David Lynch on iPhone cinema

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKiIroiCvZ0

Alessandro sent me this video at some ungodly hour for a Saturday, so I got it when I woke up and for the first time in a long time - woke up laughing. It's nice to see a celebrity poo-poo this form of viewing media. I haven't been a huge fan of Lynch for quite a few years, but I agree with him in that viewing a I've had a couple iPhone woes, such as the inability to cut-and-paste text, the incomplete downloading of email, and the inability to multiple text message people (coupled with the inability to cut and paste) is mightily annoying, to say the least. On one hand, all of you guys know that if you got a text message from me in the last few months, you know it's just for you. On the other, the way I communicate and the calibur I communicating in has been stunted.

So everyone who thinks the iPhone to be a "flawless" and "superior" machine - it's not completely true. (What machine is truly "flawless"?) I've realized that it truly depends on what you do with your phone, and what you need it for - and I perhaps jumped the gun in purchasing this phone. Damn peer pressure.

I called AT&T and asked them what options I had for going back to my Treo as far as utilizing my primary phone. Turns out there is a 30 day trial with the iPhone, even though you enter into a 2-year contract upon activating your iPhone. EVEN THOUGH I have been with Cingular/AT&T for years, I couldn't reverse out of my iPhone contract, even though I am not switching mobile carriers, without paying a penalty ($200 USD) as if I was breaking my contract with them period and moving to a different provider.

The honeymoon was long over - If you've been around me past the first week I got my iPhone, you might have hear me utter the words "Wanna trade phones" or "I hate my phone" or "I hate this phone" or "I'm getting ready to throw this out the window." And, well I do. I dislike the iPhone as a communication device. Blackberries and Treos are superior as messaging machines. Blackberries are better email devices, where Treos have better sound quality than BBerries. The iPhone is a superior all-in-one machine, it's just perhaps not as good at its individual tasks. It makes things less bulky, and obviously you're not carrying an ipod, your phone, a palm pilot, etc. In some cases you're even relieved of carrying a laptop - since the iPhone is a pretty good internet machine, and functions on available wireless networks. But dude, for what I personally use my phone for I really miss my Treo. My only option sounds like I would have to switch to a "family" plan, pay an additional $40 more, get a new SIM card for $25 because they won't let me reactivate my old SIM card, get less minutes monthly (900 + roller currently to 700 + rollover ongoing). I could also just pay the penalty for breaking my contract since 5 months into paying the stupid overage for an additional phone I can actually USE would cost the same amount of money.

Suggestions?

People getting punched in the face just before eating

Mellowdrone (acoustic) on Dave Navarro's Spread [tv show]

Yes yes it's true, Mellowdrone performed on "Dave Navarro's Spread" (Dave's TV show on Mania TV) as he stated in his blog. You'll find the two-song performance at the end of the show (after the short on Dita Von Teese talking about Frederik's of Hollywood & that body painting dude). Mellowdrone performs "Feliz Navidad" (acoustic) and "Maquina" (acoustic).

click for larger image

http://www.maniatv.com/search/video/Mellowdrone

Vote For Cut Copy now in JJJ hottest 100!!!

From Cut Copy:
Welcome to 2008 people!

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Both 'Hearts on Fire' and 'So haunted' are up for nomination.

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Bon 2008!

Dustin Hoffman & Mia Farrow in "John & Mary"

Immediately following that Mia Farrow biopic that I wrote about a couple days ago was a movie starring Mia (post-Rosemary's Baby) and Dustin Hoffman (post-The Graduate & post-Midnight Cowboy). The description given by the "info" button on my Time Warner Cable remote said basically the same as IMDB's:

"Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow meet in a singles bar, sleep together, and spend the next day getting to know each other."

Sounded interesting enough, so I thought to record it. Yet I was still in no hurry to watch it. Only after my sixth day of coding, running out of all the Showtime/HBO/BBC series I have TiVo'ed, exhausting all existing Law & Orders, finding Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold" to pale in comparison to Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker's "Runnin' Down A Dream" ... it was time I followed through with my commitment to "John & Mary."

Directed by Roman Polanski (who also directed Rosemary's Baby) and released in 1969, it was very much reminiscent of "Breakfast At Tiffany's" in its pacing, coloring, and witty back-and-forth banter. Their interaction in J&M was to freshmen college romance, as "When Harry Met Sally" was to post-higher-education desperation. At first I found the pacing + story line pleasant enough but soon I was beginning to dismiss the film to be a little ho-hum. Then I heard Dustin Hoffman's character talking about "organic eggs," the effects of hormones placed in eggs on the male reproductive organs, and how she should seek out organics...

...& then I was amazed at how little post-one-night-stand/pre-relationship interaction has progressed in nearly 40 years. That is, assuming that the portrayal in this film was faithful to the interactions of its time. Then again if my love life & that of my peers (that I know of) was compared to any modern romantic comedies popular enough to be nominated for 3 Golden Globes, 2 Baftas, and a Writers Guild of America - well we might as well all hold off for Dr. McDreamy.

No spoilers here - since the film's charm is in the character's interaction and the way the story unfolds. The whole "story" is told simply by reading the synopsis, and there's no real resolve since they end up in the very same place that they were in in the first 20 minutes of the film.

But it's ridiculous how eerily true-to-life (as I know it) this 1969 film is. They meet at a bar, they discuss Godard's "Week End", they have sex (technically) before the first date, there's a voice over narrative by both characters the likes of which I have thought before or a friend has told me they've thought before, they vaguely reveal their past romantic failures, have and share mixed feelings, blah blah blah... It very well could pass for my very own IFC Films documentary with the opening scene located at Cha Cha Lounge (LAX) or Rainbo Club (CHI) or Boat (NYC).

It's not mind-blowing, but I hope this film is never remade. (Stay away from it, Hollywood scum!) Answers.com says that similar movies are Before Sunrise, Better Than Sex, and There's Always Vanilla. I *somewhat* agree with the Before Sunrise comparison, and I haven't seen the latter two. If you're going to try and seek it out at yr local video store, the cover likely looks like this. And if you're interested, though I don't know if it is any good, you can purchase the novel by Mervyn Jones here.

If you're a fan of Jeff Bridges... Wha-? Oh, you know, Jeff Bridges - he's the guy that plays "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski? Yeah! Yeah! That guy... Well he was 20 years old at the time, and sang his own song "Lost In Space" on soundtrack of this movie. It's uncredited but it's confirmed. This isn't the dude's song, but it kind of goes along with the sentiment:



[mp3] Landon Pigg - "Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop"

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ps) Do you consider a film to be one of your favorite films because you relate to the story in the film (as opposed to relating to others who like the film)?