.. so early yesterday afternoon, Weed comes by the shop to hang out. He had slept over his friend’s house the night before and when he returned to the crack den, the doors were locked and the Crack Whore wasn’t answering her phone.

Because I had received both emails and text messages from her in the past two weeks where she “casually” mentioned that she had a job :: surprised, yes.. but there is never any telling what she’s going to do or how long it’s going to last :: I just as casually mention to Weed that maybe.. yknow… she’s at work.

He looked at me like I had just sprouted another head before falling out laughing.

ME: What?

WEED: Oh yea. A job. That’s funny.

ME: No.. seriously. She told me that she had a job.

WEED: Maybe walking to her car… ( still laughing )

ME: NO! SERIOUSLY! That’s what she said.

WEED: She doesn’t work. She can barely get out of bed. That’s why she keeps hounding me to get TWO jobs.

ME: Oh. Well, it is called a “blow job” so maybe that’s what she was talking about.

WEED: Yea, your probably confused because when YOU think “work” you assume it’s standing on your feet.

Not my fault her kids know her so well.

I have to say thought that I was pretty out done for like a hot second. I mean, there’s no reason to lie about it.. especially to me.. but whatever.

He was still at the shop when I was getting ready to leave. Chief comes out from the back and tells me that Weed wanted to know if it was okay with me to hang at the house and watch some tv or something.

I like that fact that Weed was concerned about my feeling about it so I was like.. yea.. whatever. I don’t care. I was actually thinking the same thing earlier because Chief gets antsy sometimes when there’s people just hanging out at the shop getting in his way.

So I take Weed home with me and he tried to call her a few times with no answer. At one point, he walked to the crack den.. found it still locked.. and walked back.

I asked him if he was going to sleep over.. he said he didn’t know. I told him as long as he didn’t piss on my floor or throw empty cold capsule blister packs in my toilet then he was more then welcomed. But if he wanted to leave, I’d drive him back to the den.

He wound up staying so I texted the Crack Whore to let her know “… so you don’t worry” that Weed was at our house and was going to stay over the night.

She never responded.

This morning, after driving Bubba to school, I swung by her place and sure enough her car wasn’t there.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she was either strung out.. in jail.. or OD’d but it looks like I’m going to have a house guest for a time and even though she HAD nine lives.. I’m thinking she’s only down to two or three by now.

An Australian bomb-sniffing dog that disappeared during a fierce battle in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters more than a year ago has been found safe and well. It has since rejoined its Australian unit.

Sabi, the black Labrador bitch was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country’s highest bravery medal. Sabi’s trainer was one of those wounded in the skirmish.

The four-year-old dog, which was declared ‘missing in action’ when she could not be found,  was picked up by a US soldier last week, who quickly realized she was the lost Labrador her comrades had been desperately trying to find.

It may never be known exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months, but the fact that she was in good condition when she was found indicated somebody had been looking after her, a military spokesman said.

The dog was returned to the Australians’ base in the province just in time for a visit by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was photographed with the U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal petting Sabi.

Hey everyone.  Remember me?

I think it’s safe to say that my time of being something of a regular in the online writing circles has come to an end.  I knew that making the change from freelancing to 9-5ing would result in that but it had to be done.  Of course, this means that I am behind of new anthology guidelines, the success of friends and tons of blog reading and Twitter updates.  (Wow, that almost sounds like a job in itself).

I am beginning to find a groove for myself as far as a schedule is concerned.  While writing time is few and far between (mostly lunch breaks and every now and then at night), I am beginning to value it so much more.  Also, oddly enough, this new 9-5 schedule makes acceptances much sweeter.

For instance, I was on a high for about 2 days when I received word that my story “The Mannerisms of Runners” has been accepted into 2010’s 52 Stitches.

Meanwhile, my endless pimping of Debris continues.  Check out the interview over at one of my old freelancing haunts Freelance Writerville.

And as always, for any of you that may have purchased it already, your comments and reviews are appreciated.

Now back to writing…it could very well be the only writing I get done this week…

At long last, a quick review of the 5 Nov 09 episode of “The Border”.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  White Pine Pictures emailed me asking to mention the fact that the episode was going to portray storyline in Afghanistan, and asking for feedback on the military stuff.  I shared this info here, at The Torch, and on Milnet.ca.  I watched a preview DVD sent to me by White Pine, but received NO other compensation or remuneration.

As part of a storyline involving a Canadian and American official being kidnapped during a liaison visit to Afghanistan (with a certain amount of stereotype-casting – the Canadian is calm, cool and polite, while the American is more forward, aggressive and, at times, rude), we see a bit of Canadian military presence in the episode, mostly a red-haired colonel speaking to Canadians and Americans trying to get the nabbed folks rescued.

In one scene, where said red-haired colonel is surveying the scene of a shoot-out, he’s wearing a beret with a Royal Canadian Regiment cap badge.  Other troops in the area are wearing helmets, so I think the officer would have been wearing a helmet, too.

Another scene that caught my eye was at the end during the rescue of the Can-Am hostage duo.  The hostages try to deal with their captors on their own, and end up with an Afghan of some sort disarmed on the floor.  During the rescue sequence, with gunfire and explosions in the background, we see an allied soldier of some nationality open the door, look in and tell the hostages to stay down before he moves on elsewhere outside the room.

I’ve never been part of a hostage rescue team, or even close, but I’m thinking such teams wouldn’t just go by and leave the hostages unattended, especially with some kind of bad guy in the room with some kind of weapon near him.  I’m thinking they would be eager to secure the hostages, take care of any wounds they may have, and get them out safely ASAP.

All this said, it’s ENTERTAINMENT, and I did find the episode entertaining, so if you like the series, you’ll enjoy this episode as well.

Don’t bother looking for spoilers, though.

Pine Tree Pictures, producers of CBC TV’s “The Border” sent me a preview copy of the 5 Nov 09 episode “Missing in Action”.   It takes place in Afghanistan (produced on a set in Caledon, Ontario).

I’ll save a more detailed review for after the show airs, but I’m sharing a bit of haiku as a teaser (with another teeny preview here at The Torch):

Two government men.

Which has more secrets to hide?

The more “foreign” one?

Tune in, and let me know what you think.

Its been a long time since I last blogged and damn it feels good to be back !!!

Baby Official is currently in ‘Upgrade’ mode people so news will be annoucned in coming weeks. All I can say is 2010 will be a year nobody will for get.  I’ll be blogging every day now people about near enough everything so expect to get bored of me ha !

Ciao.

Oh…and this be the sh!t im bumping now.

I’ve been m.i.a recently. I don’t know I guess things been pretty bland so I haven’t had anything circulating in my head. And I’m not gonna force myself to blog lol. So I don’t know maybe some of yall been disappointed in my lack of production. Hopefully something sparks the writer in me. (Hopefully its something good)

I finally met someone who knows my pain of losing Sky the night he fell 15 floors to a quick and hopefully painless death.  4 years seems like only yesterday when I remember seeing his frail snow-white little body.  I was a coward not to go near him but I was too afraid to show my weakness in front of those people who only were probably laughing at a person mourning over a tiny kitten with no breed…this little kitten I would not have seen in the dark had he not cried out amongst the tricycles parked along Reliance Street that one night.  My memory remains but my Sky is still gone.  I had almost forgotten till Mia lost Thirty last week.

I had almost forgotten how much it hurt till I saw Mia hurting.   How many people in the office see the Mia that I see?  The past 2 weeks were an emotional upheaval  tainted by people who are not whom they say they are.  Lost or stolen possessions pale in comparison to a mediocre world’s lack of connection magnified by betrayal.  Mia is strong.  Mia is far from mediocre.  Mia, who understands nuclear physics more than tying shoelaces, is different.  Mia makes sense because everyone else and everything else doesn’t.  The irony is that everyone and everything else has become more predictable.  Therefore, it was really a question of acceptance or not.   It might seem rational to embrace what is practical, present or popular but my own kind disgusts me for what the people have become.

Shame…a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety as it is defined by Merriam.  It is rather hilarious to see how it is defined in this country because not much seems to be an  “impropriety” except  when I sent an email putting someone else accidentally  to shame over something he should be ashamed about to begin with.  This individual happens to be a homosexual.  He forgot that.  He belittled his own sister in front of non-family members.  He forgot that.  He went on sick leave when he really was not sick.  He forgot that.  He is only nice to people when he has an immediate need.  He forgot that or he doesn’t see that.  He talked about one instance of shame because it brought light to what he did in front of many people.  Yes, a convenient shame indeed…What a tragedy of a person.

If my shame is only the susceptibility to an emotion, then I accept that for events that transpired in the last 3 weeks.  Poor Mia.  Sweet Mia.  How could I think so much for myself when a friend has been in greater need?  She likens herself to a Venus flytrap though she closed in on herself without a prey…now that’s a shame!

My dear friend Michele Moscapicadura recently sent me the original file for the missing pet notice she created when her cat was lost.

I think it’s apparent that this cat is a bit of an asshole and Michele had mixed feelings about Mia’s return.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIVINE STYLER – WORD POWER (1989)

To say that many of Ice T’s Rhyme Syndicate turned out to be perpetual obscurities and/or underachievers is an understatement.   For every Everlast, Lord Finesse and Grandmaster Caz, there are several almost unknowns, even solely within hip-hop.

Divine Styler is one of them.  Despite being active for over 20 years – having released 3 studio albums and made dozens of guest appearances – he has unfortunately stayed very much off the radar, even within hip-hop itself.

To call Divine Styler “afrocentric” doesn’t quite do his steez enough justice.  Afrocentric he certainly was (…is), yet he shunned the favoured shouting-in-your-ear method of his contemporaries, in favour of a much more mellow, sophisticated, and in no small way funky vibe.  Word Power is less of an album, more of a journey through a diverse aural landscape, a sincere documentation of Islam and its elements of mysticism, beautifully littered with James Brown samples and production from Bilal Bashir, as well as Divine Styler himself.

Having burst onto the scene in 1989 with his debut single “Ain’t Saying Nothing/Tongues of Labyrinth”, Divine Styler soon followed up with Word Power, and dropped a similarly off the wall – albeit less well received – album in 1992, entitled Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light.

And then…nothing.  Barring a brief involvement with House Of Pain’s 1996 album, Divine Styler had all but disappeared off the face of the earth.  During this time, he converted to sunni Islam – having thus far been a 5%-er – and made pilgrimmage to Mecca.

However, despite the obscurity of his hip-hop career, his absence did not go unnoticed, and interest in Divine Styler reached almost cult-like status when hip-hop journalist Ryan Somers attempted to call him out of retirement via the medium of his magazine/fanzine, conveniently entitled “In Search Of Divine Styler”.  Some skillful scrolling through this fine webpage will enable you to pull up covers for every issue of the mag – which also covered broder hip-hop topics – and MudScout Media has the skinny on the mag’s creation.

Divine Styler’s long-awaited comeback eventually happened in 1999, with Wordpower Vol.2: Directrix, which was again a powerful ode to the Islam that had come to play such an important part in Divine Styler’s life.

Word Power is long out-of-print and is painfully hard to find, so as usual, you can cop it here:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD DIVINE STYLER – WORD POWER (1989)

by ChiefJimbolaya:

©2009 Aaron Klein:

[Ed: note to readers - our review was conducted on NTSC version of game, the PAL version in all PAL territories will not be available until March 2010. Why so long . . . we have no idea, perhaps it will be a complete rebuild? - who knows. So unless you have a NTSC Xbox 360, or live in Nth America, then this will have to be on your wish list if you're in any of the PAL territories - you can however get a taste of it via XboxLIVE's Demo if you like]

If you could go back in time, would you attempt to change history for personal enrichment or to prevent atrocities?

Or would to restrain yourself in order to preserve the causality that leads to your existence, or in fear of unleashing a worse future by preventing mankind from learning from its mistakes?

That is the question at the heart of Darkest of Days, a new game from Phantom EFX of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The game represents Phantom’s first entry in the first-person shooter genre and its first appearance on the Xbox 360.

• Darkest Of Days Trailer

In Darkest of Days you take the role of a soldier in General Custer’s last stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn. You suffer an arrow to the groinal region, but before you succumb to a scalping, a stranger in futuristic body armor appears out of a shimmering blue orb to rescue you.

This is your recruitment. As it turns out, your transfer order to Custer’s army was lost and you are listed MIA, making you an ideal candidate as a temporal soldier.

So you are enlisted by a mysterious organization called KronoteK which has unlocked the secrets of time travel. The organization’s credo is that time travel must be used only for observation, and never to alter history.

History can be boring – or not

But simply watching Stonehenge being built wouldn’t make a good game. No, we need some antagonists, provided via a second group of time travelers who are actively manipulating history to ensure the demise certain lineages. The identity of the second group is part of the game’s narrative twist, but you can figure it out if you think about it.

So certain people who were supposed to survive have suddenly found themselves on the front lines of some of history’s bloodiest battles, and you and your assault rifle have to ensure they survive to protect the timeline.

The game’s greatest hook is the possibility of bringing advanced weaponry back in time to unleash unprecedented destruction.

It is undoubtedly fun to wield an assault rifle during the Civil War, although it never feels as if you get to use it enough. For a solid chunk of the game you use period weapons and that can be a drag when that means a single-shot black powder musket.

Every level takes place on a gigantic, outdoor map. There are no dark, metallic corridors in this game. These maps are recreations of historic battlefields. The ability to explore is hampered, however, by the inability to hop over wooden fences or climb steep hills.

The Great Wars of time

Even though the game promises participation in various time periods, only four are represented and more than three quarters of the game takes place in either the Civil War or The Great War.

WWII is represented only in a couple levels, and the finale amidst the exploding volcano at Pompeii is an excitingly fresh setting, yet woefully underutilized.

These historic locations provide a backdrop for new experiences to gaming and perhaps a more adult approach. Lining up with Union Soldiers in the battle for the cornfield at Antietam and staring down lines of Confederate muzzles is a visceral experience that captures the insanity of the fighting style.

Likewise, being marched into a WWII prisoner camp in the rain with hundreds of other captured soldiers creates an emotionally charged atmosphere and a different approach in a genre saturated with WWII games.

• Darkest Of Days Dev Walkthrough

Developer 8Monkey Labs developed a new physics engine dubbed Marmoset, which recreates the frantic pace of battles by rendering more enemies than any first-person shooter before. Hundreds of non-playable characters can be on screen at a time, each with its own AI. Modern weapons are needed at times just to even the odds.

Concessions were made – sadly

Darkest of Days has an interesting premise with philosophical implications and a great hook.

However, the implementation is not without problems and the technical necessities to render hundreds of enemies at a time means concessions are made in the graphics department.

Enemies largely look and act the same, and can be difficult to pick out against the background. The textures are dull. Enemy and ally AI can be confusing.

During my play thru I encountered a hill where all the trees were floating three feet above the ground. More frantic moments are occasionally plagued by frame rate issues.

Segues between missions take place in a lifeless metallic room where you take orders from someone through a view screen. The pacing is not always frantic, and the slower parts can be tedious as you simply march from one objective to the next.

The major dysfunction to ease of playability is the map system. There is no mini map on the screen and pulling up the main map does not pause the game. The lack of a radar or mini map makes it even harder to identify nearby threats or navigate to the next objective.

Reloading weapons is also a chore, as a mini game determines whether your gun jams. The variety of weapons is also limited and you can only carry two at a time.

No collectibles or hidden skulls here people

But for its faults, Darkest of Days never completely falls apart. It is rough around the edges, but everything that needs to work does work. It is a very bare-bones, raw experience.

There is no multiplayer and no collectibles to search for. No flash or frills. The focus is on the delivery of frenzied battles and dedication to the theme.

If you judge a game based on graphics, frame rate and twitch shooting alone, you will not like Darkest of Days.

But if you enjoy games that provide an immersive experience and makes you think, Darkest of Days will be a pleasant excursion from the run-of-the-mill shooter and might stay with you longer than you think.

Despite its flaws, Darkest of Days is a great accomplishment when you consider the odds stacked against the small Iowa publisher of casino PC games in this, their first console title. The premise is fresh in an industry too willing to copy competitors. The game represents a great first step for Phantom EFX, and the franchise has potential to be expanded and refined through sequels.

©2009 Aaron Klein:

“6/10

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Omdat het al anderhalve maand geleden is. In die tijd schrijft Paul Baeten Gronda een half boek of zo. Mad Men Season 2 was dé kijkervaring van de zomer, maar er viel nog fraais te bewonderen. On y va:

• Crank (Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor, 2006). Beetje vergelijkbaar met de gemiddelde Vlaamse rockster: stijf van de coke, in handen van goeie marketeers, veel flash en geen kloot te vertellen. Maar die hersenloze manie is net ook de film z’n troef. Crank zorgt met z’n opgejutte snelheid, zelfrelativerende humor en over the top shoot-outs à la Shoot ‘em Up dat het al net zo’n guilty pleasure is als Doomsday. (***)
• When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts (Spike Lee, 2006). Monumentaal project van Spike Lee, die ermee wil laten zien wat een humanitair fiasco Hurricane Katrina met zich meebracht. Het is Spike Lee, en natuurlijk weet je dan dat er met de vinger gewezen gaat worden, en ook naar wie, maar dit blijft toch een schrijnende documentaire die moeiteloos meer dan vijf uur (!) weet te boeien. Het intrigerende is dat de insteek niet direct van Lee komt: er is geen flauwe voice-over, geen vertelstructuur die aangepast wordt aan verwijtende argumenten, etc. In plaats daarvan wordt het hele verhaal verteld door de mensen wiens verhaal het meest relevant is: de betrokkenen, de inwoners van New Orleans en omstreken, zij die hebben, houden en vaak ook naasten kwijtraakten. Het loopt grotendeels chronologisch, van de alarmerende weersvoorspellingen tot de voorbereidingen en evacuatie. Natuurlijk liep het daar al snel mis: de toestand werd niet ernstig genoeg genomen, te veel mensen hadden niet de tijd, de mogelijkheid of de middelen om de stad te ontvluchten. Sommigen waren ook te koppig. Uiteindelijk kwam het er op neer dat de stad de kracht van de orkaan had kunnen overleven. Datzelfde kon niet gezegd worden van de dijken, die van inferieure kwaliteit waren en ervoor zorgden dat ze stad in geen tijd onder water stond. Veel tijd wordt gespendeerd aan de diensten die normaal zorgen voor de bouwwerken en de gevolgen die de krakkemikkige structuur van de dijken voor de inwoners had. Meest ophefmakend van al was natuurlijk het feit dat het dagen duurde voor er van overheidswege ingegrepen werd. Bush en zijn kabinet leken de ernst van de situatie pas te begrijpen toen het al veel te laat was en inwoners het al begeven hadden in de hete temperatuur, zonder medische aandacht en andere voorzieningen. Opnieuw pijnlijk om vast te stellen dat de grootste, machtigste natie tere wereld, een player die een budget spendeert aan militaire rotzooi dat volstaat om een half continent van alle noodzakelijke middelen te voorzien, niet het benul heeft om in te grijpen als zijn eigen burgers liggen te verzuipen, geen plan heeft voor noodsituaties in eigen land. Het is op dat moment dat When The Levees Broke zijn meest verontwaardigde posities inneemt, en de inwoners, gaande van muzikanten, lokale politici, brandweerlieden en gewone burgers, kunnen dan ook niet geloven dat deze gigantische fuck up had kunnen gebeuren in hun natie. Families werden (letterlijk en figuurlijk) uit elkaar gerukt, gedeporteerd naar andere staten en aan hun lot overgelaten. Deprimerende kost, maar tegelijkertijd ook een bemoedigend document dat veel mooie, kleine verhalen te bieden heeft, van loyaliteit, onbaatzuchtigheid en verenigdheid, de menselijke wil om zich een weg te banen uit de misère. Met dank aan Batarang. (****1/2)
• The Sin Eater (Brian Helgeland, 2003). Ook bekend als The Order in sommige contreien. Gaat lopen met de titel van slechtste, meest overbodige film die ik dit jaar zag. Suf verhaal, amateuristisch acteerwerk, visueel flauw. Slaapverwekkende brol. Niet te geloven dat dit kwam van de scenarist van LA Confidential. (1/2)
• The Painted Veil (John Curran, 2006). W.S. Maugham-verfilming met Edward Norton en Naomi Watts. Beide acteurs doen uitstekend hun best en vooral Watts maakt opnieuw indruk. (***1/2)
• The Dam Busters (Michael Anderson, 1955). Leutige oorlogsfilm over een geleerde die een plan bedenkt om de Nazi’s een loer te draaien door hun stuwdammen met een nieuwe techniek te bombarderen. Boeiend om verschillende extra redenen: 1) het laatste half uur van de film (de bombardementen) zouden van rechtstreekse invloed geweest zijn op het einde van de eerste Star Wars (als ze die metalen bol vaneen blazen, etc; 2) er staat naar verluidt een remake aan te komen van Peter Jackson (en u hoopt natuurlijk met mij dat die beter is dan zijn veel te lange King Kong,) en, meest opmerkelijk: 3) er loopt een hond rond die Nigger heet. U leest dat goed. (***1/2)
• Such Hawks, Such Hounds (Jessica Hundley & John Srebalus, 2008). Bij mijn weten de eerste ’serieuze’ poging om een documentaire over doom(metal), stonerrock en heavy psychedelica te maken. Maakt een beetje een overbodige omweg via veertig jaar hardrock/metal-geschiedenis, door vooral bands erbij te slepen die in de underground verkeerden, maar wel cultfavorieten werden; Pentagram, Groundhogs, Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, het zijn allemaal bands die een essentiële rol speelden in het ontstaan en de evolutie van enkele nauw verwante genres. Uiteindelijk gaat het echter om een exploratie van de hedendaagse scènes, waarbij enkele bands/artiesten meer belicht worden, zoals Comets On Fire, Wino, Sleep, High On Fire, Nebula, Dead Meadow, Sunn 0)), Om, etc. Het gaat over het belang van artwork, de concerten, drugs, sound, kleinschaligheid, nostalgie, etc… Er komen heel wat relevante betrokkenen aan het woord (Brant Bjok, Scott Reeder, Matt Pike, Greg Anderson, Joe Preston, etc) en het is goed om te zien dat enkele halfvergeten bands eindelijk het krediet krijgen dat ze verdienen (Fatso Jetson). Je kan zitten klagen over het feit dat er met bijna geen woord gerept wordt over Queens Of The Stone Age of The Melvins, maar het is duidelijk van het begin dat het vooral de underground wil belichten. Deze bands en muzikanten zijn iconisch binnen het genre, maar uiteindelijk spelen de meesten van hen nog steeds in kleine clubs. Tenzij Roadburn zich weer aandient, natuurlijk. Van Roadburn gesproken: Goatsnake doet een reunie,  en ik ben er blij om.  (****)
• Alfie (Lewis Gilbert, 1966). Klassieker van de Britse cinema, die de tand des tijds niet al te best doorstaan heeft. Hier en daar wat gewaagde grapjes en Michael Caine is bij momenten echt geweldig, maar het is ook allemaal zo statisch en stijf dat het aanvoelt alsof je naar en toneelstuk zit te kijken. En toneel, da’s natuurlijk voor mietjes. *wink* (***1/2)
• Fargo (Joel Coen, 1996). Nog eens gekeken. Funny stuff, yah! (****1/2)
• Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994). Ongetwijfeld het hoogtepunt uit het oeuvre van Tim Burton en waarschijnlijk een van m’n favoriete films van de voorbije twintig jaar: grappig, creatief, visueel aantrekkelijk, met gewéldig acteerwerk van Johnny Depp en Martin Landau en, belangrijk, very quotable. (*****) Dit is slechts een van de vele onvergetelijke scènes:
• Carlito’s Way (Brian De Palma, 1993). Op elk vlak de meerdere van Scarface, met uitzondering van de overacting. De Palma slaagt er maar niet in om een relatie vlees en bloed tussen man en vrouw op het scherm te krijgen, maar het verhaal wordt verteld met zo veel flair (grotendeels natuurlijk dankzij de vrij ingehouden, klasserijke performance van Al Pacino) en zoveel visuele extravaganza (dat laatste half uur!) dat je niet anders kan dan bewonderen. (****1/2)
• Kes (Ken Loach, 1970). Vroege film van de gelauwerde Britse moralist. Eenvoudige film, overduidelijk gemaakt met een minuscuul budget en met amateur-acteurs, maar zo effectief als maar kan. Vergeet Billy Elliott. Weemoedig, pijnlijk en charmant en een pareltje van de sociaal-realistische cinema. (****1/2)
• Missing In Action (Joseph Zito, 1984). Yep, de film met Chuck Norris, de Amerikaanse Freddy De Kerpel, die als stoere militair Braddock (hey!) een groepje vergeten soldaten gaat bevrijden uit een of ander kamp in Zuidoost-Azië. Slechte muziek, slecht geacteerd, lullig verhaal, ongeloofwaardige explosies, standaard B-film camerawerk. The works! Misschien zelfs slechter dan Rambo II. (*1/2)
• David Murray – I’m A Jazzman (Jacques Goldstein, 2008). Documentaire over de man die in de Penguin Guide to Jazz nog de belangrijkst saxofonist van zijn generatie genoemd werd. Ik kan alleszins het machtige drieluik Ming / Home / Murray’s Steps aanbevelen: intense, passionele, woelige jazz die beweegt tussen de swing van Ellington, de broeierige structuren van Mingus en de free jazz van anderhalf decennium ervoor. Sindsdien is er een en ander gebeurd, heeft Murray in Europa gewoond en is hij een ware wereldburger geworden, die de wereld rondreist om culturen te absorberen in een poging om meer begrip te krijgen over zijn identiteit als zwarte Amerikaan. De livebeelden zijn stuik voor stuk de moeite – vooral de scènes met Milford Graves in zijn jonge jaren (die vurigheid!) en zijn spel in een afrikaanse funkband die ronduit verschroeiend uithaalt, maar de interviews vormen geen coherent verhaal, zijn vaak te algemeen, blijven op de vlakte en geven weinig inzicht in de motieven van de man. Een aanrader voor de fans, maar ook een gemiste kans. (***)
• The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973). Al geleden sinds mijn kindertijd, en toch kon ik me naast de muziek (Scott Joplins rags) ook nog heel wat herinneren. Steeds een goed teken. Entertainend van de eerste tot de laatse minuut. (****)
• Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008). Opmerkelijk conventionele biopic die het experimentele randje van Van Sants vorige films volledig mist. Gelukkig is er de performance van Sean Penn, die kameleongewijs weer een totaal ander figuurtje neerzet. Indrukwekkend om te zien wat hij doet met intonatie, energie en tics. Het is een grote performance. (***1/2)
• There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007). Machtig epos met een trager ritme en een meer sobere stijl dan ’s mans meesterwerken Boogie Nights en Magnolia, maar met al even veel klasse. Meeslepend is het kernwood, zowel visueel als qua verhaal en vertolkingen. Daniel Day Lewis is waanzinnig intens als bezeten oliebaron die in predikant Paul Dano zijn tegenstander vindt. Een onvergetelijke film over ambitie, eenzaamheid, misantropie, fanatisme en gulzigheid, met bijna Bijbelse proporties en opnieuw een paar vijfsterrenoneliners. I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! is er slechts een van. (*****)
• In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2000). Totaal andere kost, drijvend op subtiele hints, weemoedige beelden en voorzichtig sensuele muziek van Nat King Cole. Esthetisch sterk gestileerd en vol nostalgie die vast ook zal aanslaan bij al die fragiele Murakami-liefhebbers. (****)
• Teeth (Michael Lichtenstein, 2007). Boeiend concept, die vagina dentata, en het leidt onvermijdelijk tot enkele wansmakelijke scènes, o.m. bij de gynaecoloog (“I ain’t gonna bite”) en enkele bloederige vrijpartijen. Heeft qua stijl vooral veel weg van de tienergriezelprenten die mega waren aan het einde van de 90’s, maar weet zich toch te onderscheiden door een aantal onweerstaanbare grappen. (**1/2)
• Quantum Of Solace (Marc Foster, 2008). De actie is nog geconcentreerder dan in Casino Royale en de film oogt nog geschifter. Hypernerveuze, naar adrenaline stinkende prent met een adembenemend eerste kwartier en overdonderende scènes die keer op keer flirten met de chaos. Daniel Craig ziet er belabberd uit, vindt het toch niet nodig om te slapen en te eten en mag wat coole wisecracks uit z’n mouw schudden, en hij geraakt er mee weg ook. Verstand op nul (want dat verhaal, daar raakt geen mens wijzer uit) en vlammen maar. (***)

NP: Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond

Cerca de 1.800 soldados norteamericanos siguen desaparecidos en todo el sudeste Asiático desde que en 1975 finalizó de la guerra de Vietnam, siendo aproximadamente 1.336 los que lo hicieron en territorio Vietnamita.

Desde la década de los 80´equipos de ambos países han estado trabajando de forma conjunta para intentar localizar en las costas a los militares desaparecidos, pero siempre a bordo de buques de bandera local.
Desde entonces 642 restos han sido identificados y repatriados.

Como un nuevo avance en esta colaboración, desde el pasado 25 de Mayo y hasta el 24 de Junio participó por primera vez en la misión el buque de investigación oceanográfico de la Armada estadounidense (con tripulación civil), el USNS Heezen C. Bruce.

USNS Heezen C. Bruce.

Las misiones partieron de Tien Sa Port (Danang)

Y los periodistas fueron invitados a observar los trabajos conjuntos

Según el Tte Coronel Todd Emoto de la Embajada Americana, gracias a los equipos especializados con que ahora se podía disponer, se aceleraría considerablemente el descubrimiento de los lugares del lecho marino donde se podría haber restos de un accidente aéreo, ya que cientos de aviones de EEUU junto con sus tripulantes permanecen desaparecidos en aguas costeras de Vietnam.

Sonar de barrido lateral (Towfish)

Se pensaba que esta imagen podía ser un helicóptero CH-46 que se hundió en el Mar de China con seis militares a bordo. Tanto estos indicios, como los obtenidos en Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen y Quang Nam serán verificados en misiones posteriores.

Este tipo de misiones humanitarias reciben un fuerte apoyo de ambos gobiernos, y además del aliento que significa para los familiares, estrechan las crecientes relaciones bilaterales entre ambos países.

Junto a estas búsquedas marinas se siguen desarrollando trabajos terrestres, y el pasado 24 de Junio partieron del Aeropuerto de Da Nang hacía Hawai (para realizar las pruebas forenses) restos de dos militares americanos. Un grupo fue recuperado por los equipos de excavación conjunta en la provincia de Quang Tri, y el otro fue entregado por ciudadanos vietnamitas.
Se cree que uno podía pertencer a las fuerzas terrestres, mientras que el otro habría muerto en un accidente de helicóptero.

Never forget.

Tras los duros trabajos realizados por el equipo de búsqueda de MIA (missing in action), el pasado 31 de Agosto los medios publicaban la noticia de la recuperación de los restos de los dos últimos aviadores australianos que aún permanecían desaparecidos en Vietnam.

Lugar donde se estrelló el bombardero Camberra

El Odontólogo Forense Paul Taylor toma muestras para pasar posteriormente a tamizarlas.

Tras recibir honores militares en el Aeropuerto de Noi Bai (Saigon) los restos eran trasladados en un avión Hercules C-130 de la RAAF a la Base Aérea de Richmond (Sydney). Familiares y antiguos compañeros del 2º Escuadrón de 2 RAAF estuvieron presentes en la ceremonia.

Momentos antes de partir hacia Australia.

Saigon, 30 de Agosto. Shane Herbert postrado junto al ataúd de su hermano.

Portado tanto por militares como por antiguos compañeros.

Desde su desaparición (3 de Noviembre de 1970) hasta el momento en que la aeronave con ambos féretros tocaba tierra australiana habían pasado nada menos que 38 años, nueve meses, 13 horas y 47 minutos.

Los capellanes de RAAF efectuaron una breve ceremonia antes de que los ataúdes fueran honrados en la Base Aérea.

Alrededor de 300 veteranos, familiares, militares actuales y dignatarios asistieron a acto de repatriación.

Entre 1962 y 1975 Australia envió cerca de 60.000 soldados a Vietnam. Más de 3.000 resultaron heridos y 521 murieron.
Con estas últimas recuperaciones, se cierra un capítulo de su historia militar.

Descansen en paz

Just a heads up to everyone including my fellow blogging team. I am going to be MIA for… not sure how long. I really need to keep this blog running but with university carrying on in my life now,  it is going to be hard to run this place. I am going to give it my all to attempt a post per week rather than my two(+) posts per week.

Currently my time is going to be taken over by another blog which I am running for my Journalism major at university. My main assignment is to be running a blog with certain class assignments being posted periodically.  This hopefully will  not be  too time consuming and I will live a life, heh. I am currently loving university and enjoying my time here, but unfortunately am crashing at the same time right into the ocean of reality (I know how to swim!).

So once again, I hope everyone can excuse me at a time like this. I am just trying to get used to university and the course load and hopefully I can be successful. The blog will still be up and running, so please keep on coming by.

Thank you,

Ahmed S. Minhas

(www.j-projekt.blogspot.com)

I am really sorry for not updating for the past couple of months. I have been really busy with my school and life as it is. But I should be back on track for now. I will be updating every Tuesday or Thursday from now on. ^_^

At first I thought when I stopped in June (when everything was getting real hectic) I originally thought no one actually read my Animal Crossing blog. So who would actually care if I took a break from it?

Turns out I was really wrong and I apologize.

Another reason why I have not been playing was because my mom confiscated my wii because I placed it in a very dangerous way and the wires I use for recording and stuff for the movie was causing havoc in my room. So she took it for like a month or two. Then I got it back but then I lost my Animal Crossing disk but just yesterday I found it in my desk drawer in my room. ^_^*

I won’t be able to play AC:WW anymore because my little cousin took with her to London. She became addicted too and would not stop playing for the whole time she was here. So I let her take it to London with her.

So no more AC:WW playing for me till maybe around Christmas….

Transitioning to college is really hectic and confusing too lol

And I officially have the cold and not swine flu (relief!) I still feel horrible though…..

So look for updates every Tuesday or Thursday or so.

Please feel free to ask me questions or comments below. I think the more interactive people are with me the most likely I will stay on track lol.

It’s not lost on me that I haven’t been around…. AGAIN. When it comes to blogging, you may refer to me as a poop. That said, i’d rather not be referred to as a poop in any manner. So at least I thought i’d post this to let you know and hopefully avoid the “Poop-eroy” jokes.

There’s alot of unmentionables happening in my life right now and timing has not been as kind as i’d like it to be. I do hope and expect to get some time back soon, and i’d like to try to actually post more than before! (My condolences).

I think that anyone that’s read anything from me is starting to get a bead on the Pomeroy luck. In this case, buying a domain name and tying into my blog…only to lose time and not be able to contribute to it. See? THAT is vintage Pomeroy. Truly.

Obviously you may be curious to know what kind of unmentionables that I may be going through.

Well, know this:

1.    I don’t have a disease. Although whenever a mosquito bites me I immediately check for symptoms of Malaria.

2.    I’m not leaving my family and joining a musical. (Sidebar: I hope the producers of Grease don’t call…)

3.    I’m not held against my will. Other than to my career and to every friggin Real Housewives show on Bravo, which my wife adores.

4.    I’m not dead. (Although I do think it would be hilarious if I die before I post this).

I miss everyone muy mucho. But the Senor’ will be back soon!

Sans poncho.

I am supposed to be working but I am fooling about on the internet. I am not sure why. I have sooo much to do! I have to paint 2 pictures and render 3 more for post work. It shouldn’t be that difficult when there is MONEY involved but my motivation is escaping me.

*shakes head*

…it’s been how long? man, what’s up with that?! A shame .

I miss this place. I miss you…yeah, the one with the eyeballs LOL! If I could get a dollar for all my posts in draft right now, I’d have a sa-weet dinner out .

But life’s stupid busy right now. Hope you’re following my random tweets (look to the right)…140 characters is all I have time to bang out sometimes, with the book taking many creative turns. Oh, and there’s also been some interesting new life angst. Let’s just put it like this…my world and ashe.selah’s world have finally collided after what?…2-3 years. Was bound to happen, right? And who didn’t have a plan for…I came, I healed, I conquered….now what? Us lol! It’ll make sense later, after I figure out whether to destroy the mask, or seal the crack.

Soooo, let’s see *laughter*. I dunno what to say, but this randomly vague thought dump feels good in here. Funny. It only takes a toe dip to make the whole body quiver, pinky toes ok. Thanks for the splash, blog friends.

Hey, did I tell ya……i miss this place. i miss U!

Source

Patrick Kevin (centre) with US R&B group Pretty Ricky.

Five years ago Patrick Kevin was touted as being “the next big fashion designer to come out of the UK”.

The South London born designer made a bit of a name for himself when superstar Mariah Carey was photographed wearing one of his pink velour jacksuits.

Soon after Patrick became some what of a minor celebrity on the underground creative scene, and by now a whole host of famous faces could be seen wearing his trade mark velour creations.

For this young black entrepreneur the sky was the limit!

Then in 2006 when Patrick was asked about the future of his clothing line/company he replied “Billboards, buses, bus stops and TV ads. It’s time to step it up three gears”.

Unfortunately the plan to “step it up three gears” failed to get past first gear.

In 2009 Patrick Kevin is MIA (missing in action) and the Patrick Kevin website hasn’t been updated since 2005 (click here to view his 2005 collection.)

Where are you Patrick and what are you doing now?

Enquiring minds want to know!

It is with much embarrassment that I note that it has been 3 weeks since my last post =p Unfortunately, I am still adjusting to working regular hours again, and what with my birthday, and Lisa coming back in July, blogging had to take a backseat.

Excuses!

Truly, I had wished, after each dinner party or night out, that I had the discipline to sit down to log in a quick entry. Alas, while the spirit is willing, this lazy ass of a body of mine is definitely weak. Nonetheless, I’m determined to recap, as best as I remember, the going ons of July. The flow of the blog might be weird for a bit, but I want to give it a shot anyway.

More importantly, I have decided to finally upload pictures! This is all still a little scary for me, but as a blog reader myself, pictures are always much appreciated. So here goes nothing!