Thursday, November 18, 2004

Hello. This is not going to be another of those boring old posts in which I apologize for lack of posting. You know, they always say "Apologies for lack of posting...but I've been busy/depressed/running a marathon/recording my new hip-hop album/undergoing a pilgrimage to Mecca..." You get the picture.

I'll try not to ramble very much, 'cause your time is valuable and time is money and time, she flexes like a whore, falls wanking to the floor. Ah- there I go, rambling. Anyway, I've been busy at work and have had stuff occupying my attention at home, mostly of the "stuffing my head with comics, music, movies" variety stuff...and something has to give. In this case, it's bloggus interruptus, since after typing all frigging day at the ULPJ (Unrewarding Low Paying Job, you remember), I just don't have much enthusiasm for doing the same when I get home. Beatles song reference there, Fred!

Anyway, 2 of the 3 discs arrived yesterday from my Netflix trial, and that's what I did last night- watched the Jethro Tull documentary A New Day Yesterday, a 45-minute compendium of 60's-80's overseas TV performance clips and odd videos (none of them allowed to finish) interspersed with scenes and interviews from a Tull reunion held in 1993, the band's 25th anniversary). If you're a Tull fan, you will like, even though this was (ooh-pun) 10 years ago and much has changed with the band members since. It was annoying how the performance clips were abruptly cessated to go back to the reunion scenes. By far the most exciting thing about this disc was, for me, the inclusion of the complete film of A Passion Play's centerpiece, "The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles", which was screened during the intermission of Tull's 1973 Passion tour. It is one of the goofiest, and yet one of the coolest, things I think I've ever seen- a film of people cavorting around in animal suits, alternating between an indoor forest set and an actual outdoor set, along with ballerinas and then-bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond narrating the tale, using clever dance steps and gestures. It's all very preposterous, and done on the cheap, but for me it was mesmerizing. Of course, it helps that A Passion Play is my favorite Tull LP, indeed, one of my legendary top 25 which I keep threatening to post. I understand that this clip is available on the recently remastered and reissued Play, which saw release a year or so ago...I think I'll be getting that one of these days, 'cause I'd love to have that film without, necessarily, getting the New Day disc. Seeing this DVD has provoked my long-neglected Tull listening jones; I've dug out copies of Songs From The Wood, Living In The Past and Bursting Out! Live, some of which I haven't listened to in well-nigh a decade, I reckon. I've also been (tonight) looking at some JT-related websites such as www.ministry-of-information.co.uk, which sports a fascinating annotated Passion Play section, and www.cupofwonder.com, which does the annotation honors, along with features and lyrics, on every Tull recorded effort to date...even the ones I haven't heard since it's been an age since I last bought a new Tull album.

The other DVD I received was Lost In La Mancha, the documentary of Terry Gilliam's ill-fated "dream" production with a working title of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote", loosely based on the Cervantes book. The documentary was intended to preserve for posterity the filming of Gilliam's film, but it turned out to be the chronicle of a disaster. Watch this, and you'll be amazed at the determination, the creativity, the energy, pluck, and spirit the man and his crew displayed in the face of about every disaster you can think of- late stars, reluctant European financiers; jets flying overhead during outdoor filming, to be soon followed by torrential rain, which almost completely trashed the equipment; and the health problems of star Jean Roquefort, who developed a hernia which left him unable to ride a horse and therefore unable to play Don Quixote. It will leave you saddened that Gilliam didn't get to make this film, 'cause it looked like it could have been the best thing he's ever done, and also that a man with his track record has had so much trouble getting financing for his movies- which will also make you a little angry as well. But at the same time you'll be fascinated, or at least I was, at seeing the man and his crew at work. Amazing stuff. And it ends on a note of hope- a note at the very end, and I hope I'm not spoiling anything for anybody- says that Gilliam has found another backer and is considering picking up the pieces of this picture, which is indeed good news. Of course, this was released in 2002...so who knows what's happened with the project in the last couple of years. I haven't looked to see.

I got comics, too- oh my, yes. My set of The Monolith is now complete and fully read, and I hope to write about it soon- in fact, as soon as the long-delayed piece on that other comics series I've been messing around with for months now is done...hopefully not much longer for that. And, if you're keeping score at home, my copy of Daisy Kutter 3 finally showed up yesterday, along with the other books I listed on Monday. I haven't finished them yet, thanks for asking.

Gee, for somebody with no energy, I sure have typed a bunch of stuff, huh! Alright, I'm done. Good night.

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