Baron Dave Romm
Marscon Movies 1
By Baron Dave Romm
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Marscon Movies
Marscon 2010 is over by the time you read this. I was busy, so no column. I'm putting images up on my Facebook galleries, and crunching the video I took into distinct movies. The video is in HD, and embedded YouTube doesn't allow for the 16:9 aspect ratio, so I'm only going to make the links.
The day before the convention, Chris Mezzolesta of Power Salad and I went to the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.
Saturday, The Nick Atoms, Musical Guests, reunited for their farewell performance. I video'd most of their concert, and pulled the most visually interesting song for a video.
The great Luke Ski always gives a great concert, and knows how to work the crowd.
I'll be working on the pictures, videos and reviews from Marscon for a long, long time. Follow links for updates, or wait here for links.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ted Rall: DON'T BE EVIL--EDIT IT
A Different Take on the Italian Google Verdict: Should I be allowed to smear you?
Dahlia Lithwick: More Than Words (slate.com)
Liz Cheney says terrorists have no rights. Also, you're a terrorist.
Jessica Grose: The Shame Cycle (slate.com)
The new backlash against casual sex.
PAUL CONSTANT: What Kind of Genius Is Brandon Downing? (thestranger.com)
You can practically tell just by glancing at his books: Brandon Downing is some kind of genius. But it takes a lot of reading to understand exactly what his genius is.
Joe Hill's "Horns" Lets Loose the Devilry: A review by Katherine Dunn
As many of his readers already know, Joe Hill is the pen name of Joseph Hillstrom King, the oldest son of Stephen King. Hill toiled for years to succeed as a writer without trading on his father's name.
Cassandra Spratling: Leonard Pitts shines light on father-son relationships (Detroit Free Press)
For 16 years, columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. has come into America's homes, sharing what he thinks about just about everything. Politics. Parenting. People. Race.
Randy Lewis: Shooter Jennings teams with Stephen King for a wild ride (Los Angeles Times)
The world that Shooter Jennings has created in his ambitious new album, "Black Ribbons," is more ominous than brave and more nerve-rackingly familiar than new in presenting a scenario of the dark days ahead for humankind in the tradition of Aldous Huxley's classic 1932 novel.
EVELYN MCDONNELL: Joan JETT (nterviewmagazine.com)
In the four years that they were together, the quintet of teenage girls that made up The Runaways cut a swath of hard rock, harder kisses, and, eventually, scary-hard drugs through the legendary glam scene of 1970s Los Angeles.
Wolfgang Rihm: the musical omnivore (guardian.co.uk)
Music pours out of Wolfgang Rihm. How does he do it? Tom Service shares an afternoon, and a very fine malt, with the irrepressible composer.
Danny Gold: Take a Bow (nypress.com)
[Artist] Rosson Crow and the boys with the bad reputations.
Neal Justin: "All in the 'Family': ABC has an unexpected success on its hands" (Star Tribune)
When the chips are down, you can always count on family. The past two times that sitcoms were given last rites, it was mom-and-pop operations - "The Cosby Show" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" - that came to the rescue. This season's savior: ABC's "Modern Family," ...
Christopher Goodwin: Alice from down-under land (timesonline.co.uk)
Tim Burton's new Alice has a hot Hollywood career, but Mia Wasikowska still sleeps in her childhood bed.
David Bruce: Jerry Spinelli's "Maniac Magee": A Discussion Guide (lulu.com)
Free Download.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
"An Early Morning - or a Late Late Night"
BadtotheboneBob's Oscar Poll
Voting
The '1st Ever BadtotheboneBob Oscar Award Contest' Edition...
With a Prize! That's right, Poll-fans! A Prize! You like prizes, dontcha? I know I do!
I emptied my little change jar and I came up with $27.54 that I will gladly, gladly I say, donate to yer favorite charity. If that's you, OK, that's cool. If it's Marty and the page, so much the better, eh? All ya gotta do is correctly pick the winners of these Oscar categories... The closest one wins The Prize!... Ready? Set... Go !!!
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Directing
List of nominees
Well then, Poll-fans, here are the contestants... I was hopin' fer more, but, as I always say, "some days ya gets the elevator, the other days, it's the shaft"... My Thanks to the responders...
Margaret from MN selected...
My Picks (which will probably be the same as everyone else's!) :
Picture: Hurt Locker
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Actor: Jeff Bridges
Actress: Sandra Bullock
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Supporting Actress: Mo ' Nique
Adam in NoHo from last week wrote...
Oh, after lunch I would Executive Order an end the 'War on Drugs' and make sure that every terrorism suspect got a very public civilian trial (pantswetters be damned).
Then made these picks and comments...
Now, on to the Oscars-
Best Actor in a Leading Role- Jeff Bridges
Best Actress in a Leading Role- Sandra Bullock
Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Christopher Plummer
All of these are because neither have an Oscar yet despite years and years of otherwise unrecognized work.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Monique, 'cause she overdid it in her big scene, and Oscar loves over the top. Look for Maggie Gyllynhall to receive a career spanning-type Oscar eventually.
Directing- Katherine Bigelow and she bloody well deserves it.
Best Picture- Avatar will not win (Star Wars lost and it actually WAS a game changer), I think The Hurt Locker will take this.
I guarantee no better than 75% accuracy. (I bet ya do better than that, Adam)
DC Madman chose...
Best Picture Inglorius - Basterds
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jeremy Renner
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Christoph Waltz
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Meryl Streep
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anna Kendrick
Directing - Kathryn Bigelow
I'm planning on being big time wrong. (Think positive, I'm sayin'!)
Joe (by- the- Lake) sent...
Ok, BTTBB, here are my predictions. I want you to know I haven't seen any of the films, hell I don't even know who some of those people are, Manistee doesn't even have a movie theater. My predictions are pure guesses so when I win give my money to Marty. (I love Manistee-by-the-Lake, Joe, just as it is. It doesn't need a theater...)
Best Picture - Avatar
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jeff Bridges
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Christoph Waltz
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Mo'Nique
Directing - Kathryn Bigelow
Roy in Tyler didn't play, but sent instead...
I'd like to nominate "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and the entire cast for all categories. Oh wait, that film isn't even on the list. What a travesty!
To be honest though, I have boycotted the Oscars since 1996, when the Academy completely overlooked that tremendous, star-studded, cinematic bombshell, "Mars Attacks"! That film and its all-star cast should have taken home the statue in all categories, including best score for the playing of "When I'm Calling Yoooo-oooo-ooo-oooo." I'll be popping that DVD into my DVD player Sunday evening March 7 instead of watching the Oscars.
To which I replied as the Prize Nazi, "Hey Roy... Cool answer, but no Prize for you, haha!"
He retorted...
I really wasn't going for the prize. I just wanted to vent... as I do every year at Oscar time... about the travesty that occurred back in '96. I mean, c'mon... Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Glen Close, SJP, Michael Fox, D. J. Quarls, et al! How could "Mars Attack" not have been best picture ??? (It was a hoot!)
That Madcat, JD, chimed in with:
BEST PICTURE: AVATAR BECAUSE IT MADE THE MOST MONEY.
BEST ACTOR: JEFF BRIDGES BECAUSE HE'S THE DUDE.
BEST ACTRESS: MERYL STREEP FOR HER STREEP-NESS.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: CHRISTOPH WALTZ FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE DEPICTING A REPUBLICAN.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: MO'NIQUE FOR KICKING ASS IN A KICK ASS FILM.
BEST DIRECTOR: KATHRYN BIGELOW FOR MAKING THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR.
ENJOY THE OSCARS EVERYBODY!
And finally, in her first Poll appearance, let's have a round of applause for...
Marty! (and 'bout time, too, dagnabbit...)
1. Best Picture: "The Hurt Locker"
2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
(It's his 'turn')
3. Actress: : Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
(It's her 'turn')
4. Supporting Actor Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
5. Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
6. Directing: Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
I don't think the academy is ready to select a woman as best director, especially one who was married to James Cameron - so they cancel each other out. Jason Reitman is too young, so it's between Tarantino & Daniels. I'd prefer Tarantino, but figure they feel they need to give a big prize to 'Precious'.
After all, Hollywood is just high school, but with prettier people
Good Luck to all you brave predictors!
BadToTheBoneBob
List of winners at the 82nd annual Oscars
1. Best Picture: "The Hurt Locker"
2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
3. Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
4. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
5. Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
6. Directing: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker";
Complete List of Winners - Oscars - 2010
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Two-Fer Links
RJ
Hi there
Two possible for you here - both science and nature type.... thanks for taking a look!
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Started out sunny, got cloudy, and then, more rain.
Oscars - 2010
Razzies - 2010
Saturday Night
Razzies
Sandra Bullock warmed up for the Academy Awards with a stop at the Razzies to collect a dubious honor: a worst-actress prize for her romantic comedy flop "All About Steve."
Bullock swung by the Razzies on the eve of her expected triumph at Sunday's Oscars, where she is considered the favorite to win best actress for "The Blind Side." If she wins Sunday, Bullock will be the first person to win an Oscar and a Razzie over the same weekend.
"I think this is an extraordinary award," said Bullock, who had promised throughout awards season that if she won the Razzie, she would accept it in person. "And I didn't realize that, in Hollywood, all you had to do was say you'd show up, and then you'd get the award. If I'd known that, I would have said I was appearing at the Oscars a long time ago."
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was picked as last year's worst picture and won two other Razzies, worst director for Michael Bay and worst screenplay for Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Razzies
Theory Of Relativity On Display
Einstein
In a darkened room in Jerusalem, the world was given a rare glimpse on Sunday into the mind which unlocked the secrets of the universe.
The display of 46 pages, each handwritten by Albert Einstein, marks the first time the complete, original manuscript of his landmark "General Theory of Relativity" has been presented in public.
The exhibit, which officially opens on Sunday night, forms part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities and coincides with Einstein's birthday on March 14.
Written in Einstein's home in Berlin in 1916 and donated to Jerusalem's Hebrew University during its inauguration in 1925, each page is covered with the scientist's spidery script and mathematical formulas.
Einstein
New Music Museum
Jamaica
Jamaica plans to open a music museum next year that officials say will feature rare pieces from the island's music history, such as the sole album that the late reggae star Bob Marley produced before he gained international fame.
Artifacts will include a cassette tape in which another reggae great, Peter Tosh, jams a blues song with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, museum curator Herbie Miller said Sunday.
The tape was recorded in June 1977 in New York City, said Miller, who was Tosh's former manager.
It will be placed alongside the album "Escape from Babylon" by American singer Martha Velez that Marley produced in 1976.
Jamaica
Leon Russell & T Bone, Too
Elton John
In an unexpected pairing, Elton John and Leon Russell are recording an album together in Los Angeles with producer T Bone Burnett. Both performers have written songs for the project, which has no title or release date yet.
Billboard.com has learned that Neil Young, Booker T. Jones, Marc Ribot and Jim Keltner are among the guests who have contributed to the album.
According to a post on the Web site of longtime John collaborator Bernie Taupin, 15 songs have been put to tape, "from Stones-like rockers, country-tinged ballads, gospel and even a Sinatra-like weepy similar to something torn from the grooves of 'In the Wee Small Hours.'"
Russell, 67, has been largely out of the spotlight in recent years, releasing albums on his Leon Russell Records label. He underwent brain surgery in January, but Taupin says "his playing is masterful as ever and his contribution to the project grows more exciting with the passing of every day."
Elton John
Back On Comcast
WABC-TV
Cablevision says WABC-TV's signal has been switched back on for its 3.1 million subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut shortly after the Academy Awards telecast got under way.
Cablevision spokesman Whit Clay says Channel 7's signal was turned on at 8:43 p.m. Sunday. The awards show began at 8:30 p.m.
The cable operator's subscribers had been scrambling to hook up antennas or find live TV on the Internet in order to watch the Academy Awards after ABC's parent company Walt Disney Co. switched off its signal in a dispute over fees.
WABC-TV
Benny's Brother
Georg Ratzinger
The brother of Pope Benedict XVI has told a newspaper he is willing to testify in the sex scandal rocking Germany's Catholic Church, even though he says he knows nothing about the alleged abuse of boys in a choir he later led.
The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, in an interview published Sunday, also was quoted as saying by the Rome daily La Repubblica that there was "discipline and rigor" but no terror during his 30 years as head of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir in Germany.
The Regensburg Diocese said last week that a former singer came forward with allegations of sexual abuse in the early 1960s. The German newsweekly Der Spiegel has reported that therapists in the region are treating several alleged victims from the choir.
A man who lived in the choir-linked boarding school until 1967 has contended that "a sophisticated system of sadistic punishments in connection with sexual lust" had been installed there. Der Spiegel quoted the man, Franz Wittenbrink, as saying it would be inexplicable that the pope's brother didn't know anything about it.
Georg Ratzinger
Plan Dropped
Canada
Don't mess with a century-old tradition even if it is sexist, Canadians told the Conservative government this week, forcing Ottawa to scrap plans to make the country's national anthem gender-neutral.
The government tucked the idea into a major policy speech on Tuesday and by Friday the public outcry was so strong Prime Minister Stephen Harper backtracked.
Harper wanted to start a public discussion on whether to change the wording in a way that would not exclude the nation's daughters. He took the initiative on the advice of a female senator, according to National Post columnist Don Martin.
The opposition Liberals called it a gimmick proving the Conservatives were not serious about women's rights.
Canada
Rome Exhibit
Edward Hopper
A new interactive exhibit in Rome invites the viewer into the world of American realist painter Edward Hopper, starting with a stop at a bar bathed in the raw but unfocussed light typical of his work.
The visitor can take a seat at a reconstruction of Hopper's emblematic "Nighthawks" alongside models representing the barman and customers.
The exhibition at the Rome Foundation Museum in the centre of the Italian capital helps the visitor discover how Hopper, who lived from 1882 to 1967, worked to produce scenes of everyday life.
Hopper, who worked mainly in New York, travelled three times to Europe, staying mainly in Paris, where he painted more classical oils such as "Bateaux Mouches," "Pont Royal" and "Notre Dame de Paris."
Edward Hopper
Snake Reappears
Elizabeth I
A serpent originally included in a 16th century portrait of Elizabeth I but painted over shortly afterwards has "reappeared," the National Portrait Gallery in London said on Thursday.
Degradation over time has revealed that the monarch was originally painted holding a serpent, the outline of which is now visible again in the work by an unknown artist dating from the 1580s or early 1590s.
But at the last minute the emblem was covered, and the queen was depicted holding a small bunch of roses instead.
While a serpent was sometimes used to represent wisdom, prudence and reasoned judgement -- all fitting attributes for a queen -- snakes also symbolised Satan and original sin in the Christian tradition.
Elizabeth I
Fashion Photo Exhibit
Edward Steichen
Images of actresses and models in fashion's finest clothing, many of them looking straight into the camera under dramatic lighting: This is the Edward Steichen of the early 20th century.
Steichen, one of the world's most influential photographers, is the subject of an exhibit that has come to the U.S. after starting out in Europe. "Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, the Conde Nast years, 1923-1937," started last week at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and runs through April 11.
More than 200 of Steichen's celebrity and fashion photos from his years as chief photographer for "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair" magazines are on display. The magazines were published by Conde Nast.
Many of the black-and-white photographs are of celebrities of the day including Gary Cooper, Adele and Fred Astaire, Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo and Amelia Earhart. There were politicians, like Winston Churchill, and even poets, like William Butler Yeats, who posed with his hair askew. French writer Colette is included. Gloria Swanson is depicted with a black veil over her face and actress Joan Crawford is in dress by Elsa Schiaparelli. The photographs are categorized by years.
Edward Steichen
Burial Chamber Unearthed
Queen Behenu
French archaeologists announced Wednesday the discovery outside Cairo of the burial chamber of a mysterious queen from Egypt's Old Kingdom more than 4,000 years ago.
The necropolis of Saqqara outside Cairo has yielded a string of new discoveries as 10 different teams excavate a previously untouched area of these burial grounds were used continuously for more than 2,000 years until Roman times.
French mission head Philippe Collombert said the mummy of Queen Behenu was destroyed, but the chamber contained green hieroglyphics picked out on white stone known as the "Pyramid Texts."
The text is primarily concerned with protecting the queen's remains and her transition to afterlife.
Queen Behenu
Weekend Box Office
"Alice in the Wonderland"
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's trip down the rabbit hole drew huge crowds, as "Alice in the Wonderland" earned a whopping $116.3 million in its opening weekend - a record for a 3-D film.
The surprisingly huge total easily surpassed all other films in release and gave Walt Disney Studios an even bigger opening than that of the hugely popular 3-D film "Avatar." It also marked the biggest opening weekend for a non-sequel.
In its 12th week of release, "Avatar" earned $7.7 million over the weekend, bringing its cumulative domestic total to $720.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Alice in Wonderland," $116.3 million.
2. "Brookyn's Finest," $13.5 million.
3. "Shutter Island," $13.3 million.
4. "Cop Out," $9.1 million.
5. "Avatar," $7.7 million.
6. "The Crazies," $7 million.
7. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," $5.1 million.
8. "Valentine's Day," $4.3 million.
9. "Crazy Heart," $3.4 million.
10. "Dear John," $2.9 million.
"Alice in the Wonderland"
In Memory
Richard Stapley (Richard Wyler)
Richard Stapley, the actor who appeared alongside Elizabeth Taylor in "Little Women" and with Gene Kelly in "The Three Musketeers," has died. He was 86.
Born in England, Stapley moved to Hollywood and appeared in a string of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including "King of the Khyber Rifles" with Tyrone Power and "The Strange Door" with Boris Karloff.
He took the name Richard Wyler when he moved back to Britain and starred in "Man From Interpol" and other television series.
Stapley was also a writer. His novel "Naked Legacy" was published in 2004.
Richard Stapley (Richard Wyler)
In Memory
Charles B. Pierce
Charles B. Pierce, an independent filmmaker whose inexpensively made documentary-style drama "The Legend of Boggy Creek" influenced the hit film "The Blair Witch Project" decades later, has died at age 71.
Pierce was born in Hammond, Ind., but moved to southwest Arkansas with his family as a child, according to a daughter, Amanda "Amy" Squitiero. He grew up in Hampton, Ark., and as an adult lived in nearby Texarkana, where he ran an advertising agency. But it was his 1972 low-budget movie that gained him fame.
"Boggy Creek" was based on a local legend of a Sasquatch-like creature in Fouke, a town southwest of Texarkana, where retailers still capitalize on the fame of what was called the Fouke Monster.
Squitiero said her father's autobiographical notes indicate "Legend of Boggy Creek" was made for $160,000 but ultimately made $25 million after it became a cult hit.
Pierce's additional directing credits include "The Town That Dreaded Sundown," "Winterhawk," "The Winds of Autumn," "Grayeagle," "The Norseman," "The Evictors" and "Sacred Ground."
He was also a screenwriter for the 1983 film "Sudden Impact," starring Clint Eastwood.
Charles B. Pierce
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