May 2, 2008
Quotes from "Bonk"
While on vacation in Costa Rica, I picked up Bonk
at SFO to read since I forgot to pack a book of my own selection. There are a few pretty funny lines in the book that made me laugh so I thought I'd transcribe a few of them:
page 241 - related to loss of time:
"Orgams appears to be a state not unlike that of the alien abductees one always hears about, coming to with messy hair and a chunk of time unaccounted for."
page 252 - a pretty solid description of men's behaviour:
"I give you a sentence, my favorite sentence in the entire oeuvre of Alfred Kinsey, from Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
You can check out my other book reviews on the site GoodReads.com - here's my profile page.
If you would like to check out my reviews of where we stayed and what we did in Costa Rica, check out my TripAdvisor page.
Posted by genex at 6:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2008
Virgin America
I really like the animation and production of the Virgin America safety announcement - just flew them for the first time this weekend and really like they way they do things:
This was definitely a good brand experience and I think they'll be popular if they can keep delivering...
Posted by genex at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2008
Playa del Carmen wrap...
Well, I forced myself to only carry my point-and-shoot camera when I was in Playa del Carmen except when I was actually working of course and so I didn't take too many shots, but here's a quick little recap. You can find more if you look at my posts on TripAdvisor too.
So the requisite first shot - and of course it's lovers in the water - blech!
- the Mad Cow cafe - love it!
- I was amped to go see some Lucha Libres battle it out but got sidetracked at Kool (below) hanging out with our crew who eventually shut the place down...
I love wandering around the side streets, etc and this was a tortilleria I found mostly by it's loud sound of the giant conveyor belt looking thing that grinds up the corn I guess:
The little purse shop below had wonderful colors. This German couple rode up on their bikes to check it out while I was taking the shot:
My favorite restaurant was Taqueria El Fogon at 30th Ave near 14th I think - I had no idea what I was ordering but got this melted cheese with peppers - yum yum yum:
The best hangover food - once again I didn't know what the hell I was ordering:
And finally they say Mexico City is very smoggy - when I looked out my window I saw the perfect example of that - the sky was gorgeous and blue above the clouds, but smoggy and yellow below. I wish I used one of my 'real' cameras for better dynamic range:
Posted by genex at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2008
Playa del Carmen | Tripadvisor
So just added a review of the wonderful place I'm staying in Playa del Carmen, the Luna Blue Hotel and Garden but only took pix with my point-and-shoot right now so I will have to take some shots after the wedding since I'm conserving the batteries (yes I didn't bring both chargers!)
Posted by genex at 5:47 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2008
MAIDS' ROOMS, PARIS, 2002
Great zine I picked up at Needles and Pens, it's a really well designed, simple but quite evocative. I really love how it's drawn. I thought it was woodblock cutouts until I emailed the artist:
Posted by genex at 6:23 PM | Comments (0)
January 2, 2008
SHADOWPLAY
To the center of the city where all roads meet, waiting for you
To the depths of the ocean where all hopes sank, searching for you
Well I was moving through the silence without motion, waiting for you
In a room without a window in the corner I found truth
In the shadowplay acting out your own death, knowing no more
As the assassins all grouped in four lines, dancing on the floor
And with cold steel, odor on their bodies made a move to connect
I could only stare in disbelief as the crowds all left
I did everything, everything I wanted to
I let them use you for their own ends
To the center of the city in the night, waiting for you
To the center of the city in the night, waiting for you
Posted by genex at 6:15 PM | Comments (0)
December 8, 2007
sideways remix
On my bizzaro trip to LA I was listening to KCRW and heard this great remix of Sideways which is a song I liked by Let's Go Sailing. It's by Asa Taccone. They have it on their site and you can also get it on iTunes - check it out!
Posted by genex at 9:11 PM | Comments (0)
November 5, 2007
Thin: Lauren Greenfield
Thin
Thin takes a look at anorexia and follows several women in a treatment facility in Florida. It's a documentary that is a very intimate look at the problem and one of the most striking things was how many of the women had to leave treatment prematurely because their insurance ran out. Since the film premiered in 2006, it was shot and predated the current health care debate and highlights many of the shortcomings in our country, but more importantly takes a close look at the impact of our culture's obsession with body image.
With a good portion of my work involving women in physique sports (bodybuilding, fitness, etc.), I've seen quite a bit of the effects of body image on the other end of the spectrum and it's inspired me to dig a little deeper in my work related to that.
Posted by genex at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
August 2, 2007
Mochi Massage
Running a small/independent business, you tend to want to support others who are doing so as well, and I worked with Mochi Massage recently, which my friend Winnie runs. They have a location in the Hobart Building on Market Street and I took some interior shots. This is a detail shot I liked from their space but check out their web site if you are interested in finding out more!
You can also check out reviews of Mochi on Yelp!
Posted by genex at 9:27 PM | Comments (0)
August 1, 2007
Soir Blue @ the Whitney
So I had never seen Edward Hopper's Soir Blue before I saw it at the Whitney last month with my sister. It's definitely my favorite piece by Hopper mostly for the absurdist initial impression you get as well as the combination of characters in the scene. I hadn't been to an opening for a while so it was nice to finally get to the Whitney. They were also showcasing their Summer of Love exhibit which had some neat pieces but was more a collection of the history than purely an art show (at least that's how it felt to me). I did enjoy the museum although we didn't have that much time to check everything out.
Posted by genex at 6:05 PM | Comments (0)
June 1, 2007
Slacker Revisited
So I finally saw Slacker
Oh yeah this image I took with my cameraphone - I thought it was kinda funny in the 'we card everyone' collage that they even included infants since I doubt too many of them are ordering alcohol.
Posted by genex at 8:56 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
Music: Amiina
I've been doing a good job of keepin my personal resolution to try and see more live music and enjoy more arts related experiences this year. Last night I went and checked out Amiina who had previously opened for Sigur Ros. The show was at the Swedish American Music Hall and was my first at that venue which is pretty neat (right above Cafe Du Nord).
Before we went to Lucky 13 for a few drinks and afterwards hit up The Page and then Molotovs before a preventative slice at Mythic Pizza...
Amiina
Cool Lagunitas poster at Lucky 13
Posted by genex at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2007
Live music week - Of Montreal
So two nights ago I was cruising around SF taking a walk and saw that Of Montreal was playing at the GAMH. I thought it was just on Sat night so didn't think much of it. My sister had put one of their songs on a mix a while back which I liked so I sent her a photo of that and then realized that they were playing on Sunday night so I decided to check them out.
Well, the show was much different than I thought since the rest of their music was definitely different in style from what I had expected. Oh well. I didn't even stay the whole show and ended up cruising over to Route 101 to finally check that dive bar out. A random evening to say the least...
Earlier in the week I saw Moving Units with my friend Julie at Cafe du Nord and that was a fun show. I hadn't heard them or the opening band and both had good energy and appealed more to my current aural aesthetic. I also love how small DuNord is and although the show was sold out it wasn't bad.
Plus being all-ages meant the bar line was short as was the bathroom lines - yes!
Posted by genex at 12:06 PM | Comments (0)
August 20, 2006
Snakes on a Plane!
So my friend Anka called me last night to go see Snakes on a Plane and of course I couldn't refuse the offer. I had no real expectations going into this movie, except that I wanted to see some snakes on an airplane. The flick starts out and I'm like, shit, they are going to try and have a story to this!
However, without spoiling anything (except there are snakes on the plane!), it actually ended up being a good film overall. Maybe it's b/c I wasn't expecting much but just enjoy some tincture and kick back. This is what cinema should be when it isn't art.
Oh yeah, check out the great marketing technology they used for the film with this caller/email postcard app that has Samuel L. Jackson call you by name (unless you are Anka~!)
Extra Tip! If you order your tix online through Fandango, get the Senior tix b/c they are cheaper - usually when the guy taking the tix at the theater scans it in he/she won't really notice and let you slide like we did. After all they aren't homeland security - wait - that isn't saying much...
Posted by genex at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2006
storytellers
Last night I had a chance to have a quick conversation with Brad Bird who was at a party I was shooting. I've only seen his Simpson's work as well as The Incredibles
Here's a link to a great ReadyMade article on Brad Bird.
Posted by genex at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2006
The Corporation
Finally got the chance to watch The Corporation
He really woke up when he read The Ecology of Commerce
Posted by genex at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2006
a good merger?
I'm psyched as I just found a trailer for "A Scanner Darkly" which is based on a Philip K. Dick story and adapted by Richard Linklater, one of my favorite directors. It's rotoscoped much like Waking Life
Posted by genex at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)
February 8, 2006
Another flick!
I first saw a Brad Bird flick when I saw the Incredibles, but I really liked his style and decided finally to check out Iron Giant. Definitely has his signature on it and it's also quite a nice film. There's some really neat animation sequences as well as some funny stuff in the extras (see the storyboard guy one). Wish I had seen this in the theather, but at least we have the projector!
Posted by genex at 12:06 AM | Comments (0)
February 7, 2006
Mad Cow Girl
With the SF Independent Film Festival in town, I've tried to force myself to see more of the flicks since last year I managed to miss everything completely.
The first film I saw was Initial D which was decent for what I had expected. Nothing too intense but a light fun ride overall. The race scenes did look pretty realistic to someone who doesn't know crap about driving and racing.
The 2nd flick was Mad Cowgirl. It was the World Premiere so director Gregory Hatanaka and his crew were present. I didn't know too much about the guy or the film, but apparently his film from 2005 was the worst rated film of the festival.
Well, once it began, I realized the lead character is pretty hot. Played by Sarah Lassez, Therese is quite an enigmatic character. I don't know what to say without spoiling any of it, but it's a crazy ride that goes all over the place, but because of that kinetic schizophrenia it makes it a lot of fun.
The last flick I'll see I just realized the website for it is is kanashibari.org which is totally bizarre since that's the word from a blog post of mine in 2003 that I have only heard of that one time.
Posted by genex at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2005
Review: Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino, 2005)
Franz Ferdinand are confident. They boast that you could have it so much better with them than some other ear trash bands out there. Telling the truth? Or all swagger? Eh, a healthy dollop from column A and a teensy smidge from column B.
If you check out FF's website, the bio page reveals that the modus operandi of this outfit is to make girls dance. With the follow-up to their outstanding self-titled debut, they've succeeded in the making the girls dance part, and for something new, they've also managed to get the girls all moony-eyed and wistful with tracks like the Beatle-y "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" and "Fade Together" plus "Walk Away." "Eleanor..." apparently is about Eleanor from The Fiery Furnaces. I didn't know frontman Alex K. and Eleanor are/were involved. Well, that just goes to show I'm not hip on my rock band gossip.
The weakness here is that some of the songs aren't likely to be caramelized into your brain, sweet and getting stuck in the head. Not quite. There's the forgettable "This Boy" and "Evil and a Heather." One of my faves is "I'm Your Villain" with the boys doing their best Interpol impression with the thundering groovy bassline. Don't fret, Alex still croons and dabbles with the man love (infectious first single "Do You Want To"). The bottom line is that You Could Have It So Much Better is somewhat slumpy, but by no means a bad buy. Now all I have to do is see Franz Ferdinand live and then I will be happy.
- by Lisa Hwang
Posted by genex at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
May 9, 2005
Emotional Spectrum
I've always enjoyed the range of human emotions so that's the only way I could reconcile writing about adoption and Kung Fu Hustle in the same entry.
Anyhow, I just heard a story on NPR about adoption that was a really nice piece of journalism. You can check out the story details and listen to the extended version here. It's a really touching story and it's nice when you can get so much emotion from radio.
On the other hand, I saw Kung Fu Hustle which Anka had been raving about for a while. I hadn't even realized it was a Stephen Chow film until it rolled across the screen. I would definitely say it's a fun film enhanced by pre-baking.
Posted by genex at 9:18 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
Microserfs
On my flight up to Winnipeg, I finished reading Microserfs by Douglas Coupland and found so many things I could relate to as well as remarkable similarities to my own experiences during the dot.com rush and working at MCI to moving to San Francisco and even starting Orange.
I definitely would recommend the book to anyone who experienced that era or even has an interest as it's definitely spot on in capturing the essence of that time.
Perhaps the weirdest tie-in was the storyline related to Dusty, the female bodybuilder who dates Todd. Strange that the worlds of geeks and muscle would overlap like my own has...
Posted by genex at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2005
Lisa's Antics review...
I have always liked my sisters entertainment reviews. She used to review films on her personal website before she got to college but hasn't done any since. She forwarded me her review of Interpol's Antics which follows:
Unfailingly so, comparisons between Interpol's debut Turn on the Bright Lights and their follow-up, Antics, will be made. And I am here to say that it's perfectly okay to compare the two, and yes, the two are not one and the same!
Turn on the Bright Lights was dark and moody, tense and brooding, dealing with the topic of isolation. Antics lets in a little bit of sunlight and the occasional bout of optimism.
Interpol is the first band to really want to make me learn how to play bass. See "Evil" and "Narc." Carlos D's thumping grooveworthy basswork will make you want to dance around or at least ponder doing so. The group's other trademark is Paul Banks's deep monotone voice, still there, a smidgen lighter. After the first listen, you will think that Antics is a huge letdown to the masterful Turn on the Bright Lights, but keep listening. It'll grow on you, slowly but surely. Different doesn't always equal "ew, get it away from me as soon as humanly possible."
The strongest cut, "Slow Hands," sounds like it could have been a hidden track on Turn on the Bright Lights, but you won't find an "Obstacle 1" or "Leif Erickson" on Antics.
Not that it's a horrible thing, but "Obstacle 1" is currently my favorite song of all time, and it was a bit sad to discover no "Obstacle 3" here. There's shimmery guitar work reminiscent of Coldplay in "Not Even Jail" and "Take You on a Cruise," while "Narc" has some disco undertones. An awesome bass solo towards the end of "Public Pervert" saves an otherwise average tune. Opener and closer "Next Exit" and "A Time to Be So Small" are basically filler, like wheat bread holding tasty sandwich contents inside. Or to be more sophisticated (Interpol does hail from NYC), a stuffed grape leaf. Try it.
Goodness that grows on you.
Posted by genex at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)
