the OK song

I'm gonna plant a 90s song in your head. It's made mostly by Kevin Krakower aka Kevi, and his "band", 1000 Clowns, which I keep remembering (when I do) as 10000 Clowns. Big difference between 1K and 10K, though the song can still be found, together with the history of it all.

FreeDwarves strikes again

Radu has published a few bits of his best material yet. I feel the need to share it the non-Romanian-speaking populace.

Yet another statutory rape

I stumbled upon a strange story: a 14 year old girl from Iasi, Romania, claims she was seduced by a 22 year old man and he “refuses to continue the relationship”.

Rocco Luka Magnotta: murder, video, arrest and hypocrisy

I haven't watched the video. What disturbs me most about this whole story right now is how hypocritical everybody is about censoring his videos.

Natalie Wood, truth drowned

I finally heard a few days ago news that I longed to hear ever since reading about the weird circumstances of Natalie Wood’s death.

arson and nerd laughs

One of my favourite cartoon sites, xkcd.com has recently sent me on a trip down memory lane. First, let’s look at the cartoon:

Ben Stiller si-un blog enervant

Exista bloguri care ma enerveaza. Totusi, din cand in cand reusesc sa scoata perle. Cum ar fi ce urmeaza.

Nicolas Cage would die 4 honor

..but not for cold. At least that's what we make of a recent scandal in Bucharest. See it for yourself!

the Time-Traveler's Grandma

Yet another myth has been busted by Discovery. It turns out that the old lady talking on the cell phone in the Charlie Chaplin movie from the '20s was actually deaf..

Julia Roberts is now Hindu

Julia Roberts was so smitten with Hinduism during the filming of her new movie Eat Pray Love in India, that she returned home a Hindu.

Her character in the movie, an adaptation of the Elizabeth Gilbert’s travel memoir, she travels to India as part of a spiritual pilgrimage to learn about some aspects of Indian culture, such as yoga, meditation and life in an ashram.

Though Christian (with Baptist and Catholic parents), she reached her own Nirvana during the shoot. She tells Elle:

I'm definitely a practising Hindu. (..) Golly, I've been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting

Talking about her husband Danny Moder and their children, she said “How lucky we are that we love each other so much that we burst into three pieces.” The Oscar winning actress is also very modest about her acting skills:

I have no acting technique. And there’s nothing more boring than actors sitting around talking about acting.

Still, she discusses her work:

I’m always asking those guys to tell me what they want. The same with George Clooney. ‘Name it for me,’ I tell him, ‘and I’ll do it.’

As for Botox, she’ll have none of it:

Your face tells a story… and it shouldn’t be a story about your drive to the doctor’s office.

I won’t be missing her movie!

Sources / More info: elle-jr, wiki-jr, wiki-hindu, yt-jr

VerbaVolant, julia roberts, religion, catharsis, hinduism, stars

Cannes Film Festival 2010 Winners

The winners have been announced. Here it is, time-permitting, a summary of each film.

Palme d'Or (Golden Palm): "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)
IMDB: 8/10, 15 votes - On his deathbed, Uncle Boonmee, recalls his many past lives.

Grand Prize: "Of Gods and Men" by Xavier Beauvois (France)
IMDB: 8.3/10, 11 votes - A drama about Cistercian monks who stand up for their beliefs when confronted by fundamentalists.

Jury Prize: "A Screaming Man" by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad)
IMDB: ???

Best Director: Mathieu Amalric for "On Tour" (France)
IMDB: 7/10, 11 votes - The picture, a sort of gonzo styled docu-fiction means that the actor can officially be recognized as a filmmaker. Despite not having cared about the quasy road trip, traveling Burlesque show, kudos all the same to the highly likable Amalric - who was perhaps the nights happiest winner! - I guess the merging styles and a willingness to test the boundaries of a conventional narrative was something the jury appreciated (ioncinema)

Best Actor: Javier Bardem, "Biutiful" (Mexico) and Elio Germano, "La Nostra Vita" (Italy)
IMDB: 8.6/10, 60 votes - A man involved in illegal dealing is confronted by his childhood friend, who is now a policeman.

Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, "Certified Copy" (Iran)
IMDB: 7.1/10, 83 votes - In Italy to promote his latest book, a middle-aged English writer meets a young French woman and jets off to San Gimignano with her.

Best Screenplay: Lee Chang-Dong, "Poetry" (Korea)
IMDB

Camera d'Or (first-time director): "Ano Bisiesto" by Michael Rowe (Mexico)
IMDB: ? - Laura lives deep in the melancholy of her troubled past in Oaxaca. Her solitary days pass until she decides to end it all. Laura meets Arturo who that will help her finish off the pain of her existence.

Critics’ Week Grand Prix: Armadillo, Janus Metz, Denmark
IMDB: 9/10, 27 votes - War get's under your skin

Best short film: "Chienne d'Histoire," by Serge Avedikian (France)
IMDB:

Un Certain Regard Jury Awards

• Main prize: Hahaha (Hong Sang-soo, South Korea)
• Jury prize: October (Daniel Vega, Diego Vega)
• Special prize: Adela Sanchez, Eva Bianco, Victoria Raposo; The Lips (Ivan Fund, Santiago Losa, Argentina)

Sources / More info: yt-cannes-2010

VerbaVolant, review, film, films, movie, movies, moviez, cinema, cinematography, cine

Good Hair Results

We recently heard about Chris Rock's documentary "Good Hair". Curious, we tried to find out what were its effects in the black community.

Hair is an important subject in African America and we knew that long before Chris Rock made his documentary. No, not Regina Kimbell’s lawsuit (huff-block). Not Hair the musical (that’s with pinky toes, anyway). And we didn’t know it from Imus’ racist comments or 50 Cents’ response, though you can find them all in the playlist down below. We just did. And here are the results we mentioned.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

(Inspired by an Indelible Bonobo Tweet.)

Sources / More info: cr-wiki, gd-hr-wiki, gd-hr-imdb, huff-block, yt-gd-hair

VerbaVolant, chris rock, documentary, nappy, black, african, afro, hair, hairstyle, photo, video, film, movie

Is Mad Men really changing?..

..and if it is, is it for the better? Mad Men is my favourite TV series. That does not say much, however, since I do not watch much TV and don’t even subscribe to Cable or Satellite. And that’s fine, really, because Mad Men, though a TV series, is not traditional TV. It is rather a serialized movie, and you can even buy it on iTunes.

After watching the first three episodes, I’m inclined to believe that in this season women will play a much greater role. As the frustrated British “Secretary” who insists on being called “Mr.” puts it, “this place is a gynocracy”.

Here are my quick notes on the first few episodes. They might not make much sense to you, but to me, these are the most relevant and memorable quotes – the kind of stuff you had to be there to understand :)

Is the show’s metamorphosis a coming of age or ageing? Perhaps the more than 30 video clips, interviews and comments in the playlist below might answer this question..

Sources / More info: consumed-consumer-mad-men, mad-men-face-book, yt

Verba Volant,madmen, mad men, tv, television

How Travis the Chimp went kookoo

Recently, we learned that a movie star chimp was killed by the police. Here we take a look at the story behind the story.

Here’s a list of edifying video clips:

What has really happened (our comments in red, Travis’ in italics):

• Travis was 15 years old, suffered from Lyme disease and had 200 lbs (90 kg) – trait Bush was treated of Lyme disease a few years back (wp, cbc)
• In his youth he appeared in ads for Old Navy and Coca-Cola, at the Maury Povich Show and a TV pilot – cultured and with a penchant for the finer things in life
• Travis would go for rides in his owners’ cars and trucks (they had a towing business), opened doors, dressed himself, brushed his teeth, was toilet trained, would bathe, eat at the table and drink wine from a long-stemmed glass, surfed the ‘net for porn and watched TV with the remote – if he kept the toilet seat down, he was certainly the ideal mon! 
• His owner was Sandra Herold and her 55 year old friend Charla Nash – There are a few documentaries around the sex trips taken by old, rich white women to Africa (reuters, ipinions). There’s even a German tourist who went berserk in Kenya in a similar episode (indy).
• Travis also went kookoo in 2003 when he escaped from his owners’ car and roamed the streets of downtown Stamford. He was caught only when he got exhuasted. – Travis : We goin’ downtooown, baby! Let good ol’ Travis show you a goooood tiiiime!
• The day of his death, the owner had called her friend for help. She could not manage him, even though she had given him Xanax. – Travis : Bitch, what did you put in my tea, I feel funny?!? NOOO! We ain’t gonna talk about our relationship again! I don’t luv u, can’t you get it through your head?!?
• When her friend arrived, Travis attacked her as she was getting off the car. - Travis : What don’t tell me that you thought bringing a 2nd old, useless pussy will make me happy? I liked to screw you when you were younger, now you’re like used tires! Take your pussy off my face, you make me sick! Let me just go away, fo’ Chris’sakes! Gimme the key, bitch! JUST GIMME THE FREAKIN’ KEY!!!
• The owner came back with a butcher’s knife and started to stab him (numerous times) – Travis : Oh, no. Not again. You wanna stab me cuz I won’t pleasure u no mo’?!? And what is that? You call that a knife?!? THIS is a knife!! And I won’t stab u wid it no matter how well u beg!
• Police and an ambulance came to care for the owner’s friend, then Travis attacked a few policemen. As they ran to their cars, Travis went after them, and opened the door of a cruiser. The police officer inside shot Travis numerous times. - Travis : Ye freaks! I’ll show you who’s the King of this castle! What’s that, mon? Drop the gun, let’s fight it out, mano a orangutano!
• Travis ran away and seeked shelter in his cage, where he died. – Travis : Checkmate. ‘Tis a good day 2 die.

At the end, a few clips from Monkeybone – watch it, if you’re in the mood for a weird and krazy comedy.

Sources: ng, ap, msnbc, cnn, cnni, bbc, mw, register, torstar, gm, lyme, xanax, yt

Overheard,chimp, idiocy, rage, peta, animals, pets, wild, call of the wild, dementia, monkey, bonobo, chimpanzee