It looks like we have a line on an instructor for an introduction to the ukelele, so if you haven’t already let me know you’re interested in taking the class, do so! Sounds like it’s going to be a hoot! And I know where to get super cheap ukes.
I Competed!
This Tuesday evening was the first annual Ukelele Slam! Contestants performed original songs for prizes. It was announced at the last monthly Ukelele Jam and Joyce and I said “yeah! We should do it!” But we didn’t get our stuff together until the night before. We slapped together a song and performed it at the slam. I think the song itself is sound but the execution was pretty laughable. There were 8 contestants – Joyce and I were the only team – and we placed 7th. It’s a good thing we didn’t place in the top four because we both forgot that those who made it to the second round had to perform a second original song – and we had not even begun to write one! Overall it was a lot of fun and despite our poor ranking the crowd really enjoyed our antics. And our prize for placing 7th was getting our $5 entry fee back. Good-natured fun for all, and now I’ve forced Joyce on stage. Woot!
Now I want to put together an intro to ukelele Slackademics workshop. Who’s interested? I know where to get $10 ukeleles if you don’t already have one.
de4dmeta1 is My Guitar Hero
Watch “A Marine Biologist” on Guitar Hero II in this youtube clip from de4dmeta1. Pretty sweetass. I wonder if we’d get in trouble if we released an actual music video for one of our songs this way. Too bad none of the characters in Guitar Hero wear Lovecraftian monster costumes. Although Pandora’s feather outfit is in the neighbohood.
Yeah, Expert baby!
Slackademics
In a rare bout of familial obligation, I called my mother yesterday.
On Saturday Carina hosted a Slackademics class on how to make a web page. It was good! I learned things – and I wrote them down. And I ate lots of pita and hummus/houmous/etc. What’s next? What’s next? I don’t know. Chris O’Hagan is offering sailing, but no date yet. I hope to squeeze a Photoshop class out of someone. I also want to attend classes on piano, guitar, and any kind of language that isn’t English.
If you’re on facebook, and you live in Vancouver, you can join the Slackademics group. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2347198003
Maybe that will increase activity/interest.
No One Wants to Talk About Shark Fin Soup
I was watching a program on PBS the other day about how important apex predators are to the ecology of an area. In the 1930’s they shot the last wolf in Yellowstone. Since then, they’ve been trying to figure out why certain trees haven’t been growing and why the river has been “dying” – eroding away its banks and leaving silt. Turns out because the elk had nothing to run from they were eating the young trees and the willow on the edge of the river that holds the boundaries of the river. Also wolf kills feed dozens of other scavenging species. A few years ago they reintroduced a wolf pack and the system is being rejuvenated – including the return of beavers and all of the benefits that they provide the system.
IT’S NOT ALL YOU WANT TO EAT, IT’S ALL YOU CAN EAT
I went to BC Sushi for all you can eat last night. The food was okay (not nearly as good as Minato by my place) but I saw shark fin soup on the menu and I was somewhat disgusted. I think sharks are pretty amazing. Shark fin soup is a “delicacy” – more like a status symbol. Because it’s expensive, it’s served to impress, for example, wedding guests. Depending on who you go by, many species of sharks (and big fish in general) have lost 80-90% of their numbers in the past 40-50 years. We know so little about our local environments, the sea is an even bigger mystery, but we’re starting to see how the reduction of shark populations is screwing things up. Nevermind that shark fins are pretty tasteless – they add other stock to give the soup its flavour. And nevermind that sharks are full of mercury and are therefore dangerous to eat, thanks to our pollution. So don’t eat shark fin soup. It’s wasteful, pointless, and dangerous to everyone. And I won’t be giving BC Sushi any more of my money.
Even though I don’t eat any fish, I keep Canada’s Seafood Guide [link] in my wallet to inform others about which fish are harvested sustainably and which ones are endangered or are fished in a way that wrecks the ocean.
Get Some Corn…And Movie Time
Only 47 movies left to go! Since last I wrote I’ve seen 28 Weeks Later (about as good as the first), Matchstick Men (great acting but I figured out the ending and it was an ending I was hoping against), Pirate of the Caribbean 2 (only good for the action/fx), The Black Cauldron, Catch Me If You Can (good!), The Hard Way, Heat, Sin City (Terrible! I actually couldn’t watch it all the way through so I guess technically it doesn’t count) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Also Bloodsuckers – the intergalactic vampire hunters TV movie that has a Thickets song in it during a space battle. I’ve had the DVD that a loyal fan made me for well over a year, but I finally got around to watching it.
A Marine Biologist Video Idea (please disseminate)
Marine biologist footage needed for rock video
Are you a marine biologist? Do you want to be in a rock video?
Hello all, this is Toren Atkinson, science lover and lead singer for the Lovecraftian rock band, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. You may, at http://www.thickets.net/toren/darkestofthehillsidethickets.mp3 [link] or http://www.myspace.com/darkestofthehillsidethickets [link] listen to/download the mp3 for “A Marine Biologist,” a fun little number about bathyscaphes, benthic trawlers, giant squid, etc.
I would like to create a video for this track that essentially features marine biologists from across the globe. The idea would simply be a series of video clips of marine biologists doing what they (you?) do, with text at the bottom of the screen detailing who it is we’re looking at, their location and specialty. So, for example, if we got a clip of Dr O’Shea, it would something to the effect of:
DR. STEVE O’SHEA
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (and/or specific institution)
SPECIALTY: THE GIANT SQUID
The footage doesn’t need to be created from scratch just for the video – I’m perfectly happy with any video of any quality where it’s clear who the marine biologist is, and that he/she/you are in their element doing marine biology stuff – whether that be in the lab, on site recording courtship sounds…whatever.
So the entire video would be like a profile of worldwide marine biologists set to our song. Hopefully the video would appear on various music/TV shows–MTV, Muchmusic, and their equivalents, but at the very least it would go out throughout the internet, youtube, on our site, and into your hands as well to do with as you wish.
To make this happen – I need your cooperation!
If you are a marine biologist and want to help out would you:
a) contact me at thickets@uniserve.com and we can work out how to get video footage from you.
b) provide a statement that you give permission for The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets to use the footage and your likeness strictly for the purpose of this music video
c) see also (d) below!
If you are not a marine biologist, can you please
d) spread this around to any marine biologists you know, or anyone you think might know a marine biologist!
THANKS SO MUCH – if we can get this done I think it would be really fun!
55 Movies to Go
Watched YANKEE DOODLE DANDY last night. More a series of musical numbers than a movie. And dull! Also watched CATCH ME IF YOU CAN which was pretty good.
Here’s my “movies to see” list these days.
25th Hour (2002 Norton/Hoffman)
Always Outnumbered 1998
Anima Mundi 1991 28 minutes Godfrey Reggio documentary 7.8
Barry Lyndon 1975 Historical Drama/Romance/War Dir: Kubric 7.8
Begotten 1991 Fantasy (B&W)5.8
Born into Brothels 2004
Breaker Morant 1980
Capote
Careful 1992 (Guy Madden) 7.8
Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, not Wes Craven)
Close-Up 1976 Documentary/Short (France)
Dogville (2003) lars von trier/chloe sevigny
Down by Law 1986 Comedy/Drama Tom Waits 7.5 NAR
Evidence 1995 8 minute documentary Reggio 8.3
Fiddler on the Roof 1971 Musical 7.4
First Men on the Moon 1999 Sci-Fi
Gia 1998 Drama Angelina Jolie (TV) 7.2
George Washington 2000 Drama (VIFF) 7.2
The God Who Wasn’t There docu 2005 7.2
Grey Gardens (docu)
Horror Express 1972 Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi 6.0
King Leopolds Ghost (doc)
Leolo 1992 Comedy/Drama (Canada/France) 7.1
Living in Oblivion 1995 Comedy Steve Buscemi 7.4
Luzhin Defence 2000 Drama/Romance Turturro 7.5
Marjoe (1972)
Manhattan 1979 Woody Allen 8.2
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky 1992 7.9
May (Denmark) 2002
Naked Man 1998 Comedy/Drama Ethan Coen 5.7
Natural History of the Chicken 2000 7.0 documentary
Next of Kin 1984 Dir: Atom Agoyan (Canadian) 7.0
Opportunists, The 2000 Walken 6.2
One Day in September 1999 documentary 8.0
Paradise Lost: Child Murders 1996 Documentary 8.4
The Party Peter Sellers
Pennies from Heaven (Steve Martin)
Planet of the Vampires (Terrore nello spazio) Mario Bava) 1965 6.4
Salesman (docu) 1969 8.2
The Savages 2007
The Score 2001 Crime/Drama/Thriller De Niro, Norton 7.0
Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb 1993 Animation/Sci-Fi 6.9
Secretary 2002 7.3
Seksmisja (Sexmission) 1984 sci-fi 7.4
Session 9 2001 Thriller/Horror 5.8
Sex: The Annabel Chong Story 1999 Documentary 5.9
Shifter (VIFF New Zealand)
Singing Detective 1986 (mini)
Somebody to Love 1994 Drama Buscemi/Tucci 5.0
Source, The 1999 Documentary Turturro 7.4
State and Main (Mamet) 2000 7.1 Hoffman
Tales from the Gimli Hospital 1988 horror 7.4
Talk to Her 2002
Thin Blue Line 1988 documentary 8.1
Towering Inferno 1974 Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway 6.3
Valley of Gwangi (scifi western)
Vanishing 88 original
Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971)
Way of the Gun
CLASSIC
Adam’s Rib 1949 Tracy/Hepburn 7.6
Ball of Fire 1941 Comedy/Romance Gary Cooper 7.8
Ben-Hur 1959 Action/Drama 8.1
Best Years of Our Lives 1946 Drama/War 8.4
Breakfast at Tiffany’s 1961 Audrey Hepburn 7.7
Charade 1963 cary grant & hepburn 8.1
Campanadas a medianoche/chimes at midnight orson welles 8.4 hist/com
Dark Intruder 1965 Horror/Mystery Leslie Nielsen 7.0
Fail-Safe 1964 7.8
Greed 1925 Drama 8.5
High Noon 1952 Thriller/Western Gary Cooper 8.3
His Girl Friday 1940
Hobson’s Choice 1954 drama 7.9
Intolerance 1916 Drama 8.3
Invaders from Mars 1953 Sci-Fi 6.3
IT! Terror from Beyond Space 1958 Horror/Sci-Fi 5.2
Kind Hearts and Coronets Alec Guinness 1949 com 8.2
Lady Vanishes (hitchcock) 1938 8
Lavender Hill Mob, The 1951 Comedy/Crime Hepburn,
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1943
Laura 1944 Film-Noir/Mystery (B&W) 8.2
Letter From an Unknown Woman 1948 Drama (B&W) 8.0
Lion in Winter 68 drama/historic 8.1
Louisiana Story 1948 Documentary (B&W) 8.1
M 1931 Crime/Thriller 8.7
Matter of Life and Death 1946 Fantasy/rom
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 western
Matewan 1987 drama 7.6
Midnight Cowboy 1969 Drama Dustin Hoffman 7.9
Mister Roberts 1955 comedy 8.0
On the Threshold of Space 1956 Drama 7.5
Paths of Glory 1957 Drama/War Kirk Douglas 8.7
Pit and the Pendulum, The 1961 Horror 6.7
Porgy and Bess 1959 drama 8.1
Rat Pfink a Boo Boo 1965 Comedy/Action/Thriller 3.1
Rebecca 1940 hitchcock 8.3
Room at the top 1959 8.1
Sabrina Audrey Hepburn 50’s 7.6
Searchers, The 1956 Western John Wayne 8.3
Some Like it Hot (lemmon) 1959 8.5
Strangers on a Train (hitchcock) 1951 8.1
Sullivan’s Travels!!!! 1942 Comedy 8.4
Sunrise 1927 Drama/Romance B&W 8.5
Sunset Blvd. (1950 8.6
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? 1969 Jane Fonda 7.5
To Be or Not to Be , Jack Benny 1942 8.3
Trouble in Paradise 1932 Comedy/Romance 8.4
World Without End 1956 Sci-Fi 5.5
FOREIGN
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959
Abra Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) 1997 8.1
Aguirre: The Wrath of God 1972 Adventure 8.0
Alphaville
Attack the Gas Station aka Juyuso seubgyuksageun
1999 Comedy (VIFF South Korea) 7.9
Amarcord 1974 Comedy/Foreign (Italian) Dir. Fellini 8.1
An Autumn Afternoon aka Sanma No Aji 1964 8.3
Avventura è l’avventura, L’ 1972? Adv/Com (France/Italy)
Atanarjuat,The Fast Runner 2001 Canada Inuit 7.6
Battleship Potemkin 1925
Drama/War/Foreign (Soviet Union B&W Silent) 8.4
Belle noiseuse, La 1991 Drama/Foreign (French) 7.5
Betty Blue/372 Le Matin 1986 Comedy/Drama/Foreign (French) 7.0
Bicycle Thief aka Ladri di biciclette 1948 Drama/Foreign (Italian) 8.6
Bride with White Hair (pramas)
Brighter Summer Day, A aka Guling jie shaonian sha ren shijian 1991 (Taiwan) 6.8
Burning Paradise 94 (pramas)
Burnt by the Sun 7.5 1994
Cabaret Balkan (Bure Baruta, 1998 Yugoslavian) (Serbo-Croatian) 7.1
Children of Heaven (Iran) (Bacheha-Ye aseman) 1997 7.4
Dersu Uzala 1974 Adv/Dra Akira Kurosawa 8.1
Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The 1972 Com (French) 8.1
Diva 1996 Animation (Portugal)
Dragon Gate Inn (pramas)
Drifting Clouds aka Kauas pilvet karkaavat 1996 Com (Finland) 7.5
Elephant 2003 Gus van Sant
Gui da gui/Encounters of the Spooky Kind 1980 wuxia 7.3
Europa Europa 1990
Festen 1998 aka The Celebration 1998 (Denmark) 8.4
Filantropica 9.0 comedy
Flowers of Shanghai 1998 (Taiwan) 7.8
Friend (vff 2001 selection, south korea)
The goddess of 1967 (angela)
Gojoe senki 2000 Action/Foreign (Japan VIFF) 7.0
Good Morning (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959)
Goya in Bordeaux 1999 Drama/Foreign (VIFF, spain) 6.1
Hana-bi /Fireworks 1997 Com/Crime/Thriller (Japanese) Kitano 7.7
Hidden Fortress 1958 Kurosawa 7.8
Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952
In praise of love (eloge de l’amour) (angela)
Indochine 1992 Drama/Romance (French?) 6.9
Insomnia 1997 Thriller/Foreign (Norwegian) 7.0
Intacto 2001 (italian) 7.3 VIFF
Irréversible 2002 french VIFF 7.1
Kandahar/ Safar e Ghandehar
2001 Iran/France
Kin-Dza-Dza 8.7 russian sci fi com
Kings of the Road / Im Lauf der Zeit 1976 (Germany B&W) 8.3
L’eau Froide 1994 Foreign/Drama ??
Moment of Innocence aka Nun va Goldoon 1996 foreign 8.4
Mimi wo sumaseba aka Whisper of the Heart 1995 ghibli (Japanese) 8.9
Mr Vampire 1985 7.5
My Sassy Girl/Yeopgijeogin geunyeo, rom/com South Korea 2001 8.4
Nouvelle vague 1990 Drama (French) 6.9
No Man’s Land (Bosnia) 2001 8.1
Nuovo cinema Paradiso (aka Cinema Paradiso) (1989 8.3
Ohayo (Good Morning) Japan 1959 8.2
Oldboy (Korean) 8.6
Once Upon a Time in the West /C’era una volta il West 1969 Henry Fonda (Italian) 8.6
Our Lady of the Assassins (angela)
Persona aka Kinematografi 1966 Drama (Swedish) 8.2
Princess and the Warrior 2000 Germany
Raise the Red Lantern / Da hong deng long gao gao gua 1991
Ran 1985 Drama/War (Japanese) 8.4
Rules of the Game (French) 1939 8.2
Sanjuro 1962 Action/Adv (Japan B&W) Dir: Kurosawa 8.0
Sanshô dayû aka Sansho the Bailiff 1954 Drama/Foreign (Japan) 9.4!!!
Santa Sangre 1989 7.0
Sátántangó 1994 Drama/Foreign (Hungarian) 6.9
Sonatine 1993 Action/Drama/Crime (Japan) 7.5
Subway 1985 Crim/Rom/Thril/Foreign (French) Dir:Luc Besson 6.3
Swordsman II (1992 Jet Li) 7.3
Tai chi master (1993) Jet Li 7.0
Tampopo (1985) 7.6
Tender Place (2001 vff selection japan)
A time for drunken horses 2000 7.5
Ikiru/To Live! (china 1952 8.1)
Tokyo Drifter 1966 7.3
Tokyo Olympiad (Kon Ichikawa, 1965
Tokyo Story aka Tokyo monogatari 1953 8.3
Tosun Pasa 9.1 Turkish comedy
Town is Quiet (La Ville est Tranquille) 2000 8.0
Triumph of the Will (nazi propaganda film) 1935 7.4
Ugetsu Monogatari 1953 8.4
Vive l’amour aka Aiqing wansui 1994 (Taiwan) 7.4
Wings of Desire aka Himmel über Berlin, Der
1987 Fantasy 8.0
Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain 1983 6.6
Weekend Update with Toren Atkinson
BURNING WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!
I am now playing a biweekly BURNING WHEEL game. Burning Wheel is a roleplaying game where the players have a lot more say in creating the world than in D&D. And the characters are much more fleshed out. And the rewards are not XPs. So far I’m enjoying it! However it has caused me to forget to tape LIFE OF BIRDS two consecutive times.
BIKE
I’ve taken my bike in to 3 different places to get fixed over the past year. You may remember I’ve complained here about how most of them aren’t open on Mondays. Anyway I think I’ve finally settle on Cyclepath, since one of the staff is a Thickets fan, that’s my best in for service and value! Cashing in the rock chips! Today I biked downtown to Elfsar and back, and tonight I biked to Burnaby and back for Joe’s housewarming, where I played some X-Box Guitar Hero. Joe was telling me they have Settlers of Catan for X-Box now.
COMICS
At free comics day I got some Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse comics! Also I purchased a sizeable chunk of ‘how to’ books, including WRITING FOR COMICS WITH PETER DAVID and INKING THE DC WAY. I also bought this crazy book called THE FANTASY FIGURE ARTIST’S REFERENCE FILE which has some pretty cheeseball stuff in it but also some nice photos of belts. Which is important.
56 MOVIES TO GO
On imdb.com, you can give movies a rating between 1 and 10, and also submit reviews. Over the past few years I’ve been inputting ratings of movies that I’ve seen as well as movies I remember well enough to give a faithful rating. I’m up to 944 titles. It’s my goal to hit 1000 in as short a time as possible, so I have to go now and watch something.
Here’s my list by the way [link]
Animal Face-Off!
Here’s a snippet from a show that I’ve never seen. Animal Face-Off: Sperm Whale vs. Colossal Squid. Enjoy!