the pod bay door

:: I’ve been immersed in Stanley Kubrick fare of late. The last two books I read were Eyes Wide Open by Frederic Raphael, who co-authored the screenplay to Eyes Wide Shut, and Moonwatcher’s Memoir – A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Dan Richter, the mime who Kubrick hired to choreograph the Dawn of Man sequence and play Moonwatcher in 2001. The Richter book fascinated me, bringing me behind the scenes of the making of this now famous sequence in my favorite movie of all time.

Tonight I watched Vivian Kubrick’s 35 minute documentary, The Making of The Shining, filmed when she was 17 years old. Stanley is featured in many scenes, including some startling scenes with Shelly Duvall. Together with these two books and the recent documentary about him, made by Jan Harlan, his long time executive producer and brother-in-law, Kubrick seems much more human to me now than he was when he was alive. The documentary is included in the DVD version of The Shining, and includes a second track with commentary from Vivian, added 23 years later, when she was 40. You can watch 90 seconds of her documentary here (requires RealOne Player). BTW, for those of you who remember 2001 well, the scene in which Dr Floyd calls Earth from the space station and speaks to his daughter, “Squirt” – she was played by Vivian Kubrick.

:: From the Life Magazine publication, 100 Photographs That Changed The World, 28 of those pictures can be seen here.

:: Are those 92″ computer screens I mentioned earlier a hoax? If so, it’s a brilliant and elaborate one, because beyond reeling me in, it has fooled Forbes (which has withdrawn the story already), and by extension, Roland Piquepaille. Piquepaille became suspicious, though, after he received a comment from a reader, and began an investigation, concluding that the site is a fake. Then again, Lisa Ciesniewski, the PR Manager for Liebermann, gave an interview a few days ago in which she said the company has 30 employees and plans to open two showrooms in LA and NYC.

What do you think? Hoax or for real?

:: My thanks to those who sent comments about my two recent posts, including those who wrote privately.

:: Robert sent a note about The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. At first I thought it was a joke, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t appear to be real. Check out the trailer on the official site, or watch it here. The FAQ clears up a few issues. I checked the IMDb, and sure enough, there’s an entry for it. One of the stars, Fay Masterson, was in Eyes Wide Shut (sorry, the WB site doesn’t function these days). The first question I have is, what took anyone so long to make such a spoof – it’s a no-brainer. Second question: will it be funny? My favorite line from the poster: “This was the day the Earth was disembowled in terror!”

:: The Segway, invented by Dean Kamen, is in a bit of trouble. 6,000 of the units are under voluntary recall because of a problem with the battery that may result in the rider falling off the unit as the battery nears the end of its charge. (From: The Gothamist)

I haven’t seen a Segway yet, and don’t know if any are in Edmonton. Personally, I’d like to see DEKA develop the Stirling Cycle Engine, which doesn’t require gas or oil to function, into something that could be economically viable so that it could be used in mass market applications (like automobiles and other gas powered vehicles, which at the moment isn’t feasible) and present a direct challenge to the oil industry (which will have to happen eventually, anyway – we will run out of oil someday). Here’s an analysis of one of DEKA’s patents on the Stirling engine by the American Stirling Company.

:: So far this long weekend, I’ve seen Open Range, Bend It Like Beckham (2nd time), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and Capturing the Friedmans. I’m trying to catch up on letters to be written, and a bit of sleep. I finally finished Eyes Wide Open: A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick, by Frederic Raphael, Oscar-winning screenwriter and author, who co-wrote the screenplay for Eyes Wide Shut with Stanley Kubrick. The book, published after Kubrick’s death, enraged his family, and apparently legions of fans, but I found it fascinating. This review sums it up quite well for me. More insight is available in this brief 1999 interview of Raphael.

I’m also frustrated about having registered on Sat morning for another hosting service for my site, but have yet to hear back from them with any instructions or information… 🙁

:: I returned from Calgary this morning, having attended bits of two days of the Blues and Roots Festival. Los Lobos, Richard Thompson and Solomon Burke were the acts I caught, all exceptional performances. Los Lobos rocks with the best, and began their set by inviting fans down from the stands in Burns Stadium (a baseball diamond) and onto the grass, right up to the stage. It made sense. They played with energy and conviction, and with smiles on their faces – they had fun. They closed with a great version of Mas Y Mas, and encored with a blistering take on Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl, a song which they may have now co-opted as their own. Thompson’s songs are powerful, and he weaves magic on his guitar. He performed one of his signature pieces, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, leaving me almost breathless as he played a solo that featured twists, turns and surprises not heard on the recording. Burke, the King of Rock ‘n’ Soul, surrounds himself with a great band, and is in true love with the audience – he hands out red roses to dozens of women while he sings, and each show ends as a big on-stage love-in. I learned from his harpist, Julia Cunningham, that their previous gig, in Beirut last Tuesday, was a great success. However, they were 35 hours in transit, arriving in Calgary on Friday quite exhausted, and without their luggage or instruments! Nonetheless, they played a great show for the last stop on their current tour.
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:: Today I took my mother and her neighbour Lynn’s two children to see Finding Nemo. This is a marvelous movie, another triumph for Pixar (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc.), and one of the best films of 2003. The writing is crisp, the characters funny and engaging; I laughed out loud many times during the movie. Voice actors include Albert Brooks, Ellen de Generes, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Willem Dafoe, Eric Bana (The Hulk), Barry Humphries, Elizabeth Perkins, and many others. BTW, check the “outtakes” from TS2.

:: This evening, Brenda made dinner for me. The main course was beer butt chicken. I’m not kidding. It was delicious. You shove an open can of beer up the chicken’s butt, place it on a bbq… More details to come.

:: The weekend included three movies and a surprise birthday event, organized by L’il Kim, for Heavy G at The Sidetrack on Saturday night, which mean we who attended were able to watch The Northern Pikes, one of my favorite Canadian bands, perform late in the evening. The Pikes’ tune, Wait For Me, is one of my favorite songs ever, and features very tasty guitar work by Bryan Potvin. I was at the ‘track early enough to catch the band during its sound check, and spoke to Bryan afterwards. I told him how much I enjoy his work and style, and he took the time to show me the intro to Wait For Me, for which I am grateful – thanks, Bryan. (I’ve been working on it at home on the Martin J-40MC). The Northern Pikes are true road warriors, and have been at it for almost 20 years. Their new album, It’s A Good Life, is due out next week, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

The evening was much fun with good friends, and my pal D Fy and I spent some time during the Pikes’ set to dance our asses off. Thanks, Deb! Geoff’s birthday is on July 8th, and he hits the big Three-Oh, so drop in on him and wish him well. He’s getting old.

:: The movies I saw were 28 Days Later, Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines, and Ash Wednesday. (ASIDE: Despite having loaded Macromedia Flash 6, I cannot enter the T3 site. Anyone else having this problem?).

:: I leave for Winnipeg in a week. One of the reasons is to attend a 32-year high school reunion.