Mad!

Born sixty years ago this month.

With a little help from Ramsey Lewis, Halloween 1960, in a worryless state.

God Have Mercy

"The angels are white!"  -- Louis Lambert

Vertigo finally made it, to the top of the every-year-ending-in-2 worldwide critics list, as Best Movie of All Time.

Let us look at the ending.

The madman has found out. He has found out that the girl of his sexless dreams is a cheap, dumb, lowlife, Kansas-born, non-dreamy, non-aristocratic slut. Used-up; and a user. Yet there she is: stripped and naked, giving him her soul and body, her hair color, name, wardrobe, her manner of speaking; yearning, wilfully transformed back into his dream image; beautiful, young, madly in love -- as much his as any woman could be. And the sick dried-up old man can only say to himself: "It's too late, it's too late. . . There's no bringing her back."

And she jumps. Yes, jumps. The nun is the sign of her future -- alone again, loveless, betrayed, rejected, once more cast aside. "Oh, no... No!"

And he? Returned to the land of self-pity and loss -- self-crucifixion -- he doesn't even move to call anyone in hopes of saving her. She isn't worth it. For there's no bringing her back.

God have mercy.

Coming to a Beer Hall Near You

The Nazi wing of the US National Security State twitching its hips over Barack Obama's electoral use of his worldwide mass-murder campaign. This coming from the wing fully empowered by Bush/Cheney -- the Beavis & Butthead of "Terror War" political exploitation.

Not This Time

"God gave Noah the rainbow sign:

 No water -- the fire next time."

1992

2012

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Men and Not Men

Chris Floyd. And Dan Ellsberg:



And the man himself:

Slaughter on 7th Avenue

Another Kennedy put down by the US murder state, this one Darius. Black, not white. Agnostic, not Catholic. Poor, not rich. A street performer, not a public servant.

This is what happens to you in what once the greatest and most alive city in the world -- now little more than a Zagats-sucking corporatist prison camp, where office mummies are protected, and where humans are . . . .

THIS:

Joy to the World

In late May, after L.A. was bounced by the OkiDogs, the future looked grim: age, no bench, no perimeter game, salary-capped out, disgruntled players, an increasingly frustrated and domineering superstar, a shaky head coach. What Laker fan could possibly have imagined we would be glorying in the greatest off-season by a General Manager in NBA history? Getting Steve Nash for nothing, keeping Pau Gasol, keeping Metta World Peace, re-signing Jordan Hill, signing Antawn Jamison, adding Jodie Meeks. And now -- Dwight has arrived.

Mitch Kupchak for President! Bill Simmons with a funny, and honorable (considering he's a Celtics Freak), appreciation.

Tops

The British Film Institute has unveiled its every-10-year critics' list of the greatest movies of all time. And its secondary list of directors' choices.

Strangely, I wasn't invited to participate. So here goes, in chronological order:

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne (1945)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Out of the Past (1947)
Late Spring (1949)
Europa '51 (1952)
Ugetsu (1953)
Madame de. . . (1953)
Ordet (1955)
The Wrong Man (1956)

Boy, movies sure peaked a long time ago, didn't they?

Gore Redux

A very nice PBS Masters from 2003. He will only get bigger with time. . .

Falling

Okay, we know Chris Nolan is just another lump shat out by our corporatist movie culture. Not worthy of our attentions.

Eileen Jones is.

Vidal

A beautiful farewell from Chris Floyd.