Jesus Came Back to See the Links of the Day

This may sound like heresy, but in terms of using Jesus's crucifixion for ulterior motives, it's not the worst transgression of the day.

-David Ross Greenzo Schwimmer is seeking to shed his Friends reputation (but not its paycheck), including auditioning for the Coen Brothers and directing the new film Run Fatboy Run. Schwimmer, one of the more unlikely TV stars to have founded a major Chicago theater company, completely redeemed himself to me with his guest spot on 30 Rock, but the early critical reception to Fatboy is something a tad below a mild chuckle. Though in Schwimmer's defense, it's in all likelihood not the worst movie directed by a former TV star of the past 12 months. (Los Angeles Times)

-Pat Graham at the Chicago Reader's movie blog gives possibly the best defense of Funny Games I've read so far, and makes a dead-on comparison between the mostly critically maligned film and Best Picture winner No Country For Old Men ("serial murderer, deaf to every human appeal for mercy, goes about his business with implacable dispatch"). My opinions on the film are on the Tynan's Anger blog, where I call it the most important film so far of 2008. Sorry, Meet the Spartans.

-Blackface is back, in the form of heavily applied makeup to olive-skinned white people. It's all coming true! The main criticism of the new Blackface, originating from the Tribune's overbearing TV mother Maureen Ryan, is that the use of racial makeup in non-race related roles masks (zing!) the problem of the black performers being underrepresented. I would be more likely to agree if I was not completely floored by Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart (this year's biggest Oscar snub in my mind). My main complaint about the article is that Neely Tucker dismisses Bamboozled as a box office flop, ignoring that it's become a seminal film in academic studies of the media perception of race (you owe it to yourself to read W.J.T Mitchell's take on the film). (Los Angeles Times)

-For all you future starving artist who have recently graduated or about to graduate (raises hand), odds are you will be very jealous of Nathan Jackson, who went straight from graduating the Julliard to getting a play produced at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. That's great, because I'm going to try to freelance, maybe. (Variety)

-Tired of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, Courtney Love has decided to become a member of the Village Green Preservation Society. Settling down in the small British town of Sunningdale, Berkshire, the town may soon start to resemble Sandford, Gloucestershire in Hot Fuzz. (they even have sudden high-spec real estate boom, which, fittingly for Courtney Love's new residence, was the motive for the false murder conspiracy in Hot Fuzz). (Daily Mail)

Celebrating Easter the only way I know how-Media Saturation of Bunnies

Jews, as Denis Leary says, are a bottle of whiskey from being Irish Catholic (same guilt, same bad food, though I maintain hell hath no fury like the Jewish mother). But since I don't celebrate Easter, I will instead show you as many cultural remnants of bunnies I can think of.

Photo-A rather large rabbit, used to feed North Korea, apparently (though seriously, if the North Koreans dropped killer rabbits on us instead of nuclear bombs, I'd be more likely to submit to Kim Jong-Il).


Theater-From the sick minds of University of Chicago we get the Kurt Weill-esque "Don't Be The Bunny," from the Tony-award winning musical Urinetown:

Film: I was going to with Harvey, a Jimmy Stewart classic, but since that movie never actually shows you the bunny, I ultimately had to settle for Donnie Darko (for the record, no I don't like this movie, and if you do, you're most likely in the 11th grade).

Music: Echo and the Bunnymen, and their hit song "Killing Moon." Like Donnie Darko, the Bunnymen became icons to emo teenagers. Don't know what it is about bunnies and emo kids.




Television: Mr. Floppy from the ranty '90s television show Unhappily Ever After. The show itself was a poor man's Married...with Children, and the notion of a right-wing talking bunny is typical of bad '90s TV, but this clip is worth it just to hear the voice of Bobcat Goldthwait. I could seriously listen to that man's voice all day.

Late-Night Links for those who prefer their Madness in in literature rather than March

Tina Fey jabbed Jon Stewart lightly. Blasphemy! She's a witch! Burn her! (TV Squad)

Combining two of my obsessions, Andy Warhol and Judaism (the guilt culture, not the religion), the Jewish Museum in New York is having an exhibit on Warhol's work on Jews. There seems to be a divide between the cultural significance of the figures involved. Of course, those who know abotu Warhol find that pointing out the distinction between Einstein and the Marx Brothers is useless (and combining Freud and the Marx Brothers is surpringly useful) (NY Observer).

The Tribeca Film Festival is casting a light on the rising prominence of nerd-hobby documentaries. While I am appreciative of any feature on film trends inspired by The King of Kong, I must note the the absense of Helvetica is a GLARING omission (The Reelist)

DMX apparently has no idea who Barack Obama is, and can't believe a guy named Barack Obama would be a serious presidential candidate. Y'all Obama supporters gonna make him act the fool. (XXL)

Finally, while I know it's not that cool to make fun of the dead, this scene from Purgatory with Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni is pretty much the funniest thing I've seen all week (Fairfield Weekly)

The Raconteurs cut out the middle man

With no one seemingly want to release an album the old-fashioned way anymore, the Raconteurs, headed by mainstream rock's biggest maverick in Jack White, have decided to take their turn with a new business model to release their new album Consolers of the Lonely. Idolator reports on the Raconteurs press release, which states the band's already-in-place plan to cut out the industry standard promotional period, sending the album to be ready for a simultaneous vinyl, CD, and digital release immediately upon completion. The album was completed in the first week of March, and will be available to everyone for the first time on March 25. No bonus tracks will be released anywhere, with the hopes that people "buy the album as a whole" instead of breaking it up into individual tracks on iTunes.

While the stated purpose is to help break down the emphasis on first week sales by eliminating the buildup, Maura Johnston at Idolator wonders if the move is an attempt to dismantle the authority of music critics. Most of the nervous derives from the line "the Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it's first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it" in the press release. Despite the misleading suggestion of the article's title, David Bennum at The Guardian speculates that this is more a plea to have the album heard on vinyl, and avoid the poor sound quality associated with leaks.


I'm lessed inclined to agree with either argument, and I think it's more the product of Jack White trying to shake up the music industry in general. Jack White hinted at trying to do this with the press release of Icky Thump noting that they wanted "to release the album as soon as corporately possible." Presumably, they stuck to convention to make nice with new label Warner Brothers, and without the precedent set by Radiohead. Jack White's self-declared hatred of all things celebrity also leads me to believe he's more likely referring to marketing and PR types than critics, who he's generally had good relationships with.

I also find it mildly annoying that after all the media fellating Radiohead received in October, the Raconteurs' release is treated with more suspicion, despite both releases being unavailable to the press before going public. Hopefully, the Raconteurs can back this up with a quality album, as I was somewhat disappointed with the overall album last time around.

Links to cure your finals weeks blues

-A less-than-flattering recording between Chris Rock and a private investigator regarding a rape allegation has surfaced in an FBI investigation of said P.I. It's likely that this was not an actual rape, but it's still not good for Rock's reputation. In the immortal words of Alec Baldwin: "Patriot Act! Patriot Act! PATRIOT ACT!!!" (Huffington Post)

-The San Diego Union-Tribune turned an apology for a comment about Natalie Portman's cleavage in a syndicated review of The Other Boleyn Girl into a call for more female film critics. Gary Sussman at the EW Popwatch Blog has the proper response: more film critics, period. If the Union-Tribune had it own film cricket instead of publishing a syndicated review, it was less likely to offend it's more liberal audience. It would also lead to more female film critics. Maybe the Union-Tribune should put it's money where it's mouth is and hire a female critic of their own. (San Diego Union Tribune/Entertainment Weekly PopWatch blog)

-So apparently while it's not cool for Doc Martens to make graven images of Kurt Cobain in vain, it's okay for Converse to do so. A new line of shoes will feature lyrics from Nirvana songs on sneakers, all with approval from Kurt Cobain's one-woman estate, Courtney Love. This poses an interesting dilemma: while Converse has been deemed cool again by hipsters, is Kurt Cobain still cool by hipster standards? If so, they probably have to argue that Bleach is Nirvana's best album to cover their bases. (Gawker)

-Finally, Tyler Hinman, four-time defending crossword puzzle champion and a man who I can proudly say I've shared a pitcher of beer with at the Falcon, has a video up where he solves a crossword puzzle in record time. Billy Mitchell is not impressed. Ironically, despite being the national crossword puzzle champion and living in Chicago, Tyler did not go to the U of C. (TylerHinman.com)

Anthony Minghella dies, makes me feel like a douche

So after the Oscars I wrote an article on the change in the Oscars culture which, in the process, basically slammed The English Patient. Today my foot was properly inserted into my mouth, when, less than a month later, Anthony Minghella director died suddenly. This gave me an application for my required daily guilt trip, but also led me to realize that I actually feel a lot more positively about Minghella than I realize.

While I may not be the biggest fan of Minghella's most famous movie, I do realize the impact it had on the film industry. It almost single-handedly revitalized the concept of the blockbuster for the over-25 crowd, and let to many similar if under-seen films such as Master and Commander and Minghella's own Cold Mountain (a film that also helped recognize the cinematic potential of Jack White). It also helped put Miramax on the map.

The Talented Mr. Ripley is also a criminally underrated film. Too many saw it as a follow up to The English Patient while not enough saw it as one of the darker, most psychologicaly complex films of the 1990's. It also helped show that Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett could display much more versatility than the breakthroughs implied, and, along with Magnolia, helped revitalize the career of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

While he hasn't made much of significance since Cold Mountain, it's still a shame to see him go so young, especially when he had so many upcoming projects that could have revitalized his career.

St. Pattie's Day Links to Read while still conscious (or not)

-There's a lot of uncertainty regarding how MSG Entertainment is going to handle trying to revive the Chicago Theatre. If it's like MSG's other ventures, it will exorbitantly overpay acts 5 years past their prime and then fire any high ranking female who won't sleep with the Theater's president. I'm Knicks fan, and hence I kind of have a beef with the theater's owners. (Chicago Tribune)

-While we're tackling Chicago, the U of C's biggest gangsta was on the Colbert Report last week. Sudhir Venkatesh, a former sociology grad student and featured player in Freakonomics, is the first Colbet report guest I've seen that actually left Colbert speechless. It was even more impressive that he did it with methods other than the trademark U of C awkwardness. (Freakonomics Blog)

-The Guardian posted a list of the worst lyrical filler ever. Since it's a British publication, it's an Anglo-heavy list. I hereby propose the uniquely American (and Maroon office classic) lyrical throwaway "Chinese food makes me sick."

-Rounding out the arbitrary list portion of the link list, The A.V. Club has a list of crappy benefit songs other than "We Are the World." My guess is that they were tempted to include "Yes We Can," but held back lest they face the wrath of fiery spambots Obama supporters.

-Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich talked about Rogers and Hammerstein at UCLA. Can you say super-panel? (Variety)

Finally, to leave you with a taste of the surreal for your St. Patrick's Day Drinking, I give you the downfall of human civilization.



There's nothing even Charlton Heston can do for us now. Start hording supplies.

Digg is retarded

I was going to save the Tracy Morgan SNL video for the links of the day feature, but I have unwittingly started a controversy on the comments page on digg that reflects pretty accurately how idiotic Internet culture can be. Right now, my comment is the top-ranked comment for the feature. The entirety of my comment was the punchline "Bitch is the new black, but black is the new president, bitch," which I posted because I thought it was the most relevant line from the routine that was not mentioned in the description. Yet, I get lambasted for being a spoiler, which leads me to get "burried." This leads to a brain lesion-inducing debate on what should be defined as a spoiler, and what should be the purpose of digg's comments (I may be the only non-virgin involved in this debate).

This is the side of new media that causes MSM to lambaste it so viciously. Any defense of Web 2.0 has to reconcile itself with comments sections apparently written by Russian sweatshop workers paid $3 a day to subvert American intelligence. I think they let the monkeys on typewriters leave comments on YouTube.

Oops

A couple of times when I was editor of Voices, we'd get an unassigned piece from one of our writers about an organization he was affiliated with. In each case we caught the PR piece posing as journalism before it was published. Nice to know that the Maroon's editing standards are, at least in some ways, superior to that of the New York Times:

A question-and-answer interview on March 2 in Arts & Leisure with the director and a cast member of the Classic Stage Company's production of "The Seagull" was conducted by Rosemarie Tichler, a freelance writer who is on the board of directors of Classic Stage. She disclosed this fact in a note to the assigning editor, but it was overlooked in the editing process. Had The Times noticed her affiliation, it would have sought another interviewer for the article.

The fine folks at Media Bistro break down all the steps that were necessary for this slip to occur:

1. A stringer pitched an article on a theatre SHE WAS INVOLVED WITH to the New York Times.

2. Said stringer voluntarily disclosed her affiliation to the New York Times.

3. Her editor did not notice.

4. Her editor did not notice that the first link when you Google her name goes straight to a Tisch bio that plainly states she "is on the board of directors of the Classic Stage Company and is a Tony Nominator."

5. The New York Times published the article nonetheless.

That certainly stings for the Time's art desk, but I understand how these things can get overlooked. Still, though, ouch.

Sunday Links of the Day:

So I'm going to try to set a new goal of adding notable links from the intertubes at the end of each day. Of course, I picked finals week to start this, but I hope this will create more blog respone in the future. Here are the links that interested me the most today:

Eddie Izzard strives to be more Bill Murray than Monty Python. His other choice is "or death." (New York Times)

The rise of alternative fuels will be forcing movie theaters to raise the price of popcorn. I'd be willing to pay the extra 15 cents just to keep that disgusting movie theater butter at least 10 feet away from my popcorn at all times. (L.A. Times)

Stefan Ruzowitzky, the director of The Counterfeiters, has become something of a folk hero in his native Austria after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Hopefully this works out better than their last folk hero. (The Times U.K.)

Lou Reed, apparently, doesn't like new media, much to the dismay of Gang of Four bassist an excellent blogger Dave Allen. It's hard to choose sides between one punk legend and another, but I take solace in the fact that the one who is younger than my parents (slightly) sees things more my way. (Pampel Moose)

Awesome interview with The Reader's Jonathan Rosenbaum

In terms of appointing anyone the Dean of Chicago film criticism, the only person who can even remotely compete with Roger Ebert is Jonathan Rosenbaum, critic for the Chicago Reader. While Ebert's throat condition prevents him from speaking (though his writing is as sharp as ever), Rosenbaum, recently retired, can still give a hell of an interview. Not only did I find myself constantly agreeing with him (his analysis of There Will Be Blood is dead on in my mind), but he comes across as an exceptionally intelligent man with bigger ideas than just reviewing movies, elegantly and powerfully analyzing himself, the current film culture and the current political climate. If you care anything at all about the state of American film criticism, this interview is a must-see. The interviewer also gives me hope that there are other exceedingly awkward interviewers out there.