The Return of Sundance.....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120095259855597.html Interesting link 1.

Dave Barry year end review.

Sundance reviews coming in a day or two. Still recovering from a horrible return trip from Utah, thanks to SLC fog, 7 hours of plane delays, no weekend shuttle service in SF when I arrived, etc, etc. But Sundance was very good this year. More soon. Plus a couple book reviews of late.

I'm sitting here listening to a promo copy of Matan's latest release as the incarnation Sesto Sento: Key To The Universe. He has consistently come up with wonderful renditions of 'mainstream' music and the remix of Moby's Lift Me Up is a gem. There is also a vocal psy track (not just samples) called Misterious Ways that is quite good.

Second up is the compilation "organic circuitry" on the Ektoplazm label, which is all over the place - from 110 to 148 bpm. It was mastered at OOOD's Stooodio in the UK and Colin's influence shows. I count that as a good thing. I've always liked how international the psytrance culture is. This comp boasts artists from Sweden, Norway, Japan, the US, Israel, Canada, and Finland. None of the tracks has blown me away, but they are consistently well produced and certainly keep things moving. I think Filteria's The Predator (2907 Remix) is my favorite with its old school goaesque groove.

A couple days ago, on the recommendation of a coworker, I ventured over to Santa Rosa and watched "Slumdog Millionaire" the newest film by Danny Boyle. It was well worth the slow, foggy drive from Angwin. Boyle again proves what a versatile director he is and this is a very strong piece of film to add to his impressive resume. The story is of an un-schooled boy from the slums of Mumbai, who makes it onto the Indian version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". He does so well that the authorities believe he has to be cheating. The film follows in flashbacks as he describes how he knew the answers to question after question, from his education in the streets. There is much humor, sadness, and beauty throughout the film. It definitely left me feeling good. And it will be playing at the Cameo later this month for you locals to check out.

Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Mine was pretty quiet but that was a good thing. I got a gift certificate to Barnes & Nobles (Thank you to you know who). And that has already been put to excellent use at their 50% off after Christmas sale. This is my written haul:









and, not covered by the GC, a DVD by the director of Head On!

All the best to everyone as we knock the door down to 2009!

I like Out Of Our Depths new album cover art and the play on words incorporated into it.

Sad but true as opposed to Facepalm.

I'm giving a second listen to Talpa's second album "When The Somberness Becomes A Game". Talpa is the psy project of a classical trained musician who happens to be a Serbian soldier and it is some of the most experimental and unique music I've heard in a long time (since his first album actually or maybe the first Eskimo album). The track "No Choice" is fantastic, with some sick sick sounds. 'Good City' and 'I Feel Nothing' and "Still Dreaming" are also excellent. The album is a joy to listen to from the point that it is a sonic adventure, encompassing a huge variety of influences and soundscapes, and as much fun as it is to listen to, I have a real hard time imagining how it would work into a set. But it IS a REALLY fun listen while I'm online.


Also gave another listen to Dino Psaras' "Where Words Fail Music Speaks". First, I love that title. For me, music has such a deep component of conveying emotions that I often find hard to put into words. I've always loved music and when I first started listening to psy, I knew I had discovered the music that resonated with my soul, moreso than any other style of music. It still does fifteen years and counting. It is hard for me to imagine what my life would be like without music - I probably would not still be alive today in all seriousness. Back to WWFMS, this is the grinding, pulsing trance with detailed sound design I would expect from him. There are guest appearances from Wrecked Machines, Deedrah, Dimitri Nakov, Michelle Adamson, and Space Cat. The track "Firewall" is so awesomely good I can get past the Michelle Adamson vocals (I think she is getting over exposed in the psy scene) . "Questions" is another great track, as are both versions of the title track.

The disenchantment is already starting and it is exactly what I expected, but hoped would not happen. Obama was labeled a communist by some on the far right and now his fellow democrats are lamenting that he has not appointed 'a single true progressive' in his Cabinet. He will be crucified by both extremes, when what I have seen so far bodes well for those of us anchored in some degree of reality. Centrist or moderate positions are the most likely to garner the support necessary from both sides to at least begin making meaningful change. They may not be as flashy or exciting, but compromise rarely is. And the sooner we stop polarizing and realize that only by working together will we begin to improve the lot of all people, the better.

AN INTERROGATOR SPEAKS is a thoughtful opinion piece on the 'deeply flawed' interrogation techniques used in Iraq and why they do more harm than good. The author is cut from the 'moral fabric' we could use a lot more of in our military. Worth a read.

Signs of the Times....

I hope this is not where we are all headed. Or this actually. But with this coming soon, who knows.

Finding Forgiveness is a five part feature article from The Oregonian newspaper, focusing on a member of a news aggregater site I frequent. It was interesting to see the pieces come out over the past week and the responses on Fark. It is quite long, but the writing is very good and the story is compelling. I felt good after getting through it.

This weekend (Sunday 2PM @ the PUC Church Sanctuary) is the memorial for Trevor Murtagh.

And an early Christmas present arrived for me:
A little Acer AspireOne Netbook to go around the world with me. So far I'm having fun with it.

I had a real hard time not laughing out loud at this piece. The subheading alone caused me pain as I tried to contain my response. So I can put off refilling my prescription a little while longer. Yay to life!