Has anyone seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch? Would it be in this category?

Bucket of Blood is fantastic! Haven't seen Art School Confidential 'cause everybody said it wasn't as good as Ghost World. When I was in high school the movie Neighbors made me incredibly uncomfortable, it was actually an ordeal to get to the end of the movie. Brazil was like that for me, too. I guess some of the best films out there challenge us and make us think about either ourselves or what the film is saying.

Grazianohmygod said:

I hope Art School Confidential gets better with time. When I saw it, it made me incredibly anxious. That entire culture of trying to make brilliance look effortless, which I recall was a big part of the movie, made me uncomfortable.

Sometimes it's fine to be made uncomfortable, if you trust the filmmaker to take you somewhere interesting and provocative. Unfortunately, I did not feel that like Art School Confidential said anything new or interesting. I dunno, maybe Zwigoff succeeded in making me have the same anxiety  as the main character.

Has anyone seen Bucket of Blood? It's a Roger Corman movie from 1959 that I think manages to address those themes of pretentiousness in the art world much more successfully.

John Battles said:

Good picks , all. Art Schol Confidential , Clowes and Zwigoff's follow up to "Ghost World" was far less successful , but , also , a lot darker , so , the viewer has to decide which movies that they'd watch twice or more... i do not consider it as good a film as it's predecessor , but, I think it's going to improve , in people's minds , with age. 

I hope Art School Confidential gets better with time. When I saw it, it made me incredibly anxious. That entire culture of trying to make brilliance look effortless, which I recall was a big part of the movie, made me uncomfortable.

Sometimes it's fine to be made uncomfortable, if you trust the filmmaker to take you somewhere interesting and provocative. Unfortunately, I did not feel that like Art School Confidential said anything new or interesting. I dunno, maybe Zwigoff succeeded in making me have the same anxiety  as the main character.

Has anyone seen Bucket of Blood? It's a Roger Corman movie from 1959 that I think manages to address those themes of pretentiousness in the art world much more successfully.

John Battles said:

Good picks , all. Art Schol Confidential , Clowes and Zwigoff's follow up to "Ghost World" was far less successful , but , also , a lot darker , so , the viewer has to decide which movies that they'd watch twice or more... i do not consider it as good a film as it's predecessor , but, I think it's going to improve , in people's minds , with age. 

Good picks , all. Art Schol Confidential , Clowes and Zwigoff's follow up to "Ghost World" was far less successful , but , also , a lot darker , so , the viewer has to decide which movies that they'd watch twice or more... i do not consider it as good a film as it's predecessor , but, I think it's going to improve , in people's minds , with age.    If it is'nt a Feelgood movie (Niether was Ghost World , but it cut across barriers.), people won't get it. My friend saw "Edward Scissorhands" before I did , and said his Daughter was laughing , usually alone , at the funny parts. She was 5 years old. He said she cried at the end , but , the adults just felt cheated , because there was no happy ending. 

Even the Clerks movies are sort of Black Comedies. We spoke of this elsewhere , but "Slade in Flame" is an excellent example of a Black Comedy , when fans expected a feelgood movie. Even "Catch Us if You Can" , aka "Having a Wild Weekend" is a very cynical film for such a "Feelgood" music act as The Dave Clark Five...It's also got to be the first Rock film to make reference to Heroin.
 
Grazianohmygod said:

Welcome to the Dollhouse, Ghost World, Deconstructing Harry, Brazil

Welcome to the Dollhouse, Ghost World, Deconstructing Harry, Brazil

Ja , exzactly. In order to know death , Otto , you must fuck life in ze gall bladder.....I remember it in that order , tho' it makes less sense....That is a VERY creepy film , not just because the Doc (UDO KIER , RUMORED TO HAVE DIED IN THE 90'S , BUT, THANKFULLY STILL WITH US.) is a freakin' necrophile , and married to his Sister , but , their beautiful children (Dunno how THAT happened) turn out to REALLY be the monsters. Innocence gone awry (Like the child who becomes , not a Zombie , thank you , but one of the Living Dead in "Night of The Living Dead" , that was the scariest part of all.) is more horrific than any monster created by the supernatural.  This is why Karloff's Frankenstein monster scared so many people , he's really like a child who becomes hateful when faced with hatred.

I'm reading VIOLENCE GIRL the autobiography of Alice Bag. Tons o' fun, w/ some great pix and scoops on the L.A punk scene, it also doesn't skimp on her childhood in East L.A.

Geza X was in an early incarnation of the Bags.

Did ya know she went out w/ one o' the Weirdos?

Published by Feral House, who publish some really interesting shit. Buy it!

I HOPE THIS WORK BY a true American like Woody Guthrie, written in 1947 (!!!!!!!!!) and published recently, busts any RIGHT-WING Fascist ideas in the U.S.A. today like he did in yesteryear with his music and his guitar with the slogan on it: "THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS"!, COZ WE'RE ALL fed up TO THE MARROW of right-wing ideals ever since Reagan came to power!!!!!!

Oh , and that was my only direct exposure to Drive - In culture , in the early 70's. I know my Brothers and I saw some other great movies , there , too , but , I forget which . My Babysitter and her Boyfriend , sometimes , would take us to the Drive - In. He was a Saint to put up with our shit. I remember the classic trailer to "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde", which is also on "Wavy Gravy".
 
John Battles said:

THAT'S FUNNY. WAVY GRAVY WAS THE PEAK OF TRASH COMPS.....I , inadvertently , drove this very annoying woman who was giving my friend at the record store all kinds of Hell , as we were listening to one of those records , and when the immortal  strains of "I ****an old gal in the graveyard..." came on , she bolted right out the door. My friend thanked me.
 
dave said:

That's some baby-sitter! I had to wait on the radio ad 'til I heard it on Four Hairy Policemen...

John Battles said:

VERY nice.  I had a really cool babysitter who took my Brothers and I to see "Frogs" at the Drive-in when it came out.

dave said:

THAT'S FUNNY. WAVY GRAVY WAS THE PEAK OF TRASH COMPS.....I , inadvertently , drove this very annoying woman who was giving my friend at the record store all kinds of Hell , as we were listening to one of those records , and when the immortal  strains of "I ****an old gal in the graveyard..." came on , she bolted right out the door. My friend thanked me.
 
dave said:

That's some baby-sitter! I had to wait on the radio ad 'til I heard it on Four Hairy Policemen...

John Battles said:

VERY nice.  I had a really cool babysitter who took my Brothers and I to see "Frogs" at the Drive-in when it came out.

dave said:

Yeah , to be honest , I don't remember the last time I even watched Fox , so , I would'nt know that they're the enemy , but , I trust your opinion. In the early 90's , it was new , it had promise.....I forgot about The Residents or Coil having any connection to "Pee Wee's Playhouse" , but ,again , I'll take your word for it.....I just Remember Mothersbaugh , Todd Rundgren , surely Danny Elfman (Whose ego is neither "Pee Wee" nor Elfish.) , and Cyndi Lauper (The hilarious theme song.) as far as contributors to the soundtrack go....

Fishburne had a pretty big part on the show as the contrarily, hysterically funny Cowboy Curtis " PEEEE WEEEE !!!! MISS YVONNE JUST ASKED ME FOR A DATE !!!WHADDA I DOOOO?!!! AH AIN'T NEVER BEEN OUT WITH SUCH A FANCY LADY , BEFORE!!!!".

William Marshall , yes , aka "Blacula" (He was also in "Abby" the Black answer to "The Exorcist" . He was embarrassed at being typecast , as he started in Shakespearean Theatre .) was the second King of Cartoons (I forget the name of the first.).
 I only recently saw "Mystery Men". Did'nt hate it and did'nt love it. I did'nt think it was all that funny , tho' I think it could have been. A friend of mine has a clear plastic bowling ball with a skull inside , like Janeann Garofino (whatever.) had in the movie.
dave said:

And now Fox is the enemy! Even the Simpson's makes fun of its station!

PeeWee's Playhouse had to be the best show at that time, ya couldn't miss it! Music by Mark Mothersbaugh, The Residents, Coil, set design by Gary Panter, cameos by Larry Fishburne and Blackula, it was simply too good to pass it up.

Have you seen Mystery Men? It's really great but I passed it up 'til it came out on video.

John Battles said:

I DON'T THINK THERE'S EVEN A BOOTLEG COPY OF BELUSHI AS GODZILLA HOSTING "GODZILLA VS. MEGALON" GOING AROUND , WHICH IS TOO BAD. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE THINKING , BUT , I WAS GLAD THEY THOUGHT OF IT.

Pee Wee's Playhouse was the best show on TV at the time. bUT , IT WAS ON AT 9 AM on Saturday ! Did'nt matter. I could have been out til three the night before , and I'd still be up , spot on at nine , without setting the alarm clock.

I HAVE'NT WATCHED THE SIMPSONS IN EONS. IS IT STILL ON? I MEAN , I'VE WATCHED THE OLD EPISODES , AND THE MOVIE , RECENTLY , BUT , GOT OUT OF THE HABIT OF WATCHING THE NEWER ONES. NOT THAT THEY HAD'NT BEEN REMARKABLY CONSISTENT.

In the early 90's , FOX was REAL must - see TV on Sundays - Elvis : The Early Years , The Outsiders , The Simpsons , Married: With Children , In Living Color. They were on a ROLL.
 
dave said:

No doubt about it, television has given us some really trippy things, often w/o their knowledge! I get a kick out of it, and occasionally they do the right thing and put out something good, like PeeWee's Playhouse or the Simpsons.

And no, I missed Belushi in that role, dimmit.

John Battles said:

Well , I was determined to watch the whole thing. Never gave it much thought , until the revamped Famous Monsters magazine (They did a whole issue , given the illusion that it was still 1970 , a couple of years ago , which actually worked.) did a feature article and even gave it the cover. Then , recently , by chance , I met Arnold Stang's Granddaughter's Husband. I got some snacks , "Grew a pair" , and braced myself to watch"Hercules in New York". I found it funnier than Hell ,if for all teh wrong reasons.  It has a very unitentionally druggy vibe , like a less catatonic "Star Wars Xmas Special" , except , if Belushi had sat through THAT , he could have survived any kind of speedball. Does anybody remember John Belushi , dressed as Godzilla , hosting "Godzilla Vs. Megalon" on prime time? I'm not making this up.
 
dave said:

Whew, "Mister, you're a better man than I"! I just watched a minute or two on Youtube and it vas excruciating! Maybe when my kitsch module gets an upgrade!

John Battles said:

OK , I DID THE UNTHINKABLE. 

I WATCHED "HERCULES IN NEW YORK" , AND EVEN PAID (NOT FULL PRICE) FOR THE PRIVELEDGE. IT'S HILARIOUS ! NOT BECAUSE THE COMEDY WRITING OR SIGHT GAGS ARE ALWAYS , OR EVEN USUALLY , ON THE MARK , BUT , JUST BECAUSE THE PREMISE IS SO WEIRD , AND THE DIRECTION IS NOT SO MUCH FLUID , AS RUNNY. SOMEONE LEFT THE CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN , BABY. IT'S MORE FUNNY IN A "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" SORT OF WAY.  HERCULES , SURROUNDED BY GODDESSES ON MT. OLYMPUS (AND PRIMED TO BE A SCOUNDREL LIKE HIS OLD MAN , ZEUS.), DECIDES HE'D LIKE TO COME DOWN TO EARTH AND BE AMONG THE COMMON FOLK (AS HE DID IN THE OLD GRECO - ROMAN MYTHS.). HIS WANDERLUST INFURIATES DAD , WHO STRIKES HIM WITH A THUNDERBOLT , SENDING HIM HURTLING INTO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.....HE HOPS A BOAT , KICKS MOST OF THE UNRULY CREW'S ASSES , AND TURNS UP IN MODERN NEW YORK . HERE , HE ENCOUNTERS THE REAL MAN - GOD , ARNOLD STANG , WHO BECOMES HIS BEST FRIEND (IT'S A LONG WAY FROM BEING BEST FRIENDS WITH SINATRA , BUT , HEY....) , FROM THERE , HE KICKS SOME MORE MORTAL ASS , PLUS A MAN IN A VERY BAD BEAR SUIT , AND RIDES A CHARIOT THRU BROADWAY ( I THINK THEY SPENT THE ENTIRE  BUDGET ON THE PERMITS TO DO THAT SHOT. ) , AND , HE BECOMES A FAMOUS WRESTLER , BUT , GETS MIXED UP WITH SOME GANGSTERS (IN 1970s NEW YORK ?! NEVER !), AND , WELL , I FORGET.......

THE COOLEST PART ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE IS , YOU CAN PLAY IT WITH SCHWARZENEGGER'S ACTUAL DIALOGUE (IN WHICH HE BUTCHERS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE , PHONETICALLY. SUBTILES ARE PROVIDED.), OR THE VOICE - OVER  USED IN THE CHEAP EXPLOITATION DEVICE , WHEN THE MOVIE WAS RE- RELEASED AS "Hercules: the movie" in 1983 , after the success of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN". SCHWARZENEGGER NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH AS AN ACTOR , ANYWAY , BUT HE COULD DO COMEDY ("True Lies", "Look Who's Talking , Unintelligibly".) , SO , IF YOU WANT A GOOD LAUGH , YOU MIGHT FIND IT WITH THE GUBERNATOR'S DEBUT.  Hasta La Vini Vidi Vici , Baby.

AS MUCH AS I ENJOY "THE WARRIORS" , AND HAVE SINCE IT WAS A MIDNIGHT MOVIE FIXTURE , CA. 1980 , ANYONE WHO HAD TO DEAL WITH THE GANGS IN NEW YORK WILL TELL YOU "THE WARRIORS " IS EXTREMELY INACCURATE. IN THE EXTRAS , TO THE DVD SET , IT'S EXPLAINED THAT THE REASON THE WARRIORS , AND SOME OTHER GANGS DEPICTED IN THE MOVIE , ARE RACIALLY MIXED, IS THAT , TO BE ACCURATE , EVEN A "GOOD GUY" GANG (SAVE FOR A BAD APPLE SEX OFFENDER) , HAD TO BE ALL BLACK OR ALL LATIN , AND HOLLYWOOD WAS'NT READY FOR THAT. IN CHICAGO , AND , PROBABLY IN NEW YORK AND EVEN LA , THERE WAS A TIME WHEN A GANG MEMBER COULD HELP HIS GRANDMA CROSS THE STREET , AND NOT BE MET WITH A HALE OF RIVAL GANG BULLETS , THAT JUST COULD'NT HELP BUT TAKE OUT OTHER INNOCENT BYSTANDERS , BESIDES GRANDMA , AS THEY, TOO ,  WERE IN THE WAY.
 
dave said:

Trippy. Not quite like The Warriors, eh? Documentaries seem to be the only kewl thing that comes out of America lately. Everything I've wanted to see has been a docu.

Greg Hanson said:

Last night caught an amazing and apparently super rare flick called 80 Blocks from Tiffany's about street gangs in the South Bronx in the 70s. It was pretty crazy, as a current NYer, seeing what real NYC life was like for some people back then. People living in bombed out buildings, crazy gang activity, but it all had a strange sense of humor to it because of its familiarity. Like there was a part where they interviewed two former gang bosses who very nonchalantly discussed all the crimes they committed. 

Ah yeh, forgot about Beasts of the Southern Wild, but I'll have to look up those other titles. Tip o' the hat to ya...

Greg Hanson said:

It has been called the real life Warriors.

There's tons of great stuff coming out here, it's just not necessarily mainstream. Drive, Bellflower, The Master, Beasts of the Southern Wild, etc. come to mind. 

dave said:

Trippy. Not quite like The Warriors, eh? Documentaries seem to be the only kewl thing that comes out of America lately. Everything I've wanted to see has been a docu.

Greg Hanson said:

Last night caught an amazing and apparently super rare flick called 80 Blocks from Tiffany's about street gangs in the South Bronx in the 70s. It was pretty crazy, as a current NYer, seeing what real NYC life was like for some people back then. People living in bombed out buildings, crazy gang activity, but it all had a strange sense of humor to it because of its familiarity. Like there was a part where they interviewed two former gang bosses who very nonchalantly discussed all the crimes they committed. 

It has been called the real life Warriors.

There's tons of great stuff coming out here, it's just not necessarily mainstream. Drive, Bellflower, The Master, Beasts of the Southern Wild, etc. come to mind. 

dave said:

Trippy. Not quite like The Warriors, eh? Documentaries seem to be the only kewl thing that comes out of America lately. Everything I've wanted to see has been a docu.

Greg Hanson said:

Last night caught an amazing and apparently super rare flick called 80 Blocks from Tiffany's about street gangs in the South Bronx in the 70s. It was pretty crazy, as a current NYer, seeing what real NYC life was like for some people back then. People living in bombed out buildings, crazy gang activity, but it all had a strange sense of humor to it because of its familiarity. Like there was a part where they interviewed two former gang bosses who very nonchalantly discussed all the crimes they committed. 

Trippy. Not quite like The Warriors, eh? Documentaries seem to be the only kewl thing that comes out of America lately. Everything I've wanted to see has been a docu.

Greg Hanson said:

Last night caught an amazing and apparently super rare flick called 80 Blocks from Tiffany's about street gangs in the South Bronx in the 70s. It was pretty crazy, as a current NYer, seeing what real NYC life was like for some people back then. People living in bombed out buildings, crazy gang activity, but it all had a strange sense of humor to it because of its familiarity. Like there was a part where they interviewed two former gang bosses who very nonchalantly discussed all the crimes they committed. 

Last night caught an amazing and apparently super rare flick called 80 Blocks from Tiffany's about street gangs in the South Bronx in the 70s. It was pretty crazy, as a current NYer, seeing what real NYC life was like for some people back then. People living in bombed out buildings, crazy gang activity, but it all had a strange sense of humor to it because of its familiarity. Like there was a part where they interviewed two former gang bosses who very nonchalantly discussed all the crimes they committed. 

Pasole and Green Chili Stew

2 (64 ounce) cans hominy
3 cups water
3 -4 lbs pork shoulder
4 cups chicken stock
2 (64 ounce) cans green chilies
1 (64 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
2 medium onions
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
pepper


the original recipe used nixtamel* which is mexican limed corn, take 2 cups, rinse well in colander, put it in pressure cooker and add the water.Do not add salt as it will cause the corn to be tough.Cook at 15 lbs pressure for 1:20 minutes.

*You may use canned hominy, but the taste and texture will be different.

If you you are using canned Hominy add it with other ingredients after the pork is done

Take the pork sholder and cut it into several large pieces place in large stock pot,with the chicken stock until meat is tender

separate into bite size chunks.

While meat is cooking peel and dice the chilies and onions.

if using canned tomatoes crush into medium chunks.

peal & crush garlic and chop into small dice

Once meat is tender and pasole has finished cooking combine all other ingredients into pot with oregano and other spices, salt and pepper to taste. simmer for another hour to allow flavors to blend. serve with tortillas.

Carne Guisada (Beef Stew)

Avocado Soup with Corn and Tomato Garnish

# 1 tablespoon canola oil
# 2 yellow onions, chopped, about 2 cups
# 4 cloves garlic, chopped
# 2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded if desired, and minced
# 4 ripe Haas avocados, peeled and cut into -- (4 to 5) chunks
# 1 quart chicken stock
# 1/2 cup crema, creme fraiche or sour cream
# 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
# 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Corn and Tomato Garnish:
# 2 ears corn, roasted or boiled, kernels cut off and reserved
# 2 Italian Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
# 2 scallions, washed and sliced into thin rings
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 1/4 teaspoon pepper
# 1 tablespoon creme fraiche or sour cream

Heat oil in Dutch oven (covered pot) over low heat; add onions, garlic, jalapenos, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, 10 minutes or until translucent. Add avocados and stock and bring to the simmer. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until avocados are soft. Add cream, being back to a simmer, then puree with immersion blender until very smooth. Stir in cilantro (or 1/4 of a "motel-sized" bar of soap???) and lime and serve, topped with corn and tomato garnish.

Capón de Ajo (Chopped Garlic Soup with Chiltepins)

This would be great for colds! Vegan/Vegetarian, too...

# 8 cloves garlic, chopped -- (8 to 10)
# 1/2 onion, chopped (optional)
# 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
# 4 Chiltepins (or more, to taste), crushed
# 2 cups boiling water
# 1 thin flour tortilla, heated on a griddle until crisp

Sauté the garlic and onion in the oil or butter until soft, then transfer to a soup bowl. Add the Chiltepins and pour in the boiling water. Break the tortilla into pieces and add it to the liquid.

Uncivilized looks fantastic! Gabrielle Bell is a welcome addition to people I love to read, The Voyeur is on my hold stack. Good luck to 'em!

Yam looks cool ("you're fired!" haha), but looks a bit bare-bones at the moment. Makes sense since they just started, right? Hope our library can get a copy. Looking forward to it.

Well said! Luckily, they've been trying to market so-called 'Mom-and-Pop' beers for about 15 years or so. The fans of good beer are too savvy to fall for it, and the Joe-Six-Pack types stick with what they like (unadventurous), so those experiments usually vanish after a few years.

Eric Severstad said:

Similar to music, we have a choice about what beer we want to drink. The problem with "piss water" big brewers isn't just their product, it's their evil business practices. They've repeatedly influenced legislation regarding distribution rights that give them an advantage over smaller, craft breweries. So, if you value the "American way of life," support your local brewery, not the huge mega-brewers.

And, be careful! Those giants are marketing some of their crap as craft; see Shock Top. So, carefully check what you're drinking and who you're supporting with your hard-earned cash.

Similar to music, we have a choice about what beer we want to drink. The problem with "piss water" big brewers isn't just their product, it's their evil business practices. They've repeatedly influenced legislation regarding distribution rights that give them an advantage over smaller, craft breweries. So, if you value the "American way of life," support your local brewery, not the huge mega-brewers.

And, be careful! Those giants are marketing some of their crap as craft; see Shock Top. So, carefully check what you're drinking and who you're supporting with your hard-earned cash.

Just found a clone recipe for Duchesse de Bourgogne

Duchesse de Bourgogne Clone

There aren't any tasting notes, yet, so I can't vouch for the taste, but these home-brew geeks usually know their stuff.