Jul
3rd
Thu
3rd
A companion tumblog to the blog Syndicate Product Covert HQ to keep track of what I'm reading, listening to, watching, and such.
Jul
2nd
Wed
2nd
Music: "Ant in Alaska" by Liz Phair
Of the paltry three bonus tracks on the Exile in Guyville re-release (thankfully available on eMusic), this is the only one worth listening to. It will remind you of the Liz Phair we all fell in lust with 15 years ago.
I look at my life and I know you’ve forgotten
the promise you made to me.
I think that’s rotten.
I’m hopelessly lost
and there’s hardly a sound anymore
coming through that can show me around
as I’m endlessly endlessly searching a crowd
looking for something from you.
Just one fucking measley clue
Any shitty little tip-off would do.
Still available as a Sterogum download (at least for now).
Film: WALL-E
2008, Directed by Andrew Stanton.
Amazing to look at. I really need to see this again in an emptier theater so I can really lose myself in it, and not have to listen to the brat in front of me loudly asking “Daddy, what’s happening?” over and over. (Note: Yes, I know it’s a “G” rated movie and there would be kids there. However, parents of these kids need to learn that a movie theater is not the same as your own living room.)
Favorite scene: WALL-E in the morning, lethargic and bumping into things until he can go outside and recharge his solar power. It’s kind of like me before my morning coffee.
The short Presto! is an added witty bonus, reminiscent of Looney Tunes.
Book: THE QUITTER by Harvey Pekar, art by Dean Haspiel
It’s not often that I absolutely, insanely, entirely dig both the story and the artwork in a graphic novel - usually one is slightly stronger than the other. However, in The Quitter, both are spectacular. Haspiel’s strong-lined black and white artwork fits Harvey’s life as a quitter perfectly.
I’m not sure why I identify strongly with Harvey Pekar. Maybe it’s because he’s just an ordinary guy who spends a lot of time observing what’s going on around him, and manages to tell these stories in an engaging manner. Maybe it’s the schulb factor. Maybe it’s the Cleveland thing - what is it about that city and cartoonists?
I should have read this years ago. I’m eagerly awaiting Haspiel’s next project, The Alcoholic with writer Jonathan Ames.
Jun
29th
Sun
29th
Jun
24th
Tue
24th
Music: @#%&! SMILERS by Aimee Mann
Terrible title, good album, especially “Freeway”, “Thirty-One Today” and “Great Beyond”.
Jun
23rd
Mon
23rd
Jun
22nd
Sun
22nd
Film: ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
2008, Directed by Marina Zenovich.
Possible longer blog post on SPCHQ to follow about this. It really left my head muddled.
Film: THE APPLE
1980, Directed by Menahem Golan.
The Turner Classic Movies “Underground” feature this week. What WAS it about late late 70s into 1980 that produced such amazingly bizarre crap like Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, Can’t Stop the Music, Xanadu, and similar turds? A desperate attempt to cling on to the 1970s?