Happy (I)B-Day, Star Wars!

Star Wars, wow.  You’re how old now?  Oh yeah – the older you are, the older I am.  Nevermind.

A few people knew I had to write something today.  Especially since I did make reference to it on the “unofficial” Star Wars Day, as I deemed it.

Some wondered what amazing thing I could bring to the table which would blow the minds of fans, geeks, G-to-the-L haters, and even film or tech aficionados.  I know the last thing(s) to blow me away were the “home movies” inside an Academy Award-winning commune the dirty couches, poor lighting, and plethrora of facial hair which went on to become the ILM we all know and love [or as I would say, they put the ILM in film™].  For those who never saw this footage, here’s some love.

Star Wars has a lot of names, abbreviations, and in-the-know jargon.  Today I’m talking about SW:ANH, I mean A New Hope – er, episode IV, um… 4 four.  Old school 1977 Star Wars (which I shall further call “Star Wars” to ease confusion).

I’m not going to call myself a hater, a purist, a convert.  I loved Star Wars as a whole and I still do.  I choose what I like and often my opinion can change.  Let’s set out to have an open mind – possibly unlearning, and rethinking spoon(s).

People have been complaining about Star Wars being changed and different.  Sure you have a laserdisc copy which is this and that, or you have this or that remix and you know what the original was.  Do you?  What if I was too tell you there there is another.  One which actually gets hunted down by the real-life version of Emo Anakin Vader’s posse of Force-user extinguishers?  It’s out there.  And its initials are IB.  Still curious?  Keep reading…

Licensed to 3: Yauch Concluded

(click image for full size)

part 1, part 2

When I was a kid and the Beastie Boys first got play for their music video, I had a hard time figuring out what the word Ill was, but I did know what a Roman Numeral three looked like. So I often wondered if these Brooklyn guys really had two other records out there and people were just saying Ill because they didn’t know. What could I say? I was a goofy kid.

Before I go on, Ch-Check THIS out. Neal Brennan (now know as awesome in my book) knows the pain we’re feeling. Co-creator of Chapelle’s Show, he unleashed an appearance of the Bea-stie-Boys LIVE outdoors in 2004 – never seen until now. Already erased by Viacom at least once, it’s back! I’ll make a dupe of this just to make sure it’ll be harder to kill than a certain Holiday Special. Hurry and watch the clip below – and get more blown away since I won’t say what song it is. [I’d say to watch out for language, but even work should let you blast this. You’re mourning, yo!]

This post was intended as a conglomerate of links and images. Since I came across some great articles and stories which I mostly hid in the other two posts, I figured why not make this subject a trilogy and make it a hodgepodge of links and images amongst additional material. To tease a taste, here’s someone’s tribute to MCA/Nathan Wind – delivering pizza dressed as Cochese.

New York officially mourns the death of Adam Yauch.  Don’t believe me?  Here’s the document for proof, or watch the video below.

Singnature Bassist – Donald Dunn

According to longtime pal and bandmate Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn passed away in his sleep; in Tokyo while on tour.  As lore states (according to Blues Brothers Central):

“Duck’ Dunn was a member of Jake and Elwood’s Blues Brothers Band in the 1970s until Jake went to prison. He then joined Murph and the MagicTones along with several other ex-members, until he rejoined the Blues Brothers Band in 1979. After a very brief tour, he went to prison with the rest of the band. By 1998 he was out of prison and working with Steve ‘The Colonel’ Cropper hosting WEXR 103.7 Talk Radio in Chicago. It was there that Elwood Blues convinced him to come back to the band, where he remained for several more years. His current whereabouts are unknown.”

If you prefer the “IRL” story of Dunn, why read it?  Check this short retrospective; produced in 2005 by Dan Lakin for the Lakland 10th anniversary concert.

How do I remember him best?  As the genius of an electrician who was the only member of the band Jake Blues shot straight with and had the most reverence for.  Donald quit his job working for a burglar alarm company to help get the band back together, but absconded with forgot to return the company van in the process.  If you don’t remember that part of the movie, or if you love alternate histories of anything, then read the book!  It’ll make you love Dunn (and the other members) all the more.

Even though the obvious clip would be the snazzy version of Dunn and company backing Cab Calloway Curtis, what better way to show off this bassist’s moves than seeing “The Duck” shake his tailfeather?

Thanks for the grooves, the pipe, and the times you rocked the fiery halo of a hairstyle.

(click the pic for the bigger version)

Yauch Loss Committee Part Two

Instead of jumping on the “R.I.P. to the celebrity” bandwagon, “top ten” train, or writing a straight article, I hoped to give some of my own thoughts and memories intercut with glimpses or additions to what’s already been written about the man I never knew was Nathanial Hörnblowér {I assumed it was a name for the whole band collaborating or Spike Jonze – and can you blame me?}.  Even if you skim this one…make sure to check the very last video.

Getting carried away as usual, I did the smart thing and separated the meat from the milk – the reminiscing from the eye candy (best I could). Since it took so long to get the first part off, I hope this still seems vaguely unique and current: though I feel mourning or reminiscing doesn’t have an expiration date.

If I had to peg a favorite Beastie live television performance, only one comes to mind. The MTV appearance with the band wearing suits and getting way into it was cool – as the old knocking stuff over and prankster days also had great examples; when they assumed everyone was in on the joke (Weird Al had a big presence at the time, so I knew what a good parody was.  Sorry, fratboys).

MCA: Who Let the Beat Drop?*

*The title does NOT insinuate the subject dropped anything except amazing albums, forward thinking, and proving a man [or band] can embrace a past just as much as denouncing parts of it without needing to be defensive; along with unabashedly making a difference in this world.  Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA created the beat and passed it along to us: making it our responsibility not to let it drop…or fall silent on the turntables of today or the future.

It was downtown Chicago in the year 2000.  Rush hour as I remember it, but there was always some form of constant congestion; far as surface streets were concerned.  I couldn’t say there was any cruising on that occasion, but it sure did feel like it at points.  Blame/Praise the music for that.

There were two of us in a freshly battle-damaged Budget [rent-a-]van.  Going  between locations for a feature film, I was riding shotgun and intermittently wincing from the rays of “golden hour” whenever the sunlight slipped between buildings and connected with a direct hit to either eyeball.

Both windows were down and the sonic libations flowed freely – forming a sound loop engulfing a lane’s worth on both sides of the truck, which was rented on the dime of the “production company” as the duo referred to themselves.  Loud as it was, the driver could still shout over musical firepower of this magnitude: known as the Beastie Boys.

Fan-Created Walking Dead Opening Titles

I was talking to a good friend who is a fan of the genre but felt the season of Walking Dead ended weakly. It’s not my bag, so no spoilers here.  I’m more of a Breaking Bad man myself.  [After the way Frank Darabont was treated, I don't care to watch the series at this point: petty me.  Now that my ire is upped, I will give a spoiler.  The zombie butler did it.  Nevermind...I'll behave.]

As said by the sequence’s creator:

“As I was admiring Struzan’s work of art, I wondered what the opening titles to this terrifying new television show might look like… so I animated a spec title sequence using artwork ripped from the pages of the comic, originally illustrated by Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore.”

Check here for more linkage, such as a making of vid:

http://vimeo.com/danielkanemoto

{And congrats on the freedom x2, J – you deserve it}

Another Television Cancelation

Hello friends and lovers.  Today I am here to talk to you about yet another show canceled on me.  If the pic was familiar, you understood why I chose my first sentence.

This isn’t breaking news – like discovering the shows Bored to Death and Terriers canceled within hours of the decision.  I had my suspicions on this one, but it took stumbling upon an article by Brad Pike to discover the disheartening realization.  His article Food Party: Requiem for the Best TV Show Ever Made was not only rocking proper capitalization, but pretty much nailed how I felt about this television program (formerly on IFC).

“The show presented some profoundly surreal storytelling with plots that gleefully bent logic to the breaking point—giant talking rats, magic strawberry spitting, and floating pandas.”

You won’t hear me say the show is the best ever, but it certainly outclasses most newer shows on Adult Swim.  Those [AS] folks should pull a “Futurama” and figure out a way to put Food Party on their lineup. With a host/star like Thu Tran, what’s not to like?

A female-fronted shows on Adult Swim is still a minority.  She MORE than has the chops for it.  Take heed, Williams Street!

Food Party sounds like a cooking show, but delves into absurdity through each episode.  The sheer amount of creativity is boggling.  It’s silly humor isn’t for everyone…but anyone can say there is an insane amount of artistic endeavor behind every shot.  Or at least insanity in general. See?

I could put up another dozen pics since there’s much for me to love.  The

You know what?  While I write this, I’m thinking I should talk all about this show at a different time.  Maybe a bloggy-series of stuff I like that didn’t get much of a tv life.  I’ll think about it…and weigh the options versus the procrastination factor of my novel.  That thing kind of does have a deadline.

PWN’D Support Group [NSFW]

This is a video pertaining to a support group for people who are having issues with victimization via PWN.

For those MMO junkies or gamers out there, it won’t be difficult to relate to the jokes and references; since we all know the rude people who can lurk in those places and are far from respectful.

There is a lot of coarse language in it, so consider yourself warned.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1926105

[linked rather than embedded due to content]

PS: If you in my guild and get caught doing most of this stuff, you’ll be booted.  =)  Check the rules (or inquire within about joining).

EPIC Star Wars movie – behind the scenes

This above screen grab is from a movie compilation of BEHIND THE SCENES footage of making A New Hope back when it was simply known as Star Wars.  It also has some cool scenes of the motion picture’s aftermath as well.

What makes it epic?

- It names names, as in labeling people to show who all these legendary FX folks are (liberal pausing may be required).
- It shows kit bashing in progress.  As Neo may say, “Whoah.”
- It shows testing out the starfield (breathtaking).
- It shows the Death Star surface being cast.
- It shows rotoscope testing.
- Check out the couches in the viewing room.
- The “trench run” as you’ve never seen it before.
- It shows the pre CU   pre nge   pre CGI  pre Blu-Ray version   Han-shot-first-era of-  Er, nevermind…

Described by the uploader:

“Crude home movies from the 1970s depicting activities at a certain location in the San Fernando Valley.”

As a bonus, here’s a link to this amazing find, which has more screen grabs, and also has the historical artifact embedded (via the Star Wars blog):

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2009/07/09/ilm-the-early-years

And now, here it is..!

 

5757 from David Berry on Vimeo.

If the embed code is temperamental, use this link:
http://www.vimeo.com/5494280

It’s worth the effort – trust me.