28 Weeks Later (5.30)

Music
If you’re looking for cool, downbeat lounge music, check out “Hotel Costes” series d.j’ed by Stephane Pompougnac. I think he’s up to 9 volumes of music.

Movies
Summer at the movies means sequels, sequels, sequels. More often than not, they are bloated and incoherent so I tend to avoid them, especially sequels to horror movies. Think of how perfectly good concepts like Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream deteriorated. Occasionally, Aliens will pop out of a filmmaker’s chest to delight all of us who like a little gore with our popcorn. Happily, 28 Weeks Later felt more like Aliens than “Jason Battles Freddie and Predator on Uranus.” As pointed out by a clever film reviewer, the film “mutated” enough to remain vital. There’s a clear parallel between the US containment of Jihaadists, but what I enjoyed most was the fact that the true horror remained within the family unit itself much in the same we see in the mother of all zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead. I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone who will watch it, but, man oh man, there’s a scene between a married couple that’s horrifying on so many, many levels.

Television
Feeling the need for a sci fi fix, I put the TV series Firefly in my queue. As a Buffy fan who enjoyed the movie version of Serenity, I’m surprised it took me this long to watch it and I’m definitely not disappointed in spite of the fact that I haven’t yet seen the teenage chick kick serious butt. Its blend of sci fi and western generic conventions keeps it fun and fresh.

I’m pretty sure that On the Lot is a little too geeky for the majority of TV viewers. The hostess is an idiot who can’t even read names off a teleprompter and the hour recap/elimination round is awful, but watching the short films is pretty fun. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check it out, give the film showings on Monday a try. My favorite short films from last Monday night were “Lucky Penny,” “Danger Zone,” and “Checkout.” (By the way, Norwalkers DJ Caruso was the guest judge on Monday night. )

Internet
YouTube can be a dangerous place for the easily obsessed. And I certainly don’t want to encourage anyone to waste their precious time, but if you type in “parkour” and “parkour”, you’ll see some amazing and very funny things. Since watching District B13 a while back, I haven’t been able to get enough of the stuff. (And Madonna made good use of parkour guys in her last series of concerts and the video, “Jump.”)
Heather pointed out a very cool site which sells nifty items for the savvy traveler: http://www.flight001.com/



Business
The other day Heather praised Apple stores for the ease with which she purchased her power book. The NYT had an article on the success of the Apple stores which echoed her comments. Store sales are up 34% from the quarter a year earlier thanks to Apple’s decision to amp up the high touch along with the high tech. What sounds especially appealing is the presence of the “Genius Bar” whose offer their expertise for free. I’ve always had a soft spot for Mac’s (and I admit that I’m a sucker for the Mac vs PC commercials) and I think I’m going to have to make a power book my next tech purchase.

Anecdote
Did you see on AOL news that Mike Figgis (British director of Leaving Las Vegas) was detained at LAX Immigration because he told officials he was in town to “shoot a pilot.”

Quote
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” -- Edward Abbey