Dave Allen on being raised a Catholic

First day at convent school. A lesson on God:

Sister Breda: He’s your father.

Child: (Looks around, puzzled)

Sister: He’s invisible.

Child: Oh?!

Sister: He loves you. He wants you to love him. If you don’t love him he’s going to be very very angry and punish you eternally. Do you love him?

Child:  Er..Yeah!!!!!!!!! You bet, He’s great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxo81Ok9Urk

The link I have provided here is to an insightful essay about the state of music and music sales in the world of new media by Dave Allen:

Dear Musicians-Please be Brilliant or Get Out of the Way

Allen gives good advice when calling for musicians to push boundaries or perhaps create new systems of getting music heard and sold, but does not go into any specifics.  I like the idea of making events out of the music.  The state of music is that it serves as part of a larger system or culture.  Bands and other creative musicians have to figure out ways to sell the cultural ideas driving their music in order to make any kind of impact any more.

But this advice should not only be sought after by musicians.  Producers and even engineers should be cognizant that they are creating part of a larger whole and should understand the whole before recording and distributing any band’s material.

Probably one of the hippest music conferences earlier this year was the SanFranMusicTech conference that packed 600 into the swanky Kabuki at 1625 Post in San Francisco.  Well they’re back by popular demand this Monday with Third Eye Blind – how cool is that!  There will be live streaming on the site at www.sfmusictech.com and you can follow along on Twitter at #SFMT.  On Tuesday, VentureBeat delivers DiscoveryBeat workshops for developers seeking to chart in the apps stores.  Best kept secrets shared by Playfish, Playdom, Zynga, RockYou, IGN, SGN, Smule, ngmoco…looks pretty awesome.  Not sure of the hashtag, guessing it’s #DB.  For those of you looking for money, the place to be is on Sand Hill Road for two fantastic days of the AlwaysOn Venture Summit, they’re using VSSV on the site so I’m assuming #VSSV is the hashtag, and they usually live stream.  And then on Friday at Microsoft, SD Forum hosts the Business of New Media:  Where’s the Money with Tim Chang, Guy Kawasaki, Zynga, Gaia, Yahoo!, The Wrap.. .also no official hashtag yet, not even attempting to guess this one.  For those of you in LA, Digital Media Wire’s Future of Film at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica – recap AFM, prep for EFM, and meet all the key players – the lineup looks incredible. Follow at #FOFILM.  Agendas are posted below:

M 12/7 9-6
SF MUSICTECH SUMMIT
Hotel Kabuki, 1625 Post, San Francisco
www.sfmusictech.com

Tu 12/8
FUTURE OF FILM
Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica
www.lafilmconference.com

Tu 12/8  2:30-7:30
DISCOVERY BEAT
Guide to discovery in the App Store!
Auttomatic Lounge, Pier 38, San Francisco
http://discoverybeat2009.eventbrite.com/

2:30pm – 3:00pm | Registration

3:00pm – 3:05pm | Welcome

3:05pm – 3:15pm | “Make or Break: How to successfully leverage publicity and social media to drive awareness and downloads of mobile apps”

3:15pm – 3:30pm | “Should driving app discovery require hemorrhaging money?”

3:30pm – 3:45pm | “Social Gaming: The evolving technology platform & monetization”

3:45pm – 4:00pm | “Building Social Games: Games at the speed of light”

4:00pm – 4:40pm | “Discovery 1.0: Starting from scratch”

Randy Angle (Director of Game Design, SGN)
Julian Farrior (CEO, Backflip Studios)
Ge Wang (Co-Founder, CTO, & COO, Smule – maker of Ocarina iPhone app)
Peter Farago (VP Marketing, Flurry)
Matt Marshall (Editor in Chief, VentureBeat)

With more than 119,000 apps in the Apple AppStore, discovery is a huge problem. Facebook is just as tough. And to make it worse, you’re at a disadvantage because large networks have the upper hand of experience in platform strategy and a louder voice to get their products heard.
• If you’re a two-person garage development shop and starting from scratch, how do you create an app that can go viral?
• If you’re not a giant company, how do you exploit your newness and focus, using the key ingredients of success?
• How can the smaller developers team up with bigger brands that have name recognition? When should they go it alone?
• How do they build a company that bigger investors will notice?
• What are some of the platform tools at your disposal that can be used to get your apps noticed?
• How does discovery fit with the right business model for your app?

4:40pm – 4:55pm | “Super-sizing the app economy by moving it beyond the iPhone”

4:55pm – 5:35pm | “Discovery 2.0: Moving to the next level”

Sebastien De Halleux (COO, Playfish)
John Pleasants (CEO, Playdom)
Roy Sehgal (GM, Zynga & Executive Producer of Cafe World game)
Neil Young (Founder & CEO, ngmoco)
Dean Takahashi (Lead Writer for GamesBeat, VentureBeat)

The social app companies, those successful application companies that came of age on Facebook and the iPhone, have created their own ecosystems with successful titles that feed on each other. Now what do they do?
• How many different types of monetization schemes do they need? What can they learn from the bigger companies?
• Should they recruit executives from the “old world” companies, to help with partnering or organizational discipline?
• What sort of analytics process should they have in place?
• Can anyone catch up with them?
• What will the social/mobile/gaming look like in two years?

5:35pm – 6:00pm | “Discovery 3.0: Bringing in the big guys”

Jon Vlassopulos (CEO, Moderati – maker of the virtual light Zippo iPhone app)
Alex St. John (President & CTO, hi5)
Michael Chang (Founder & CEO, Greystripe)
Lisa Marino (VP Sales, RockYou)
Roy Bahat (President, IGN Entertainment)

Established video game companies and entertainment giants are eyeing the social networking and mobile platforms as a source of future growth. For success, the big guys need to apply the secret ingredients in different proportions.
• How much should they invest in these areas, and how should they do it?
• Which kinds of partners should they recruit? Which business models are the best?
• Who has made the transition already?
• What’s the right mix of social networking, marketing, analytical measurement, advertising and web design ingredients they should apply?

6:00pm – 6:05pm | Closing remarks

6:05pm – 7:30pm | Reception

Tu 12/8 – W 12/9
AO VENTURE SUMMIT
Rosewood Sand Hill, Menlo Park
http://alwayson.goingon.com/ecom/productview/19291

Tu 12/8

W 12/9

The link I have provided here is to an insightful essay about the state of music and music sales in the world of new media by Dave Allen:

Dear Musicians-Please be Brilliant or Get Out of the Way

Allen gives good advice when calling for musicians to push boundaries or perhaps create new systems of getting music heard and sold, but does not go into any specifics.  I like the idea of making events out of the music.  The state of music is that it serves as part of a larger system or culture.  Bands and other creative musicians have to figure out ways to sell the cultural ideas driving their music in order to make any kind of impact any more.

But this advice should not only be sought after by musicians.  Producers and even engineers should be cognizant that they are creating part of a larger whole and should understand the whole before recording and distributing any band’s material.

In November I had the opportunity to rent the complete television series of Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000). I watched all eighteen episodes in a week and was pleasantly surprised with what an amazing show it turned out to be.

The story takes place primarily on the grounds of William McKinley High School in a suburb in Michigan (Glee, anyone?), focusing on the lives of two outcast groups of students in 1980: the freaks and the geeks.

The show had an all-star cast including Linda Cardellini (ER), John Francis Daley (Bones), James Franco (Milk), Seth Rogen (Funny People), Samm Levine, Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Martin Starr (Adventureland), and Busy Philipps (Cougar Town) as our lovable outcasts, as well as veteran actors like Thomas F. Wilson (Back to the Future) as the school’s gym teacher, and Dave Allen as the guidance counselor; it also featured surprise guest appearances by Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation), Kevin Tighe (LOST), David Krumholtz (Numb3rs), Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), and even Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder).

You may wonder how this show ever got canceled after only its first season. What douche-of-a-network had the balls to drop such an achievement of comedic genius? UGH, I’ll tell you that NBC put it on Saturdays at 8pm so nobody watched it! So blame them for bad scheduling.

From my point of view, Freaks and Geeks is a refreshing take on the now so popular high school genre that seems to have taken over network television in the past few years; whether it involves blood-sucking vampires, sex-addicted rich kids, or ballad-singing losers.

Although the show takes place more than a decade before I was born and aired while I was still in grade school, I still found it incredibly relatable to my own experience in high school.

However, Freaks and Geeks is not necessarily suited for fans of shows like Vampire Diaries or Gossip Girl or High School Musical; it portrays a more realistic version of life as a teenager were no one bursts out into song, nobody is a vampire, and there are no threesomes (have you seen that commercial?). In fact, I’m happy to say that throughout all eighteen episodes there is not one sex scene. Unlike Gossip Girl which has sex scenes in order to distract from how horrible the entire show is, the story in Freaks and Geeks just does not need it. They decided to let the audience dive deep into the emotional and social issues of each character instead of deep into their pants.

The show’s main focus are the lives of Lindsay Weir (Cardellini), a sophomore math-genius and daddy’s little girl turned burnout, and her younger brother Sam (Daley), a socially challenged freshman. In the first episode Lindsay crosses over from her boring existence as a mathlete to the dangerous and exciting life of a freak. Cardellini’s character’s change from golden-girl to freak is brought upon by witnessing the fearful revelation from her dying grandmother that there is nothing on the other side except utter darkness, igniting Linday’s life altering thought: what is the point of it all? Throughout the season Carellini does a great job of portraying a confused teenager struggling to deal with the pressures from her parents, and peer-pressure alike.

Initially Lindsay is not altogether accepted by the freaks, which include the math-test-cheating Daniel Dosario (Franco), his bitchy girlfriend Kim Kelly (Philipps), chronically-sarcastic Ken Miller (Rogen), and pot-smoking drummer Nick Andopolis (Segel). Although it takes a while for their emotional layers to unfold, each of them has a depth that allows them to accept Lindsay as one of them, and gives their characters a significant arc.

I was really happy with the changes in the freaks. By the end of the series Daniel is playing Dungeons and Dragons with the geeks, Kim goes from bitch-of-the-year to Lindsay’s best friend, Ken’s caring side is brought out by his relationship with the cute tuba-player, Amy Andrews (Jessica Campbell), and Lindsay (this is just what I think since  the show didn’t have a chance to resolve what actually happens), gives a final goodbye to her “straight-A” past and ends up ditching a summer academic program for a road-trip Grateful Dead tour with Kim and some “death-heads.”

I was similarly pleased with Sam Weir’s band of geeks, Bill Haverchuck (Starr), Neal Schweiber (Levine), Gordon Crisp (Jerry Messing), and Harris Trinsky (Stephen Lea Sheppard). My favorite geek is definitely Bill, whose awkwardness is ultimately overshadowed by his deeply emotional relationship with Mr. Fredricks (Wilson), the gym teacher. At first, Bill is the only geek strong enough to protest against the jocks always choosing teams and positions for baseball because he “might be great, but they’ll never know.” And when Mr. Fredricks starts dating Bill’s mom, moves in with them, and is watching football on the TV in their living-room Bill still hold pride for his love of the prime-time soap, Dallas. One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is when Bill finally accepts Mr. Fredricks into his home and he explains what’s going on as the watch the show together in a heart-wrenching father/son kind of moment.

Although not as great as Bill, fellow geeks Sam, Gordon and Harris were also pretty cool. I was happy when Sam finally realized that it did not matter how pretty his crush, Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick), was when she turned out to be such a bitch and had to break up with her. Harris’ wisdom concerning bullies and girlfriends reminded of the guru kid from Recess, and Gordon was a lovable addition to their group of misfits.

The only two characters I really had a problem with were Nick Andopolis (Segel) and Neal Schweiber (Levine). I found Nick’s obsession with Lindsay disturbing, and Neal’s delusion of being an expert with girls was just plain annoying. But it did make it all the more hilarious when Bill ended up making-out with the head cheerleader, Vicky Appleby (Joanna Garcia).

Overall, Freaks and Geeks is an incredible show. I quickly found myself caring about every character, and it was easy for me to relate to most of what they were experiencing. It’s rare to find a show with such interesting characters, as well as an intriguing plot, and it sucks so much that NBC ended up canceling it. No matter how under-watched it was, Freaks and Geeks is one of those shows that appeals to people of all types, so if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s time to give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

]]> http://fineartsfsu.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/fsu-jazz-ensemble-concert-today-dec-1-8-pm-wallman-hall-theatre/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:46:41 +0000 bj omanson http://fineartsfsu.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/fsu-jazz-ensemble-concert-today-dec-1-8-pm-wallman-hall-theatre/

The Fairmont State University Jazz Ensemble will present a concert tonight, Dec. 1,  8 p.m., in the Wallman Hall Theatre, with special guest vocalist Elizabeth Wotring-Nelson.  Admission is free and open to the public.

 Selections for the concert will include “Groove Merchant,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Laura,” “Lot of Livin’ to Do,” “Pegasus,” “Christmas Time is Here,” “Early Morning” and “Pennsylvania 6-5000.”

 The ensemble is directed by Dr. Valarie Huffman. Playing saxophones are Amy Phillips, Trey Hefner, Jay Leeper, Ashton Cutright and Tim Curry. Playing trumpets are Chris Schoo, Amy Prenatt, Jess McIntyre and Jennifer Adams. Playing Trombones are Val Huffman and Dori Plutzner. Kim Henry will perform on piano, Zak Kniceley on guitar, Corey Kovach on bass, Jimmy Halpenny on drums, Dave Allen on drums and congas and Michael Robinson on drums, auxiliary percussion and vibes.

Hanna-Liina @ the vodka bar

First it was Rockwood for the happy hour band of Melanie Penn, the singer-songwriter. Seemed to be really popular, Rockwood was packed. I met a fellow Estonian Hanna-Liina Võsa there, so we went on for some Friday night gig hopping Next in plan was Dave Allen Trio @ Bar Next Door with Aidan Carroll on bass and Jared Schonig on drums (who was subbing for someone, did a great job sight reading there). Bass and drums were really loud and stole most of the attention – and I enjoyed it, they were killin. Bar Next Door was quite empty, I never got such a good seat there yet.  Apparently the 1st and 4th sets  are 50% off the cover charge which makes it $6. And the drink minimum – the season for beer is over, now is time for tea.

Beatbox Guitar @ Webster Hall

And vodka. Next stop was Webster Hall @ the East Village, more like a DJ venue there, besides an open vodka bar it featured a cool live music event with beatboxer Pete List and harp guitarist Rob Mastrianni. Sounded great!
We as Estonians both drank 5 vodka cocktails in a fraction of a second and felt great Open bars are so much fun

Aki ishiguro Group @ Coco 66

And then the final destination, Coco 66 in Greenpoint to hear Aki Ishiguro Group with Alex Terrier on alto, Sean Wayland on keys, Pascal Niggenkemper on bass and Nick Anderson on drums. For some weird reason the place was double booked so they actually played next door, it seemed to be 68 Greenpoint Ave not 66. But the band was great Some killin jazz playing And I got home with just one long train ride, the G train Was very gradual.

]]> http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-sunday-intertitle-cave-art/ Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:47:50 +0000 dcairns http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-sunday-intertitle-cave-art/ http://goremasterfx.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/puppet-master-released-oct-12th-1989/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:15:35 +0000 goremasterfx http://goremasterfx.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/puppet-master-released-oct-12th-1989/

Puppet Master (also known as Puppetmaster and Puppet Master I) is a 1989 horror film released on October 12th 1989 and was written by Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall, and directed by David Schmoeller. It is the first film in the Puppet Master franchise and stars Paul Le Mat, Irene Miracle, Matt Roe and Kathryn O’Reilly as psychics who are plotted against by a former colleague, using puppets animated by an Egyptian spell. The film’s cult status has led to the production of nine sequels. Originally intended for theatrical release in summer 1989, before being released on home video the following September, Puppet Master was ultimately pushed to a direct-to-video release on October 12, 1989, as Charles Band felt he was likely to make more money this way than he would in the theatrical market.

William Hickey as Puppetmaster Andre Toulan in his workshop

Puppet Master has been reissued several times. It is available in a box set featuring the first seven installments of the series, an 18-disc Full Moon Features collection and a Spanish-subtitled import collection of the first three Puppet Master films. In 2007, Razor Digital released an uncut DualDisc version of Puppet Master, featuring both the standard and stereoscopic versions of the film. The uncut version restores a number of deleted scenes, including additional footage of Frank and Carissa having sex, extra frames added to Dana’s death which make the slash across her throat more visible, and Neil’s death scene being extended to contain more gore. In December 2008, Band authorized Puppet Master for digital download through the iTunes Store; his first foray into the digital market.

Buy this Title on DVD

The film starts in 1939 Bodega Bay, California with an old puppeteer named Andre Toulon putting the finishing touches on a living puppet called Jester. A living oriental puppet stares out of the window at Blade, another living puppet, as Blade scouts the grounds of the Bodega Bay Inn that Andre is staying at. Two Nazis get out of a car and head for Toulon’s room but Blade beats them there and Andre puts Blade, Jester and the oriental puppet into a chest, before hiding the chest in a wall panel. As the Nazis break down the door, Toulon shoots himself in the mouth with a pistol. The oriental puppet is not seen for the rest of the movie.

The film now cuts to 1989, with a psychic named Alex. Alex has a dream that there are leeches on his stomach. Seconds later, he dreams of a man that he recognizes putting a gun to a woman’s head. The film cuts to Dana, another psychic, who has visions of being slashed across the throat with a knife. Carissa and Frank, two other psychics who are apparently lovers, are reading the mind of another woman when they get a call from Alex. Frank tells Alex that they also got a call from Dana, and the four psychics assess that the visions they’ve been having were sent from a former colleague, Neil Gallagher.

The psychics meet at the Bodega Bay Inn that Neil is staying at and meet Neil’s wife, Megan, as well as the housekeeper, Theresa. The psychics are skeptical that Neil took a wife but it is forgotten when Megan tells them that Neil shot himself. Theresa, Megan, Dana, Carissa, Frank, and Alex leave the body and Pinhead, another living puppet, jumps from the casket.

Later, Carissa has visions of Neil violently attacking a woman in an elevator. Dana warns Theresa to stay away from the fireplace and later, at dinner, Dana makes several remarks about Neil that causes Megan to leave the table. Alex goes after her and explains about the powers of he, Dana, Carissa, and Frank.

When night falls, Theresa goes near the fireplace and is murdered when Pinhead hits her with a poker. The psychics hear a scream and find Megan passed out nearby Neil’s body that has been moved into a chair by someone. Carissa and Frank spend some intimate time together in one of the hotel rooms but two more living puppets, Tunneler and Leech Woman, enter. Tunneler kills Carissa by drilling into her face and Leech Woman vomits leeches onto Frank’s body, which drain his blood. Meanwhile, Dana sits around with her strange, dead and preserved dog until she has her leg broken by Pinhead. Pinhead chases her and repeatedly strangles and punches her until she manages to knock him away, only to have her throat slashed by Blade, using his knife-hand.

Alex has recurring nightmares of Megan having a gun put to her head by Neil and the other psychics being found dead, but is eventually awoken by Megan who takes him into the room that Andre Toulon was in, and tells him that Neil found Andre’s secret to bringing inanimate objects, such as puppets, to life. Alex has a vision and they go downstairs to find the dead bodies of the psychics sitting around a table. They are stopped by the newly resurrected Neil. He explains that “metaphysically speaking”, he did commit suicide, but he used Toulon’s formula to give himself eternal life. He fights with Alex and beats him up, until Neil hurts Jester and the puppets revolt against him. They lock him in an elevator and murder him by having Pinhead hold Neil’s head as Tunneler drill into his neck, Blade cut off his fingers, and finally Leech Woman vomits a leech into his mouth.

The film cuts to Alex saying goodbye to Megan and leaving the hotel. Now alone, Megan picks up Dana’s taxidermic dog, and by the following scene, the dog becomes completely animate, indicating that she too has learned Toulon’s method (although the film’s sequel dispels that she has become the next Puppet Master).

Blade from Puppet Master

Cast

Paul Le Mat – Alex Whitaker

William Hickey – Andre Toulon

Irene Miracle – Dana Hadley

Jimmie F. Skaggs – Neil Gallagher

Robin Frates – Megan Gallagher

Matt Roe – Frank Forrester

Barbara Crampton

Kathryn O’Reilly – Carissa Stamford

Mews Small – Theresa

Barbara Crampton – Woman at Carnival

David Boyd – Man at Carnival

Peter Frankland – Assassin #1

Andrew Kimbrough – Assassin #2

Voice Performers

Ed Cook – Pinhead

Linda Cook – Leech Woman

Tim Dornberg – Tunneler

Bert Rosario – Blade

Michael Laide – Jester

Featured puppets

Oriental puppet

Blade

Jester

Pinhead

Tunneler

Leech Woman

Make Up Department
  Valerie McKnight … makeup artist
  Steve Neill … special effects makeup artist

Special Effects Department
  Mark Rappaport … animatronics engineer
  Patrick Simmons … special effects makeup

Tunneler

Visual Effects Department
  Dave Allen … puppet animator
  Dave Allen … visual effects supervisor
  Sally Chow … puppeteer
  Paul W. Gentry … effects photography
  Dennis Gordon … puppet fabrication and miniatures
  Beth Hathaway … puppeteer
  Justin Kohn … puppet animator
  Donna Littleford … visual effects production assistant
  Harvey Mayo … puppet fabrication and miniatures
  Jene Omens … puppet fabrication and miniatures
  Mark Rappaport … animatronic engineer
  Patrick Simmons … special effects makeup
  Cindy Sorennen … puppeteer 
  John Teska … puppet fabrication and miniatures 
  Brett B. White … puppeteer

Amazon Specials!

So this is it, the biggest game of the season for the Barrow Raiders, my hometown rugby league side, this is the Co-operative Championship Grand Final at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington where the Raiders, in their second final of the year, take on Halifax for the big prize. Barrow played Halifax on the way to this final during the play offs and the Raiders won 35 – 12 while dominating the game with a great performance, this is the final though and I’m expecting a much closer affair.

Halifax made a strong start in the first half and for much of the first 12 minutes or so Barrow barely got out of their own half, after piling on a lot of pressure Halifax eventually got a try scored by Haley, it was 0 – 4 to Halifax. After this try it became a bit more equal with Barrow getting more possession than earlier, it was at times a bit of a stalemate though with not much happening, other than Chris Young having his head busted open in a clash of heads and going off on 27 minutes.

On the half hour mark Halifax put in a cross field kick along the ground which Royston turned into a try which was converted to make it 0 – 10 to Halifax, Barrow hadn’t really got going at this point. Two minutes later though Rooney chipped a nice little kick over the top for Liam Harrison to score the Raiders first try of the game and the conversion made it 6 – 10, Barrow were back in the game.

Then on 37 minutes Barrow broke with a very nice team try with some nice passing play finished off by Andy Ballard, the following conversion made it 10 – 10 and that’s how the first half ended, the score equal and with the Raiders appearing at last to have some momentum.

The second half began quite equal being fought mainly in the middle of the field except for on 45 minutes when a Barrow error led to a Halifax try from Black, during the second half Chris Young did return with his head bandaged.

As the second half wore on the Raiders began to slowly get the upper hand then on 61 minutes Zeb Luisi made a nice pass to Dave Allen who went over for a try and Barrow went ahead for the first time at 16 – 14. Four minutes later Andreas Bauer dived over from a play the ball right on the Halifax line to stretch the lead further to 20 – 14.

On 70 minutes Govin scored a really nice individual try for Halifax pulling the score back to 20 – 18 but on 77 minutes after some prolonged pressure and a nice passing move Andreas Bauer went over for his second try making it 26 – 18 to Barrow.

The final score was Barrow Raiders 26 – 18 Halifax, the Raiders finished the stronger side and for the latter part of the second half had most of the possession, I’d like to mention Zeb Luisi who I thought had a good game and Gary Broadbent was superb as usual, its difficult to pick out anyone else as stand out, I thought they were all pretty equal.

Well done the Barrow Raiders, now the Co-operative Championship Grand Final winners and Championship winners.

My attraction to this band is my unabashed love for the deep, sexy, croon-in-your-ear voice of Barry Andrews. The band’s dark, moody instrumentation accompanied by Andrews’ equally mercurial and pensive singing sets the stage for a mind-bending excursion into the inner reaches of your soul. 

The band originally formed in 1981 and, like many 80’s bands, morphed through several line-up changes, sustaining them up until their most recent release in 2007. The core members were Barry Andrews, Dave Allen (bass guitar) and Carl Marsh. Andrews’ previous musical experience included performing with the bands XTC and League of Gentlemen. Allen’s pedigree included bassist for the group Gang of Four. 

Shriekback enjoyed mild success in the UK, but remained virtually unknown here in the states. Michael Mann (producer of “Miami Vice,” “Manhunter,” and “Band of the Hand”) took a liking to the ethereal, atmospheric sounds that set Shriekback apart from the crowd, much like his own TV and movie creations. Mann featured several of Shriekback’s songs in his productions, thus gaining some US traction for the group.

My personal favorites are the LPs Care and Oil and Gold. These two collections highlight all that was and is still good about this unique band. I also purchased Cormorant a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised to hear a band that had managed to not compromise their signature talent and sound over the years.

Check out the band bios and more of their music on MySpace. If you are in the mood for music that will pique your intellect while shaking your soul, you won’t be disappointed.

 “Nemesis” via YouTube user universalmusicgroup:

 “Underwaterboys” via YouTube user cloud74buster:

“Hand On my Heart” via YouTube user groovedigger00:

“Accretions” (Monstrous Dance Mix) via YouTube user Ox51D:

 
Purchase Shriekback music here.

80’s Discography

Tench (EP – 1982)

Care (1983)

Jam Science (1984)

Oil and Gold (1985)

Big Night Music (1986)

Go Bang (1988)

İzlerken güldüren bu görüntü aynı zamanda ; çocuklar henüz soyut-somutu ayırt edebilecek konumda değilken onlara neler öğretildiğini , ve böylelikle çocukların tanrıya nasıl inandırılmaya çalışıldıkları hakkında fikir sunuyor.

I am posting a few things have grabbed my attention this last week or so.

Firstly, I wrote a brief review of one of my favourite books in the comments of the Small Business Owner blog. If you’ve never read the Cluetrain Manifesto, you might like to read my review.

I’ve also just finished watching a video of Dave Allen give a talk on his Getting Things Done (GTD) method to staff at Google. Wow! It is about 45 minutes long, but worth watching if, like me, you struggle with juggling all the different things we need to get done in our lives. I’ll be watching it again.

Finally, I’ve changed my theme (its done by NeoEase). Feedback welcome.

Funny video… Comedians have a way of demonstrating just how silly religions are, and they do it without offending anyone. TGO

Refer to video below. Source: You Tube

The lovely Donna De Lory has some very exciting news for the East Coasters! She’s going on tour starting tomorrow in Venice, California along with Shiva Rea! Here’s Donna’s message from her myspace.

Hello Beautiful People,

Hope you are enjoying the heat of the summer sweating your prayers and finding some cool water to swim in!

I am getting ready to head for the East Coast in a couple of weeks – looking forward to seeing you at one of our events! I will once again be joined by my soul brothers Cameron Stone on cello and Dave Allen on drums and percussion. We will be playing many songs from my new album Sanctuary and maybe some brand new pieces too!!

Donna De Lory

I’ll be bringing out some sound equipment to record our shows as well. If I can peel away Cameron and Dave from the tennis court, maybe we will write a bit too while we are all out together. It will be the first time flying with baby too so wish us luck!!

Looking forward to singing out to the stars and celebrating life with you.

Om Shanti,
Donna

To see all the tour dates go to donnadelory.com/tour

Comedians have a way of demonstrating just how ridiculous Christianity, and of course all other religions are. TGO

Check out the video below. Source: You Tube

Was just sitting here thinking about my heroes of comedy over my life and its amazed me how much either I or comedy has evolved. My earliest memories of laughing my tits off was probably Russ Abbott pretending to be his “C U Jimmy” Scottish character. Tartan hat, ginger sideburns, a walk like he has been sitting on a bench in Leith drinking Tennants Super for 12 hours. Priceless!
Was it funny though? Judge for yourself and look out for a very young Les Dennis!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DQdSuQt0iM

All these years. I thought he wore a tartan hat. In fact if you google CU Jimmy you will not find a picture of him in the said hat but you will find about 1000 other random twats wearing one pretending to be Russ Abbott pretending to be a Scot.

I think everyone will agree after watching that clip that it was utter pants. I am not going to say Russ Abbott was totally shite as I can’t be arsed to look at his other stuff but the one stand out bit I remember from being a kid has got me quite worried I was a bit of a gormless child.

I would like to redeem myself by saying I loved Tommy Cooper but I remember at the time thinking he was rubbish even though now I think he is a legend. Proof is in the pudding.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHYnahPkJI8&feature=PlayList&p=46567351E05A8E73&index=5

Went through a listening to Chubby Brown tapes but will not even dignify him with an opinion and then it seems I am missing something but there seems to be a big jump to Hale and Pace. These guys were classic Sunday night tv. Sundays were always brilliant as a kid. I have fond memories of always having noodle doodles around 7.30 and watching Hart to Hart or Crazy Like a Fox. I only recently found out (about 10 seconds ago) that Max in Hart to Hart was played by a guy called Lionel Stander. Memory playing tricks on me again but if it was the final question in who wants to be a millionaire I would have put my mortgage on it being Ernest Borgnine!!

Same bloke???

Anyway yeah, Hale and Pace. Sunday night. comedy gold. Carlsberg don’t make comedy sketch shows but if they did it would be Hale and Pace right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtOXuswL4rc&feature=related

Oh dear. Moving swifly on.

I don’t know when I realised Hale and Pace were twats but by now I have to be about 16 so its time for a question. Was comedy crap back in the day or is it just that kids only need to hear the words Cock and Flange to burst into laughter?

Even in stand up comedy I am not sure how good my taste was. Billy Connolly and Dave Allen were hillarious, no question but what about Jasper Carrot? Did I really think he was a genius like my memory tells me or did I just laugh because he looked like a frog?

Thank god for Harry Enfield. This is the first comedian I can look back on and still laugh at (sometimes). Sketch comedy at its finest. He inspired curly black wig wearing on stag do’s all over the country with his brilliant scouser sketches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3NqLjPGRds&feature=related

Sure it is hit and miss but its legendary stuff I hope you will agree.

Ill carry on with this rant another time. I have a good few years of mindless crap to get through yet. I am enjoying looking back and seeing what made me the freak I am today.

Cheers

In this episode of An Alan Smithee Podcast, we unearth one lost b-movie classic and rediscover one semi-recognized classic for highbrow types that people seem to have forgotten on purpose.

The Dungeonmaster, aka Ragewar, is a tag team collaboration by virtually everyone who would ever be a part of Charles Band’s empire (Empire Pictures and Full Moon Entertainment): Dave Allen, John Carl Buechler, Ted Nicolaou….uh, Richard Band…..and Charles Band himself! Not to mention casting that finally brings Richard Moll and WASP together in the same film.

The results are scattershot in the very best way, incorporating zombies, monsters, giants, wizards, magical 80s computers, lasers, gremlins and post-apocalypse car chases into a cockamamie plot about an ordinary guy battling across Charles Band’s checklist of radness to rescue his girlfriend. 

Incredibly, the special effects are great and the cheesy hilarity almost never lets up. Listen and find out why this lost treasure deserves DVD rediscovery.

Next, the blacker-than-soot period piece whose title became one of the world’s most accessible faux-literate references They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? reaches deep inside our souls and squeezes for two straight hours until they burst. Starring commie traitor Jane Fonda, lost leading man Michael Sarrazin, a startling Susannah York, a poignant Red Buttons and Gig Young in an academy award winning performance. But seriously, everyone in this movie deserved one. Even Al “Grampa” Lewis, who manages to create a fully formed character with about two sentences.

Sydney Pollack uses the backdrop of the Great Depression to create a unforgettable examination of the dark side of entertainment that’s lurked in humankind forever. There are showbiz satires and there are showbiz satires, but by focusing on a type of public pageant that didn’t exist very long – the marathon dance contest for couples – Horses immaculately displays in a test tube the uncomfortable truth that a big part of entertainment is seeing people suffer. ESPECIALLY when they’re “real” people. Disturbing comparisons to modern reality TV are all abound in this episode!

Check out the links below and hey, feel free to suggest good and bad movies for further discussion when you’re done!

This is just too good not to share….

Dave Allen at his irreverent best

I propose a toast to Andy Holroyd and his trousers – may he never quite grow into them.

The Winds of Change” Film Trailer from Adonai Films. This short documentary film was centered around Chuck Pierce’s prophetic word released in Houston Texas on April 13, 2008 about the “approaching winds that would stir the Houston and surrounding regions”. Dave Allen, with Shofars of Houston Ministries makes a cameo appearence in demonstrating the “sound of salvation” over Galvston Island in the film. Much of the film documentary was filmed along the upper coast lines on location in the Texas coastline Counties of Galveston, Orange, Oak Island, Anuahac, and Bolivar Island Texas. The film will is to premiere in March 2009. Directed by Mike Mireles, who is a Spanish/Jew Filmmaker residing in Houston Texas.

Nii. Esimene nädal on läbi. Pean tunnistama, et kerge masendus on. Või väsimus? Päris hull eufooria laks on olnud terve see nädal. Raha pärast hakkab mure tekkima. Jube palju kulub seda ja tegelikult lõpmatuseni ei viitsi kokku hoida ega selle peale mõelda. Siin võiks tegevust leida lihtsalt lõputult… Aga igal sammul küsitakse raha, it’s really all about money here. Ja kui tavaliselt on selline intensiivne avastamine seoses mingi reisi või festivaliga, kestab võibolla maksimaalselt paar nädalat, siis siin ei saa see “festival” kunagi otsa! Mingi hetk ma vist lihtsalt ei jõua enam niiviisi vaimustuda. Informatsiooni on nii palju, täiesti võimatu on New Yorki isegi natukenegi “ära vaadata”. See ei lõppe kunagi otsa. Iga päev on midagi täiesti erakordset toimumas. Aga energiat peab olema sellega kaasa minna. Ja… raha. Ma ei tea, ma läheks tööle juba, aga tööluba algab juunikuust… Jajah, tegelikult ei viitsi ka enam kogu aeg võõrastega suhelda – hea meelega võtaks nüüd juba vaheduseks mõne külalise vastu, any takers?
Ma mõtlesin enne, et miks NYs inimesed armastavad enda iseloomustuseks öelda laid-back, kui nende maine on just vastupidine  – närviline ja ebasõbralik… Asi on selles, et siin on lihtsalt võimatu pikalt närviline olla – närvid läheksid lihtsalt läbi. Olla laid-back ongi ainuke võimalus . Võimalikult vähe muretseda ja energiat kulutada.

Praegu olen väga chillis tasuta WIFIga kohas nimega Tea Lounge, mis asub Brooklynis Park Slope’is (teine lahe piirkond, tegelikult palju ehedam kui Williamsburg vist isegi). Ime, et ma selle koha üles leidsin! Aga siin mängivad Dave Allen, Mark Turner – seekord tõesti! Trummidel Jeff Ballard. Uskumatu kui hästi mängib jälle! Suur saal on pilgeni täis, arvatavasti aitab ka see kaasa, et sissepääs on “soovitava” tasu eest ($5). Tänane muusika meenutab natsa Rosenwinkeli bändi.