Monday, June 23, 2008

Monday Madness

OK, so let's start with a chat about my weekly videos. A couple of you have asked me here on the site, and others by e-mail about where they've gone. I have a not-so-informed answer. You're not looking in the right place.

We are going to soon be going through a Web site relaunch or something like that, so we're not using the "New Haven Video Network" anymore. So if you're looking for my video the last two weeks, you won't find it there. I'm not sure why. You can find it by reading my column online. So my newest one is here. I'll be the first to admit that this isn't exactly user-friendly, but it should be over soon and I'll make sure to keep posting it on here. Sorry for the confusion. It took me like three days to find the one from June 13.

As many of you know already I'm sure, George Carlin died early this morning. I was born a few years too late to really live through the time when the comedian made his most lasting marks on pop culture. But I have heard most of his albums, read a couple of his books and really, really enjoyed his roles in both "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Dogma." We should all miss him. Heck, even that mediocre television show he had in the mid '90s was pretty good.

Mike Myers' box-office mojo clearly ain't what it used to be. "The Love Guru" flopped at the box office last weekend. "Get Smart," however, did not, even though I wish it did.

In the July 3 Weekend, I'll write up something about the entirety of festival time, but let's just say, for now, that one fest has handled itself better than the other according to everyone I meet on the street.

With that said, every event I hit up this weekend was really good, both for A&I and Ideat. I may be a little biased, but let's say that I truly loved Friday night's Safety Meeting Showcase. Amazing, really. Rain, good music, a rainbow, some cans of goodness ... I could go on.

Daniel Johnston at Toad's went really well. It was a weird crowd, one that featured a lot of patronizing and condescending people. And that sucked. But the show, well, that was good. I really enjoyed the gig, which was the first time I've seen the performer live.

Amy Winehouse smoke too much crack, and now she's has to clean up her lifestyle. I truly, really hope I'm wrong, but If Winehouse died tomorrow, would anybody be surprised? This woman is walking disaster, one with a lot of talent, too.

If this isn't the funniest story you've heard in a while, well, tell me what is. I mean, the only way this could have been better is if it was a gang of headband-wearing, naked bongo players.

This is just kind of messed up, I think. Look, I'm not sure if it's weird or not, actually, but it makes me feel funny, so it must be. Odd, odd, odd.

If you missed Shearwater this week, well, take a look:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, we were at the Space on Saturday, and really enjoyed it, but didn't see you anywhere. A shame. Great music.

Elsewhere, even the enticement of free passes couldn't lure us into that horrible Mike Myers thing. When the grosses were released this a.m., and I heard it bombed, I wept happy tears of joy.

I fear most folks stabbing about the Register web site won't have the slighest clue about what they're watching should they play your videos. That's probably a good thing. They are, as always, hilariously great. They are, in many ways (I bet you were waiting for it) Wall*E great. I do hope you got some promotional Wall*E swag. It may not be as cuddly as Kung Fu panda, but rest assured it'll make more money. Money is good.

P.S. - Next year, if you are invited to any preview luncheons for Arts and Ideas, kindly find the person programming most of this, and shake them hard. Really hard. I love the thought of supporting the arts, especially in good old New Haven, but this year we've run from most events screaming. Esoteric, inane mumbo jumbo. When most of an audience walks away from an event muttering "What was that?" and "I don't get it," it's probably safe to say that it won't fall into the "crowd pleaser" category. And the general confusion at the venues makes me wonder if the town's been overrun by those plant spores from "The Happening."

Pat Ferrucci said...

Ah, I forgot to mention The Space. Considering Ideat Village, etc., I got to The Space late Saturday, catching only the end of Jenny Owen Youngs and then Kevin Devine. From what I saw, it sounded great. And I saw Aeroplane, 1929 at Ideat earlier in the day. Every time I see that band it's better than the last.

-p