Filed under: Television | Tags: Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies, Television, writers strike
Last night there was a Pushing Daisies bowling party. It was a bit strange – it felt like a wrap party, but it wasn’t. It was a ‘we’re all out of work until the strike gets sorted out’ party. I got a picture with Lee. He’s nice.
And apologies for the lack of posts these days – I’m working almost every day as we finish off the last episode of the show. I hope to have more time and stuff to post about once I’m done working on Tuesday.
Filed under: Randomness
Okay. This is wacky. If you see the lady above spinning clockwise you are more right brained than left. If she’s going counter-clockwise you’re more left brained than right. She was clockwise for me for a while but then I managed to see her go counter-clockwise as well. And THEN I was able to make her switch back and forth…woooo! What did you see?
Description of left vs. right brain stuff is below, original article is here.
LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe
RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
“big picture” oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking
I’ve always been one to see a band I’m into every chance I get, but it wasn’t until I started this blog that I realize just how much of a repeat viewer I am. And so here am, blogging for the second time about a Swell Season show; my first post is here. It explains who they are and what their background is. So if anything isn’t clear in this post, go and read that one.
Okay, so “Once” comes out on DVD on Dec. 18th; if you haven’ t seen it, rent it. And if The Swell Season comes to play in your town, go and see them. I caught them Saturday night at the Wiltern and it was really somethin’ else.
I’ve always been a fan of Irish musicians, especially when they meld traditional Irish folk with the rock’n'roll. The Waterboys, The Pogues – you get the idea. Inexplicably, I don’t own any Van Morrison. I don’t understand it myself – it makes no sense at all. Perhaps I should go download some. As I was saying: Irish music + rock’n'roll = I loves me some Swell Season. This show was less striped down than the last time they were in town because 3 members of Glen’s regular band, The Frames, were playing with them. Including the violin and cello players and nothing makes me happier than a stage with a violin player on it. When I take over the world, every band will have a violin player.
Getting back to the show: Glen’s between song banter was extremely winning. The guy’s got charisma coming out of his ears. The best story of the bunch was about a teenage girlfriend who was into the Cure while he was into AC/DC (they couldn’t be seen together in many places) but they found common ground with David Bowie. Even though he was into The Man who Sold the World Bowie and she was into Let’s Dance Bowie, it was common ground all the same. So anyhow, because she was a goth chick he got her a cemetary plot for Christmas one year. She was freaked out.
That story was the lead in for “Lay Me Down”, one of several Frames songs that were performed over the course of the evening. Marketa wasn’t even on stage for an extended portion of the show, and what with the guys from the Frames playing with them, it’s clear that the 2 groups are really just one big extended family. All the songs from “Once” sounded great and the real life romance that’s going on between Glen & Marketa is evident, even though he does all of the talking on stage. And I mean all the talking; I don’t think she said one single word other than ‘thanks’. But the chemistry you saw on screen is clear and they’re both terribly lovable people who play beautiful music.
Okay I’m done rambling. It was a great show. There are a few more pictures on my Flickr page if you wanna check them out.
Filed under: Randomness
One of the fun perks of having a blog on WordPress is that I can see what searches people make that bring them to my site. So to the guy or gal who searched yesterday for “what to pour in gas tank to blow up car”: I sure hope things are going better today.
I went last night to see the Pogues play at the Wiltern, and I gotta say, there’s not much I enjoy more than getting to see bands I’ve loved since I was a teenager play live and still be as great as ever. There’s quite a bit to be said about the state of lead singer Shane MacGowan, about how a genius who is one of the most important Irish musicians of all time has managed to destroy his own life. But in spite of his never ending and all pervasive intoxication, he still manages to get out on stage and sing his heart out with as much emotion and conviction as ever. How he’s even still alive is a mystery to me, so I’ll never stop being impressed by his performances. And lets not forget the rest of the band; they’re as tight as any band can be and they put up with the drunkest guy in the world. (Which hasn’t always been the case – there was a period of time when Shane toured with a backing band very creatively called The Popes.)
Given that it was Halloween, the whole band was dressed as mariachis. Which made for a highly amusing sight, especially since Shane was also wearing a robe and an eye patch. It added up to some sort of Mexican-lounge-pirate sorta look. All the songs you wanna hear were played, some of my favorites being Dirty Old Town, A Pair of Brown Eyes & If I Should Fall From Grace with God.
Overall a fantastic show, and I highly recommend you check them out if you’re ever able. And if you don’t know their music, for the love all things holy, get to know it. Considering the number of bands they’ve influenced their lack of celebrity in the states is a crying shame. Lastly, there was a pretty good documentary made about Shane a few years ago called If I Should Fall From Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story. The tragicness of it all is hard to watch, but the music is of course undeniably great.
