Thanks to this job and my own nocturnal tendencies I only require one extended period of sleep per week. (On Saturdays)
I generally slide by on a few hours a day.

But by the time we get to Friday morning my brain is worn the hell out.

So, what I mean to say is… I can’t think of anything to talk about.

I’ve had five mountain dews and still haven’t come up with any “compelling” insights or even a mildly amusing anecdote.

So here’s something moderately awesome I saw on YouTube.
It’s less than a minute long.

If only I had been this organized in school…

It's time to catch up on things since I've been a bit under the weather this week ...

* Your best bet for this weekend's Art Trolley Tour might be an exhibit of photography by Regis Lawson with audio provided by DJ Funke, Miss Kai and Saturna. Ladies representin'! Art Village Gallery, 410 S. Main, is the spot. (6 till 9; no cover)

* Afterward, the DJ trio heads across Downtown for an engagement at Brinson's (right next to MY Greek Cafe -- the old Stop 345 -- tucked under the Madison viaduct where Danny Thomas Boulevard cuts through). The party is called "Water the Bush."

* Speaking of DJ trios, my crew, the Memphis Feel-Harmonic DJ Symphony Orchestra, will be back in action Friday night at the Hi-Tone for a back-to-school/end-of-summer bash, with support from Wreckuh (hip-hop and funk) and Mind@Large (dance-rock and minimal Berlin-style house). It's been about three months since the Feel-Harmonic has done a show, and we're raring to go. As usual, expect big beats, electro, mash-ups, party jams, psychedelic synth effects, and precision cut-and-scratch techniques. (10 p.m. till close; $5)

The first two people to comment on this post will get free admission for themselves and one friend.

Continue Reading »

It’s only an NFL exhibition game tonight in Charlotte, N.C., but it’s an intriguing matchup for those who’ll also be interested in Saturday’s Memphis-Ole Miss football game.

The Carolina Panthers play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a rather meaningless NFL tuneup, but the Mid-South football connections will offer some intrigue.

Pittsburgh is in its first season with former Tiger graduate assistant Mike Tomlin as head coach. Former Tiger linebacker Keith Butler is a defensive assistant and former Tiger offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner is in his first season as the Steelers’ receivers coach.

It was Fichtner who was credited with recruiting DeAngelo Williams to the U of M. Williams, who holds practically every Tiger rushing record and remains one of the top rushing backs in NCAA history, is in his second season with the Panthers.

Ole Miss has several players on the Panther roster, including cornerback Ken Lucas and receiver Taye Biddle, who has had a strong preseason and is expected to make the Carolina 53-man squad.

Unfortunately for Mid-South football fans, the game will not be available in this market. The NFL Network is showing Buffalo at Detroit and San Francisco at San Diego. ESPN and ESPN2 are, understandably, covering the opening night of college football.

Continue Reading »

Be aware: Wednesdays will definitely be "tough" for me from now until the middle of December.

Tough, as in "time consuming"

time consuming= (13 hours) 9am-5pm at work & 6pm-10pm in class

I signed up for this, I know. I'm just stating the obvious because I experienced it for the first time yesterday and everything hit me like a ton o' bricks. That's one damn long day! Now realize that I am at work until 9pm the night before (Tuesday) and have class at 9am (Thursday).

So last night in Film class (seems like a good bunch of people, yay!) we discussed our general syllabus and class assignments (10 in-class screenings, journals, papers, exams) for a couple hours and then we started talking about Mise en scène--which literally means "putting into the scene".

We looked at examples from THE FIRM, doesn't Memphis look so lovely on the big screen? After this I believe the entire class wanted to JUST watch The Firm. I know I'll have to watch it again soon--because it's fabulous.

Then we got to our (class chosen) actual screening of MODERN TIMES (1936) which I know I've seen bits and pieces of it before but I do not remember the entire film. It's in black and white. It's a silent film (aside from some voice heard over radios, etc.) and it was also written, produced, directed by and stars Charlie Chaplin.

Good stuff...was this really done in 1936? It didn't take long to not even notice that it was a) black and white and b) "silent". And of course there were good examples of Mise en scène (the whole point of watching this classic). I officially get to "journal" about this for class so I will save you from that for now.

Now I get to go to....WORK...and I haven't even talked about Bio II yet!

~~J

p.s. Way to go ANDY RODDICK et al!Continue Reading »

If you see Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga or Alan Alda in Memphis a few weeks from now, thank writer-director Rod Lurie, whose latest film, "Resurrecting the Champ," with Samuel L. Jackson, is now in theaters. (But probably not for long, judging by its box-office performance, as Lurie is the first to admit.)

Lurie is bringing those actors to Memphis in mid-October to shoot a new movie, "Nothing But the Truth," inspired in part by the Valerie Plame/Judith Miller "CIA leak" case. Read more in today's edition of The Commercial Appeal. The story is here.

Continue Reading »

A trip to David Lynch's "Inland Empire" is like a vacation in Disney's Magic Kingdom compared with an excursion into the cinematic wilderness of self-taught "outsider" filmmaker Phil Chambliss, the so-called "Auteur from Arkansas."

Like Lynch, Chambliss -- a native of Locust Bayou, Arkansas -- is an intuitive filmmaker, but he operates at a less self-conscious and much more impoverished level. His short films are astonishing in their resourcefulness and utter distinctiveness, and -- perhaps most important -- they're just plain funny, in a truly weird way.

Three of Chambliss' shorts will be screened tonight in a must-see program at 7:30 tonight (Thursday, Aug. 3) at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Chambliss is scheduled to attend, to introduce the films and answer questions after the screening.

Continue Reading »

Next time you visit the Pickwick Dam tailrace to fish for striped bass, be sure to take at least one ultra-light rod-and-reel with you.

The stripers have been unpredictable below Pickwick Dam this year - and when they’re not biting, you’re in for a really dull trip.

Unless you’re prepared to fish for skipjack.
(more…)

Continue Reading »