RENE 5:11

I can't say enough about how incredibly inventive I have always found this sequence with its simplicity of set-up, and the unabashed romance of artistic creation it invokes in the viewer. The sequence is a perfect use of montage, sound editing and time lapse; the three musical selections heard within the sequence are in total service of the character, and the music places Basquiat clearly within the artistic tradition of his influences, (mainly miles, dizzy, parker, roach, and hip hop) connecting the past with his present in too many ways to count.

Amazingly all of this is accomplished with the slightest of hand and deftest of cinematic touch by the director, Julian Schnabel, who managed to accomplish this in his first film with the most basic economy of means. This is something you almost never see, let alone see done well in films with all the money in the world behind them.

I don't know about the accuracy of this film's much debated portrayals of its characacters, and I don't really care because moments like this trump all talk of "facts." The first minute and a half is pure movie making, the second is, at turns, comedy, and then tragedy when one knows how Basquiat's story was to turn out in the end.

And I must write something about the unheralded Michael Wincott. He is an acting treasure, one of our best living and working no matter if he's playing a downtown, gay art impressario, a cuban writer forced to name names by Castro's kangaroo court, or a comic book psychopath in "The Crow." Wincott has that rare chameleon-like ability to totally disappear into whatever role he plays without calling any attention to himself; that's probably why you know his face, his distinctive voice, but not his name.

By the way, notice the walls of Basquiat's studio when this scene begins. I love the child-like city-scape painted around him, it's the kind of city Basquiat or Haring would have flourished and lived forever in creating their art on their own terms - if only the world was so perfect. It's a beautiful little touch that reeks of "you had to be there" accuracy of detail.

"I didn't know Tony Bennett painted!"

Night Book, Finis

"I believe in the practice and philosophy of what we have agreed to call magic, in what I must call the evocation of spirits, though I do not know what they are, in the power of creating magical illusions, in the visions of truth in the depths of the mind when the eyes are closed; and I believe in three doctrines, which have, as I think, been handed down from early times, and been the foundations of nearly all magical practices. These doctrines are:---

(1) That the borders of our mind are ever shifting, and that many minds can flow into one another, as it were, and create or reveal a single mind, a single energy.

(2) That the borders of our memories are as shifting, and that our memories are part of one great memory, the memory of Nature herself.

(3) That this great mind and great memory can be evoked by symbols."

---William Butler Yeats, "Magic" (1901)

Shhhhhhhhhhhh....

Sunday Morning...

Face(S)

Face:

Singing face
frozen in time.

Face:

Whispering face
trying not to scream
as it tells you
all the secrets
you'll use against them
later.

Face:

Whithered face
with the eyes of
a young girl.

Face:

Scared face
afraid to come
closer.

Face:

Lonely face
in the middle
of a crowd.

Face:

Desperate face
unsure of what happened
or why.

Face:

Determined face
an endless "to do" list
written across
teeth.

Face:

My laughing face
even though it
does not get
the joke.

Face:

Happy face
Sunday afternoon
listening to the sounds
of the marathon runners
footsteps and the crowd's
screams on the street
below.

Face:

Dead.

A mask
dreaming
he was once beloved
upon this Earth.

Korea Town - Los Angeles, 3/18/06

This is Fearlessness

When's the last time you saw a two minute, uncut close up in a movie? This is the most chillingly intimate scene filmed in the last twenty years. YouTube doesn't do the overlooked classic "Birth," or the actress justice, but a bad share is better than no share at all.

See the film on as big a screen as you can, it's utterly stunning, a fully visualized novella, and an ageless rarity that becomes more and more moving with each viewing.

Jonathan Glazer has only made two films, this and the cult classic "Sexy Beast," a lot of commercials, and many music videos, most famously for Radiohead. It's hard to pick one, but if he's not the best director working in the world, he is our most passionate and daring.

Please, make another film.

To Friends Scattered Across This World...

The Only Thing I've Ever Known Somebody Else Said Better Than I Ever Could:

"The Journey Is The Destination..."

The Night Book Is Gonna Make It Funky For You

"Watch a Hardy Boy Mystery!"

The original booty rap video circa 1986. Ridiculous, yes, but try not to nod your head to this. Try.

And then imagine an 11 year old boy glued to some of the first episodes of Yo MTV Raps realizing, "this is the life I want!"

It's Sunday!

American Journalism Needs to Clean Up Its Act...Or Get A Life

Like, d'uh

PALO ALTO, California (Reuters) - Bigfoot remains as elusive as ever.

Results from tests on genetic material from alleged remains of one of the mythical half-ape and half-human creatures, made public at a news conference on Friday held after the claimed discovery swept the Internet, failed to prove its existence.

Its spread was fueled by a photograph of a hairy heap, bearing a close resemblance to a shaggy full-body gorilla costume, stuffed into a container resembling a refrigerator.

One of the two samples of DNA said to prove the existence of the Bigfoot came from a human and the other was 96 percent from an opossum, according to Curt Nelson, a scientist at the University of Minnesota who performed the DNA analysis.

Bigfoot creatures are said to live in the forests of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. An opossum is a marsupial about the size of a house cat.

Results of the DNA tests were revealed in an e-mail from Nelson and distributed at the Palo Alto, California, news conference held by Tom Biscardi, host of a weekly online radio show about the Bigfoot.

Also present were Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two who say they discovered the Bigfoot corpse while hiking in the woods of northern Georgia. They also are co-owners of a company that offers Bigfoot merchandise.

Despite the dubious photo and the commercial interests of the alleged discoverers, the Bigfoot claim drew interest from Australia to Europe and even The New York Times.

Biscardi said the DNA samples may not have been taken correctly and may have been contaminated, and that he would proceed with an autopsy of the alleged Bigfoot remains, currently in a freezer at an undisclosed location.

Sasquatch

Why is it that every time someone "finds evidence" of Big Foot or The Lochness Monster or aliens, the picture or video that gets "released" is either blurry, half cut-off or looks like something from a cheap movie studio tour. You would think these guys would spend the money to hire a professional photographer if they were going to go to all this trouble, and moreso if it was real.

And Big Foot in Georgia? Of all places! Are you kidding me? The KKK down there would hunt down any black man who breathed near a white woman even if had he been on the run through those same woods for months. Now you're telling me that not one of these guys could hunt down, much less mistakenly run into a big loping 7'7 ape-man until now? Okay.

By the way, speaking of incredible, not to be believed finds, a couple years ago, after a meeting for work at Universal Studios, I once "found" the legendary "Back to The Future" De Lorean, the one that Michael J. Fox drives, abandoned, alone and rusted in the very back of the Universal lot. It was just sitting there, the skeleton of it, its previous movie glory all but forgotten, looking like Johnny Unitas in a San Diego Chargers uniform.

I bet it's still there.

That's Hollywood.

Anyway, read for yourself.

(CNN) -- A policeman and a former corrections officer say that on Friday they will unveil evidence of what they claim is their biggest find ever: the body of Bigfoot.

The thawed body of a creature reputed to be Bigfoot reportedly weighs more than 500 pounds.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, a pair of Bigfoot-hunting hobbyists from north Georgia, say they found the creature's body in a wooded area and spotted several similar creatures that were still alive.

The carcass of the furry half-man, half-ape is 7 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs more than 500 pounds, they say. However, the two are not disclosing the exact location of their discovery to protect the remaining creatures.

Tom Nelson, chairman of the biology department at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, said he's "pretty skeptical" the world will feast its eyes on a new species Friday.

"That would certainly rock mammalogy," joked Nelson, who specializes in the study of mammals. "I see a research grant in my future."

Whitton and Dyer plan to unveil what they say is DNA and photo evidence of the discovery in Palo Alto, California, in conjunction with a group called Searching for Bigfoot Inc.

A photograph on that group's Web site shows what appears to be the body of a large, hairy creature with an ape-like face, stuffed into a large freezer.

According to a written release, the two announced the discovery on an Internet radio show, "Squatch Detective," several weeks ago. iReport.com: Do you believe in Bigfoot?

"The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the Real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi," Dyer said, referring to Searching for Bigfoot's CEO, who has been looking for the elusive, legendary creature in the United States and Canada since 1971.

Whitton is a Georgia police officer who is on administrative leave after being shot in the wrist during a pursuit. Dyer is a former prison guard.

DNA tests on the body have begun, said the statement, and "extensive scientific studies" will be done on the body by scientists, including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist and a paleontologist.

Nelson, the university professor, acknowledged that new species of animals have been discovered in recent decades and that, in science, "we always acknowledge the possibility of something new."

But he said that even in north Georgia, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the foot of the Appalachian Trail, it stretches the imagination to think a family of 7-foot-tall creatures could have eluded hunters, hikers and creeping development until now.

"To the average person, these places just seem like extreme wilderness where you'll find lions and tigers and bears," he said. "The reality is that you're never more than a mile from a road."

The group says the animal is male, has reddish hair and "blackish-gray" eyes and human-like feet, hands and teeth. E-mail to a friend | Mixx it | Share

We're Baaaaaaackkkkkkkkk!

The Dream Team has finally returned, 'bout time.

The Bloody Warmongers

This is footage of a Georgian TV reporter shot by Russian snipers while giving a live report on attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to innocent civilians.

I REALLY REALLY want my hometown to win a championship before I die...

...but I'm afraid a picture is worth a million words.

The Mystery Of Genius

If you are remotely interested in visual art, Netflix this flick, it's truly amazing to watch the master work, and maybe the best documentary made of any artist ever...

Self Portrait

7-8/08

Sometimes There's Nothing Wrong With A Healthy Dose Of "Fuck The World..."

Even Outlaws Need Dental Floss Too

INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER.

Eddie is watching TV and doing coke off the coffee table. Bonnie comes in. He offers her the coke. She does a line. They watch TV for a long, awkward silence...

Eddie: I feel terrible.

Eddie grabs the remote, and crawls on the floor in front of the TV. Flips the channels: Fox, CNN, MSNBC…War, Famine, Catastrophe, etc...

Bonnie: Are you depressed about the news, Eddie?

Eddie: Yeah.

Bonnie: Yeah, the news is depressing.

Eddie: I mean, the aborigines had their problems too. Sure. Y’know. Tigers in the trees. Dogs after his food. I mean, in the middle ages, everybody really had to worry about witches and goblins. But we have stuff eating at us. We have stuff. We don’t even…I mean, why do you think all of the warlords of the world are stashing all of these chemical weapons for the powers that be…Them…Us. Us…Them. The call em’ weapons of mass destruction, but they’re not. They’re very, very selective! Chemical weapons are very careful about what they destroy. They annihilate people…and preserve things. They love things! You and I would be dead. Gas. Puke. Gone. Whereas, y’know other earlier, older people…the ancients…could look to the heavens, which in their minds was inhabited by this thoughtful, meditative…y’know maybe a trifle unpredictable, wrathful, but never-the-less, up there… this divine…onlooker. Us???? We’ve got anchor persons, and talking heads. We’ve got politicians who decide life and death issues on the basis of their media consultants. That’s what we’ve got!

(Eddie spits up.)

Bonnie: Oh boy, Eddie, I think I’m going to need a mangnifying glass to find what’s left of your good points. What is going on with you?

Eddie: Suck my dick.

Bonnie: No, c’mon. I’m being serious here. I thought you had this girlfriend...and it was this…significant, y’know, mutually fulfilling, blah blah blah, relationship…

Eddie: Things have taken a turn for the worse. That’s all. Suck my dick.

Bonnie: Like what?

Eddie: She doesn’t love me.

Bonnie: Who?

Eddie: My girlfriend.

Bonnie: What do you mean?

Eddie: What do you mean, what do I mean? My girlfriend doesn’t want me.

Bonnie: Oh sure she does.

Eddie: No.

Bonnie: Why?

Eddie: I don’t know, but she doesn’t.

Bonnie: Are you sure?

Eddie: Bonnie, I’m a real person. Y’know. I’m not some God damn TV image here, okay?! I mean, you know that right? Don’t you know that…

Eddie begins jumping up and down like a little boy having a tantrum...

Eddie: Suck my dick, okay…suck my…SUCK MY DICK!

Bonnie: You know if your manner of speech is any way of reflection of what goes on inside your head you are lucky you can even tie your shoes.

Eddie turns and stares at her…

Eddie: Oh, You want me to be kinder? Is that it? Kinder, gentler?! Well, I say, “NO!” Be harder. Be colder. Be a rock. Or polyurathane. That’s my advice.

He holds up his whiskey glass to the light.

Eddie: I say be a thing…and LIVE!

Bonnie: Have you ever considered that maybe you’re doing a little to much shit there, Eddie. I mean even outlaws have to take precautionary measures...

Eddie: Maybe you’re right…….Do you ever have that experience where your thoughts are like these totally separate, totally self sustaining phone booths in this vast uninhabited shopping mall in your head? Do you ever have that experience?

She looks at him.

Eddie: I don’t feel loved! Even if she loves me, I don’t feel it! I don’t feel it…and…Y’know…I’m sick of it, okay! Y’know what I mean?!

Bonnie: I’m going to go.

Eddie: What for?

Bonnie: Home, y’know. My kid...

Just Another Poet

K-Man