June 28, 2007

New Police CD

If you haven’t seen the televison ad above that’s probably because you’re in the US. The ad is currently running in the UK. The whole world is celebrating the release of the new Police CD. It was released in the US on June 5th, so maybe you already have your copy. If you don’t have it yet, what are you waiting for? Actually, it’s not a CD. It’s a 2-disc compilation of all of their greatest music. I’m embarrassed to admit that there are a few songs in the set that I’m not familiar with, but only a few. It’s a generational thing. The Police were my son’s music, but they played a part in my own life, too. This is the music that’s woven through our memories, the music that topped the charts for many years. The new Police CD has all of your favorites and will remind you why you fell in love with them in the first place. Here’s the play list:

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Fallout
2. Can’t Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2

1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

Every CD set comes with an added bonus, a vintage poster of The Police the way we remember them best, as the young men who kept us singing and scripted our most romantic moments. It’s on sale everywhere, so you don’t have any excuse for not buying your own copy. Get going! We can talk about it later, after you’ve had your stroll down memory lane.

[tags]music, The Police, video[/tags]

June 27, 2007

Reviews and More

I’m not a huge fan of movies. Well, that’s not true; there have been many wonderful movies I’ve enjoyed. I’m just not a big enough fan to actually go out to see a movie anymore. I have HBO and Showtime and a few gazillion cable channels, so it’s not as if every movie in the world won’t come to me evenutally, keeping me from having to go to them. My friend, J.E. though, loves movies and does a mighty fine job of reviewing them. She’s honest, straightforward and does not suffer fools gladly, so I know that I can turn to Reviews and More and trust her judgement as to whether a movie is worthy of my time. For instance, even though it wasn’t her favorite among movies she’s seen lately, I found the plot summary in her movie review of The Prestige intriguing enough that I may rent it if it doesn’t come to cable soon. She gives a thorough critique of plot, character and actors in each of her reviews. Her tastes are similar to mine, so I have full confidence in her recommendations as a guideline when I want to be entertained.

How do I know our tastes are similar? Because I’ve read her TV review of season 3 of House and she’s right on the money. I have a bit more affection for the supporting cast than J.E. does, but her analysis of the machinations of the plot are spot-on. She, too, found the Tritter storyline tedious and much overdone, and the “happy,” clean and sober House much less interesting than the complex character we loved to hate.

The “and more” parts of Reviews and More are pretty interesting, too. Books, video games, products and services all get the benefit of her critical eye. I like her balanced treatment of each review she approaches. She bypasses hype and presupposition to give an honest appraisal in each post. That’s made her voice one that I’ve come to trust.

I’ll be reviewing J.E.’s new shopping blog soon, but it may be a few days, so here’s your heads-up on a deadline you’ll want to meet. J.E. is running a contest to promote The Chronic Consumer. You’ve only got a few days left to qualify for the grand prize of $50.00, so check it our now and get your entry in before her generous offer expires!

[tags]blog reviews, blogs, entertainment, reviews[/tags]

June 25, 2007

Israel Kamawiwo’ole - 10 years gone

There will be sadness and smiles on this anniversary. The big man left us ten years ago, but his legacy touches us daily. It is not possible to go one day in Hawaii without hearing his sweet tenor and playful ukelele tickling the ear. I hear it from the radio of the car next to me in traffic. He sings to me as I weigh potatoes and check the freshness date on milk at the grocery. He croons from a CD player as I stroll the beach. His unique version of “What a Wonderful World/Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sells toys and travel on TV. Iz is everywhere. He was - still is - the voice of Hawaii.

Come. Listen to Bruddah Iz. Yeah, that guy. You’ve been hearing his voice in movies and commercials for years. That one song took wing shortly after his death and spread his fame far beyond these islands. Listen to a medley from a new CD that combines Iz tracks with symphonic orchestration. I’m not sure yet what to think of the new sound. I think I prefer the simplicity of Iz, un-fooled-around-with, but I’ll buy the album. We all will. We need it for our Iz collections. It’s more though. Iz did well in his lifetime, but his estate is making more money now than he could ever have imagined. In the last twenty-four hours I’ve heard three people say they’ll buy his “new” music for his daughter. She is ours, too, and we want her to have the financial support of our love for her father, our affection for her. You can listen, read and watch on the Honolulu Advertiser/Bruddah Iz link above and I think you’ll see why. You’ll see why our Sunday paper this week was saturated with Iz, why we were all thrilled with the sample from the new album that arrived with it on our doorsteps.

He called this coast home. I’ve never seen his bust unadorned with lei. He is ever in our minds, this favorite son who spoke for the kanaka - the Hawaiian people - and to us all. The music and the man belong to the whole world now, but he’s a part of us in a way that others can’t know. We know the streets where he grew up, the ocean and beaches where he took his leisure, the drug culture that sucked him in. He was one of the fortunate ones, one of the strong ones who beat that powerful demon. He couldn’t beat his other demon though, the gross obesity that finally smothered the life out of him. His heart was enormous, but not big enough to keep beating under the weight of his nearly half-ton body. He had a heart attack at thirty and succumbed at only thirty-eight. His music has not stopped, though, and Iz has not really left us. He blesses our lives every day. I hope you’ll enjoy a little interlude with him today. Tip your hat to the big man and rejoice that his music lives on.

[tags]Hawaiian music, Honolulu Advertiser, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, Iz, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, What a Wonderful World[/tags]

June 23, 2007

Flight 29 Down

Look what I found, sitting out at the marina right here on my coast.

If you don’t watch kid programs on TV you won’t know why I recognized this wreck of a plane from across an acre of parking. Sure enough, when I got closer, my suspicions were verified.

If there’s any doubt in your mind, do a comparison with this photo from Discovery Kids. The windows and paint job are identical. You can even see a ladder-like configuration of rivets just to the right of the rear window in both pictures.

There’s a pirated video on YouTube that shows the plane, sans wings, in one shot. That shot also confirms that this is the same plane.

The inside of the plane has beeen gutted and the fuselage is ripped open in two areas. The larger opening is covered over with cardboard, and some electronics are exposed in two panels nearby. I was surprised to see a circuit board still intact and surprisingly clean. It almost looks like you could plug some network cables into the side of the plane and download its flight data.

By the way, if you haven’t discovered it yet, Flight 29 Down is a great kids show on Discovery. I first watched it because I enjoy seeing shows that are filmed locally. It’s a hoot to see scenery and recognize it as something familiar. I found the story interesting and kept watching. Kind of like Lost with a planeful of kids instead of adults, and with teen angst providing the drama in the place of diabolical corporate conspiracy. Quality programing you might enjoy, too. That’s skeet’s tip of the day.

[tags]airplane, flight 29 Down, photos, wrecked plane[/tags]

June 18, 2007

Burn Notice - the backstory

I was dead. I walked, I talked, I breathed and I was dead. I’d been burned.

Burn notice: an official statement by one intelligence agency to other agencies, foreign or domestic, that an individual or group is unreliable.

My history was gone. No bank accounts or credit cards, no employment history and (of course,) no past. I did not exist. I can construct or disarm the most sophisticated explosive device without breaking a sweat. I can bring The President his morning coffee without the Secret Service knowing I’ve been there. I was single-handedly responsible for uncovering the diabolical scheme that would have made 9-11 pale in comparison. I possessed the skills and intelligence to uncover the plot that had erased my life. I knew were to start. My mother. The most black-hearted harlot to ever walk the face of the earth. Others may believe it’s a mother’s love that brought her to my rescue. I know the truth. She needs me near, so she can keep an eye on me. She’s afraid I’ll expose her awful truth.

She found out that I remember. I was so young – only three years old - so she must have reasoned all of these years that I could not have remembered or understood. When she realized that I not only remembered the details of the long-ago event, but understood its full implications, she had to destroy my credibility. She had no choice. She’s all evil. Her own prestige within the CIA outshone my own. She’s the only person alive with the right combination of animosity and connections to have masterminded the plot to erase my life. My only hope was to get to the souvenir without letting her know that I knew of its existence. The souvenir would prove everything. It would shatter the reputation that she was willing to destroy my life to maintain.

I knew where it was. I had watched her that night as she slid it into one of my grandfather’s silver cigar tubes, the one with the family crest. I’d seen her put that same cigar tube into Grandfather’s breast pocket a year later, just before his casket was closed and entombed in the family mausoleum. She couldn’t bear to part with her keepsake, but knew it had to be well hidden. She needed to know that it existed, that souvenir of her defining moment. Uncle Jimmy’s finger. The one little piece of Jimmy Hoffa that she kept while the hogs devoured the rest.

Is this the true backstory for USA Network’s Burn Notice, which stars Jeffrey Donovan and Bruce Campbell? Is this why Michael Weston’s life has been wiped out and why he’s spent his life avoiding his mother? Meh! Probably not. Merely my imagination trying to weave a plausible tale. The real story begins to unfold on June 28th. You’ll have to watch to find out the truth. I will.

[tags]Burn Notice, crime, drama, entertainment, USA Network[/tags]

June 5, 2007

1408 - The movie

Do you believe in the supernatural? Do you think that belief is necessary in order to see the supernatural? In other words, if there were ghosts or demons all around you, would you see them if you didn’t believe they existed? I’m mostly ambivalent about such matters. Mostly skeptical, sometimes curious, sometimes almost convinced that there are things out there that defy logic and science. At the very least, I believe there are mysteries we can’t explain. Does anyone doubt that there is something in Loch Ness? Assuming that as a fact, how much of a stretch is it to believe that there are other things, just out of sight, just slightly outside the bounds of our understanding, but nonetheless real? And if those things are real, it’s no real stretch to believe that some people are more senetive to their existence than others, is it? I think most of us can be made to believe, even if only briefly and only in certain circumstances. Why else would horror stories like the 1408 Movie, coming this month from Stephen King, terrify us and make us sleep with the lights on? It’s because he makes us believe, if only for a while, that there are terrible things that are very real, very inexplicable and very intent on doing us harm. The clash where skepticism meets belief is the premise for the movie.

I’ve had anxiety attacks while reading Stephen King’s books and watching his movies. I’m not talking about being scared and nervous. I’m talking about full-blown, I-can’t-breath, my-heart-is-going-to-explode anxiety attacks. The tense atmosphere created by the trailer for the 1408 Movie is almost enough to set me off again. I’m not fond of that feeling, but I know that many people enjoy being scared nearly to death. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Watch the tralier and see what you think.

I like John Cusack. I’ve admired his acting in every role I’ve ever seen him play. Besides, he’s cute and doesn’t seem to have aged at all during his entire career. (How does he do that? Maybe that’s supernatural?) Likewise Samuel L. Jackson. I think he’s one of the finest actors alive today. Both are so good at their craft that they compel the suspension of belief as we watch them become the role they are portraying. Based just on that, I’d love to go see 1408. But then again, based on just that, I think that I dare not go. They’re capable of making me believe. Do I really want that?

[tags]1408 movie, entertainment, fear, horror movies[/tags]

May 29, 2007

28 classics from The Police

There are people in this world who were more excited than I was when it was announced that The Police were going on tour. Tickets for thirteen of the twenty-six European concerts have already sold out, so I guess the guys are pretty popular over there. Coincidentally, tickets are still available for only thirteen of over thirty North American concerts, so I suppose that means there are rabid Police fans all around the world. Some of those same people who stood in line to get first crack at the concert tickets are probably already standing in line for the new police cd, which won’t even be released until June 5th. I’m above such frivolity, of course. It would be very unbecoming for a woman of my mature years to behave like a teenage girl with a first crush just because the group that scripted the music for my last love affair happen to be re-releasing all of their classic hits in a two-cd set that will probably sell out before I can hobble to the record store. You won’t see me down in the trenches duking it out with fanatical groupies for my own copy, even though it comes with 28 classic tracks and includes a 1979 vintage concert poster that makes the boys look like … well, like boys. No, it would be beneath my dignity to exhibit such enthusiasm, even though “Every Breath You Take” still causes me to blush because the first time I heard it I was … well, never mind; you don’t need to know that story. What you do need to know is what’s included on the new cd:

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Fallout
2. Can’t Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2

1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

Hmmmm! My memory is not what it once was, but now that I’ve reviewed the list again it’s becoming clear to me that the new police cd contains songs that played a signifigant role in several special relationships in my dim and distant past. I wouldn’t mind having a copy of the set myself, just to keep those memories, um, stimulating. I just can’t make myself go stand in line to be one of the chosen few who snags a copy that first day. Most people see me as an old-maidish type and I have to admit that I don’t mind my son thinking that of me. Doing something as silly as camping out in line for music that arouses fond memories might make him start to think a little too much about his own vague memories of Mom’s past, don’t you think? I wonder how much the kid next door would charge me to go wait in line for me?
[tags]music, The Police, sponsored posts[/tags]

May 25, 2007

Let there be music

I have a small collection of musicals on VHS and DVD. My sweet son ran down a copy of the elusive Brigadoon while he was here on his visit last week. We didn’t get a chance to watch it while he was still here, so maybe I’ll do that this weekend. It’s not one that pops up frequently on cable, so I haven’t seen it in quite a while and am looking forward to it. It’s been replaced on my wish list by Meet Me In St. Louis. I read a review recently that said many people consider it the greatest movie musical ever made. I’m embarrassed to say that I know next to nothing about it except that it stars Judy Garland. I know next to nothing about St. Louis either, despite the fact that we camped in Missouri a few times on family vacations when I was a child. I’m sure we must have spent some time in St. Louis but I just don’t remember it. Maybe I should do some homework to get my mind prepared for the movie. I’m sure I could find out quite a bit by visiting http://www.schoolsinstlouis.com/ and maybe I’ll ask around on some message boards for more St. Louis information from folks who live there.

I’ve almost worn out my VHS copies of Carousel and Oklahoma, so I need to replace both of those with DVDs. My Fair Lady and The King and I have alrady been replaced, and West Side Story went astray somewhere. I think the only modern musical I have is Chicago. I kind of skipped over the decades from the fifties to this decade, so I might do some research soon and expand my wish list. Surely there were some good musicals during that period that I would watch more than once.

[tags]music, musical, movies[/tags]

May 8, 2007

Bug movie

It’s no secret that I like bugs. Sure, I’ve been wiping them out for a couple of decades, but that hasn’t kept me from liking them. I respect them, actually. They’re adaptive and persistent. I’ve spent hundreds, more likely thousands of hours studying insects. I’ve examined them in detail under a microscope. The more I learn about them, the more I admire them. I also like Ashley Judd, who has never made a bad move, and Harry Connick, Jr. - well, I’m a mature woman and need to maintain my dignity, so I won’t tell you exactly where my thoughts go when they dwell on Harry Connick, Jr.

Knowing that, you would think that if someone made a bug movie that starred Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon and Harry Connick, Jr. I’d be the first in line. You’d be wrong. I’ve just watched the trailer for Bug, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be going to see it. I don’t do suspense well. I get nervous and sweaty and come pretty close to having an anxiety attack when I try to watch movies that build too much tension. The Chicago Tribune has called Bug “one of the most disturbing horror movies imaginable.” Just from the clip I’m inclined to agree with them. I’ve had insects crawling on me more than a few times. I’ve handled them in a lab, both dead and alive. Bugs don’t bother me. They don’t generally cause me to feel creepy and uncomfortable. As far as I know, though, I’ve never had them in me.

They live in your blood … and they feed on your brain.

Sure, that’s what I want to be thinking about the next time a client saves a couple of insects found in a dark corner and asks me to identify them.

Look at Ashley Judd. She’s beautiful. Poised. Confident. I’ve just watched her trying to rip her own skin off. Look at the silhouette of a bug on the other poster. Beautiful. I’d like to have that to hang on the wall of my office, right alongside the “wood detroying insects and their damage” poster. It’s considerably classier than any of my insect i.d. charts. But could I ever look at it and not see Ashley Judd trying to rip her skin off? Probably not. The trailer is that powerful. I’m pretty sure my nerves would not allow me to watch the suspense building, to feel the bugs crawling under my skin, to wonder what it feels like to know that they wanted to feed on my brain, if I were to try to sit through Bug. I think I’ll have to skip it.

You go watch the trailer. If you think you can stand the suspense, go see the movie. You can come back and tell me all about it. Just leave out the details, please. I still have to make a living, you know.

[tags] Ashley Judd, Bug - movie title, bugs, movies, suspense movies[/tags]

May 2, 2007

Would you wait in line?

Tickets for the Broadway production of The Lion King went on sale in Honolulu last Saturday. It’s been all over the news since people started lining up on Friday, with pictures of people camping out at the ticket office featured in the newspaper and on every local TV channel. Now it’s news because early sales broke some previously established records, with 19,000 tickets being sold the first day.

I’ve never participated in one of those marathon ticket waits and I’m wondering what motivates people to do it. Have you ever camped out on a side walk in order to be get theater or concert tickets? What would it take to make you do it, and how long would you be willing to wait? And if you have done it, answer me this: do people steal your place in line when you have to go to the bathroom? Is there an established protocol for such things? It would be a total bummer if you had to go tothe back of the line evey time nature called!

[tags]tickets, event tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets, waiting in line[/tags]