cinematographer: Oswarld Morris
Editor: Ralph Kemplen
Music: Trevor Jones
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Main Cast:
Jen, Gelfling – Jim Henson
Kira, Gelfling – Kathryn Mullen
Aughra, Keeper of Secrets – Frank Oz
For a complete list of puppeteers and voices, vist this address

The Dreaming, die dritte LP von Kate Bush, 1982 erschienen, war ein mystisches Album voller Rätsel, ein faszinierender Sog aus Gefühlen, Ängsten und Ahnungen, sakral und hexenhaft zugleich. Ein Kaleidoskop aus Stimmen, die flüstern, schreien, kreischen, hauchen und seufzen, schicksalshaft verwoben wie in einer hochdramatischen Traumsequenz, die Arrangements zu vielfältigen Mustern wie in einem Gobelin verschlungen. “Sat In Your Lap” ist so übermütig und laut wie kein anderes Stück auf dieser LP, “There Goes A Tenner” altmodisch und albern und “Suspended In Gaffa” ein unwirklicher Walzer. Das Paradestück der LP ist der als Single veröffentliche Titelsong, den Aborigines Australiens gewidmet, ein ritueller Stammestanz aus Verwünschungen und Hoffnungen, in dem Elektronik und Ethno zum intensiven Zauber verschmelzen. Mit einer irischen Fiedel löst es sich unvermittelt in dem lyrischen Schäferliedchen “Night Of The Swallow” auf, bevor Entfesslungskünstler “Houdini” in einer spukhaften Séance zu entseelten, kreischenden Geisterstimmen seiner Witwe sein Geheimnis verrät. Das musikalische Traumspiel aus einer anderen Dimension kam bis auf Platz drei der britischen LP-Charts. –Ingeborg Schober

Out in the garden
There’s half of a heaven,
And we’re only bluffing.
We’re not ones for busting through walls,

But they’ve told us
Unless we can prove
That we’re doing it,
We can’t have it all.
(I want it all) *

He’s gonna wangle
A way to get out of it.
She’s an excuse
And a witness who’ll talk when he’s called.

But they’ve told us
Unless we can prove
That we’re doing it,
We can’t have it all.
(I want it all) *
(I want it all) *
We can’t have it all.
(I want it all) *

“I caught a glimpse of a god, all shining and bright.”

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don’t know why I’m crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not ’til I’m ready for you, *
Not ’til I’m ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo *
Can I have it all.

I try to get nearer,
But as it gets clearer
There’s something appears in the way,
It’s a plank in me eye,
With a camel
Who’s trying to get through it,
Am I doing it?
Can I have it all now?
(I want it all) *

I pull out the plank and say
“Thank ye for yanking me back *
To the fact that there’s
Always something to distract.”

But sometimes it’s hard
To know if I’m doing it right.
Can I have it all now? *
(I want it all) *

Can I have it all now?
(I want it all) *
Can I have it all?
(I want it all) *
I can’t have it all. *

“We all have a dream…maybe.”

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don’t know why I’m crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not ’til I’m ready for you,
Not ’til I’m ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo
Can I have it all.

I won’t open boxes
That I am told not to.
I’m not a Pandora.
I’m much more a like a *

That girl in the mirror.
Between you and me
She don’t stand a chance of getting anywhere at all.
(I want it all) *
Not anywhere at all
(I want it all)) *
No, not a thing.
(I want it all) *
She can’t have it all.

“Mother, where are the angels? I’m scared of the changes.”

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don’t know why I’m crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not ’til I’m ready for you, *
Not ’til I’m ready for you *
Suddenly my feet are feet of mud,
It all goes slo-mo.
I don’t know why I’m crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not ’til I’m ready for you, *
Not ’til I’m ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo *
Can I have it all now? *

1980

Uma anotação manuscrita indica a data de 6ª feira, 5 de Dezembro de 1980.

1982

Panfleto eleitoral da Juventude Centrista.

The cast of "Nine"; image courtesy of newsinfilm.com

I saw Precious today and want to talk about it length, but need to process what I saw. I’d also like to get to Push, Sapphire’s book on which the movie was based at some point before the end of the year. For now, I’ll say this. I didn’t love it but I did like it, thought Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique were great, was heartened that my matinee screening had a good and diverse turnout, and think you should see it. But you may want to see it with someone and encourage your local theater to have a safe space where people can go if the movie becomes too intense or touches on frought emotions or horrible memories.

For the time being, I thought I’d mention the preview of a coming attraction. Nine, Rob Marshall’s screen adaptation of Arthur Kopit, Mario Fratti, and Maury Yeston’s musical (itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2), comes out next week. You can view the trailer here.

So, I know very little about this musical. I only recently discovered the origins of its source material, which I haven’t seen (though, based on my less-than-enthusiastic viewings of La Dolce Vita and I Vitelloni don’t hold high hopes for it, unless Fellini allowed for self-deprication in his autobiographical film the way that Bob Fosse did in All That Jazz, a movie of a similar mold that I love). Beyond that, I knew Raul Julia starred in its Broadway debut back in 1982, the original production won many Tonys, and once heard someone sing “Unusual Way” at a family friend’s wedding, which is a really cryptic song choice for such a ceremony.

As for the film adaptation, I know the players. Rob Marshall directed Chicago and is at the helm here. Daniel Day Lewis plays Guido Contini, a tortured director. The women who populate his life are considerable — Marion Cotillard plays his wife, Penélope Cruz his mistress, Nicole Kidman his muse, Stacey Ferguson (aka Duchess Fergie Ferg) a whore he once knew, and Kate Hudson a fashion writer whose character has a song that was written for the movie. Oh, and Judi Dench is Contini’s costume designer and confidant.

So, I totally suspect a two-hour version of Julio Iglesias’s “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” with generous dashes of love for the authorial presence of male film directors. Also, I think this trailer gives you virtually no insight into what this story is about.

That said, I totally want to see this movie because:

1) I’m always interested in film musicals, whether they are good, bad, screen adaptations of stage musicals, or screen adaptations of stage musicals of feature films. Yes, this means I saw Hairspray and didn’t hate it as much as many of my movie geek friends did. But those matters should be saved for another post. 

2) Unlike many people who hated Chicago (several of whom I suspect feel Marty or Roman got robbed out of a Best Picture Oscar for Gangs of New York or The Pianist), I actually enjoyed it. I felt the adaptation stayed true to the source material, deftly staged sequences that are actually going on in the protagonist’s mind, and felt like Catherine Zeta Jones, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly were great. I even enjoyed Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere, actors whom I otherwise would rather not watch in a movie. My only real complaint (which Jon Stewart shares), was that Bebe Neuwirth, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Velma Kelly was replaced by Zeta Jones. Otherwise, bring it.

3) Daniel Day Lewis can sing? The same guy who apparently prepared for There Will Be Blood by recording his character’s voice using early 20th century phonographic technology? I am there.

d) I’m fascinated by the presence of female pop stars in contemporary film musicals. As the golden age of film musicals has long since passed, it seems like the ones that do make it to the screen need a familiar face and voice, and they are almost always women with celebrated recording careers. Just as I wondered what Madonna brought to Evita, Queen Latifah brought to Chicago, and Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson brought to Dreamgirls, so too am I curious what Fergie is going to bring to Nine. While detractors might snigger that it’s fitting for the woman who sang “My Humps” and “London Bridge” to play a whore, I’ll counter that she’s the only singer we hear in the trailer. Yes, that’s her singing “Be Italian.”

e) In the movie, I’m interested in seeing a whore play a teacher to our genius director protagonist man. In real life, I advocate the decriminalization of prostitution and would like sex workers to get worker rights and benefits.

f) While I worry that these women are going to be portrayed as long-suffering, one-dimensional objects of Condini’s affection, I want to see a movie that boasts so many actresses. I haven’t seen this many women in an ensemble since I saw Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver (note: Cruz is also starring in Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces and I can’t wait for it to start playing in Austin). 

As an aside, the gossip enthusiast in me is also curious about Cruz and Kidman starring in a movie together. Ever since Tom Cruise split with Nicole Kidman and dated Cruz, I always wonder what their interactions are like every time they show up on a magazine cover together. It’s a catty curiosity, but a curiosity nonetheless. I wonder how they would be portrayed in a movie about Tom Cruise’s life, but want very much for this movie not to be made.

Vogue cover girls Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, and Kate Hudson; image courtesy of latimesblogs.latimes.com

Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz bookending Vanity Fair's 2001 Hollywood Issue cover; image courtesy of abc.net.au

Whether this movie is good or not remains to be seen. That said, I’ll see you at the multiplex.

Victor Alvarez

NYC suspect arrested in 27-year-old L.A. murder
New York man arrested in 1982 Koreatown killing
1982 Koreatown Murder suspect Arrested

“And now you find yourself in ‘82…The disco hot spots hold no charm for you” – Asia

Ah, the big moments of the 1980s: the Challenger explosion (which was my generation’s “where were you…” moment prior to 9/11); the stock market crash; The TWA hijacking; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the shootings of John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Anwar Sadat; the Union Carbide explosion in India; Presidential Elections / Olympics (in the 1980s, they might as well have been the same event); Grenada (WTF!?); and the advancement of AIDS. Every year has a signature political event, save one: 1982. In the United States, we witnessed the beginning and end of a relatively-minor recession, and looked to the bourgeoning cable television format for pop-culture escapism. Not that those of us ensconced in the cushion of middle-class disengagement had anything to escape, outside of Lebanon, Iran-Iraq, and the whole England-Falklands morass. “What middle-east crisis?”, we said, as we wheezed along to Jane Fonda’s 20-Minute Workout (hey – those Marlboros won’t smoke themselves).[i]

MTV started its explosion, as millions of Gen-Xers became acquainted with the underrated pastime of calling one’s friends to comment on the videos. Complaining about how often Martha Quinn played Devo became a popular gripe, at least in Barstow, CA. For children sequestered in the school cafeteria, outside of the obvious concerns of second-graders (“What’s with those pesky Brits and their bizarre fascination with a few islands in the southwest Atlantic?”), our biggest areas of discussion centered around the two most awesome things ever: video games and pop music. These worlds would collide in 1982, with the release of “Pac Man Fever” (you can listen here)[ii].

Back in the mid-1970s, when a young Gilda Radner taught us how to laugh, the popularity of stand-up console video games inspired a race between two companies to create a home system that offered more than merely Pong. With a cash infusion from Warner Communications, the Atari Video Game System hit the shelves in late 1977. While the Atari VCS began to meet sales expectations by Christmas of 1979, the company was waiting for a new phenomenon to capture the public’s attention. Enter Pac-Man.

The Failure

By late 1980, the yellow chomper became a massive phenomenon, leading hordes of people from all walks of life to flood traditional arcades, gas stations, pizza parlors, coke dealers, hell, anyplace with a Pac-Man machine. Atari smelled blood: as ColecoVision and Intellivision offered higher-quality ports (the industry term for “home versions”) of other popular arcade games, Atari was willing to pay for exclusive distribution rights. Unfortunately for Atari, their willingness to spend money did not apply to their employees, as several of their top programmers absconded to create Activision. Todd Frye, one of the top holdovers, was pressured to finish the port in time for 1981 holiday shopping, and quickly began a 4 kilobyte demonstration. After threatening to join the rest of the cool kids in the land of Pitfall!, Freeway and Kaboom!, Atari agreed to his 10-cents-per-unit-manufactured demand. While Frye was developing the game, the technology for 8-kilobyte ports became accessible, and he asked the Atari brass for more time to craft a more realistic version. The company execs would have none of that logical nonsense. Americans were so excited about having Pac-Man in their house, thought Atari, it did not matter if the port was a pathetic shell of the real thing. So Frye resigned himself to the release of his “demo” version, attempting to replicate the arcade model as best as 4 kilobytes could (which is quite amazing in its own right, since this paragraph runs over 4K). Missing their December 1981 goal, Pac-Man for Atari was available for sale March of 1982. Predicting that every one of the 10 million VCS owners (and speculating an additional 2 million more purchasers) would purchase the game, Atari manufactured a whopping 12 million cartridges. Oops.

Ignoring Todd Frye’s words was a mistake, as the public’s response was a collective “ugggh!” Even after heavy promotion and deep discounts, Atari was still left with five million cartridges in their warehouse. The disappointment was “like an old man trying to return soup at a deli”, as our favorite Architect/Marine Biologist would say. The wild contrast from the excited sugar-high of running into the house, opening the package and flipping on the console TV set, compared with the just-need-one-more-hit angst when first seeing the actual game was off the charts. “What’s the deal with the dumb blue background and piss-yellow walls?” And this was only the beginning. The music, of course, could not fit on the 4K port, so all we hear is a four-note approximation of the formerly adrenaline-raising theme tune. The “wocka wocka” sound of Pac Man’s dot consumption was replaced with a super-annoying “bomp bomp” that could be heard across time zones. Most of the other sounds we loved, like the sirens, were gone. As for game play, the dots were replaced with dashes, or “wafers”, and saw their point value slashed from ten to one. (For a hilariously-earnest demonstration and review, check this out, and while you’re at it, here’s the original TV commercial.) Maze variations stopped at two, and the actual Pac-Man, like some twisted precursor to Beavis, only faced right or left, even when moved upwards or downwards along a column (Ultimate betrayal – the patterns for clearing the boards, which were printed on the sleeve of “Pac-Man Fever”, were ineffective in the Atari version) . If your eyes were still functioning after the clashing color scheme, there were those damn flickering ghosts, which I hold personally responsible for the year’s decrease in standardized test scores and increase in auto accidents. If you were lucky enough to avoid a seizure, the migraine headaches were enough to push you into narcotic painkiller addiction (how else do we explain Air Supply’s four Top 10 hits? “I’m all out of ‘Percs’, I’m so lost without you…”) The failure of Atari’s Pac-Man, coupled with similar overproduced crap like their E.T. port, resulted in the great video game Crash of 1983. Lesson learned – never, ever, ever release a demo as the final product. Or do you?

The Promise

As anxious American youth pined for Pac-Man in their living rooms, Bruce Springsteen was sitting at his home, offering dark tales of forgotten Americana to his 4-track recorder. Song titles such as “Highway Patrolman”, “State Trooper”, and “Open All Night” tell much of the story. Armed with nothing more than a six-string, a harmonica and that voice, Springsteen placed these ten grand narratives to tape (Sean Penn based The Indian Runner on “Highway Patrolman”, leading Springsteen to add the lyrics “Aloha, Mr. Hand!” to live performances). The E-Street Band, alerted to the new material, added their signature swagger and embellishment. Two years after reaching #1 with The River, Springsteen was ready to release Nebraska. Or so he thought.

(To listen to the entire album on Lala, click here.)

After discussions with engineers and producers, the idea of leaving Nebraska as the spare demos was tossed about. A few listens to “Atlantic City” and “Johnny 99″ sealed the deal. The low levels on the 4-track recordings required some post-production, yet in comparison to the typical 1982 release, a copy of the finished album sounds damn close to Springsteen’s original master tape. You can still hear the pop of the “p” sound that concludes the line “In a part of town where when you hit a red light you don’t stop” from “Johnny 99″. While Springsteen was considered one of the industry’s giants, the idea of De-Streeted album with no obvious singles was not initially embraced by Columbia Records. Rumor has it that Bruuuuce sent the finished master to the label, which resulted in such happy talk (let me paraphrase) as “We heard the demos from your new record, and, yeah, great – so when will you finish recording the band, and be ready to release the album?” At the risk of sounding like I’m describing “Chuck Norris The Internet Meme” (rather than the real, increasingly-crazy Chuck), one of the benefits of being Bruce Springsteen is that record labels don’t tell The Boss what gets released, The Boss tells the label. So, enter that foreboding wintry photo from the passenger side.

To give you an idea what was de rigeur in Fall of ‘82, we were within a schizophrenic era where the Top 10 was the domain of synthed-out pap like “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” (Chicago); quasi-soul like “Let Me Tickle Your Fancy” (Jermaine Jackson); overproduced mellow country-rock like “Jack & Diane” (John not-quite-Mellencamp Cougar)/ “Somebody’s Baby” (Jackson Browne); and Yacht Rock like “I Keep Forgettin’” (The MAN, also known as Michael McDonald, who definitely was the Andre Dawson of the genre). It took Springsteen-sized balls to release an understated, mostly-acoustic record during a time when stripped-down folk-rock was deader than disco – luckily, Bruce had ‘em. And America put aside their Melissa Manchester and Foreigner long enough for Nebraska to reach #3 on the Billboard chart. I remember the Barstow Mall’s “Directory” kiosk – which, let’s face the facts, wasn’t really needed within a 23-store facility – featuring an advertisement for the record on one of its three sides. If Columbia was throwing around ad dollars in small towns located hours away from the LA or Las Vegas media markets, they must have believed in him, too.

To recap, the developer of Atari’s Pac-Man created the equivalent of a 4-track recording, insisted on improving the product, and was rebuffed by his boss. As for The Boss, he created the music equivalent of a 4KB port, was asked to upgrade the product, yet chose to release the original. For Todd Frye, his “demo” was a creative disaster, resulting in critical scorn and consumer frustration. Atari, once king of the hill, now sat on a mountain of inventory that could not be given away (not to mention their ill-advised foray into “adult” games for the 2600 – what!?!?!?). For Bruce Springsteen, his demo eventually served as the subject of a tribute album and live project, and can claim to be one of the select club of 5-star reviews from Rolling Stone. Atari eventually saw the error of their ways, albeit far too late, producing the 8KB port of Ms. Pac-Man which was well-received critically. Springsteen followed Nebraska with Born in the U.S.A., a multi-platinum behemoth that permanently inscribed The Boss into American musical landscape.

[ii] According to “Fever” artists Buckner & Garcia, the record companies were suffering, as kids eschewed $8.98 LPs for a few quarters worth of chances at Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. CBS saw Buckner & Garcia as a means to recapture this audience, and asked them to write songs for several other games. “Froggy’s Lament” and “Goin’ Berzerk” are both great, although I would have loved to hear a song about Zaxxon.

Super Zaxxon beziehungsweise ursprünglich nur Zaxxon genannt, ist ein klassisches Arcade-Spiel aus dem Jahre 1982. Der Entwickler Sega schuf mit diesem Spiel eine Art Shoot’em up, welches man mit der Kontrolle eines Raumschiffs meistern soll. Meistern deshalb, weil einem auf dem Flug, wie soll es auch anders sein, zahlreiche Gegner entgegen fliegen, die nur darauf aus sind, dich bzw. dein Raumschiff vom “Himmel” zu holen. Daher bleibt dir nichts anderes übrig, als jene ebenfalls zu beschießen und somit ins Jenseits zu befördern. Umso mehr Gegner man besiegt und je weiter man sich durch die kosmische Basis kämpft, desto mehr Punkte gibt es dafür, was demzufolge eine Highscore-Jagd fördern soll. Schließlich wurde es, wie so viele Spiele aus diesem Zeitalter, auf dem Atari 2600 veröffentlicht, wo das Erzielen von Rekordpunktzahlen an der Tagesordnung und notwendig für’s Geschäft war. Als weitere Startplattform ist der ColecoVision zu nennen.

Das Besondere an Zaxxon war der Einsatz einer isometrischen Perspektive. Mit deren Hilfe konnte eine gewisse räumliche Tiefe erzeugt werden, weshalb man es kurzerhand als quasi-3D-Scroller bezeichnen kann. Nerdig ausgedrückt, wäre das  dann ein Upper-Right-Diagonal-Scroller – jedoch wäre es damit nur halb beschrieben. Es gibt nämlich desweiteren die Möglichkeit, das Raumschiff nach links und rechts, sowie nach oben und unten zu steuern. Dadurch kann man auch Hindernisse, wie etwa Mauern, überfliegen. Das Spielprinzip wurde dabei vom quasi 2D-Vorgänger Scramble kopiert. Um sich davon ein genaueres Bild machen zu können, hier ein Vorschauvideo:

Zaxxon war, vermutlich gerade wegen des revolutionären Spielprinzips, äußerst erfolgreich. Daher folgte noch im gleichen Jahr Super Zaxxon, bei dem es am Ende einen Roboter zu besiegen galt -  es wurde ein Bossgegner hinzugefügt. Außerdem wurde es innerhalb von 2 Jahren, also bis 1984, auf sage und schreibe 13 Plattformen portiert: unter anderem auf den Commodore 64 und das Sega Master System. 1987 erschien der Nachfolger Zaxxon 3-D und ein Klon namens Panther. 8 Jahre später (1995) folgte dann der letzte Teil der Serie für den Sega 32X: Zaxxon Motherbase 2000.

Aber genug der Worte: Spielt es (KLICK) !

Melómanos  queridos, volviendo de un corto receso en el cual estaba cumpliendo obligaciones en otras tierras, les traigo otra curiosidad musical, esta vez repiten ya que gracias a sus visitas el primer larga duración es uno de los mas vistos en mi pagina y el cual ha traido diversos recuerdos , esta vez producido por MANUEL DE LA CALVA  y RAMON ARCUSA, EL DUO DINAMICO Y CANTAUTORES FAMOSOS (aunque aquí en secreto, también cantado por ellos, cuando le bajas la velocidad al disco, los oyes perfectamente) y los temas hechos por PIERRE KARTNER, conocido como EL PADRE ABRAHAM. Los temas son:

1. DESFILAN LOS PITUFOS…CON AIRE MUY MARCIAL Y POR LA CALLE PRINCIPAL
2. LA PITUFO- CERVEZA- HASTA LOS PITUFOS BEBEN CERVEZA QUE MAS QUERIAN??
3. PITU.PITUFEMOS- OTRA VEZ, AL BAILAR Y AL CANTAR ESTA MELODIA CON LA PITU FLAUTA
4. AZUL ES MI ESTRELLA- IGUAL QUE TODO EN LOS PITUFOS (SERA QUE CHRISTIAN CASTRO SE INSPIRO EN LOS PITUFOS CON SU TEMA AZUL???)
5. QUIERE USTED BAILAR UN VALS?
6. VAMOS A BAILAR A LA VERBENA- QUE MUSICA TAN BUENA
7. QUEREMOS SABER- AQUÍ AUNQUE ELLOS SEAN PITUFOS DESEAN SABER SI EL PADRE ABRAHAM LOS IBA A ABANDONAR,  YA QUE LUEGO DE ESTE VINO OTRO LP QUE ES EL DE LOS JUEGOS PITUFOS, EN DONDE EL PADRE NI EN LOS CREDITOS APARECE, SERA ESTA UNA CANCION PREMONITORIA DE SU SEPARACION??, ALGUN PITUFO EXPERTO ME DIGA QUE PASO.
8. BAÑOS DE LUNA- YA QUE EN LA LUNA HAY AGUA SERA QUE SE BAÑAN  CON LA LUNA??- SERA QUE INDICA QUE ES MEJOR BAÑARSE DE NOCHE??- AVISEN POR FAVOR
9. BLANCANIEVES Y LOS 7 PITUFOS- LOS ENANOS SE FUERON DEJANDO A BLANCANIEVES SOLA Y SIN QUIEN JUGAR POR ESO LLEGAN LOS PITUFOS Y HASTA SE ENAMORAN DE ELLA.
10. EL SHERIFF PITUFIN- LO CONOCEREIS OYENDO ESTA TRISTE HISTORIA

Bueno melómanos disfrútenlo y espero que a los que han venido a la pagina buscando los temas de LOS PITUFOS Y EL PADRE ABRAHAM les guste.

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