Friday, March 18, 2011

5-4-Fri: Kickstarter

My pal, Jean, is a Jim Bianco friend and fan. So she recommended to me that I help Jimbo bootstrap his next album. Huh?

Turns out there is a site called Kickstarter. It bills itself as "a new way to fund and follow creativity." According to the site:

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.

Herz how it works. I went onto Kickstarter and, lo and behold, Jim Bianco was indeed asking for money from average folks like me to produce his new album. He'd retain all rights and, in exchange, I'd get a copy of the album. If I gave more, he'd give me bonus songs, a personal note, a phone call, a private concert, officiate at my wedding, etc. I decided that--as awesome as a houseparty after my wedding featuring Jim and the band would be--I should stick to the somewhat less stratospheric $35 contribution. Even if I had not already planned to give money to support Jean's support of a new social media tool for supporting art, the hee-larious launch video would have absolutely compelled me to give.

Well, today a package arrived from Team Bianco with five things packed into it along with a bunch of gold glitter:

1. Loudmouth - the new album. Nice work, all. I am glad that my reward for contributing was a good CD and not just a good feeling. I'll load it onto iTunes, where it will keep Jim's "Well Within Reason" digital company.

2. Free Download of Bonus Song - This didn't really work and the song, which I was to download from Jim's Web site, only made it halfway to my computer.

3. Live at the Hotel Cafe - a live version of the album plus some other tunes. A welcome addition.

4. Sticker - In case I want to be one of those guys with more than one bumper sticker on their car. It's a nice sticker, but it's no producer credit, knowwhatImsayinJim?

5. "Sinner" Button - For me to wear to church during Lent. Nice touch.

All this came with a personal note from Jim that said, and I quote, "Dear iClipse--You rock. Hard." Whch shows you how nice Jim is. And how little he actually knows about my own chubby middle manager, mid-life crisis, singer song-writer, indie-style music or the decidedly unrocking (2 Acoustic Guitars + a Bass) = (WALL OF FOLK) formula produced by my band, B-minus.

In the end Jim raised $31,500 from 346 people. Kind of amazing. I am really glad I did it. (But I could have done without the glitter, which is taking forever to clean up.)

PS - Jim sometimes has a kind of Tom Waits growl. He also wears hats. But, I like this album more than some of Tom's. Oh, and you'll like "But I Still Want You" by Jim Bianco; now playing on iTunes.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Excellent Quotes: Anthony Bourdain

I read Entertainment Weekly weekly. Don't judge. A fellow needs his vices. I busted a gut reading a welcome but unexpected brand bashing in last week's edition. EW asked celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain about "the five most terrifying meals he's ever encountered." After naming rotten shark and three-day-old warthog, he winds up, reaches back, and - POW! - completely beyotch-slaps Olive Garden:

"Anybody who makes fake Italian food--I become so angry. Italian food to me is such a beautiful, simple thing that most Italian grandmothers can make at least well, and any American with a few dollars and five minutes in the supermarket can make in 20 minutes. I'm apoplectic when I see pasta or Mexican food abused."

-- Anthony Bourdain. "Seriously Scary Meals." Interview with Archana Ram. Entertainment Weekly #1145 (March 11, 2011): p. 68.

Oh, no, he didn't!

PS - I feel exactly like Bourdain whenever fate steers me to that woeful excuse for a restaurant, Don Pablo's. Who can do that to Mexican, I ask you? Turns out that the once iconic South Austin Grill can, that's who. SAG used to be my favorite restaurant ever, but I have had to change my mind and leave behind a once-a-week commitment that stretches back for more than a decade. More on this soon. Oh, and "If I Can't Change Your Mind" by Sugar is anything but tasteless; now playing on iTunes.

Friday, March 11, 2011

5-4-Fri: Philip K. Dick

My boy, Philip K. Dick was a short story writer whose gifts keep on giving. Although he lived the low-income cliche lifestyle of a sci fi writer, his ideas have spawned some great multi-million dollar movies (and also, truth be told, some high-budget but not-so-great flicks; but the ideas are still captivating). Check out the legacy of a man who practiced the long-lost art of the inspiring short story:

1. Blade Runner - One of my favorite films EVER. With or without Harrison Ford's voice-over narration -- "They don't advertise for killers in the newspaper. That was my profession" -- the movie is an engrossing exploration of future dystopia, ethics, and that noir classic: love. Eighties mood-setter, Vangelis contributed a famously dreamy sound track and then-mega-stars Daryl Hannah and Rutger Hauer walked through the perpetually rainy streets of 2019 killing everything in their way. Based on Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

2. Total Recall - Overblown and Arnoldized, this adaptation of "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" prefigured the Matrix. It showcases the great idea that your memories may not be your own. If you can look past the three-breasted aliens and stylized studio set violence, it is a great ride.

3. The Adjustment Bureau - Last weekend I saw this, the latest of the Dick adaptations. It is only at the end of the movie, really, that the limitations of streeeetching a short story into a full-length feature show. The rest is a pretty compelling series of awakenings by star Matt Damon and a futuristic flight-for-life from the shadowy powers-that-be with his lady love that would do J. J. Abrams proud. Based on the closely titled "Adjustment Team."

4. Minority Report - Once again, Tom Cruise's character is better. Than. Everyone. Else. in this creepy police thriller. Based on "The Minority Report," the action centers on a cop who pre-judges people for crimes they have not yet committed but will. Sure enough, it turns out that HE will need to be arrested, too. Break out a can of "Logan's Run" individualism and add in some screamingly insightful critiques of consumerist culture and you got yourself a film. Still, would rather have seen almost anyone other than the woefully-stylized Cruise in the lead role.

5. Paycheck - Such a great idea. Such a bad film. For my money, Ben Affleck owed us "The Town" solely as payback for this stinker. Based on the short story of the same title, our Jennifer-loving hero plays a reverse engineer who routinely has his memory erased after big jobs and wakes up one day to find himself persona non grata after what was to be The Big Job. So what does he do? Takes on the Man and action ensues. Pair this appetizer with a big Pino Noir and an entre of Christopher Nolan's frosh effort, "Memento" and enjoy a lovely evening.

PS - So many noir jewel lines in Blade Runner. "'Sushi,' that's what my ex-wife calls me: cold fish." "I didn't really need a translator. I knew the lingo, every good cop did. But I wasn't going to make it easier for him." "I didn't know how long we'd have together. Who does?" Oh, and "Watusi Rodeo" by Guadalcanal Diary is also gem from the '80s; now playing on iTunes.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Excellent Quotes: The Windup Girl

I just finished a book that reminded me of the quality of Frank Herbert's Dune. It is set in a futuristic Thailand in the aftermath of brutal bio-terrorist plagues that were developed by large agribusinesses as ways to undermine one another's profits. The resulting out-of-control genetic drift destroyed the planet's natural foods and, as the back cover says, "forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution." Very creepy and plausible stuff and a great read:

"The sun peers over the rim of the earth, casting its blaze across Bangkok. It rushes molten over the wrecked tower bones of the old Expansion and the gold-sheathed chedi of the city's temples, engulfing them in light and heat. It ignites the sharp high roofs of the Grand Palace where the Child Queen lives cloistered with her attendants, and flames from the filigreed ornamentation of the City Pillar Shrine where monks chant 24-7 on behalf of the city's seawalls and dikes. The blood warm ocean flickers with blue mirror waves as the sun moves on, burning."

-Bacigalupi, Paolo. The Windup Girl. San Francisco (CA): Night Shade Books, 2010. P. 60.

PS - The book features lots of great Thai ambiance, decrepit old scientists, lady-boys, and megodonts -- huge genetically engineered elephants used to power factories in a Brazil-like high tech/low tech dystopia. Oh, and, speaking of great quotes, Elvis Costello is a genius and "Almost Blue" proves it; now playing on iTunes.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Do It: Watch "Firefly"

Heads up: the Joss Whedon cult show, Firefly, is coming to cable, where you can see it all over agin.

So do it: catch you some Firefly on the ole home entertainment system.

PS - The Geekverse is freaking out that Nathan Fillion has indicated that he'd shed his Castle garb and play the shiny role of space captain Mal again. Oh, and "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons is worth freaking out about; now playing on iTunes.