Best Production in Film Thus Far

BBC's Planet Earth, which i have indulged in many many times, is the best film production thus far. The cinematography is unreal, shots of rare animals are fantastic, it's just a fucking spectacular production that everyone needs to watch on a regular basis. This epic series celebrates the Earth as it has never been seen before using state of the art HD photography and revolutionary ultra-high speed cameras that are able to zoom in and out miles flawlessly. Taking 5 years, over 2000 logged field days, 40 cameramen, across 200 locations, nothing was spared in making this series a masterpiece. 

"A tour de force...A masterpiece." -The New York Times

"This is the Best DVD of the Year...an absolutely extraordinary achievement." Chicago Tribune 

Planet Earths stunning compilation captures the world's most rare animals, impossible locations, and intimate scenes with the loved, wildest, and most elusive creatures Earth has to offer. Watching a never before taped snow leopard in Pakistan makes you think about what that would look like in your foyer, gorgeous. Every seventeen years when the cicada appears to flood the forrest with an abundance of food for animals and nutrients for plants was also caught in this series, how's that for a stimulus package? 

Series is a MUST watch at least once. Be amazed, who knows how much longer these beauties will be around. 

Snowy Day Browsing/Procrastinating

When I should be packing for the long haul out west, I find myself easily distracted looking at different blogs from adventure to testimonial to music. I randomly came across this blog recommended by New York Magazine with all different genres of music with insightful reviews. It was recommended as one of the top 5 blogs to check out. The author, Matthew Perpetua, takes his time finding new music and writing very detailed descriptions of each song. The best part about the music he finds, other than the description of course, is the Quicktime link that allows you to listen to each and every song posted. Genres range from Europop to Indie to Rock to Electro, I even found a few Smashing Pumpkin bits in there from rather recent postings. 

Wiley & Merriweather - Cash in my pocket. 

"Musicians, take note: It is probably a very good idea for you to write catchy songs about being broke and/or desperately wanting money right about now. They don’t have to be miserable, mind you — it’s probably for the best to lean in the direction of this Wiley single, which balances out the frustration of insolvency with a perky, can-do optimism. Wiley’s verses are energetic and enjoyable, but his lyrics are largely beside the point — he’s basically just doing a hip hop stock move, i.e. “I come from nothing, but I’ve made some money from my music, and so I will flaunt it a bit without forgetting my roots.” The real action is in Mark Ronson’s musical arrangement and Daniel Merriweather’s chorus, the latter providing the bulk of the song’s emotional resonance, and the former lending the track a jolting sense of urgency. When the galloping beat overlaps with Merriweather’s white boy soul — actually, his voice sounds more than a little bit like that of Damon Albarn — the song just sparks, and kinda zaps you into its hustling state of mind."

-Matthew Perpetua

The intricate, well thought-out wording used by Perpetua almost makes you want to get up and dance, write your own song, and blast the stereo like Michael Jackson's - Black or White. 

Check it out here: FluxBlog 

American Ingenuity In Danger

While watching someone's short position on CitiGroup lose any gains it could have made over the past few market days, the government steps in, bails them out with $20B, and all equity shareholders are freed from the all-to-certain bankruptcy stock value of 0. One might next ask the question, "why is the government so quick to bailout yet another financial institution when some of the "Great American Icons" are waiting patiently for their own slice of the cake(most likely German Chocolate)?" The debacle is a double edged sword of sorts due to the fact that Citi was involved with credit default swaps and has already received $25B from the government already. Hogwash at its finest. IS it a good company? No. William Smith of Smith Asset Management, who owns CitiGroup stock said, "you're seeing an inept management being rewarded by the U.S. Government." Isn't one of the investing points to believe in their management team? 

On the other end of this argument, the US Government sent the automakers packing last week when they came and pleaded for a cash infusion. Do they have poor management? Yes. They. Do. Similar situation. Congress told them all to come back with a business plan for the next few years to prove this money isn't for staying afloat, somewhat makes sense, not entirely. Will congress be able to tell if the business plans are for viability purposes? Should we be looking out for our manufacturing sector? Yes. American manufacturing cannot crumble, even Obama understands that one. Automakers linked to 3 million jobs, banking industry linked to around 225k jobs. Which impacts the economy greater? Were the auto companies making risky investments that were not transparent such as mortgaged back securities? Not hardly. They were burdened with the high costs of American Labor, which made them less competitive on a global scale. Give cash to the companies who truly need it, in other words, let the shorts run free.  

Correction: CitiGroup received over $300B over the weekend in extended backings. Automakers: $0USD

If I Had Another Chance Tonight

Recently heard on a favorite podcast of mine (check post of things I dig) the Roger Sanchez track Another Chance remixed by Kaskade. Definite must have download if it is not in your collection thus far. The song's main chorus is - 

"If I had another chance tonight, I'd try to tell you the things we had were right. If I had another chance tonight..." 

Check it out here. 

Then of course the track breaks into a banging version of the original with added organ and synth. Anyway, the point of this post, other than being influenced by a few Landsharks, is not only that this track was a classic upon its release but the connotation behind the lyrics. If you had another chance tonight, what would you do with that chance knowing the outcome of set previous actions? Fun to think about? Yes. Waste of thought/time? Absolutely. Do what you are out to accomplish in that night/day/meeting/situation/competition = no regrets, there are no second chances. Layer Cake. 

Also, I have recently turned Travis onto this Kaskade track, which I cannot find a link to. Kaskade - Stars Align(Andy Caldwell Mix) Turn it up. 

Fell off the face of the Earth

I had this friend in college, Jesse, who became a very close friend to me the first few years of school, resurface just yesterday. Being a renegade himself, living and traveling all over the world most of his life, it wasn't a complete surprise that he hadn't contacted myself or my brother in just less than a year. Low and behold he called just yesterday. Sounding quite disheveled on the phone made me question if it were actually him on the other end. Well a lot has happened since the last time we spoke, such as him getting married, losing his leg to a brown recluse spider, planing his own funeral, and being in the current process of choosing a prosthetic leg, which I assured him could turnout to be somewhat sweet. Of course I took the opportunity to brag about my newly superior basketball skills, maybe to lighten up the conversation? My first question when all of this information was being relayed to me was - what the hell, where was my wedding invitation? I happen to love weddings, the party afterward, and everyone being in such a great mood. Quite offended upon hearing this news. (The leg being on the backburner.) 

What troubled me the most about this phone call was that Jesse thought I would not still be friends with him if I knew he had one less appendage. Who gives a shit? Yeah I can't be seen with someone missing a leg, that might be embarrassing. Ha. A point was brought up to me later, that I had only thought about briefly during the conversation due to there being a distress element, pertaining to the missing time in between the spider bite (July) and when contact was made, yesterday. What happened to unanswered messages of the email variety? In the next conversation, since the last was difficult on Jesse's part evidently, I will address said questions. Personally, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a leg, except getting the closest parking spaces of course. Coincidentally, Tristan and I were talking about his fall from the Earth not a week before the infamous phone call. Somehow he managed to climb back on for now. 

Continued Media Destruction

A news story has been running on most major networks the past 24 hours about Sarah Palin's controversial background choice. She chose to do an interview in front of numerous turkeys being slaughtered as her background. No the turkeys weren't being killed with an ax on a chopping block, more like a giant cone where you couldn't see what was happening anyway. MSNBC made an even bigger deal by blurring out the turkeys unfortunate death because apparently people with xray vision can see through the steel cone and witness the turkeys head being chopped off. Evidently she was asked before beginning the interview if the background was alright, replying "no worries." Did she really know what was going on behind her or is she totally oblivious? If she knew and didn't care I would venture a guess Mrs. Palin thought it would be in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Who can honestly say they give a shit about the turkeys being killed and go eat one with family next week? Hypocrites. Give the woman who has vision for a few hundred miles a break. I wouldn't put it past her to slaughter a few after the interview with her Burberry scarf on, she would want to swing the ax, guaranteed. 

Stop pestering Palin, the woman is most likely torturing small game to drown her public humiliation/embarrassment. Who is suffering now? I'd bet she knows all the ways to skin a cat and would be happy to share them with Martha Stewart, could be her next show's craft, Alaskan style. 

Tell me honestly that a bear rug in your office doesn't mean business. 

Citations Without Notice

Can one receive a citation without proper signage of where trespassing is not permitted? As if trespassing is permitted in certain places to begin with, yes. Especially the Chelsea Pier area, specifically Pier 40 next to the Port Authority building. Yesterday I went to New York City to hang with Lily. Neither of us being able to sleep as usual, we decided to take a walk down by the pier. We then decided to jump over two sets of railing to bypass the closed gate out onto the boardwalk, mind you this gate had no trespassing signs attached to it(although the previous on had). Soon enough, the parks and rec security came lights flashing ready to exert authority upon us. These two goofs, most likely illiterate, claimed that we have been seen on camera trespassing onto the boardwalk and we were in big trouble. OoooO. We both proceed to give the forceful parks security false identities and ridicule them. It was quite hilarious in that both of our first responses were fabrication and the parks "officers" thought they had served justice by giving us each $50 citations for looking through binoculars on a public pier. Yes it was closed after 1am. Did we harm anything? Absolutely not. Napoleon Complex had overtaken both of them, especially Juan Gutierrez who made sure we knew that a law had been broken. Give me a break pinkerton. Utterly hilarious situation that only the two of us could get ourselves into. 

Don't mess with forceful pinkertons, they will kick your ass and issue you a citation.  

Nurse Says, "boys will be boys."

Thought for a second that I could type my normal speed minus two fingers, evidently not. Did some innocent animal killing over the weekend, also referred to as "killing god's creatures." Regardless, duck hunting is an activity that brings one closer to their father/brothers, encourages shooting of things flying through the air, allows for judgement practice, and most of all tastes absolutely delicious. Unlike restaurant duck, wild ducks are able to develop muscles and with the right marinade (olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, hint of salt, and cracked pepper) makes even my mouth water whilst writing this entry. Does that make me a vegan? Apparently not. Duck hunting is something I have enjoyed since about the age of 8, and frankly I am quite good at it. Ducks fly in but not many make the flight out. It gives you a perspective on how long your patience tolerance is, how good your aim/lead judgement is, and if you were cut out for early settler life. Which in its own right would have been fun to experience, not knowing the technologies we use on a day to day basis currently. 

Anyhow, the incident of the weekend happened right before hunting time, around 3pm, on Saturday. My older brother and I were goofing around, after was given by the opposing party. I then proceeded to slug him in the shoulder twice, the second time he decided to put a low-ball scotch glass in the way of his shoulder. My hand then went directly into the glass, shattering the glass with blood instantly squirting out of my hand. My thoughts exactly, "O fuck, fuck I hit a tendon, my life for the next three months is over. What a fuck, putting a glass up as a defense move while goofing off." On the way to the ER, due to my hand bleeding profusely, I was thinking that I get to experience the Socialist Canadian Healthcare System. Walking into the ER was an entirely different experience than in the States, as I have been there my fare share of times. Everyone in the

 waiting room was smiling with no worried patrons in sight. Initially I thought I was definitely in the wrong place, looking around I confirmed this indeed was the ER. They checked me in, a doctor who was scheduled to leave waited around to stitch me up, and I was on my way. Easy enough. Him being a Michigan Grad put me slightly at ease and I inquired as to where the rest of the staff was educated, most being educated in the States. The doctor was also eager to tell me how excited he is about Barrack Obama being the new president. If he can change America's image worldwide, I'm with him 100%. Anyway, four stitches were placed in my hand and the glass luckily missed my tendon by a hair. Thank fucking God for that one. 

Will my luck run out? 

- I hope not.

-Beware of the black swan. 

Story Lines Followed More Closely

Leaving the Grand Blanc theatre after being part of the first audience to see Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond flick, I have feelings of amazement and dismay simultaneously. I enjoy how after Pierce Brosnan they have started to glamorize bond less and follow the original story lines that were written by Ian Fleming. The originals portrayed Bond as the more human secret agent who felt extreme feelings of anger, passion, hate, revenge, whereas the more glamorized Bond was a womanizer who only cared about the cool gadgets he was using, if his car had the invisibility option, and if he was going to get some good old fashioned Pussy Galore. Since Daniel Craig has taken the Bond role, the character has become not only more human but more realistic in the stunts being preformed. The stunts I am mainly referring to have to deal with some of the outrageous gadgets, which are ridiculously sweet most of the time no doubt, but a bit unrealistic. 

Make sure of two things before you see this film. 1). Watch the end of Casino Royale to get a feel for Quantum Solace, as it begins just twenty minutes after Casino Royale ends. (If you don't own it, check out www.sidereel.com.) 2). Make sure you sit in the back of the theatre for this flick, I was in the middle section with ample leg room but a sore neck from following all the action. The cinematography was excellent but quite a bit shakier than usual. They had to accentuate the fight scenes somehow so when bond is kicking everyones ass on the screen, the camera appears as if it might too have gotten its own ass kicked. Sit in the back to make up for the immensely shaky camera. 

The beginning of the movie, with a badass car chase scene, catches your attention right away. Especially with how cool Bond drives away after defeating all bad guys, acting as nothing has happened other than his Aston Martin receiving minor damage. The bad guys in this film were very real and doing things such as exploiting third world countries, that makes this film more believable than its predecessors. Although the ending of this film has to be worked on a fair amount. Bond comes into the film wanting revenge for the people who killed his love and leaves empty handed, not even with the new Bond Chick, Olga Kerylenko. Though there is much controversy over the new Bond girl being fiercely independent with her own agenda and there not being enough sex in the film, yes and no. Yes, due to the pattern of the Bond girls and no due to sex between them might have ruined the film. Can't say enough about the new English Cool as redefined by Daniel Craig. Yes, we have all heard rumors of him getting hurt on set but can you tell me with a straight face that he sucks as Bond? Don't even try. Watch Layer Cake if you would like to see where he emerged onto the main stage, excellent English Gangster film. 

Trevland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Quantum of Solace

Detroit in Turmoil

If you haven't been watching what is going on in the auto industry the past few years and how it has been getting worse and worse, get your head out of the bag it's in. There are so many reasons GM is in its current situation. Where shall we start? Beginning with the biggest problem facing all three automakers, being the lack of innovation. They have been putting out variations of the same cars for far too long while foreign car makers grab more and more of the market cap. Thomas Freidman offered a priceless piece of advice in his recent article, How to Fix a Flat, saying "somebody ought to call Steve Jobs, who doesn't need to be bribed to do innovation, and ask him is he'd like to do a national service and run a car company for a year. I'd bet it wouldn't take him much longer than that to come up with the GM iCar." That very well might be the innovative spirit GM needs. Next, the cash problem facing our American Automaker. GM burned through $2.3B in October, estimated the automaker burns through over $1B a month and will be bankrupt by the end of the year baring no bailout. Government assistance is needed for these companies to stay alive.

Congress denied GM's initial request for $10B and said it will give the industry as a whole $25B to make cars more fuel efficient. Well why are the American cars such gas hogs to begin with? Safety standards that have packed on a few hundred extra pounds might have added to them being less fuel efficient, definitely. Another main problem the automakers are dealing with is the proud UAW (United Auto Workers Union). This group of inefficient workers, their pensions, healthcare plans, overpaid wages, and underworked hours is one of the biggest problems GM especially has to pay for. "Lets punch in, do work for a few hours, go home and take a nap, then have our buddies punch us out. Ha we sure fooled them." Geez Mr. Union Employee, you definitely fooled your employer. These people should be held responsible if the auto maker goes bankrupt in my opinion. 

Poor management is another example of this company's past steps toward its current downward spiral. In talking to a family friend yesterday whose husband is a junior executive at GM, she told me stories her husband would relay back to her about how bad the management really is. These individuals would fund vacations with company money, be on the clock while at home, and most importantly, only want to stick with what GM has been doing since they joined the company. This brings a phrase to mind, "change or die." Obviously the original strategy sucks a fat one and it needs to be revamped asap. Hopefully things will change soon and this old-style of managers will either retire or be forced out of the company, in order to let new ideas and most importantly innovation run free in the conference rooms. Restructuring this company, starting with management, is the most important move GM can hope to make for any future whatsoever. How crippling is this? Read this article.

One last thought to leave you with - the auto industry in Detroit is responsible, directly and indirectly, for employing almost 3 million people. There are also two GM retirees being paid benefits/pensions for every US zip code. Can you afford to pick up the slack?