Coraline

 

Visual Stunner
A Fresh Scary Fairy Tale
Handcrafted Classic

The Wrestler

 

Welcome Back, Mickey
Broken Man, Tragic Hero
No Cop Out Ending

Rotten Musicians LIVE from the HUKA!

"I see your point"

You can all thank DJ Shanty for this find...

Sign Of The Times

 

Another sign of the times. The hyper reality of modern media leaves everybody in a mildly delusional state...people prone to schizophrenia just have more extreme symptoms.

The Rise Of Cobra (Teaser)

Remember, super toys that lasted all summer?

Rise & Shine!

 

This morning before I took Elektra to school she came up and hugged me really hard. She told me "Dad, I miss you and I need you". She started crying. This made me cry. I told her I needed her as well. Will she ever know how much I need her? For ever and always.

70's Revolution

 

Everything I do is revolutionary even if I have to make believe it's so. In this period piece, I'm the main character fighting the establishment.

"Life In Marvelous Times" (Fan Made)- Mos Def

FUNdance 2009!

 

The Clone Returns Homes (2.5 out of 5)

A Japanese oddity. A film with extremely long takes, very slowly paced, beautiful cinematography, philosophical ideas and subjective images. It asks questions like…Where does the soul go after you die? Where does the soul go if the body was brought back as a clone? Does it stay to haunt its new rejuvenated self? Do the scars of our past life never go away, even after we are reincarnated? Would you like to carry a spaceman on your back? I felt mixed up when I left the theatre. K was inspired and mentioned making some astronaut decorations for our Christmas tree this year. Bizarre.

Cold Souls (3.5 out of 5)

What is the shape and size of a human soul? Does it look like a chickpea? A jellybean? A pet rock? And if you could somehow extract your soul from your body, what would be left? Would you still be you? Cold Souls is a metaphysical smart comedy. To me this is the best Sci-Fi Sundance this year (I haven’t seen “Moon” though). The director breezed through the Q&A telling the audience that this concept came to her in a dream and how she managed to get her script into Paul Giamatti’s hands. Interesting stuff.

Paper heart (2 out of 5)

A documentary that isn’t a real documentary? I would have given this movie a higher mark if I hadn’t listened to the Q&A after. The movie itself is charming and funny and cute and sensitive and SCRIPTED! Yeah…I thought I was watching a love story play out in front of me only to find out that it was FAKED? WTF? That’s right…a quasi non-fiction narrative…I was disappointed. The music sounded like it was on some Juno 2 type of ISHT, sucky.

Good Hair (3 out of 5)

A SOLID documentary about the business of black hair by Chris Rock. For kicks, just google or youtube the term “Bonner Brothers International Hair Show”. Awesome huh? I laughed hard watching this…I laughed harder when Rock came out for the Q&A after and worked the room for like 20 minutes. The guy is just SO quick witted and dope.

Big Fan (2.5 out of 5)

A well made subtle character study with subtle comic elements. The movie couldn’t decide if it was a comedy or a drama…maybe it’s a Dramedy? I don’t know. During the Q&A, Siegel mentioned he wrote this five years ago and with the recent Plaxico/Giants fiasco it seems that art does imitate life down to the exact same strip club featured in the film and in the real world that Plexiglas shot himself at.

Black Dynamite (4 out of 5)

A hilarious throwback to the blaxploitation films of the 70s (Dolemite, Black Belt Jones, etc). Michael Jai White (Spawn!) kicks some serious ass and brings us a new cult classic. I heard that this was already picked up by Sony and slated for a Summer release. That doesn’t surprise me. I will see it again, get the DVD and hopefully a Black Dynamite action figure (Can you dig it?)…it has the potential of being another “Austin Powers” like franchise only funnier. Also, the music was stellar.

Dead Snow (3.5 out of 5)

A Norwegian Nazi zombie horror film. Need I say more? I read that the filmmakers used over 450 liters of blood to create this little beauty. It’s kinda broken in two pieces…the first half kind of pretends to be a serious horror movie and the second filled with zombie carnage that pushes pretty far in the campy territory. Why would Nazi zombies need their gold? Who cares it’s just fun. Mindless horror comedy. They showed a 16 minute short called “Treevenge” at the beginning of the session….think Christmas trees finally even the score for decades of living under the axe of mankind. And…Facts gets annoyed by the Broadways’ eccentric concessions.

It was a HELLUVA week and probably the FUNNEST time I’ve had at the dance yet.

Peace, DAG!

PS...The only celeb I saw on the street was Benjamin Bratt? Law & Order I think...yeah, fresh huh?

Destinations

 

What’s up my peoples!

K and myself will be attending THREE Sundance movies tomorrow (reviews to come). Big ups to Facts for letting me watch an advance screening of “The Wrestler” (yes, it’s still not here in Utah & review to come). I am CRAZY sore from snowboarding yesterday at Rob Reds resort. The Soreness has made me cranky. And because Chris Rock is making me miss the season premier of “LOST” tomorrow night…I leave you with this!

The 20 or so Questions that I hope LOST answers this season…

What happened to the island at the end of last season?
Has FutureSun gone bad?
Is Ben working against the Island?
Why does the Island want everyone back? And what does back mean, anyway?
What are "The Rules"?
Is Desmond the only character unstuck in time?
What's Charlotte's secret & Was she born on the island?
Is Miles a clue about Hurley?
What Is The DHARMA Initiative?
Is Jin really dead?
What was the test that Richard gave Locke?
What happened to Claire?
Why hasn't Richard aged?
Who is Matthew Abaddon?
What is Charles Widmore's history with the island?
How did Locke become Jeremy Bentham?
What's the origin of the donkey wheel?
What or who is Jacob?

Feel free to elaborate…DAG!

Create/Destroy

 

New History Begins

The Lab

 

A gateway drug to hard science fiction or a modernized version of old pulps? Read it and you decide.

In “The Lab“, it's an evil future, and 9 billion people live in a walled city, ruled over by an immoral corporation called ChaoSonic. There's no government and mad scientists are literally everywhere. You can't function in society without ID cards and other registrations, which allow ChaoSonic to track your movements. The main character, Six Of Hearts, is an agent of the Deck, a secret vigilante organization that fights an array of evildoers. (And every member of the Deck is a playing card. The Hearts are the agents, and the other suits perform other functions. But we pretty much only see the Hearts).

However, Six is special…because he's the product of a genetic experiment that spliced human and lizard DNA into a bird embryo. Crazy huh?

The book lacks in character development, although Six does struggle a bit with the question of whether he's human. But that's not why you want to read this book. You read it to watch Six get into and out of a ton of scrapes, and because the world-building is pretty interesting in parts. When it does slow down, the book fixates on the implications of various schemes to introduce armies of killer robots, or hordes of genetically enhanced super-soldiers. Six is always doing calculations in his head, including his rate of descent when he's dropped off the latest burning building. And he thinks a fair bit about Descartes and other classic philosophers. It's a book that makes being smart seem cool and awesome, because Six usually uses his brain to escape from his various mishaps…and it’s full of widescreen craziness.

The Epilogue and many unanswered questions that surround these and other characters suggest that a sequel, if not a series, is planned…a good sci-fi read for your spare time.

Peace, DAG!

PS...on a different note, I am going to The Lab in Provo tonight. Streetwalker!

The Dance 2009!

 

What’s up YALL! Just got back from picking up Sundance TIX. I got almost everything I wanted to see (with K's help...MUAH!). Lot's O' Sci Fi & Nazi Zombies!...check the line up:

The Clone Returns Home
In the tradition of Solaris and other deeply philosophical science-fiction works, The Clone Returns Home is art cinema at its best. Kohei, a young astronaut, agrees to participate in an experimental cloning program that will “regenerate” his body and memory should he die. So when he’s killed during a space mission, scientists are able to regenerate his clone. But problems occur with its memory, which regresses to Kohei’s youth and the accidental death of his twin brother. Distressed, the clone flees the lab in search of his childhood home. Along the way, he finds his own lifeless body in a space suit. Mistaking it for his brother, he continues his journey carrying the body on his back. Set somewhere between the near future and a dream, as if a figurative mist drifts through it, Kanji Nakajima’s first feature is distinguished by the metaphysical space it conjures. With each new incarnation of Kohei—his clone, his body, his soul, his twin—our literal sense of story gives way to a metaphysical one. With exceptional artistry (lyrical images, elegant moving masters, and evocative sound motifs), Nakajima explores identity, memory, and the ethical responsibilities of science. But, enriched by spiritual conceptions of life and death and the soul, the film’s emotional center and its poetry lie in these successive versions of Kohei, wandering in search of a home that no longer exists.

Cold Souls
In response to shiny, bigger, better American consumerism comes Cold Souls, a metaphysical tragicomedy in which souls can be extracted and traded as commodities. Balancing on a tightrope between deadpan humor and pathos, and between reality and fantasy, the film presents Paul Giamatti as himself, agonizing over his interpretation of Uncle Vanya. Paralyzed with anxiety, he stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by deep-freezing souls. Giamatti enlists their services, intending to reinstate his soul once he survives the performance. But complications ensue when a mysterious, soul-trafficking “mule,” transporting product to and from Russia, “borrows” Giamatti's stored soul for an ambitious, but unfortunately talentless, soap-opera actress. Rendered soulless, he is left with no choice but to follow the trail back to bleak St. Petersburg. He comes to value that happiness isn’t merely the absence of pain, but the integration of the full range of emotion into life.Sophie Barthes’s debut feature is strikingly original, not only for its haunting concept but for its poetic execution. Inspired production design and lyrical cinematography create a melancholic, heightened world. Perfectly cast, Giamatti and a gifted ensemble maneuver seamlessly through shifting ontological landscapes without ever betraying the surrealism. With this dazzling accomplishment, Barthes establishes herself as an auteur to reckon with.

Good Hair
When Chris Rock’s daughter, Lola, came up to him crying and asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” the bewildered comic committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head! Director Jeff Stilson’s camera followed the funnyman, and the result is Good Hair, a wonderfully insightful and entertaining, yet remarkably serious, documentary about African American hair culture.An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, Good Hair visits hair salons and styling battles, scientific laboratories, and Indian temples to explore the way black hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of black people. Celebrities such as Ice-T, Kerry Washington, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symoné, Maya Angelou, and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter’s question. What he discovers is that black hair is a big business that doesn’t always benefit the black community and little Lola’s question might well be bigger than his ability to convince her that the stuff on top of her head is nowhere near as important as what is inside.

Paper Heart
Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. At the very least, she doesn’t believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology, and her own experiences have made her—at minimum—a modern-day skeptic. But this inquiry into love and its present-day manifestations suggests she hasn’t entirely given up hope. As she and her friend (and director), Nicholas Jasenovec, together search for answers and advice, you get the idea that this new generation’s cynicism isn’t the whole story. And when she meets a man after her own heart…well, you can guess the rest. Yi, a Los Angeles–based artist and comedian, certainly has an interesting array of friends and acquaintances. They offer diverse views on modern romance, as well as various answers to the age-old question: does love really exist? But is this all for real? Is it fantasy? Or is it a just a filmmaker’s quest?This is a wonderfully imagined journey of one girl’s search for love. This self-conscious and self-reflective film leads us all down a “rabbit hole” of emotion, hope, and confusion that give this poignant, funny, and intelligent film its…heart. Only people as aware and knowledgeable about their craft as Yi and Jasenovec can make a film as entertaining and absorbing as Paper Heart.

Big Fan
For legions of people, sports teams are religion, and their favorite players are their idols. This notion sparks the hilarious premise of Big Fan, the exhilarating directing debut from Robert Siegel, the screenwriter of The Onion Movie and The Wrestler.Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from working-class Staten Island, is the self-described “world's biggest New York Giants fan.” One night Paul and his best friend, Sal, spot star Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop at a gas station in Staten Island. They impulsively follow his SUV into Manhattan to a strip club, where they finally muster up the courage to talk to their hero. What starts out as a dream come true turns into a nightmare as a misunderstanding ignites a violent confrontation, and Paul is sent down a path that will test his devotion to the extreme. Patton Oswalt is perfectly cast as Paul, infusing him with a humanity that renders him empathetic instead of pathetic. Siegel has an innate understanding of—and reverence for—his characters but finds humor in every scene by perfectly capturing the details of their world. From the posters on the walls, to the NFL bed sheets, to the ""spontaneous"" smack talking, he nails it. Big Fan resonates with truth and insight, and the result is a film that will make you laugh and wince at the same time—a very winning combination.

Black Dynamite
When “the man” kills his brother, pumps heroin into the local orphanage, and floods the ghetto with a secret weapon disguised as Anaconda Malt Liquor, there is only one brother bad enough, strong enough, and brave enough to take them on: the legendary Black Dynamite.Black Dynamite is a throwback with an attitude. Hilarious, campy, hot, and sexy, it plays with every cliché from 1970s film and television, with a few new ones thrown in for color. Director Scott Sanders doesn’t need to show his hand to get his point across, making it even more fun to watch. He has miraculously assembled a huge cast that all perfectly tread the line between satire and spoof. Crazy kudos need to go to our leading man, played by Michael Jai White, who offers a pitch-perfect performance in every take. Art direction and costumes are flawless, and the flocked wallpaper holds it own against the faux fur and poly-blend wardrobe. Black Dynamite has something for everyone: chase scenes, gunfights, a house of ill repute, some karate action, and a star with a killer body who takes on bad guys with—and without—his shirt on. And if this isn’t enough, Sanders does the near impossible: he sustains the comedy while taking a nice big sucker punch at the underlying politics of our time.

Dead Snow
For eight medical students, Easter vacation begins innocently enough. They pack their cars full of ski equipment and enough beer to fuel their escape from everyday life to the snowy, isolated hills outside of Øksfjord, Norway. Once there, they receive a late-night visit from a shady hiker, who tells them a story about Nazi occupation of the area during World War II. After doing their fair share of raping and pillaging, the dreaded battalion faced a brutal and vengeful uprising by the citizens of the town. The soldiers who managed to survive the onslaught, including their dreaded leader Colonel Herzog, were driven into the hills by the angry mob, where they supposedly froze to death, never to be seen again. But if the horror genre has taught us anything, it’s that the raucous behavior and promiscuity of the younger generation always have a way of bringing evil spirits back to life.Director Tommy Wirkola pulls no punches in the carnage department—heads roll, blood flows, and entrails ooze as the young vacationers attempt to make it through the night. Wirkola adeptly utilizes the snow’s eerie and ominous backdrop to its fullest extent while orchestrating this wickedly gory, yet somehow delightful, tale of Nazi zombie terror.

Dead Channel

 

There is magic in my blood. However, at times I feel I'm tuned to a dead channel.

Best Movies Of 2008

 

The Dark Knight
An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity…Oh, and it is a “comic book movie“. With The Dark Knight, the cinematic superhero spectacle comes closest to becoming modern myth, a pulp tragedy with costumed players and elevated stakes and terrible sacrifices. It's the new standard for superhero noir.

Wall-E
The idea that a company in the business of mainstream entertainment would make something as creative, substantial and cautionary as WALL-E has to raise your hopes for the human race. Pixar can do no wrong.

Iron Man
Is it possible to have yet another excursion into this genre that seems in any way fresh, original and alive? Oh yes it is…propers to acting dynamo Robert Downey Jr who OWNED Stark from the jump.

Slumdog Millionaire
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, look out… a movie that rocks, that transports, startles, delights and shocks. A movie that is…flat out great. I cannot wait to see what Danny Boyle does next.

Speed Racer
Call me crazy but I LOVED this movie. Buoyant pop entertainment focused on three things…speed, racing and retina-splitting oceans of digitally captured color. A crazy, turbo-charged mix of cartoon fun, gamer action, and a wild new way to think of, and look at, movies.

Honorable mention(s): Appaloosa, The Bank Job, Choke, Quantum Of Solace, In Bruges, Rock N Rolla, Kung Fu Panda & Cloverfield.

What to look for in 2009: The Road, Coraline, Where The Wild Things Are, Watchmen, Public Enemies, UP, Star Trek, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince, Monsters Vs Aliens, GI Joe, Inglorius Bastards, Terminator Salvation, Wolverine Origins, Sherlock Holmes, The Wolfman & Avatar.

Best Hip Hop Of 2008

 

I couldn’t put my finger on just one LP this past year. Let’s face it…maybe this music isn’t speaking to me anymore. I’m at the point that I would rather hear 5-7 DOPE songs from an artist then a project of 16-20 tracks on it with a hand full of gems. I kept these discs in rotation in 08’.

Q-Tip “The Renaissance”
The Mighty Underdogs “Droppin Science Fiction”
Murs “Murs 4 President”
Evidence “The Layover”
The Roots “Rising Down”
J-Live “Then What Happened”
Common “Universal Mind Control”
The Clipse/Re-Up Gang various FREE Mixtapes

I have heard great things about: Black Milk “Tronic”, Elzhi “The Preface”, Time Machine “Life Is Expensive” , People Under The Stairs “Fun DMC”, Jake One “White Van Music” &
88 Keys “The Death Of Adam”.

What to look for in 2009: The Clipse “Til The Casket Drops”.

Best TV Moments Of 2008

 

The Obama Election
I watched this historic accomplishment with my 8 year old daughter and K. I can help but thinking that more than ever, this election has engaged everyone into looking deep into our selves to see how it would feel living our lives as we feel inside AND as citizens of the world. Sounds like a cliché but what a real opportunity to better our lives, our children's lives, and the lives of everyone in the world. We need to ask our world neighbors to be patient. It is as if we are a new nation once again, carrying all the hopes and aspirations of a fledgling democracy, but saddled with the crushing burden left by a cynical past. There is much opportunity for failure, but there is also renewed reason for hope. We were offered a choice between fear and embrace of the future. We chose well this time…It is a new day, a new generation of voters have spoken.

And to the criminals leaving...it is not about revenge for the past it is about justice for the future.

Lost
The 4th season is arguably the best season since the first. Multiple episodes this past season completely changed my expectations for the series' conclusion but introduced entire concepts such as time travel, etc. They turned the science fiction valve completely open. In the brilliant episode, "The Constant," we saw Desmond travel through time (Did he?) due to an effect of the island, and in the mind-warping season finale, we saw the entire island vanish. The shorter than usual 14-episode season ended up giving more answers than past longer seasons. Cue the Island burp…

The Misadventures Of FlapJack
Flapjack is your typical, wide-eyed kid out looking for adventure. What's not-so-typical about him though, is the fact that he was raised by an overprotective blue whale (her name is Bubbie), and currently journeys through the high seas with a grizzled pirate by the name of Captain K'nuckles. It’s a deluge of nifty watercolor paintings and torn paper textures AND dabbles into the disgusting and sometimes disturbing. Don’t miss episodes: K’nuckles is a filthy rat & Mechanical genie island.

Honorable mention(s)
The Daily Show & The Colbert Report (the best “truthiness” and satire “news” out there), Keith Olbermann's Special Comments, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Rick Roll (epic! This was the last thing on my mind while watching the parade) & The Bill O’ Reilly Flips Out Dance Remix (via the You Tube).

Best Video Games Of 2008

 

I would describe myself as a mild gamer. Keep in mind, I rock the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PSP. So all the games on my list reflect these platforms. Also, I enjoy mostly RPG’s, Platformers, 3rd person action type games. So, while the zombies look better every year I’m not really into splattering BRAINS and strategically dismembering spooky space creatures and basking in the most satisfying gore ever. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with just wanting to shoot stuff sometimes, it’s all good…just not my cup o’ tea. The great strength of the business these days is that it is catering to everyone, something I’ve seen both in the games and in the people who play them. The video game industry has never been more reliable in producing high-quality mass entertainment for a variety of audiences with a variety of tastes. Three years into the current generation of game systems, developers are ceding nothing to other entertainment media in terms of high-end production values and overall attention to detail. In these hard economic times there is NO BETTER bang for your buck. (Editors note: I have accepted minor input on these choices from friends and enemies alike and they have given their “two cents” when asked or otherwise).

Little Big Planet
There isn’t anything else like LBP on any system, anywhere. A powerful creative tool that puts unlimited potential in the palm of your hand. This game is lightning in a bottle. It reinvents how video games are played. A gamble that live up to the hype and feels like a birth of a revolution.

MGS4: Guns Of The Patriots
I didn’t play or even own this game (yet!) With that being said I’m told that nothing comes close to this masterpiece. Some have even said that this one will stand through the tests of time and will still be referred to as perhaps the pinnacle of storytelling in videogames. I know, I know…I’m off to the gamestop.

GTA4
Liberty City has never felt so alive. The best “open world’ game yet and the finest title of the series. It's amazing that a sequel that keeps the core gameplay concepts of its prior incarnations can do so much to change itself into something new. If all games were all this good, no one would ever leave the house.

Honorable mention(s)
Fable 2 (epic in scope & sound and completely absorbing), Prince Of Persia (It’s not very long but long enough) & Fallout 3 (think ‘Oblivion’ with guns).

Best Comics Of 2008

 

I dig the funny books (see previous blog posts) and as you all know there's more to the genre than X-ray vision and billowing capes. These tales seem to resonate and these deeper truths fire our imaginations. They wake us up, if only temporarily and vicariously, to something much greater than ourselves. And on that note…

Lets Go To Utah (www.letsgotoutah.com)
Dave Chisholm is living the dream. He is telling a story with Also, “Lets Go To Utah”. The book stars a young college student named Dave who begins to have horrible nightmares that push him towards Utah, of all places. Eventually, Dave resolves to head to Utah, but since he needs a ride to get there, a friend of a friend of a friend named Lief volunteers to drive, and hilarity ensues… as Lief is not exactly all right in the head, but his vices are not just “speeds” or “won’t chip in for gas” but rather “kills people”. Chisholm handles Dave’s reaction to what is going on quite nicely, especially when Dave escapes, only to find that he might be better off with the devil he knows. The story is very strong and the twists will have you guessing every issue. Also, the handling of the dialogue is top notch with very realistic back and forth between the characters. One of the best things about the art is the dynamic page layout. Each panel contributes to telling the story smoothly and supports the story well. The loose inks and fluid gestures create the atmosphere of a rollercoaster ride and as you turn every page, the ride and worse and worse and worse…until a complete halt at the end of each issue. Independent at it’s very best.

Invincible Iron Man (Marvel Comics/Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca)
2008 year of the Iron Man! We all survived the summer onslaught of shell head. There were countless comic titles announced, crossovers, merchandise and oh yeah…a movie. We have seen Tony Stark go from beloved savior to pretty much on the bottom rung of the Marvel ladder. His company is in shambles, thanks both to the Skrull invasion and Ezekiel Stane's terror attacks. He's been ousted as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and faced with the added indignity of having to hand the keys over to Norman Osborn. And if all that weren't bad enough, his Extremis powers have been eliminated, rendering his one functional suit near useless. “Invincible” seems to have it all…solid story arch’s, characterization, pacing, etc but Larocca can be inconsistent with the art at times (He draws the best looking suits but offers a lot wonky facial work). And…Marvel really needs an editor whose sole job is to monitor Osborn's hair style. It changes wildly from book to book.

What It Is (Lynda Barry)
This book is essential. It is the essence of the creative writing course. The book has a front section that is sort of an artistic, stream of consciousness, diaristic account of Lynda Barry's own creative life. Followed by a workbook…but it’s more like an inspiration guide. It's a great book about creativity, the imagination, self-expression, memoir…authentic and beautiful.

Merry Christmas (Circa 1978)

Dolphins Resurrection

 

By Omar Kelly...

Could there have been a better reversal of emotions for Dolphins fans and the team in one calendar year. From shame and embarrassment in 2007 to pride and joy in 2008.

"Guess who's back. Back again. Miami Dolphins. Tell a friend," Ted Ginn Jr. sang immediately after Sunday's 38-31 win over Kansas City, using Eminem's "Shady's back" song as a blueprint.
Sunday's come-from-behind win over the Chiefs sets up the biggest Dolphins game since 2001.

It puts Miami's most beloved franchise in position to play a winner-take-all game against the New York Jets next Sunday. One that will decide who takes home the AFC East crown and the home playoff game that comes with it, and likely sends the Patriots home for the season.
"It's a testament to how greedy our guys are," said quarterback Chad Pennington. "At the beginning of the year we believed that we could get to this point."

Pennington admitted as the season went on the belief grew more and more with each win. It got to the point where there wasn't a doubt the offense would score when given possession in the fourth quarter with a 31-31 game. And that's exactly what Pennington and crew did when Anthony Fasano carried too defenders into the end zone.

The triumph puts the Dolphins at 10 wins this season. Believe it or not, the Dolphins are at double-digits after winning just one in 2007.

But exactly how did this happen? How did this franchise transform itself from an unfortunate, unlucky batch of scraps to this scrappy unit that never stops clawing?

Can the Chiefs and the Lions bottle this and resurrect their franchises in one season? Maybe Bill Parcells' next book will outline it for us all, becoming a South Florida must-read.

What is it that transforms a roster filled with spare parts and faded stars into one of the NFL's best in 2008.

"Everybody knows and accepts their role," Ronnie Brown said. "That's the biggest part about being a team. And it's clear we've bought in."

Immediate following the game coach Tony Sparano was asked if he's thinking about the Jets game?

His response: "Yes I am."

When did he start thinking about it? "After I shook Herm [Edward's] hand."

It's officially O.K. for you to think about the Jets now, and to bask in the opportunity Chad Pennington has to get his revenge.

"Chad Pennington going back to New York with an opportunity to knock his old team out," Vonnie Holliday said, pointing out the game's Brett Favre-Pennington subplot. "I know every guy is going to rally around him."

It's about time South Florida starts rallying around their Dolphins, win or loss next week, because the coaches and players have certainly given our community something for the nation to talk about.

And who says the talk stops next weekend.

R2-Dance Off...WHAT?

Scratch Bastard!

The Pattern

 

It's a feeling of being literally unstuck, well...my consciousness is. I could never tell a story that is in a linear sequence. It requires artistry to create a good story about madness.

-DAG!

Living Through Hell On Earth

 

This might have been the best book I have read in the last few years. If you have sometime over the holidays to curl up with a good read I recommend “World War Z”. This GEM is written by son the Mel Brooks (Yes, that Mel Brooks), Max Brooks has carved his own Romero style niche. I dig how Brooks even gives play full nods and jibs at his previous work (Z.S.G.).

If you like zombie lit but are getting bored with viscera and nihilism, this is a great antidote. Brooks has taken his ironically deadpan "Zombie Survival Guide" and made a whole world out of it. Pretending to be an oral history of humanity's struggle against zombie hordes, this book has a cast of dozens, most of whom speak for only a few pages before yielding to other voices. As a result, we get a truly international view of the great crisis, and the situation and responses faced by people in a variety of settings. Each individual vignette is unique and special…from Tibetan smugglers to dirigible pilots to ex-politicians…each 'interview' has its own distinct voice. The feeling of reading the accounts of some of the bravest souls who have ever (never!) walked the earth.

As Brooks envisions it, the zombie plague encompasses the threat of terrorism and global war, natural catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina or the devastating tsunami, and global disease scares like avian flu and SARS.

Some of the best things about "World War Z" to me are the quality writing, the surprises of the plot and scenarios, and also the poignancy of the emotional impact. The experiences of the combat soldiers are deep and moving, and other sections like the struggle of a pilot trapped behind "enemy lines" and best of all, the K-9 handler's tale are brilliantly done and add both pathos and innovation to portrayal of human experience during the Zombie menace.

There is such depth, though, to his imagination that it is almost staggering to question how long Brooks sat in development of his zombie world. The varying responses by governments, the responses by different citizens, or even the effects of weather and climate on zombies are all explored to full, yet sometimes questionable, understanding. One of my personal favorites…The "Lobo"…a combination shovel and battle-axe put to great use throughout the novel. It is one of but many ingenius concepts envisioned by Brooks in his personal post-apocalyptic world…this is a world that everyone should explore.

Peace, DAG!

Then I guess we'll never know...

SHOE-I-CIDE Bomber!

 

Finally a journalist with integrity and backbone and I think now it’s about time for American journalists to take note of “asking the hard questions”. I’d like to buy this guy a beer…when he gets out of G-BAY.

Sage advice from the Monk...

 

...Thelonius Monk!!!

Speaking of nightmares...

Lost Book Club

A couple of things...

John 316(bible): For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And the Lamppost...think Narnia. It's the portal the kids find as they enter the world (Narnia) and then they find it again many years later as adults, seem to recognize it, and stumble back into our world. Time passes by faster in Narnia than in our world.

Shock

 

The power of Mythic Fiction is that it can tear down the walls and windows, the artifice and laws by changing the logic, empowering the disenfranchised, or simply by asking. What if? This bold logic is not easy to attain. The destroyer/creator must first be able to imagine a world beyond his prison. The hardest thing to do is to break the chains of reality and go beyond into a world of your own creation.

Realistically speaking, humans aren't special. There are probably other beings out there more creative than we are, smarter than we are, more moral than we are, funnier then we are, etc. But at least on the flip, we won't be unique in our mediocrity either.

Forget this…“I should write something. I'm just smart enough to know how stupid I am...which stops me from creating anything”

And Do This…WRITE!

Shock, DAG!

Ps. I picked up "The Dark Knight" in Blu-Ray & Common "Universal Mind Control" this AM. Ain't that snappy?

Mythic Fiction

 

Should I event a new genre called Mythic Fiction? Or…Not Real Future Stories?

I’ve been writing down a lot of notes lately and I think I’m starting to see clearer. Maybe the book I’m reading (World War Z) has something to do with it (More on that GEM later)…I like tales that don’t fit nice and neatly into a space. Whether it’s Sci-Fi or Speculative fiction. What is Sci-Fi as a term anyway?

Science is not a thing, science isn't space, it isn't faster than light travel, it isn't lasers, robots, gene splicing...science is a process, a method, a way of looking at the universe, a way of asking questions and thinking about the proposed answers to those questions...and then asking more questions..

I mean…

I stare into the sky and watch a dot move slowly towards me. At some distance I recognize it as a shape I call a plane.

In the same place a french person would label it 'avion'. Someone with more knowledge than I might call it a Boeing 747.

Should the plane change it's name?

Peace, DAG!

Trouble Man

"Now I'm coming to get your honky ass!"

marvin gaye did the soundtrack as well, you dig?

The Cloud People

 

How dope is this!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1091550/Ancient-city-discovered-deep-Amazonian-rainforest-linked-legendary-white-skinned-Cloud-People-Peru.html#

A lost city discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest could unlock the secrets of a legendary tribe. Little is known about the Cloud People of Peru, an ancient, white-skinned civilisation wiped out by disease and war in the 16th century. But now archaeologists have uncovered a fortified citadel in a remote mountainous area of Peru known for its isolated natural beauty. It is thought this settlement may finally help historians unlock the secrets of the 'white warriors of the clouds'. The tribe had white skin and blonde hair - features which intrigue historians, as there is no known European ancestry in the region, where most inhabitants are darker skinned.

The citadel is tucked away in one of the most far-flung areas of the Amazon. It sits at the edge of a chasm which the tribe may have used as a lookout to spy on enemies. The main encampment is made up of circular stone houses overgrown by jungle over 12 acres, according to archaeologist Benedict Goicochea Perez. Rock paintings cover some of the fortifications and next to the dwellings are platforms believed to have been used to grind seeds and plants for food and medicine. The Cloud People once commanded a vast kingdom stretching across the Andes to the fringes of Peru's northern Amazon jungle, before it was conquered by the Incas. Named because they lived in rainforests filled with cloud-like mist, the tribe later sided with the Spanish-colonialists to defeat the Incas. But they were killed by epidemics of European diseases, such as measles and smallpox.

Much of their way of life, dating back to the ninth century, was also destroyed by pillaging, leaving little for archaeologists to examine. Remains have been found before but scientists have high hopes of the latest find, made by an expedition to the Jamalca district in Peru's Utcubamba province, about 500 miles north-east of the capital, Lima. Until recently, much of what was known about the lost civilisation was from Inca legends. Even the name they called themselves is unknown. The term Chachapoyas, or 'Cloud People', was given to them by the Incas. Their culture is best known for the Kuellap fortress on the top of a mountain in Utcubamba, which can only be compared in scale to the Incas' Machu Picchu retreat, built hundreds of years later.

Two years ago, archaeologists found an underground burial vault inside a cave with five mummies, two intact with skin and hair. Chachapoyas chronicler Pedro Cieza de Leon wrote of the tribe: 'They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple. 'The women and their husbands always dressed in woollen clothes and in their heads they wear their llautos [a woollen turban], which are a sign they wear to be known everywhere.'

The Chachapoyas' territory was located in the northern regions of the Andes in present-day Peru. It encompassed the triangular region formed by the confluence of the Maranon and Utcubamba rivers, in the zone of Bagua, up to the basin of the Abiseo river. The Maranon's size and the mountainous terrain meant the region was relatively isolated.

Finds like this have the potential to change the way we see the world and the history that has shaped our reality

Ice Pirates

 

More Yo Ho Ho…

Pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships, officials said Tuesday.

The captain of the M/S Nautica ordered passengers inside and gunned the engine, allowing the ship to outrun the pirates' speedboats in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, a company spokesman said.

"It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape," said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia. He urged ships to remain vigilant in the area.

In a statement on its Web site, Oceania Cruises, Inc. said pirates fired eight rifle shots at the liner, but that the ship's captain increased speed and managed to outrun the skiffs.

"When the pirates were sighted, the captain went on the public address system and asked passengers to remain in the interior spaces of the ship and wait until he gave further instructions," said Tim Rubacky, spokesman for Oceania. "Within five minutes, it was over," he said.

December Looks GREAT! (other than my lack of concentration…Huh, What?)

Career, Incomes and Gains
There will be income from various sources comparing to the previous period. Your plans and schemes would be working properly. This is an excellent period for you. Each one of these three planets will render good support to you in all your undertakings. There may be some good news from a foreign land. Help will come from the higher authorities. You will also get opportunity to have good relation with powerful people in society. At the same time, transiting Jupiter shows Increase of knowledge. You will move in the company of saintly people.

Love, Family and Social Life
Some solid improvements in life would be possible. You will want your loving companion to be there for you, to share in your ups and downs, and to show loyalty and commitment to the relationship.

Education and Traveling
A lack of concentration as well as interest may spoil your education prospects. Now you would be much attracted towards other things than education. Even, during this month you would be slightly confused and not able to take a suitable decision according to current circumstances.

Health
An ordinary health would be enjoyed by you.

The term "Jump The Shark" comes to mind...

...But still, this has to be one of the best things ever. There I was on Thanksgiving Morn. Kelli & myself were about to go on a walk through our neighborhood. We were finishing up our morning coffee and I thought I would see what was poppin on the Macy's parade. I'm an antifan of parades. They do nothing for me. I flipped it on and caught the Sesame Street float. It was EPIC! and to me...S.S. still KILLS most the crap that they feed to kids nowadays. We caught a band, a couple of teenage lip sync phenoms and then there was this...The Fosters Float. I like F.H.F.I.F. ALOT! very DOPE cartoon. And then came the 'Rick Roll". I can't figure out which was better...The idea of this OR the commenators having to explain what a "Rick Roll" is. Classic!!!