“That song was written for him, the only thing I did was change “I” to “he” and “him”… I know him and I knew that I could write for him. I knew that there was a certain point in time where I felt he needed some good writing because he was over at Roc-A-Fella and you know with his mental state – Dirty, he was in another world by the time he passed, you know what I’m saying.”

GZA of Wu-Tang January 2007

“Muggs went out and got a couple of tapes with chess players speaking on it. He went and got a female voice [that we used] right before the Queen’s Gambit track. She had the Russian accent and I thought that would be great to use her voice and drop a few things about chess on there. And it worked well I think.”

GZA of Wu-Tang January 2007

“When I went into the studio in L.A., it was my first time in there, and in the lounge area they had a chess board. I don’t know if they had that there for them or if it was extra treatment for myself, but it was cool, we were playing everyday. I would play with the engineers, the assistant, Muggs, the studio manager. So we were playing all the time and at one point I think it was Muggs [who came up with the idea] to call the album Grandmasters and I thought it was a good call and I was all for it.”

GZA of Wu-Tang January 2007

“I worked with Muggs on his previous projects that he had with the Soul Assassins albums, on the first one and the second one. We did two songs and two videos and at one point a little over a year ago he mentioned something about doing an album. I was like – cool [this could work]. I linked up with him about a year ago in New York and he gave me some beats. He gave me about twelve or thirteen beats and I took them with me and started vibin’ to a few of them. Then I linked up with him again four months later and we completed the album.”

GZA of the Wu-Tang January 2007

Last night, I lucked into the very last ticket to see David Byrne and was reminded why I prefer cinema to music venues.  At the cinema, the program starts ON TIME.  At the cinema, people don’t talk and if they do, they are scolded by the patrons.  Talking during a film is socially unacceptable and rude.  At the cinema, audiences are not constantly getting up from their seats and wandering around.  At the cinema, people don’t stand up to watch action scenes and then sit down for quiet scenes.  At the cinema, there aren’t dweeby security guards bossing the audience around.  Why is it so different?  Because at the cinema, PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION.

At the cinema, what is happening in front of the audience is all there is.  There’s no chatting up girls, no videotaping with cell phones (which makes about as much sense as videotape yourself fucking; it’s always more boring on video), no texting to your friend in the other aisle because the audience is FOCUSED, dreaming awake collectively, rapt by “The Holy Moment” of cinema.  Music venues function as backgrounds for socialization, and you know, I did not pay sixty bucks to be a guest at someone else’s party.  I came to dream, my dream of David Byrne.  I’m sorry, but I just don’t trust music venues anymore.  I’m tired of being corralled by age into specific areas and having some knuckle dragging troglodyte stamp my wrist with a beaver so I can get back in, none of which happens at the cinema.  The cinema is a place of unspoken respect for the collective experience.  So goodbye and no thanks to music.  I’ll stick to my cinema dreams where people care enough to mindfully pay full attention and respect the moment.

Now then…

Some real doozies this week.  First off, Portland’s gift to pulp cinema, Dan Halsted of Grindhouse, brings us the only surviving 35mm print of one of the most revered martial arts film ever made, 7 GRANDMASTERS (Joseph Kuo, Taiwan, 1978) shot with a glorious 2.35 super wide aspect ratio!

To quote Dan’s website, “A kung fu teacher sets out to prove that he is the greatest fighter by finding and defeating the seven Grandmasters. One by one, he fights their wide variety of animal styles (tiger, leopard, mantis, monkey, etc.) He also puts a young student through elaborate training, and is followed by a mysterious kung fu villain wearing a weird hat. Let’s be honest though, how important is the plot when a jaw-dropping kung fu fight breaks out every few minutes? Featuring all the best old school sound effects, fighting styles, martial arts weapons, and silver haired villains with maniacal laughter. Directed by the great Joseph Kuo and starring Jack Long and Mark Long (the original Ghostface Killer) This is one of the top five kung fu movies of all time!”

I’m not sure if the print is in the original Mandarin language (most HK films during this era were in Cantonese) or dubbed in English like the above trailer, but it doesn’t matter too much.  Just go.  This is an event.  Really.  I know a lot of you are fans of that Tarantino guy, but THIS is a film that Tarantino is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of.  I recommend you go to the source.

7 GRANDMASTERS plays ONE NIGHT ONLY, Saturday, June 27th at 7:45pm at The Hollywood Theatre.  Drop all your other plans and go.  If you’re new to the genre, start NOW.

Speaking of Tarantino, if anyone wants to read the script for INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (yes, that’s how he’s spelling the title), I have it so drop me a line at pdxfilm@mac.com.  I always heard he couldn’t spell worth a damn, but I had to read one of his scripts to see how bad his spelling really is.  Wow.

Also at The Hollywood Theatre starting Friday, the most dazzling, confounding, flamboyant and operatic piece of virtuoso filmmaking you’re likely to ever see, IL DIVO (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, 2008) which won the Prix du Jury at Cannes 2008.

For the life of me, when my best friend and I saw this at PIFF last year, we couldn’t follow it at all and we really didn’t care.  It was as if we were being whisked through the history of contemporary Italian politics in a cherry red Ferrari while blaring Danse Macabre, Opus 40 by Camille Saint-Saëns with all the windows down.  We had no idea where we were or what was happening, but we were giddy like school children dizzy on lemonade.

Here.  Just watch the beginning of the movie.  It’s only two minutes long.  Watch in full screen.

And the trailer can be viewed on the official IL DIVO website HERE.

For more than 50 years, Giulio Andreotti has been Italy’s most powerful, feared and enigmatic politician. And as he begins his seventh term as Prime Minister, he and his hardliner faction take control of a country reeling from the brazen murders of several high-level bankers, judges and journalists, as well as the kidnapping and assassination of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. But as the Christian Democrat party crumbles in a nationwide bribery scandal, suspicion begins to fall on Andreotti himself as the center of a shocking conspiracy involving the Vatican, the Mafia and the secret neo-Fascist Masonic Lodge P2. In what is called The Trial Of The Century, Italy’s legendary Senator for Life will stand accused of corruption, collusion and murder.  That’s the story, a true one, but go for the filmmaking.  MUST SEE.

IL DIVO starts Friday at The Hollywood Theatre.  Check website for showtimes.

Still playing at The Hollywood, one of the most innovative and existential thrillers you’re likely to ever see, REVANCHE (Götz Spielmann, Austria, 2008) which was nominated for Best Foreign Film last year and won countless European awards.

At once  gripping and tragic of nearly Greek proportions, REVANCHE is the stunning international breakthrough debut from Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (the mesmerizing Johannes Krisch) works as an assistant in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara (Irina Potapenko). Their desperate plans for escape unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop (Andreas Lust) and his seemingly content wife (Ursula Strauss). With meticulous, elegant direction, Spielmann creates a tense, surprising portrait of vengeance and redemption, and a journey into the darkest forest of human nature, in which violence and beauty exist side by side.  This is one of the best films of the year.

Revanche – Trailer - The most popular videos are here

Starting Friday at The Laurelhurst is THE PARALLAX VIEW (Alan J. Pakula, U.S., 1974) starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and gorgeous cinematography by Gordon Willis who shot The Godfather and Annie Hall.

Of the three films that make up director Alan J. Pakula’s “paranoid trilogy” (Klute, All the President’s Men and THE PARALLAX VIEW), the latter most strongly conveys the paranoid atmosphere of the 1960s and ’70s. A stylish suspense-thriller, THE PARALLAX VIEW mirrors the political distrust Americans began to feel during the period following the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War, culminating in the Watergate conspiracy. The film stars Warren Beatty as investigative journalist Joe Frady, whose former girlfriend and colleague, Lee Carter (Paula Prentiss), witnesses the assassination of a U.S. senator at the Seattle Space Needle. A government report declares it the work of a lone gunman, but when eyewitnesses begin showing up dead, Carter is convinced that a wider conspiracy is at work. Probing deeper, Frady uncovers the operations of the Parallax Corporation, which recruits social misfits and uses mind control techniques to turn them into assassins. In keeping with classic 1970s film, the story is a suspenseful, well-acted thriller with a surprise ending that will resound with the viewer long after the credits start rolling.  Plus the film brilliantly employs the use of montage.  Check out this sequence from the testing room.  It’s genius.

THE PARALLAX VIEW starts Friday at The Laurelhurst.  Check website for showtimes.

And don’t forget, you only have one more week to see one of the best films of the year at The Laurelhurst, Jim Jarmusch’s THE LIMITS OF CONTROL.

AND LASTLY…PDXFilm Presents this coming Independence Day weekend, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (Trey Parker, U.S., 2004)! Yup, this July 3rd, PDXFilm is presenting one of the most subversive comedies made this decade as we celebrate the coming of a new political era (we hope) and wave goodbye to ignorance and arrogance of the Bush Era.  Come celebrate with me July 3rd at 11pm.  This screening is only SIX BUCKS!  21 and over only as Cinema 21 now serves beer and wine.

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, with a $30 million budget, was made entirely using marionettes in the style of the 60’s British television series, Thunderbirds.  The puppetry is deft and creative, the production design is detailed and loaded with secret jokes (the streets of Paris are cobblestones that look like croissants, to name one of many), and in typical Trey Parker form, the film holds no alliance to any politics, vilifying all abuses of power and imperiousness.  But more than that, this is also an attack on the crappy action films made in Hollywood.  Idiotic dialogue, impossible plot points, completely neutered sex scenes and lots and lots and lots of destruction and pro-military imperialism.  And I appologize in advance but the film print does not include the famous golden showers and Hot Carl scene.

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE plays Friday, July 3rd only at 11PM.  SIX BUCKS.  21 and over only.

I’ll see you there.

tenzispdxfilm

Hydropois in Dubai

Life and Culture in the Middle East:

Hydropolis – Undersea Hotel Off the Coast of Dubai

First Graduation at The American School of Marrakesh

Photos of Bouganvilla, Hibiscus, and Orange Trees in Marrakesh

Art Humor:

Vincent Van Gogh’s Family Tree

Food and Wine:

Douro Valley, the Home of Porto Wine

Port Wine Tasting

Photos of Spanish Rioja Tasting, With Tapas

Photos of Moroccan Tagines and Wines

How to Make Greek Olives at Home

Orange Blossom Tea

Advice:

A Slice of Lemon

Should You Buy Amazon’s Kindle If You Live Outside of North America?

Is That Slice of Lemon Dangerous?

Chess:

Sammy Reschevsky (eight years old) Plays 20 Simultaneous Games Against Grandmasters at the Naval Acadamy

We have added a new website to the GrandMaster section.  Alexandra Kosteniuk, the “Chess Queen” is much more than just another pretty face.  She is an international Grandmaster and the Women’s World Champion.

She also has a nice website that has a variety of content for the aspiring chess player.  As noted in this month’s Chess Life, The Chess Journalists of America and the Cramer Committee voted this as the place for the best video podcast.  Check out the Free Chess Video Podcast link on her site, or go there directly by clicking this link: www.chesskillertips.com 

(note: you may need to adjust your firewall to see the instructional videos) 

kidulthood – original soundtrack

i saw this movie a few days ago and was immediately impressed by the soundtrack. i’d never really listened to british hip hop outside of the streets. but all the music in kidulthood is fucking raw and i’ve been bumping the soundtrack all week. be sure to check out the movie and its sequel adulthood as well. 

zoe keating – one cell x 16: natoma

i heard about zoe keating through twitter. from@bcompton. it’s an amazing album. if you’re into neo-classical music at all, definitely check her out. by the way, twitter is a great way to hear about new music or anything else for that matter. you can follow me on twitter here or just subscribe to an rss of my tweets. 

dj shadow – endtroducing…

probably the best album from one of best djs and trip hop pioneers of all time. it’s hard to believe its been twelve years since this album dropped. if you haven’t heard it; stop reading. leave your home. and buy it. now. 

wu-tang clan – soundtracks from the shaolin temple

great compilation album from the wu-tang family. featuring jedi mind tricks and many others.

dj muggs/gza – grandmasters

arguably the best lyricist to come outta shaolin and dj muggs from cypress hill team up for grandmasters. muggs and gza both bring their unique and immediately identifiable styles to this record. if you’re a fan of either of these guys, you’ll love it. it reminds me of dj muggs’ 1997 release, soul assassins chapter 1, one of my favorite mixtapes.

gravediggaz – 6 feet deep

yet another wu-tang affiliate on my list this week. i love their dark lyrics and aggressive delivery. it’s like rap for metal fans.

We’ve added some new content to a couple of sections of the site.  First off is a new Grandmaster link to Alexander Onischuk’s website.  You can find this link on the right side of this page in the Grandmaster Section.

Second is new content for the analysis page.  The Hard Labor swiss recently came to a close with a hard fought match between Roger Pedersen and Howard Kushner.  This match had a lot of material that is instructive for players of all levels.  In light of this, we have posted three positions from the game as well as a full transcript and analysis.

If you think you about it…Go get it…Don’t let anybody stop you in your quest…

Dr. Daaim Shabazz of The Chess Drum breaks down the path for true seekers:

In chess, an ambition may be to learn a particular opening, to beat a friend in five-minute chess, to win a club title, or another lofty goal. These goals may change over time depending on the progress of preceding goals. In chess, a handful of players decide on the ultimate aim of  becoming a Grandmaster through the world federation known as the Fédération Internationale des Échecs, or by the acronym FIDE (fee-day). This is the highest level of mastery in chess.  Many often try to put the Grandmaster title a context and compare it with a similar activity. Some will say becoming a chess Grandmaster is equivalent to getting a Ph.D. Let us be more realistic and agree that the two processes are vastly different in their design and execution.

FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.thechessdrum.net/65thSquare/65_julaug08.html

When we stupefy a task, we construct another task or series of tasks, the sum of which require less intelligence overall.

The trivial example:

If my task is to produce a novel, you could stupefy the task for me by writing the novel and letting me copy it. The act of copying a novel requires less intelligence than creating a novel, yet it appears — if examined only in terms of its final product — identical to the act of creation. By letting me copy your novel, you have stupefied a potentially intelligent act by extracting the intellectual requirement from it, taking the burden of intelligence upon your own shoulders, doing the intelligence-requiring work, and letting me produce the output.

Some people may rightly object to this example by pointing out that, overall, the amount of intelligence utilized has not decreased at all (and may in fact have increased.) For whether or not I wrote the novel, a novel was written; and writing a novel requires an expenditure of intelligence no matter who writes it. But let us remember that stupefication is often a task that requires intelligence (see this post.) Thus, you may have stupefied my task of creating a novel at the expense of great expenditures of your own intelligence. Likewise, the makers of Deep Blue created a computer that could trounce any of its creators in a chess game — but making the machine was a long and difficult road.

But no matter how you slice it, my aptly named “trivial example” is so absurdly simple as to be useless in the context of manufacturing artificial intelligence. After all, virtually any task (with a few notable exceptions) can be stupefied in this way. But doing so will never constitute the creation of an artificially intelligent system.

Deep Blue would have been a silly machine indeed if its “internal” calculations had been performed in real-time by human grandmasters hiding inside its belly (which, by the way, would have been merely a modern resurrection of the famous Mechanical Turk hoax from the 18th century.) It is unlikely that even the most naive of individuals would have considered The Turk an example of artificial intelligence. For The Turk is merely an example of old fashioned human intelligence.

That being said, this idea of hidden human intelligence connects in an interesting way to the quotation in this post, which suggests that when Kasparov played against Deep Blue, he was actually playing against “the ghosts of grandmasters past.” If so, then although there were no literal grandmasters hiding in the belly of the machine, years of powerful over-the-board intellect managed, in some form or another, to find its way into Deep Blue’s physical and/or virtual innards.

I offer the trivial example in order to initiate a more complex discussion later and because it demonstrates clearly that stupefication of a task is not a sufficient condition for the creation of artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is not always aptly defined, and I’m not going to enter the ongoing debate about what constitutes artificial intelligence. I will merely suggest that the trivial example above is not it.

For one thing, the machinery of The Turk was no different from a rock, in that it obeyed purely physical laws and moved only when the grandmaster hiding inside manipulated it with his hands and feet. The Turk made no decisions. I will tentatively suggest here that in order to create an artificially intelligent system, the process of stupefication must result in 1) a new task, which 2) can be performed by a different entity and which 3) involves some level of decision making.

I mention this last qualification because I could easily make a machine that “writes novels” by programming it to print out novels that I had written. This would be The Turk all over again. And few people would be impressed.

I will address the idea of decision making later. To that end, consider the following tasks.

A Less Trivial Task: Creating a novel that has never been written before.

An Even Less Trivial Task: Stupefying the previous task