This Friday, I'm heading to Topsail Beach, North Carolina with Anne and her family. We're driving, so I'll get to see parts of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina as well, states I've never seen. I can't wait to go, but I've got so much to do before then -- it seems like a really far way off. Also, I've been nasty sick for the last week or so, but I think I'm finally to the tail-end of that. Beach house, here I come!

And with it comes new music! The four albums I'm eagerly awaiting are, clockwise from the upper left, Black Clouds and Silver Linings from Dream Theater, Wilco (The Album) from Wilco, Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimo Vomini from Secret Chiefs 3: Traditionalists, and Octahedron from Mars Volta. June looks to be a lot of fun!

Mouse Guard #6 out today!!!!

Yay!

Seattle is a really cool city, and Anne and I had a lot of fun. I got back late Monday night and, after tooling around on the interwebs, found out that The Criterion Collection had announced their upcoming releases for August.

Lo and behold, one of my favorite movies ever, The Last Days of Disco by Whit Stillman is finally getting a proper release on DVD. Stillman's other films include Metropolitan and the awesome Barcelona. Also, he's finally going to direct another film, though this will be the first he directs from someone else's script. He's adapting the novel Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley.

Exciting times for fans of Stillman.

The progressive rock supergroup, Transatlantic, is apparently reforming. Exciting and totally unexpected news on a blah Monday.

Another of my favorite directors is George Lucas. This might surprise some people, having seen my previous posts, but those who know experimental film (and me) will understand how Lucas fits in perfectly with the other directors.

My favorite film of his is THX 1138, but I'm a big fan of all his work. He's produced a lot of different things, but his directorial credits are actually few. THX was followed by American Graffiti and Star Wars: A New Hope, and he didn't direct again until the Star Wars prequels (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith). Many have relegated him to irrelevancy, but I disagree. Certainly, the newer Star Wars films have their flaws, yet to view them in a different light than the original trilogy is both unfair and impossible. All six movies form a giant narrative, and I doubt anyone could have pulled off this feat of cinema in a better or more entertaining way.

However, I'm excited that Lucas is moving on. In addition to a couple of TV shows and movies he's producing, he has stated that he will return to directing small, experimental films, similar to THX 1138.

I cannot wait.

Because of my studies in German, I've seen a lot of German films. My favorite German director is Volker Schlöndorff, the master of the adaptation. He has directed a number of American productions, such as Death of a Salesman, The Handmaid's Tale, and Palmetto, but his earlier films gained him more acclaim (Die Blechtrommel [The Tin Drum], Der Fangschuß [Coup de grâce], and Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum [The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum]). He's still directing films, releasing almost one every year, but he receives very little attention compared to the other directors who were part of the New German Cinema movement of the 1960s. Cineastes are likely familiar with Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, or Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- huge figures in this movement.

In my opinion, Schlöndorff beats all of them out. Go see his movies.

Stanley Kubrick is another of my favorite directors. This is how I rank his films (excluding his shorts and his first film, Fear and Desire, which I haven't seen):

12. Killer's Kiss
11. Lolita
10. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
9. The Shining
8. The Killing
7. Spartacus
6. Full Metal Jacket
5. Paths of Glory
4. A Clockwork Orange
3. Barry Lyndon
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
1. Eyes Wide Shut

He died much too early at the age of 70, but he left an enormous legacy and vision behind. If you haven't seen most of these movies, get started!

My favorite director of all time is Orson Welles. The best online resource for his various work in film, radio, television, and theater is Wellesnet.com. Veteran stage and film actor Simon Callow has written parts one and two of a great biography and analysis of his works, with a third and final part in the works. Many of his films are available on DVD, though some of his best (The Magnificent Ambersons, Chimes at Midnight, and Othello, for example) are sadly missing.

He was a one-of-a-kind, a one-man band, and a truly creative human being. Check him out.

I am going to buy this keyboard: the Moog Little Phatty® Stage II.

I just got back in touch with my old friend, Marc, who lives in Paris. He informed me that when we visited the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris, we witnessed the filming of a scene from the movie Amélie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain), which I mentioned a few posts back. This inspired me to post my favorite picture of all time that I've taken.

The above photo was taken on the steps leading up to the Cathedral. It is so beautiful, and it fills me with joy just to look at it.

Dream, dream, dream . . .

Speaking of albums and anticipation -- a couple of weeks ago, I picked up the debut album by the Austin band, Black Cock. Chico Jones, a friend of mine, and the guy who recorded The Evildoers' album, is the primary force behind the music, though my friends Jordan and Whitney play in the band as well.

GO AND GET IT.

Be prepared to receive a severe shellacking from abrasive guitars wrung through doom-heavy distortion, thundering beats in multiple time signatures, bottom-shaking synth bass lines, and vocals that fall somewhere between Prince and Björk. It's called Robot Child With A God Complex. Follow the link above or go to Waterloo Records and be glad that you took my advice.

One of my favorite prog-rock albums from recent times is Hinterland by the band Wobbler. Their new album, Afterglow, has just been released. I'm going to have to order it online, but I can't wait. Some of the reviews I've read have given it more praise than the first album, and if this holds true, it could end up being one of my all-time favorites.

Analog keyboards, high gain amp guitar distortion, flute harmonies, epic songwriting -- bring it on!

Today is the first day of Spring, and I'm feeling especially joyful about the new season. I have a lot to be grateful for, and for some reason I was reminded of one of my favorite movies, Amélie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain), starring my favorite actress, Audrey Tautou. I think I might watch this one back to back with another great film she's in, Priceless (Hors de Prix).

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Regular readers of this blog (who likely number zero) might notice that I am a huge fan of fantasy. But lest you think this is all I read, I thought I might mention another book coming out this May that's got me excited. Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke) has a new book called Pygmy, and it sounds pretty interesting. I guess I know what I'll be doing with all of my free time come May.

One of my favorite series of children's fantasy from recent years is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. The fifth and final book, The Last Olympian, comes out this May, and they recently released the cover art. Mr. Riordan resides in San Antonio, and has made appearances in Austin to do signings for his previous books, so I'm hoping to have the chance to see him this time around.

I lived in Germany for a year, and I visited Paris a couple of times, once with my good friend, Marc, and another time with some of my family. Looking at my old pictures got me feeling a bit nostalgic, so I decided to post one of my favorite shots. My sister, Jennie, remarked that it looked like I was wearing the Eiffel Tower as a hat. Maybe I should go hat shopping.

The other day, I was driving in the morning and took a wrong turn. Somehow, I ended up at St. Edward's Park on Spicewood Springs. I was amazed that this little-known park was tucked away in a tiny corner of Austin. This piqued my interest, and I decided to look into how many parks we have in our fair city.

Wow.

Everytime I think I know this city, it surprises me. I'm going to try to go to each and every one.