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2007-12-29

Paul Feig - a tribute



Paul Feig is a wonderful director and author with a refreshingly honest view about how it is to grow up being a self conscious geek with little or no luck with women.

He has given us the books "Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence" and "Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin", both biographical tales about growing up as a somewhat of an outsider and unable to deal with the opposite sex.

He's also an accomplished film- and TV-director and writer, and has worked a lot with Judd Apatow, director of the films "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up".


WHY I WRITE THIS
I'm telling you about him because tonight I just finished reading his "Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin", and it's lovely to read his tale of being a Christian kid in the 70's, struggling with meeting a girl and when he finally finds one, how he struggles to not sleep with her because sex should wait until marriage.

The humour is spot on, the stories very direct and he's so honest about shortcomings that most writers would never dare to write about in their diaries - certainly not publish them in bookform.

I was geeky myself when I grew up. I always had a sense of being a different from the typical "jocks", tough guys, fashionable people and pretty girls I didn't dare to talk to - essentially the same kind of people we see in the media, the "norm".

Paul Feig never belonged to this norm, and with his writings, TV-series and films, he gives us a much-needed different perspective that makes a lot of geeky people feel that they are OK too.


WHAT PAUL HAS DONE
Paul Feig's body of work includes creating and writing the TV-series "Freaks and Geeks" (2000), and writing and directing the films "Life Sold Separately" (1997), "I Am David" (2003) and "Unaccompanied Minors" (2006).


And he directed TV episodes of "The Office US", "Weeds", "Mad Men", "30 Rock", "Arrested Development" and Judd Apatow's excellent "Undeclared".


MORE OF PAUL
If you want to check out some of his writings and read some interesting interviews, check these links:

* His first webpage, very funny and featuring a very interesting tour journal of when he travelled around showing his first movie, "Life Sold Separately".

* A new article in USA Today about the making of "Life Sold Separately" and how it might be released if Paul ever gets around to it.

* An NPR radio interview about the TV show "Freaks and Geeks"

* A long interview about "Freaks and Geeks" on the SuicideGirls website - check out the girls there if you wanna see unconventional and interesting girls (probably just the kind of 'freaky' girls a slightly older Paul would like?)

* Another long interview about "Freaks and Geeks", for IGN.com:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

* A long interview about the DVD-release of "Freaks and Geeks":
Part 1, Part 2

* An eight part "Director's Diary" on IGN.com of the making of his film "I Am David":
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

* A blog he had in 2005 in the Huffington Post, covering very varied topics

* A long radio interview he did about "Superstud", on the show "Drinks with Tony", hosted by Tony DuShane

* An interview about "Superstud" in Washington Post

* A clip on YouTube with Paul speaking on Arrested Development and the Office at UNC Chapel Hill

* A clip on YouTube with Paul being interviewed on G4's "Attack of the Show"

* A clip on YouTube with some rare unaired footage from "Freaks and Geeks"

2007-12-12

Anne Marie Almedal (from Velvet Belly) live at Frogner Kino (Oslo, Norway) 1/12-2007

On the first of December 2007, Anne Marie Almedal (the lead singer from Velvet Belly) had a concert at Frogner Kino in Oslo, Norway. The songs were mostly from her album "The Siren & the Sage" (Warner Music, 2007).

Pictures and video clips of full songs are below. This was a very intimate gig in a former cinema and done in surround sound - for a select audience of music lovers.

The album "The Siren & the Sage" is produced by her husband, Nicholas Sillitoe, who's also working as a film composer and half of Illumination/Chilluminati (with Per Martinsen).

The band:
- Anne Marie Almedal (voice)
- Nicholas Sillitoe (piano/acoustic guitar/backing vocals)
- Sigrun Tara Ă˜verland (lyre/autoharp/glockenspiel/backing vocals)
- Rolf Kristensen (acoustic guitars)
- Nemanja Markovic (cello)

Also:
- Asle Karstad (live sound engineer)
- Peter Podworski (visuals)


Video clips on YouTube (full songs):
(remember to click the "HQ" icon to see and hear the clips in high quality - big difference in sound and picture)

Anne Marie Almedal - Trouble (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - Monterosso (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - Trick (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - The key (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - Safe from harm (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - Joy (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)


Anne Marie Almedal - Paisley Park (live at Frogner Kino 1/12-2007)




Pictures on FlickR:





2007-12-11

Bash quote #829034

CaptainMoonpie2: Working on a report
CaptainMoonpie2: Tell me why welfare is bad
CaptainMoonpie2: But in a really, really long explanation that is easy to copy and paste
IMADV82: Because people like me end up paying for people like your mom to raise people like you.

To do it - or never to do it at all?

Soooo I have Mio, my reeeally cute cat who's about six months, and unfortunately an indoor cat since we live on the fourth floor. (The alternative would be for him to keep living on the street, since that's where I found him.)

Now, he's probably starting to think about doing something with the girls. At least judging from his sounds and the way he runs around restlessly, seemingly looking for something I can't offer him. :) Normally, neutering indoor cats is what you would do, and I'll have that done soon.

The big question is - before the chop-chop, should I hook him up with some cute pussycats first and let him be a little playa? Or, if he never gets to use his reproductive organ - will he miss them less? Tough decision!

Here's the teenager in question:

(little Misha in the background is dead cute, but I think a little too young for Mio)

2007-12-10

You're Going to Die!


On YouTube I found this very good short film about life and death, "You're Going to Die".

All our lives will just end. That's just how it is. And the truth hurts – but this little film inspires us to really live while we can.

Incidentally, I just talked to a friend who lost her dad from a brain hemorrhage - he was only 45. And another friend lost both her parents (both around 50) in two months. So yeah, death is not an exclusive club, I keep trying to remind myself of that.

Directed by Dennis Palazzolo. Narrated by Vito Acconci. From the book "You're going to die", written by Timothy Furstnau.