Reviewiera

Too Perfect

2012-02-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

The cult of David Fincher as auteur probably share diverse notions as to what his draw is. Perhaps foremost among them is his reputation for being a methodical, calculating perfectionist and demanding exorbitant amounts of takes in much of the same manner Kubrick is known for. Additionally, his work is often characterized by scenes showing a surgical precision exacted in getting deep into the

What If Salt Wasn't a Cartoon?

2012-02-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

With another low end mid sized budget, Haywire (2012) is Steven Soderbergh's latest foray into serving two masters at the box office. The movie appeals to those who will be entertained watching Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) running and getting into hand to hand combat, in no less than five sequences, spanning the entire duration of this whopping ninety minute powder keg; and, it similarly holds a

guest spot: AliciaO on The 21st Century's debut album, The City

2012-01-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

Record review! AliciaO wrote this 'un. As with anything, there is bad news, and there is good news. Since all of the good things are paramount, let's burst out the bad riffraff first: The 21st Century's debut album, The City, is far too short. Six tracks of radiant resonation leave you craving more of this octet's spirited approach to music making. On to a discussion of the good news, which is

MEV-1 vs. the World

2012-01-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

If I were to pitch two stakes at each of the furthest ends my cinematic taste reaches, one would represent the prosaic dramatization of everyday human nature and the other would mark sensuous escape into the fantastic. Or, I look to either be deeply moved or taken for a fun ride; yet, I rarely expect to find a movie that delivers both at once. Contagion (2011, Steven Soderbergh) shall be

Fat's best HEAVY TUNES of 2011

2011-12-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Malverde, Red Fang, Murder the Mountains Short Version, Wild Flag, Wild Flag running on nothing, Fucked Up, David Comes to Life TNK, 801, 801 Live Woke up Near Chelsea, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, the Brutalist Bricks Black Captain, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Wolfroy Goes to Town The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral, Mastodon, Crack the Skye (), the Men, Leave Home Boring Girls (live), Pissed Jeans,

Killer of Sheep

2011-10-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

0. Pointlessly Long Introduction (new day rising) Not to step on Dregs' toes here, but I got to scratch several movie itches simultaneously last night. I moved to Oakland almost exactly three and a half years ago, and for the first few months, out of work and aimless, wrestling with life-challenged depression1 as a decided departure from my Portland-based stasis-stifled-self-centered depression2

how you will know

2011-09-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

Camping is, perhaps, part of human life, and to the extent that it is, it--like everything else--is received as a half-spiced mulligatawney, equal parts semi-sensical slogans grooved into your brain, your thoughts a needle running along them, the grooves' exponents echoes spilling out and dominating your practice for years of a life, only revealed after infinite mental repetitions to be just a

scenes from a relationship: poor pegsmanship

2011-09-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

The world's best girlfriend in the world & I went camping in an undisclosed because it's fucking awesomely cool stay out of it so next time we don't have to go on a pig-friggin' Monday night location. In our preparations, it was revealed to us that our planned date had been declared a spare-the-air day, which meant: no campfire. This is not a huge problem, since our primary camp recipes don't

The Spy Who Shagged Me

2011-08-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Josef von Sternberg made six more films with Marlene Dietrich, after directing her 1930 debut, Der blaue Engel. While her supporting role in Der blaue Engel showcased Dietrich's confident and empowered on-screen sex appeal, Dishonored (1931) further capitalizes on that breakthrough by featuring her as the star of a Spy Film where her missions all require her to "use her body as a weapon." Von

what's good in life

2011-08-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Further to my notes of last week sometime, the Completely Un(re)searchable & Myfterious SE, purveyors of RoHs Quality, have proven themselves worthy enough. At press time, this writer had not mastered the striking of sparks with the steel/magnesium; but the headlamp had proved on the instant of its deployment the superior form of light dispersal. Particularly indispensable is the oft'-elided red

Fat hearts American Science & Surplus

2011-08-18T18:47:00.001-07:00

It's a small list of brands still worth caring about in this world. One of the few that will reliably bring some magic into your world is American Science & Surplus, self-bestowers of the basically irrefutable tagline "incredible stuff, unbelievable prices". I get a catalog from these guys every 6 months or so, order something about every year, basically just so I keep getting that catalog, a

Bitch Problem

2011-08-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Often I have compared movies to women; a whirlpool from which my gaze cannot escape; a search for understanding. Personally, I wonder if I go too far seeing things in binary terms. (Like, I like girls and movies.) But I feel Der blaue Engel (1930, Josef von Sternberg) has just cause for this perspective. The plot centers around Rath (Emil Jannings), an aging college professor, and his

America: where unhappiness counts as good

2011-08-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

I got something to sayI killed your baby todayand it doesn't matter much to meas long as it's deadI assume I will not be the first to point out the horrifying addiction American media has to the asinine notion that "there's always two sides to a story", and the policy of "equal time" it has lead to, which policy ensures that a filthy liar will always, always, have a powerful public platform from

the Mountain Goats, 20jun2011, Great American Music Hall

2011-06-26T13:33:00.001-07:00

This is for Genevieve, who is, and this is not a joke, the world's best girlfriend.Mountain Goats I came late--real late--to. I'd seen the name kick around, and hadn't had much use for any of the people gushing. I think I had a dim awareness that he'd followed Colin Meloy's lead and written a 33 1/3 book that was an album review by means of piece of fiction. I naturally--probably better to say

"Never thought much about broke things until I got smashed up myself"

2011-05-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

The source material Lucky Star (1929, Frank Borzage) is based on is called Three Episodes in the Life of Timothy Osborn. In the film the first episode resembles the other late silent era films Borzage made while at Fox, but the rest turns out to be a disappointment.The German expressionist influence gives the opening dairy farm the Gothic semblance of a domestic black hole of a nightmare for Mary

ol' Tin Ear rides again

2011-05-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Getting pretty sick of this beat, but my first trip to ESPN in a couple weeks has me scratching my head for the millionth time about the long leash given Bill Simmons. Best content-moment in his recent drivel about wrestling is this: The Birdman also did a dead-on Savage impersonation, even better than mine,That was Randy Savage. Signal features of his voice include "husky growl" and "chest

it's still warm; it still moves; they're still here

2011-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Dramaramarama: no-one wants to pay me for my broken heartIn dickhead mode, when I can't keep myself from arguing tastes with people, I occasionally have said "I could make you a Dramarama mix tape that would make you forget about the Replacements.".That's probably false. I probably can't make you that tape. But I can claim that Dramarama has been more important to me than the Replacements, and

nor are we out of it

2011-04-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

we are out of itStill those barely conscious years in Lawrence (909 E. Rhode Island. Weird how some things stick in your head.) some evenings I'd while with our next-door neighbor, Kerry, referred to in my house invariably with the epithet short-order fry cook. Mostly in those pre-video days we'd play board games--Dogfight, maybe Risk, Battleship, squares on lined notebook paper. Sometimes I'd

2011-04-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fright NightA talisman of my childhood and a representation of it at the same time. Fright Night has a callow dipshit love the late-night host of horror movies on local TV; then the callow dipshit flips out when two wafting men move in next door--because when two men live together at night next door they bring sinister elements of menace and contagion to your suburban idyll. When I saw this

everyone is here

2011-04-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, every kid had seen Poltergeist. We had only three moments to our horripilated appreciation. ghastly grinning man all in black "they're heeeeere"a man and a mirror, idly, then intently, then desperately picking and digging at his own skin, pulling his face roughly, pulling his face off Not sure how this movie got its hold on the entire country: kids on the playground shared "

all this doom

2011-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

all this doomORgod damn these vampiresAKAhappy death men Manhattan, Kansas, 1984. Crematia Mortem on channel 41 out of Kansas City. I'm watching something sunbaked, vaguely Italian with reddish browns and clay. Oppression. Slow. Doom. I'm tucked into the far corner of the room, in bed for a change, not sleeping on my beanbag chair, beside the bed, 'way closer to the TV. I want to be far

serpent-skinned

2011-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, my dad ran movie theatres. Since he was was a whiz at cheapo promotions, I got to witness things like Scrap the Caddy night, where, in honor of a double feature of Any Which Way You Can and Every Which Way but Loose, people got to whack at a junkyard Cadillac with a sledgehammer. Since I was a hammy little boy, and easily pressed into service, I got to stand around downtown

resume the resume

2011-04-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Great moment from another media outlet failing to question an agent moving into a front office. Riley, 66, has more than two decades of NBA experience as an executive, scout or coach with Milwaukee, Vancouver, Dallas and Golden State. You know, model franchises. Why bother worrying about this seemingly lateral career move? I dunno, but it seems like a junior-grade version of our nation's

sayonara

2011-04-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

As of today, FreeDarko is shutting down. There's a big final post--I had a (small, angry) hand in it--so make double-sure you head over there and help Haverford College's finest get the ship-on-fire finale they've earned.--Fat

sloppy and stupid: Bill Simmons needs an editor

2011-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Far be it from me to suggest that ESPN front-dude Bill Simmons is far beyond driven the vagaries of the editorial process, but his latest cut-&-paste from his Twitter feed, supplemented with occasional bits that by now must just be Word macros Uh-oh, I think I just exploded the Blazers Edge message board.is even more error-ridden & unreadable than usual. Sure, it's not quite as bad as his 10,000

FreeDarko RIP

2011-03-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ed note: This is my original FreeDarko final post. Shoals' call had been for one paragraph, so I went long-winded, and he broke it in a place I misliked at the time. He was probably right, though, and in the end, I'm more unhappy with the piece I wrote than I was at the time with his edit. I remember when we shared a vision, you and I.--the Mountain Goats, "Estate Sale Sign", All Eternals Deck,

it's not my imagination

2011-03-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

"A gentleman carries a pocketknife."--Chris Collision Fat Contradiction, talking to one of the three cops it took to pull him over in Shasta County, late 2010 Not sure when it started, but I've had a knife in my back pocket for years upon years. (We'll pass over in silence those awkward years where, like a common Rush fan, I had a Leatherman & a flashlight on my belt all day every day.) Many of

what do you mean I never write about the NBA anymore?

2011-03-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

(There are many O many ways to emerge from a dogmatic slumber.)

dumbphone vacation

2011-02-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

I'd come from a simple land. My home had been Nokia candy-bar phones--rugged numbers with intense battery life and a raft of little features (timers, alarms) that don't sound like much but sure made my cooking projects a little easier.Then came the last days in May a sojourn into Motorola country. The Motorola

hail fellows well met: Free Darko does reading in San Francisco; Fat decamps from couch to attend

2011-02-25T16:46:00.001-08:00

I showed up a little early, because I am not actually late to everything all the time forever. The event: two men from FreeDarko in town to rap about their book, which, if you are reading this, I again implore you to buy. Moved through the door, had to stop instantly behind a stockstill trio of intensely charming dithering old ladies. Scored a bottle of Pabst & a shot of Powers that I most

two dumb to play with themselves, part 3

2011-01-21T09:56:00.001-08:00

1. The Present: Farhad Manjoo Is a Humorless NincompoopFarhad Manjoo has been on my radar for kind of a while, ever since I heard him come on the radio and make the following argument. People are buying Apple products. Those people notice that Flash is kind of, well, fucking ubiquitous on the web. Those people notice that Apple products don't support Flash. Those people are upset with the lack

"River's too low to get my boat through the narrows."

2011-01-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Among the late silent period of Frank Borzage's films at the Fox Film Corporation, The River (1929) stands out as bearing an anomalously erotic charge to the point of a hot and heavy fever--of the sort which Alan John Spender (Charles Farrell) happens to fall victim to in the final act.Plot summary: A tall young riverboat driver docks his barge at a dam that has closed for repairs when he meets

"Love makes people unhappy. Why should I seek trouble?"

2011-01-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

In 1927 Frank Borzage directed 7th Heaven, the technically impressive Love Story about two destitute wayward souls bonding amid a tragic WWI backdrop, and in 1928 he returned to the stuff that made that Fox Film Corporationi release so successful with Street Angel. Borzage also brings back his romantic leads from the prior year, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell for a second time along with key

FreeDarko's New Book Is the 801: It Is the Central Shaft

2010-12-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

FreeDarko's New Book Is the 801: It Is the Central ShaftWe made it. We won.0. By way of an introduction Back when Reviewiera was a going concern, we loved us some pro basketball. Over the years, the Tinzeroes-hometown Blazers went from insane congeries to dull competence to injury-dominated semi-tragedy; a trajectory only sensical when plotted on axes of time advancing and relevance declining, as

Akira

2010-10-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

by Katsuhiro Otomo (1982-1995) The first three volumes of Akira are more than impressive artistically, both at face-value and as "sequential art" or whatever comic-lit-crit hot-button term you prefer, but they also comprise the main source material for the animated feature film (1988), so if you seen the movie, or, if you're like me and have watched the movie repeatedly, with religious

City of Saints and Madmen

2010-10-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

by Jeff Vandermeer (20061) City of Saints and Madmen collects 16 novellas, short stories, phamphlets, adverts, guidebooks, and notes sharing the setting or subject matters of the merchant city of Ambergris (the most valuable part of a whale), including its festivals, its original inhabitants (a strange race called the Gray Caps, or Mushroom Dwellers), its history, the giant freshwater squid

The Borribles

2010-09-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

by Michael de Larribeiti (1976) I became aware of de Larribeiti's Borribles trilogy when I saw that China Mieville called it an influential favorite. Borribles are children who leave home and never come back. As they become self-sufficient and street smart thier ears become pointy and they cease to age. They live exclusively in abandoned buildings and steal for a living. They despise

"I'm not used to being happy...it's funny--it hurts!"

2010-09-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

The first scene in the film gives a look into the lives of Chico (Charles Farrell) and Rat (George Stone), which finds the two men tending refuse floating downstream in a vaulted underground sewage system known as “The Hole in the Sock”. Here the production design by Harry Oliver may be appreciated along with Ernest Palmer’s cinematography, sublimely capturing the labyrinthine gauzy, high

Liquid Solution is decadent and depraved

2010-09-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Around here, we pledge allegiance to Some Stuff Is Better Than Other Stuff. That's old news. We pledge thus, though, with a purpose:Axl Does It with a Porpoisewe want to identify that Better Stuff, because it helps us live a better life. When it comes to living a better life, I drink coffee. A lot of coffee. And I never--ever--make coffee at home, because it's not just the drug I crave and

pale kings and princes

2010-09-23T08:46:00.001-07:00

Pale Kings and PrincesORFat reviews everyday life(an illustrated and illustrative diversionary tactic)0. IntroductionIt appears as though @todf and I are completely correct: we are in fact living in the world of They Live.Work, leisure, work, leisure: a surly administrative assistant shoving a binder clip into my cheek, forever; botched, aborted weekends spent getting called into work, first as

Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land

2010-09-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

by John Crowley (2005) Lord Byron never wrote a novel - although there's reference in a letter to him starting one and then tossing it in the fire. John Crowley has written that unwritten novel (called "The Evening Land") in accurate and accessible Byronic-style. Background info to enrich subtleties of the Evening Land are provided by annotations written Byron's daughter, Ada Lovelace (a

'Tales of the Gold Monkey' or 'How I Hate My Eyes' or 'Why Would I Spend an Evening Like This, Much Less Write About It?'

2010-09-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

The other day, a memory drifted into my head from some unknown place, like an unaddressed letter whose only contents were fragile fragments of information: a seaplane, a bomber jacket, the 30’s, mysterious adventures... a TV show! “To the internet!”, I yelled and furiously typed ‘indiana jones ripoff tv show’ into google. Twenty seconds of searching around provided satisfaction: Tales of the Gold

The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

2010-09-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

by Jesse Bullington (2009) Medieval graverobbing twins Hegel and Manfried Grossbart return to thier native village somewhere in the Holy Roman Empire and decide to deliver some payback to a farmer who whipped them as children. Luring him out into the rain and dark they proceed to rough him up. Then his wife comes at them with a woodax. One thing leads to another and the brothers end up

Dr. Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen

2010-09-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

These Dr. Who novels have hardcore sleaze bubbling under the surface - I did a double take after reading the following, checked the cover and back flap of the book to make sure I was in the right place. Commander Stevenson had been hammering away at Kellman for what seemed ages now, but the prisoner showed no signs of breaking down. He sat slumped on a stool, gazing straight ahead, either

The City of Dreaming Books

2010-09-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

by Walter Moers (2004) Walter Moers is a German comicbook artist and writer who also writes fantasy fiction (mostly set in Zamonia, his version of the Atlantean continent) which are in turn populated by illustrations by himself. I've been wanting to try some of his stuff out but its a bit hard to come by and not super-cheap on the used market either - so I was excited when I acquired a

if you weren't there, you don't know

2010-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

"THAT WAS MY FAVORITE SONG...whatever. My grandma likes us better than Nirvana."It's 1992 or -3. Probably the Gothic Theater. A cold night, not enough people in the big concrete cavern to warm it up much, but I'm drunk-sweaty and high on live rock. The few people at the show are all dancing wildly, but not making too much noiise--surely not much compared to the Fluid's legendarily loud shows.

Perdido Street Station

2010-08-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

by China Mieville (2000). The book which, if not launched, then anchored the sub-genre "urban fantasy." I've also seen this book categorized as "cyberpunk" elsewhere, as well as the slightly more understandable "steampunk." Guess this a book everyone wants under their banner, then. This forms, along with The Year of Our War by Steph Swainston and City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer,

The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals: The Evil Monkey Dialogues

2010-08-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer (2010) Descriptions of 36 fantastical creature in about 90 pages, usual a page of description followed by a brief back-and-forth dialogue between Ann Vandermeer (the editor of Weird Tales) and Evil Monkey (her husband Jeff Vandermeer's jackass mouthpiece). To put it simply, there's a pretty clever joke on every page, and this entire little book is very clever and makes

Old Men Bickering Like Old Queens Since 2006

2010-08-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Digging the Neilsen-background I put together (for all that you can see it) - but not totally sold on the Robida-professors babbling amongst themselves on the masthead up there... New reviews on the way soon! Reviewiera still plugging along since 2006. Wow. -d.d.

this is hip-hop

2010-08-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

If I had any--and I mean ANY--ability to make beats, I would make some beats and sample her heavily over the top of them, the beats, and I would make what the kids are almost certainly not calling a club banger out of the beats and her samples and I would become very, very famous and I would buy myself and my awesome girlfriend some plane tickets to exciting and interesting places and I would

is this as bad as it's ever been?

2010-08-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Eternally adolescent, I still sleep on a mattress on the floor, grumble hard about not compromising and never owning anything I can't lift and refuse to cover my (mostly asinine) tattoos when I go to a job interview. But, as Seneca argued, you don't have to be a dick just because you refuse either to have a career or to succumb to responsibilities. Among the few things I think I know about the

I'm gonna punch the entire goddamned world

2010-07-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a half-reformed comic book nerd. I grew up on comics: some of my earlier memories are reading my dad's issues of Superman or Green Lantern. Naturally, since my dad liked DC, I quickly became a Marvel Zombie. I spent my early adolesence subscribing* to Classic X-Men and, especially, Classic Spider-Man. Absolutely formative for me, these four-color epics, these soap operas and superhero

GET ME A FIRING SOLUTION: Star Trek: Tactical Assault and 3.5 years of my life

2010-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Your humble Fat Contradiction was not always as you see him today, with a SPOCK LIVES button on his bike bag, a transporter sound emanating from his cell phone, calling for increased scans on that intriguing nebula.In late 2006, for instance, he was depressively working at a couple bars. Getting up in the afternoon and trudging from one filthy, cluttered room (with a mattress) to another (with a

borrowed and never returned

2010-03-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

I could write a nice essay about how I 'expert-matize' myself every year or so. It's a bit odious, but hey, I'm (it's why I'm) a Renaissance man! Sometimes those research binges include consumerism, sometimes not.--D.D. Tinzeroes, personal communicationI think this is either the bullseye The Key or no more than a centimeter away. As I remember, I've had at least 10 mini-expert eras since, say,

top ten for 2009

2010-01-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

In no particular order, just as they occur to me.1. City of Saints and Madmen and Shreik: An Afterword by Jeff Vandermeer2. The Year of Our War and No Present Like Time by Steph Swainston3. Perdido Street Station by China MievilleThe first 3 there are basically the canon 'New Weird' writers/books, but these books/authors are some great reasons why its probably fair to say my preferred reading

This pretty sums up all the main points

2009-11-21T14:27:00.001-08:00

Little Cthulhu-d.d.

that noise you just heard

2009-11-13T10:16:00.001-08:00

Was DDT's mind BLOWING.http://io9.com/5404048/moorcock-to-write-doctor-who

Year of Our War

2009-09-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Year of Our WarSteph Swainston(2004)This book has single-handedly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me solidly over into the territories of contemporary fantasy. I had wanted to read Mieville's Perdido Street Station and was curious about the New Weird writers (Vandermeer and Harrison, specifically, though Swainston and Mieville count towards this group as well), but picked up

chrono-heat death of the universe

2009-09-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

An Alien HeatMichael Moorcock(1971)The Hollow LandsMichael Moorcock(1974)The End of All SongsMichael Moorcock(1976)In a distant future, the denizens of earth enjoy access to nigh unlimited power. With the use of rings which harness practically divine energies generated by vast abandoned cities, they know no hunger, no cold, no want. They reshape their bodies, fashion buildings, clothing, even

paper forms of escape

2009-08-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Great. With all my Gundams in storage at my mom's house, now an old college professor of mine turns me on to these:http://www.piperoids.com/http://www.kami-robo.com/index_en.htmlPapercraft has been one of my favorite spectator-only crafts for a couple years now, after I saw mockups of some of those absurdly cute tanks from Advance Wars, but I'd never had the slightest desire to participate.

drunken double feature

2009-08-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Oddly(1) hesitant to speak too strongly, I suggest that if you don't like District 9, you are not my sort of person. A blend of Alien Nation and Day of the Dead and the Office, it's a thrilling blend of genre craftsmanship and decent politics.G.I. Joe continues the stupefying career arc of Steven Sommers. With his usual blend of wholly forgettable villains, blankfaced skinny betitted chicks (

for all the wrong reasons, I can no longer hope

2009-07-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

Not quite dead yet, you see.2 weeks ago, I managed what will likely be my biggest jaunt of 2009, a week traipsing backpacked around the world's biggest trees, next to the world's biggest ocean. Camping trips are, 4 years in, still very much a novelty for me (decidedly a town boy) and the jars and stubs imposed by a week mostly deprived and out of doors inevitably do violence to my (way of)

shallow are the ashes (of the children of men)

2009-05-06T00:39:00.000-07:00

[Being the 7th installment of stuff I've been reading recently.]Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellSuzanna Clarke(2006)In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, one Mr. Norrell has assembled the greatest library of magical texts in all of England, and with a showy display at York, revives the art of Practical Magic (as opposed to mere Theoretical Magic). Desperate to assist the war effort, he brings a

your hands, my heart: what's so hard about that

2009-04-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Finally made it to a Warriors game last night. Pretty good turnout for a game late in a futile, ruined season; some culture shock, though. The crowd was undeniably Into It, with roused cheers never more than a half-decent play away. And the booting of evil-team failure was as robust as ever I've heard--when some cat missed two consecutive dunks, the rafters went a'-rumblin' for sure.* And the

write a new tune

2009-04-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

I don't that often do this, but this review actually made me laugh out loud. More than a single time.In other news, I'm broke as a joke, working 50-hour weeks to try to make up for it, and desperately craving the following:new hat (black, summer weight)new shoes (two pairs Starburys, prolly)MadWorldHouse of the Dead: OverkillGrand Theft Auto DS (I keep trying to remind myself that it's a driving

I'm inclined to go finish high school to make her notice that I'm around

2009-03-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

As DDT muses on Astro Boy and upon Akira versus Blade Runner, I read somebody finally telling my truth about Watchmen: great mostly because historically important, not so much because of its actual success in/of execution.For ten years or so, I've been wondering if maybe I loved it so much b/c I was so embedded in the superhero genre. What would somebody think of Watchmen--or the Dark Knight

Streets of Astroboy

2009-03-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

Turns out the world if full of Astroboy graffitti. image:Narisaimage:jesper11image:wademimage:wednesday Mc Shiver image:dier madrid; image:UfOimage:rotokirby image:Rubira; image:nettsu image: sensemaybenumbed; image:The Daemonimage:ScottD_Archimage:fooishbarIt goes without saying, the last one's pretty awesome.-d.d.

The Many Faces of... MITCHELL!!

2009-02-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

image:pupkinimage:pupkinimage:pupkinimage:pupkinimage:pupkinI really need to watch this episode again. Always get seduced by some other, newer re-released episode or set whenever I'm about to take the plunge. Fat says this episode always makes him cry (its Joel's last), the big ol' softie.-d.d.

a cheap paperback life

2009-02-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

AKA:locusts, rain and the cosmic thwartI've lived in Santa Destroy for coming up on 10 months now. I'm preparing to move for the second time. It's been raining for days.I live pretty close to the bone here: I wasn't working those first four months, the surround be 'spensive* and I don't exactly have the best job ever had by dog, man or boy. One of the biggest structure hits I've taken involves my

Here come the dreams that are split at the seams

2009-02-15T00:06:00.000-08:00

EclipseJohn Shirley(1985)In Eclipse, many of my favorite things about John Shirley dovetail together, creating a sort of Janus-faced monstrous representation of my tastes in writing, culture, and politics. Eclipse portrays the near-future unfolding of a neo-fascist supra-national empire in the wake of a non-nuclear World War III. Europe is in ruins, but armistice has been achieved (or at least

never a simple chimaera

2009-02-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a while, and then a while. In the doldrums, becalmed by a season in which my local Warriors are tepid whilst bland. My ancient ways of loyalty to Denver have been sorely strained by their unintriguing competence; I retreat to my tent with a stack of novels.*Through the summer, I fattened myself on the works of Steve Gerber, as Collision's interest spurted into obsession. Mostly I

Hanging at street lamps looking for action

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

MindplayersPat Cadigan(1987)I was pretty stoked when I found this paperback at the Goodwill for a buck, since I'd heard about Cadigan as a kind of o.g. cyberpunk, and I had recently become a bit self-aware of the lack of female authors in my library. The premise is certainly interesting: when technology can interact with the human brain, then a multitude of pleasures will be generated using that

the death of literature is the birth of the truth

2009-02-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

You probably need to read this.Many things in the works, here soon I hope.

press my face up to the screen

2009-01-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

A Circular of Recent Literate Goings-On, or, D.D Tinzeroes Reviews the Recently Read, No. 4. This batch comes highly recommended.The Anubis GatesTim Powers(1983)There is no better introduction to Powers than the Anubis Gates. 'Course, this one won some awards and stuff, so I suppose it's arguably his best. Academic type specializing in the poetry of Lord Byron and the like gets to go back in time

Bostwick

2009-01-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

"You love them in red, then you love them in blue, but mostly you love them in red," said Fat suddenly, unexpectedly.D.D., knowing this to be a quote from something, furrows brow and paces about in concentration for a few minutes. Stops, looks at Fat, "I can't place it."Fat grins, "MegaForce!" he says.D.D. scrunches his nose at Fat, his mouth becoming a sort of sideways question mark, "why are

tighter packed with stuffing

2009-01-25T00:11:00.000-08:00

Fat found this plushie seat on Play-Asia, tho' it be unclear what he was looking for when he found it. He introduced his discovery with the words: The description here Gives me the jibblies, but sorta makes me smile?It's complicated.The description in question being, I presume,Plushes usually sit on your lap as you watch TV or sleep in your arms on your bed. To return the favor, the

Scratching the Light Off the Horizon

2009-01-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

A Circular Containing an Continuation of Books of Interest Read in the Period 2007 to the Present, by D.D. Tinzeroes, No.3.The Stars My DestinationAlfred P. Bester(1956)I read this after readings its high recommendation in Michael Moorcock's "Starship Stormtroopers" essay (he categorized it as a truly radical piece of scifi), and then having it "of course, I assumed you had already read it"

Generation S[EGA]

2009-01-16T17:31:00.000-08:00

This beauty comes via the 'Yard, off the back of an otherwise generally bland t-shirt that came with the legendary SEGAGAGA box set which Gagaman recently 'quired. I kifed his pic and cleaned it up a little in 'shop. If he's got a scanner he should just platen the thing and make stickers or something. Those hanging controllers are just the tits.1-d.d.1As Fat might say.

Six hail marguerita, we're going straight to hell!

2009-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Being a circular of items recently read by D.D. Tinzeroes, Number 2.THE EXILE KISSGeorge Alec Effinger(1991)The third and final (published) volume of Effinger's Marid Audran Budayeen novels. Set in a near-future unnamed Arab city, which most resembles either Cairo or Damascus, I think. This one's probably the least sci-fi of the batch, really, with tech-elements serving only to provide plot leaps

A pint of Lazarus straight up

2009-01-05T22:50:00.002-08:00

I've been a pretty good tear with the reading of Stuff that I've not read before. Had this major THING 'bout back in '06 where I found out that you can use the internet to point you to authors and books that You Haven't Read based on authors and books that You Have Read. Amazing, right?! So off I went.Six months later I did a list of every book I've read since 2000 or so and was somewhat

anguished howls from the front office

2008-10-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

[from: Bay Area News Group 23oct2k8, B3, "Watson hurts elbow in exhibition", Thompson II, Marcus]This is going to be fun for Nelson, right, molding and shaping all the Warriors' young talent? Wrong."I'm uncomfortable simply because we have so many young players," Nelson said. "This is a situation where our team is very green. There are a lot of situations they can hurt you. And we understand that

The hell? Fat-at-Comicon. Part 2 (of 2).

2008-07-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Fat's second and final day of field note submissions from Comicon.Mo Cheeks is eatingbreakfast where we are.10:51AM Sat, Jul 26This guy walking by justissued this huge belchand didn't excusehimself. Mo and Iexchanged disapprovingeye contact andheadshakes.11:11AM Sat, Jul 26Ben Edlund autograph!'I'm a huge fan. I thinkyer a genius.' 'Uhm. I'lltake it.'1:02PM Sat, Jul 26-d.d.

The hell? Fat-at-Comicon. Part 1.

2008-07-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Fat's in SanDiego at Comicon. He took the time to file some field notes.Tshirt idea: gotAspergers?9:42AM Fri, Jul 251Caution: Seaman shirtspotted.10:36AM Fri, Jul 25Scott Shaw! and SergioAragones booth toBooth! I'm seriously alittle starstruck.11:06AM Fri, Jul 25Rom back issues. SOyoinking these!11:45AM Fri, Jul 25Captain Sisko! Freaking!Out!1:54PM Fri, Jul 25Venture Bros panel! Lineinsane, am

NBA Gaiden: Ben Gurion slouches toward Beth Lehem and buys her a drink

2008-07-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

as the failing eyes of Stern David turn away, one thousand pointless voices strive to make a horrible joke about Brand DisloyaltyA prime tactic in Reviewieran praxis is the imposition of story on things perhaps not inherently narrative. Eventually--and it don't take long--that thing becomes so imbued with story-quality that it becomes difficult to partake of it without story. Which is why

Balls Shot Off for a Cause

2008-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

It'd been a while since I watched any Kubrick, but recently I stayed up 2 late 1 night watching, of all things, A.I. on cable.Frankly, I was shocked, SHOCKED! (I say) at the jarring transition from Kubrick's subtle, complicated meditations on robot ethics to Speelburgo's schmaltzly Pinocchio pastiche. The trauma was enough to (finally, I guess) make me realize, profoundly, the (totally obvious)

Something Wicked Retahded This Way Comes...

2008-06-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

K, so Fats [ed: It's "Fat"] sends me this the other day: “Still like the guy, but Garnett’s nickname should be Origami, cuz he folds so sweet.” I agree with the man about KG needing another nickname, because no one 32 years old should be called “The Kid” unless you have that obnoxious affectation I do of calling everyone “kid”. At least I have an excuse, because in my alcohol-addled haze I cannot

Djinn of Nordic Descent

2008-05-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

As is perhaps typical of that Fetishizer of the Facile, Lafayette "Fat" Contradiction has once again latched his attentions to (what I thought was) a mere side-thought in one of my writing. This times, it’s the (what I am now calling) Element of Display Distinction. Also, display as a concept and a reality, including the elements of design and set-up (what kind of shelf? what order? etc), is a

Six-Sided PokèHexagram

2008-05-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

One year and a half (80+ hours) later, eight gym badges adorn my fanny pack, 92 balls tucked securely within. The path of Victory Road, I have fugging walked. Venusaur. Pidgeot. Gyrados. Persian. Raichu. Rapidash – the dread Six-Sided PokèHexagram, my daily bread.1The Elite Four of the Pokèmon League, SOUNDLY have I beaten. TRAMPLED, even. No thrill of competition, no baited breath, no tooth and

it's a small world after all

2008-05-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last year, I went me to some Pax.Whilst there, I was most impressed by this young lady:Apparently, I wasn't the only one, as the centerpiece of this year's ad campaign seems to be...Eerily familiar!Okay. I should go fix my abysmal resume.-Fat

The Streets of Dobuita are Never Lonely

2008-04-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm on the fuggin' warpath.I am in the midst of a four-sided multi-console pronged offensive.Tired of dicking around, I shelved the (more) recently started stuff (Grandia1, Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention2, Harvest Moon GBC, Hoshigami3) and went all out on the Really Quite Far Along crowd.After careful but unnecessary preparations I made my run on the intimidating Ikuto dungeon in

Kainton School for Boys

2008-03-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

I guess Cube and Palomcid were in juvey together.Man, and you think y'know someone.... Ya learn something everyday, I guess.1-d.d.1 Contrary to recent events, I promise Reviewiera is not turning into an Animal Crossing site. For 1 thing, that's been done, wayyy better than we could evar hope to do. Its just, well, Animal Crossing, especially the shit the animals say, and the crap you can put in

After Hours in the Valley of Downs

2008-03-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, Fat brought his lil' Palom Cid (and the accompanying town of Kainton) over so he could visit my town, Ivon (and so my darling Asa could likewise visit his municipality: Kainton). There was the customary exchanging of fruits, naturally, but we were mutually impressed with the elements of Animal Crossing opened up by visiting another player's town.1Kainton, however, is not for the timid.

idolizing yr kills with Suda 51

2008-03-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

Two of the most interesting writers on these 'nets are Leigh Alexander and Alex Kierkegaard. Alexander says this:a glorious exercise in simultaneous reverence and irreverenceKierkegaard says this: This game fucking sssssssucks and I fucking hated almost every moment I spent playing it.Predictably, they're both talking about the same game: No More Heroes. As far as reviews go, Kierkegaard wins

to-day in retail and radd

2008-03-04T23:14:00.000-08:00

So to-day I went Shopping. Not a big spree or anything; I was a hair manic, fought through it with a bunch of writing, then rolled on down to the mall for a bit. Not an exciting trip (because I bailed on buying myself a copy of Guitar Hero III), but I did score a new copy of Touch Detective 2 1/2. Fifteen wing-wangs! --I stalled out on Touch Detective a while back, but it's a far better

Hybridization

2008-02-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

A Sega Nomad became a dear part of my life over the holidays. Yah, the battery life is as short as you've heard - abt 5 hrs w/ (six) alkalines, and although a disappointing 2 or so hours w/ NiMH rechargeables, well, at least they're rechargeable.1Phantasy Star II's been getting the lion's share of play on the Nomad. This is contrary to what I've read in some places: that RPGs don't look great on

Good to be back home in the pubs with the people that you love

2008-02-02T20:32:00.001-08:00

Fat got me a 'Cube for xmas. With a Gameboy Player.1I never had a 'Cube before, so it was purty kewl. Especially w/ the Wavebird controller.I've dinked around w/ some of my GBA games on the GBPlayer, but basically I went out and immediately got myself a copy of Animal Crossing.2I don't claim to be a great "player" of Animal Crossing. Many places have been around longer than my pissant village

ain't never gonna happen, but

2008-01-24T04:06:00.000-08:00

Maker of Amazing Games Tetsuya Mizuguchi drops a lovely interview, mostly about the new port of Rez. (I've been trying to score a Dreamcast version of Rez for a long time.) At the end, he declares:If I had a reason to remake Space Channel 5 on the new platforms, I will do that.SC5 was the first game I bought for my Dreamcast; a month or so later, it was the game that sold DDT on the console.

shmups make Fat insane: an introductory appendix

2008-01-23T03:02:00.000-08:00

An oddity I ponder occasionally: the most worthwhile writing on gaming tends to come from the UK.(1) In recent times, the estimable Eurogamer grants its favored titles the label "moreish". This might be the most game-useful label I've yet encountered.And the most moreish title since, probably, fucking Tetris would have to be my newly-acquired Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS).Now, what it means to

I leveled it !

2008-01-18T13:40:00.001-08:00

Wanting to fire up the teal GameBoyColor my little sister had willfully disowned, but only possessing her carts of Ms. Pac-man and (an nonfunctional) Super Mario World DX, I snagged the Dragon Warrior I + II comp for 10 bucks. As I mentioned in passing last time, Dragon Warrior (I) was 1 of those rented-for-the-weekend NES system and 1-3 games experiences from the early 90s. For reasons I cannot

like a airborne primate savior hanging ten

2008-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

For reasons, I needed a bit of retail to-day. (This naked preacher will play.) Unfortupredictably, I'm broke-broke. This offers, though, a shot at the kind of big game hunting DDT talks about now and again. So at my Goodwill I surveyed the scene: busy! Like...crowded. Cluttered, a competitive landscape. I've spent my life in public; I pass through clots of people like a ghost, they don't