Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 94
June 17, 2015
Punk strangeness under the stars
Last night, a small group of us went to the Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh to see three groups, each of which puts a punk spin on a particular style of music: Mariachi El Bronx, Gogol Bordello, and Flogging Molly. The temperature was in the nineties when we arrived, I didn't know the first group, and I barely knew the music of the second (but liked what I'd heard), so I wasn't at all sure how this would go.
I had a great time. As Sarah has often observed, live music has a special power. Sometimes at concerts, I close my eyes and let it wash over me, while most of the time I find the performers fascinating to watch.
Due to work, I missed the short set from Mariachi El Bronx. I hope one day to give their music a listen.
I caught all of the music from Gogol Bordello and Flogging Molly, and I greatly enjoyed it all. I honestly can't say which band I prefer, but both were energetic and never slowed for the times they were on stage.
If you never go to live concerts, you're definitely missing out. Give one a try sometime soon.
For a little taste of the tunes from these two bands, try these two videos.
Gogol Bordello's "Start Wearing Purple" was one of the last pieces they performed, and they rocked the house with it.
Flogging Molly's "Seven Deadly Sins" was a song I already knew but is great each time I hear it.
I would happily see either band again and recommend both.
June 16, 2015
Pondering the eternal questions
Sometimes, I simply cannot resist the urge to consider the weightiest of weighty matters. The question before the house today is one of the toughest:
The whiz, or provolone?
Consider your answer carefully.
June 15, 2015
Spy
A post-dinner, last-minute decision took a small group of us the other night to see Spy, the new Melissa McCarthy movie. I'm not a huge fan of hers--her movies usually make me cringe at the awkwardness and the fat-woman humor--but I'd heard from two people that it was supposed to be quite funny.
I'm happy to report that not only do I now agree with those recommenders, I also found it one of the funniest films I've seen in quite some time. McCarthy does what she does, but she does it particularly well here. What makes the film, however, is the combination of the writing and the extremely strong performances of the supporting cast members, particularly and surprisingly Statham. He's been funny in the Crank movies, but here he brings all the intensity of his action-hero performances to bear on screamingly funny dialog.
From the trailer, you're bound to think you know the plot, and you probably do know its basic shape--but that's not what really matters. This one is all about the ride, the way writer/director Paul Feig and his wonderful cast turn a formula into a film that's fun from start to finish.
The next time you need to laugh, check out Spy--and do stay for the credits.
June 14, 2015
Rock the Kasbah
is a movie I have to see. The trailer hooked me in the first five seconds of Bill Murray's opening speech.
If the film can live up to the insanity of the trailer, I will be a happy man.
June 13, 2015
Jurassic World
is a big fun way to spend two hours provided you check all knowledge of science at the door and never require anyone in the film to behave sensibly. Seriously. You have to be willing to jump on this ride and let it work its magic on you.
Really, you go for the dinosaurs.
Nothing about them is quite right: not the names, not the science, not their behavior, nothing. Nonetheless, dinosaurs are so inherently awesome that watching them on the big screen is a huge amount of fun.
Chris Pratt turns in a suitably swaggering performance but adds a little sensitivity from time to time; this role will cement his status as a leading man.
Bryce Dallas Howard, the female lead, by contrast, was simply awful, proof (as if we needed it) that the fact that you're pretty has nothing to do with whether you can act.
If you've seen the trailer, you know the plot. Hell, if you think hard for three seconds, you know the plot. That doesn't matter. As I said, you go for the dinosaurs.
I enjoyed the movie, and I recommend it with the huge caveat above.
June 12, 2015
Who is my designer?
I stumbled across a site that purports to identify my designer. Now, I accept that most people who visit this site are probably women, and the questions it asked seemed to be aimed at women, but I answered them honestly.
The site concluded that my designer was--drumroll, please--Gianni Versace.
Hmmm. I now had to go to the Versace site.
I learned there that I disliked pretty much everything I saw.
I cannot endorse this quiz site.
I thought you'd want to know.
June 11, 2015
Losing two stars
When I was a kid, and in fact until well past college, I indulged frequently in two guilty viewing pleasures: Hammer horror films and professional wrestling. Today, I learned that one star from each of those worlds died recently.
Christopher Lee, a fine actor who was also willing to take a very wide range of roles, passed away Sunday in London. Whether he was being the Dracula of the Hammer films, Bond foe Scaramanga, or Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, Lee always delivered the goods.
"When the Second World War finished, I was 23 and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime. I'd seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. So seeing horror depicted on film doesn't affect me much."R.I.P., Christopher Lee.
Earlier today, the other star of my youth, Dusty Rhodes, aka The American Dream, died at 69. A large, fat man with hair died white (check out the pics in this CNN article on his death) and a voice that wasn't always easy to understand, Rhodes nonetheless managed to garner and maintain a huge fan base in a sport that came to be dominated by men with amazing physiques. His bionic elbow was a signature finishing move; I must confess I might have practiced (with suitable care, I will always maintain) my own version on my brother and sister a time or three.
R.I.P., Dream.
June 10, 2015
Onward, Drake!
Have I mentioned
I thought not.
Well, I'll be telling you a lot more about it as we draw within a couple of months of its publication, but for now, know that is coming, and that it will be very nifty indeed.
You need to pre-order one now.
June 9, 2015
Working all day and all night and all the next day
until deep into the night is not as much fun as it used to be.
That's all I got.
June 8, 2015
The next time you're having one of those days
when nothing is going right, or you're feeling down, or you're cranky, or you're just not quite right, try watching these two videos. It's hard to do without smiling and feeling a little better at the wonderful silliness that the world sometimes grants us.
First, from the '80s, a video with nothing correct about it, but one it's hard not to smile, if not laugh, at.
Skipping forward a couple of decades, SK and the Sixers bring it Shady Esperanto style.
And now we return to our regularly scheduled work.
