Yes, I love Engrenages, The Fall, Borgen and other European television series but damn, True Detective is the shit. Half way though its 8 episode season, it just keeps getting better.
Are you fu€king kidding me?
I normally stay away from politics on this blog but WTF? Schools denying food to children and throwing out lunches because parents are behind in payments?
Nice. What a legacy. These people should be ashamed of themselves.
Some stunning architecture: Hyde + Hyde
Some stunning examples of modern home design from the UK architecture firm Hyde + Hyde .
I especially appreciate the calm esthetics of The Photographers Home.
RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman
A tragedy that highlights the fact that mental illness knows no bounds. At some point I will post my portraits from East Hastings in Vancouver but each time I look at them I just get sad. Not much else to say.
Here is a photo essay from the 1960s looking at heroin addicts and their addiction.
Er, is this graffiti?
Amusing from the streets of Paris. This guerrilla artist replaces advertising with classical art. Thank god there are still people that reject the corporate materialism that we are forced to consume.
My Favorite Zen koans :)
I love these two especially:
Keichu, the great Zen teacher of the Meiji era, was the head of Tofuku, a cathedral in Kyoto. One day the governor of Kyoto called upon him for the first time.
His attendant presented the card of the governor, which read: Kitagaki, Governor of Kyoto.
“I have no business with such a fellow,” said Keichu to his attendant. “Tell him to get out of here.”
The attendant carried the card back with apologies. “That was my error,” said the governor, and with a pencil he scratched out the words Governor of Kyoto. “Ask your teacher again.”
“Oh, is that Kitagaki?” exclaimed the teacher when he saw the card. “I want to see that fellow.”
And my other favorite:
A Zen student came to Bankei and complained: “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?”
“You have something very strange,” replied Bankei. “Let me see what you have.”
“Just now I cannot show it to you,” replied the other.
“When can you show it to me?” asked Bankei.
“It arises unexpectedly,” replied the student.
“Then,” concluded Bankei, “it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. Think that over.”
Engrenages saison 4
So after binge watching the amazing third season after yoga on Sunday, I was told that a fourth season had also already aired.
I’m watching episode 1 now. Looks like Breaking Bad season 2 is on hold. 🙂
Moveable images. Impressive technique!
Wow. Check this out.
I’m guessing that it is using artificial cameras (After Effects?), layer selections, and blending techniques in Photoshop (Smudge/warp tool?) on amazing works of classical western art to create an affective moment of beauty. Impressive enough to watch twice.
More binge watching, Danish style
I just finished season 1 of Borgen. I really enjoyed the French series Engrenages and this was recommended as another foreign language gem.
Essentially the Danish version of The West Wing, this one hour drama is some damn good tv! There are three seasons and I just got back from hot yoga and may just start the second season and stay on my couch. The weather outside is truly frightful: slippery and wet, trending toward freezing rain.
Violation of Spatial Integrity
I love media. All sorts of media. So nothing pisses me off more than crappy stories, shitty characters, poor production, or crappy editing. I vowed that I would seriously reduce my watching of crap, even if that means I am a late-adopter of a great movie or two. I do like to watch B movies, amateur films, documentaries, whatever. As long as there is a story or a character or even the way it is shot strikes me as novel, I will consume it. One of the things that I would love to have more time to do is to deconstruct my favorite movies and narrate their goodness. This guy has done an excellent job of the opposite: deconstructing a shitty scene. In this case the chase scene from Batman: The Dark Knight. This scene probably bugs you as much as it does me but here is shot-by-shot narrative as to why.