Mary, who pronounces “Nazi” so it rhymes with “patsy”, defends her husband even when the facts of his past are presented to her, proving women defending blatant scumbags existed in 1946 Every Town USA, and wasn’t invented in some trailer park. You learn something new everyday. I also noticed every college kid in town is a dork, then realized most college kids from movies in the 40’s are portrayed as dorks. Sometime you can learn more from a 95 minute Film Noir than an entire semester of American History at the local community college.

A lot of the film will ride on your opinion of the performance of Orson Welles. If you think he’s brilliant, than you’ll like the film. If you think he overacts, you might not be so generous with this movie. Robinson does a good job, while Shayne’s character Mieneke is very creepy, and I would’ve like to have seen more of him. Overall I found The Stranger to be too melodramatic, so if you’re a Film Noir virgin, this isn’t the movie to pop your cherry with.

Moving on…Obama is already proving himself a strong proponent for women; last Thursday, he signed his first bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, that relaxes the current statute of limitations on suing on grounds of pay discrimination. The Act itself is named for Lilly Ledbetter, who worked at a Goodyear Tire plant in Alabama for 19 years and then sued as she approached retirement and  realized she was making less than her male co-workers.

Know what the former statute of limitations was? 180 days from the first date you’re paid less. Not the first date you realize it; the first date they do it.

Let’s discuss the absolute lack of rationale regarding this statute. They really expect that six months (or less!) into your new job, when you’re just getting used to your co-workers and boss, you’re supposed to snoop and look at your peers’ paychecks or discuss pay rates with your boss? I mean, how often does anyone swap pay stubs and check out what their colleagues are making? It’s just not polite or ethical. Plus, in the 21st century, you’d think we could just be secure in the fact that 80 years after getting the vote, women and men are paid the same. Same work, same salary, right?

Wrong. It’s still 70 cents to the dollar, and boys’ clubs like these factories–as well as other businesses of all shapes and sizes all over America–pretty much bank on no woman being able to sue them, thanks to that riduculous former statute.

This was just another attempt by the rich and powerful try to wash their hands of accountability and involvement by putting the responsibility on the employee. Where’s the integrity in that?

I don’t know about you, but I find it baffling and beyond insulting that society still expects women to not only do her job but also pretty much everything at home in a mother/father household…and get paid LESS. There is no logic to explain how ass-backwards the current patriarchal system is.

But the average woman doesn’t really seem too concerned with all of this. It’s just like what happened after we got the vote in the 20s; the next generation of women sort-of sat back and enjoyed their new rights without trying to push onward. And you know what that bred? The ’50s. I don’t know about you, but I have no intention of getting anyone’s slippers for them but my OWN after a full day vacuuming in heels.

Plus, there’s too much that needs fighting for, in addition to fair pay. How about…general gender equality, as recognized by the Constitution? Yeah, still not in there. The Equal Rights Amendment, 80 years later, still hasn’t gotten ratification from 38 of 50 states it needs; currently, the amendment is at a standstill with 35. It has gone before Congress every single session since 1982 but always gets rejected for ridiculous reasons, such as pregnant women being drafted or –gasp!– unisex bathrooms. Check out the site and see if your state has ratified yet. We need you!

So…no more laurel-resting. Call your congressional reps and senators. Write letters, talk to each other. Tell a friend about the ERA Get to it, bitches.

Let me say, in all my blogging, he’s likely the most talked about author I’ve heard about. Everyone who reads, everyone who comments, is constantly tossing his name into the stew. I had several surprised blogosphere friends hear that I didn’t chose to interview him during last summer’s Library of Congress Book Fair, and now BOY do I wish I had!

Ah well, lesson learned… and hoorah, Neil, and what a dream come true!

Womens Camp 119- This is a women in prison film, a sub-genre which I’m not a fan of. It’s set during World War 2 and the Nazi’s are doing experiments on the the prisoner’s. The ending tries to pass it off as a film with a strong message, but in reality Women’s Camp 119 is a film that will offend some and bore most. Directed by Cannibal Ferox’s Bruno Mattei.

Tortured Angels- This one starts off in an Asian girls reform school, but three of them escape to get vengeance on a crooked doctor who got one of them put away. An unintentionally funny film which is great in a bad movie kind of way. Watch for the smiley evil face that appears in the dark.

Raw Force- People on a cruise ship land on an island where terrorists are supplying the native cannibals with women. Like a mix of The Love Boat, Vampire Hookers, and Tombs of the Blind Dead with explosions and kung fu fights thrown in. Starring Cameron Mitchell.

Savage Man/Savage Beast- I’ve been bamboozzeled! What initially looked like a crazy hermit vs careless hippies movie turned out to be a documentary about hunting and the relations between humans and animals. Actually very good.

Confessions of a Police Captain- Martin Balsam and Franco Nero play a police captain and district attorney who piss on each other while trying to put away the evil Debrusio. Besides the two leads, there are loads of Italian character actors on hand here. Despite the title, this is more similar to The Shield than Bad Lieutenant. Not bad.

Executioner 2- A ‘Nam vet goes vigilante. Bad fx, bad acting. I mean really bad. Awful.

Poseidon Explosion- The title clearly rips off of a much bigger film (if you have to ask which one, your hopeless), and they even hired an actor who looked like Ernest Borgnine. I gave up on the plot 23 minutes into the movie. According to this film there are three genders, women, men, and violinists.

Earthquake 7.9- Typical natural disaster film where the scientist predicts what’s coming but nobody listens until it’s too late. There’s a romantic subplot somewhere between the stock footage scenes. It picks up once the mayhem starts, which is what most people watch disaster films for anyway.

The Violent Professionals- A Dirty Harry rip-off where a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later cop tries to take down corruption. Unlike many films of this type, it doesn’t try to pass itself off as an American film.

Frank and Tony- Lee Van Cleef plays Frank, a tough and seasoned gangster. Tony Labianco plays Tony, a goof with big dreams. After becoming friends in prison, Tony helps Frank seek vengeance. Okay movie with cool power drill murders.

Kung Fu Punch of Death- About a young man’s continual attempts at defeating two kung fu expert brothers. Not as good as the type of movies the Shaw Brothers put out. The fights aren’t nearly as fluid. Featuring the world’s most dangerous ponytail.

Return of the Tiger- Paul Bartel (Pieces) runs a karate school filled with reprobates, while Bruce Li (not a spelling mistake) tries to take him down. Lot’s of double crosses, but the film is dull until the final fight. Bartel’s facial expressions are hilarious, and there are plenty of 70’s soul hits dubbed in.

Go Kill and Come Back- Easily the best title in the entire set. Too bad the movie doesn’t live up to it. A copy of a copy of a copy of A Fistful of Dollars. Starring Ed Byrnes (Wicked, Wicked) as Clayton. Dissappointing.

Bounty Man- Typical western loner Kincaid tries to collect the bounty on outlaw Billy Riddle, but other men are trying to kill Kincaid and collect the bounty on Riddle themselves. Another dull film, notable because it features an early role for Margot Kidder.

Three Tough Guys- Blaxploitation cop movie starring Isaac Hayes, Fred Williamson, and Lino Ventura. A limp film with not nearly enough Fred Williamson.

Mandinga- An insulting film about evil slave owners that plays on base emotions. Filled with rape, torture, racism, and incest. Probably tried to cash in on Roots, but lands closer to a Mondo Cane movie.

The Children- A school bus drives through toxic gas and turns the kids evil. Harry Manfredini did the score, which is why it sounds so similar to Friday the 13th. I like the method of stopping the kids, but the film itself is boring.

Demon Witch Child- The spirit of an evil witch is transferred into the body of an annoying girl. This one looked promising when I saw it was directed by Amando de Ossorio (the Blind Dead series), but I had no sympathy for the child, which is critical to the film. Rips off The Exorcist, among others.

High School Hitch Hikers- Two girls hold up at a mansion and get caught up with some jewel thiefs. While there are some softer-than-softcore sex scenes, the film is not nearly as lurid as the title suggests. I felt cheated because there was no actual hitch hiking.

Carry on Emannuelle- A goofy British sex comedy that opens with a song that would have been right at home on one of those 80’s sitcoms that only lasted for six episodes. Includes nearly every sexual pun and sight gag imaginable.

All in all, I don’t recommend this set, as the bad far outweighs the good. I prefer BCI’s Exploitation Cinema series, which are presented as double features and includes trailers.

1. If I am depressed, sad or menstrual I will sit and eat bowls and bowls of black olives.

2. I believe the purpose of language is about conveying concepts, thoughts and ideas.  As long as you are understood by your intended audience, I don’t care about formal punctuation and grammar rules.  There are a few exceptions to this rule like formal announcements, education or professional pursuits for example.  But I love vernacular, slang, internet speak and cursing because they are proof that language rules are fluid.   This opinion often makes me unpopular with English majors but I’m a Humanities major so they can take a bite outta my big black ass.  I find that many people who discount others because of poor grammar and punctuation are A) classist,  B) ellitist,  C) assholes, D) insecure about their own abilities or E) all of the above.   Just because someone isn’t the best writer or editor doesn’t means they don’t have valid ideas to share.

3. I am sexually attracted to people who identity as queer, gay, trans, bisexual, lesbian or other.  I’m not interested in straight men anymore.  I did have a pesky habit of falling for straight women for a while but I think that’s over.  I think.

4. I also find I gravitate towards people who are loud, obnoxious, opinionated, highly intelligent, sexually liberated (read: sluts or former sluts) who self-identity as dorks, nerds, losers, weirdos and bitches.  Birds of a feather?  And in order to be a close friend of mine you need to be easily shocked but open minded or completely unflappable yet amused.

5. I get told on a semi-daily basis that I need to have kids because I’m married now and that’s my job.  Listen up.  I’m on fairly reliable birth control, I’m pro-choice and I’m scheduled to begin consultation for sterilization when I hit 28.  NO FUCKING BABIES.  I gave you all the other legitimate reasons why I say this but here is a new one: I’m a survivor of child sexual abuse.  I don’t think a parent can ever full protect their child from that type of thing and for my own sanity I’m not willing to try.

6. My husband and I wear the same size clothes for everything except pants.  This works wonderfully for me because I’ve just doubled my wardrobe.  It does backfire though.  Our jeans sizes are just close enough that I’ll find a pair in the dryer and try to squeeze into them.  Then I’ll go through a 45 minute tirade about gaining weight or about the drying shrinking my clothes before Shawn appears like, “Um… those are mine.”  Then I just wanna rip his pretty face open like those raptors from Jurassic Park.

7. I am the most non-competitive person on the planet.  Games seem pointless to me, especially sports.  Why the hell would I run around in a circle while people chase me?  For points?  What the hell are points?  Maybe for doughnuts or something tangible but then I’d probably just talk myself out of wanting whatever the prize was.  I take no more joy in winning than I do in losing.  The only sport I ever enjoyed was Karate.  I made it up to brown belt before my parents couldn’t afford the lessons anymore.  I even got second place in a tournament.

8. Once upon a time, I was a Christian.  Now, I’m a bitter atheist.   I feel cheated out of so many opportunities to sin.  Thus, my newest mission is to commit as many sins as possible while staying out of prison.  Rest assured, I will not go on a murder spree anytime soon.  I’ve watched far too much CSI and I know I’m too lazy to plan anything out that extensively.  Gloves, drop clothes, cover your shoes, don’t drop any hairs, no blood splatter, clean and dispose of the weapon, hide the body and have and alibi?  Forget it.  No one is worth that much trouble.  I’d rather punch you in the face.

9.  I probably would have stayed a Christian if I hadn’t discovered I was bisexual.  Nowadays, I identity as queer since what I like is a lot more complicated that it was years ago.  However, even though I have been romantically and sexually involved with women for a while there is still a tiny little voice inside my year that whispers, “This is wrong.  This is a sin.”  Years of conditioning are hard to break.  Not sure if it will ever go away completely but I’m happy that it’s much quieter than before.

10.  I want a dog.  I want a dog so much that I continually talk myself out of getting my dog.  Instead, I go to pet stories and buy supplies for the dog that I don’t have.  I’ve read every training book from Cesar Millian to Puppies for Dummies.  I want to be a good owner so bad that I’m scared to try and fuck it up.

11. I can’t cook.  Even with a recipe.  Even with supervision.  I was in high school before I knew how to boil water.  That being said, I’ve very adventurous about food and I honestly can’t think of one food I’ve tried that I didn’t enjoy enough to eat again.  This makes me the perfect person to test new recipes on but it makes me the worst person to ask about whether something tastes good.  But the fastest way to my heart is seafood of any type.

12. I used to want to be a sex therapist and I’ve unofficially become one for a few of my friends.  The reason I can’t do it for a living is that I refuse to sugarcoat things.  If I think you’re being an ass, I reserve the right to tell you.  Then laugh.  I give this disclaimer to the folks who come to me and so far they don’t mind.  Maybe I should charge them.

13.  When I’m angry, I cry a lot.  This leads people to want to hug me and that’s usually when I punch them in the face.  When I’m sad, I have violent rages and I just need someone brave enough to calm me down and hold me.  So far, one person has been able to understand this about me.  I married him.

14.  I have done everything humanly possible to my hair: dreadlocks, mohawk, long, short, permed, relaxed, jheri curl, braids, weave, wigs, insane colors and bald.  I still can barely comb it and I have no idea how to do anything except elaborate head wraps.

15. I want to be girly but I’m unwilling to put the effort into it.  I consider my personal style: Cleavage, Flannel and Tight Jeans.

16. I think I might be narcoleptic.  I have the ability to fall asleep anywhere and I have.  While driving, at work, standing in line, during sex, on the toliet, while eating, you name it.  I’ll be talking and then someone is waking me up.  I should probably get that checked out.

17. Until I was 12, I had an invisible friend named Janet who lives in a house with her parents and her cat named Devil which looked suspiciously like my cat Angel. Janet was not imaginary but she was shy so no one noticed her except me. Our main game was called Landslide where we’d build Lego houses in the backyard and waited for the rain to wash them away.

18. I have no career goals and my romantic life is pretty solid right now.  The one goal I have for my life is to live in a house with a dungeon.  I mean, fully furnished, set up with suspension equipment and large enough to host parties.

19. I have boxes and boxes of books I have no intention of re-reading just in case someone comes by and says, “Do you have a copy of Homer I can borrow?”  I feel this is my duty.  I also can not throw a book away if it is ruined.  I’ll keep the tattered pages until they are shredded so much that I can’t tell what book they used to be.

20. This is my opinion about clubs or parties.  You either come to socialize, to dance or to drink.  I don’t understand why people go out if they don’t drink, they don’t dance and they don’t want to talk to anyone there.  All you people who are lined up against the wall like it’s a middle school dance?  Stay your ass home.  Me?  I’ll be over here doing all three and probably throwing a little bit of some extra stuff in the mix as well.  Side note: I make a party.  It’s just natural for me.  I am the best drunk in Earth.  I’ll talk to anyone and I have no problem getting other people to dance.  When in doubt, you should invite me.  No, seriously.  You really should.

21. I don’t believe in God, angels, fairies or magic but I have a zombie survival plan that I’m ready to implement at a moment’s notice.  I haven’t completely decided about ghosts which is why I have a firm policy called: Leave Them The Hell Alone.  Everyone who has come to my house seems convinced that there is a ghost in my house so I have to remind them of this policy.  No seances or Ouiji board or anything of the sort.  If it wants to watch me eat popcorn while watching the L Word, that’s fine by me.  No harm, no foul.

22. I collect teddy bears because they remind me of the good parts of my childhood.  Everyone who loves me should know that about me.  I still have all the important teddy bears of my life and they all have names like Malcolm, Barnabee and Cuddlefluff.

23. I think there are a million ways your life can go and while I don’t believe in fate I do believe in the most probable path.  My other probable path would have been me being the stay-at-home wife of a minister with several children.  The other path is me being a lesbian living on the west coast in a commune.  I can actually see the point in my life where I didn’t make the decision that would have led me there.  It’s like walking past an open door in a hallway but getting a glimpse of what’s inside.

24. I am full of ideas for movies, books, songs and I plan them in my head almost to completion.  Then before I can write them down, I come up with a new idea which pushes the old one out.  Lack of a pen, laziness and general forgetfulness are the reason I haven’t done have the things I talk about.

25. I say I want to be a writer but I keep stopping my stories just before the climax.  I know how I want it to end.  I work for weeks up to that point, building elaborate backgrounds, character histories and motivations.  I get the scene and get right to the point that I was waiting for then I pause.  I think it’s because I like the story so much that I don’t want it to end.  Then I usually wait a week, re-read it and decide it’s trash before deleting it.  This has been my habit and it’s getting much harder to break.

Besides Holbrook, Carpenter’s cast also features Adrienne Barbeau (Swamp Thing), Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps and the recent My Bloody Valentine remake), Janet Leigh, (Psycho, Touch of Evil), John Houseman (Ghost Story), and a handful of actors who either had or would appear in other Carpenter films (Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, Buck Owens, Darwin Johnson, and John Strobel). Since this was the director’s follow-up to Halloween, it was deemed necessary to plaster Curtis’ face all over the ads, even though hers is a supporting role and Barbeau is the main character. While not considered one of the director’s A-List films, it holds up very well compared to his later work. The film works largely due to the strength of it’s characters, all of whom are developed enough to make the audience care about them.

There are many in-jokes in the film when it comes to character names such as Nick Castle (who played Michael Myers for most of Halloween), Dick Baxter (an unseen character mentioned in the aforementioned film), Tommy Wallace (after frequent Carpenter cohort Tommy Lee Wallace), Dan O’Bannon (who collaborated with Carpenter on Dark Star) and Dr. Phibes (from the two Vincent Price films). John Carpenter was a fan of Howard Hawks films growing up, and one characters warning at this film’s conclusion is similar to the one made in Hawks’ The Thing from Another World, a film Carpenter would remake a few years later. While not great, The Fog is pretty good modern ghost story and is worth revisiting.

Suffering an injury while escaping a hostile invasion of his village, Gordon Liu (Heroes of the East) seeks refuge in the Shaolin Temple. Eventually he becomes a student there and masters the thirty five chambers before returning to his village to seek revenge. I hate spoilers, so I won’t get into why the film is titled The 36th Chamber of Shaolin when there are only thirty five chambers, but they do explain it. It sound simple but there is so much more to this excellent film from the Shaw Brothers, who knew how to do Kung Fu movies better than anyone.

There’s a long stretch, roughly half the film, while Liu is training at the Shaolin Temple, where no true fight scenes take place. That may bore some newcomers who are expecting a roller coaster style movie (to those people, I’d suggest Shaolin Intruders). When the fight scenes in the final act do start, it’s interesting to see Liu’s character apply what he’s learned during his training. Another thing to keep in mind is the passage of time is not always made clear. Liu’s character spends six years at the Temple, but there are never title cards stating “three months later” or things like that. Sometimes it gets mentioned in the dialogue, sometimes it doesn’t. There are some lighthearted moments in the film, but it never strays into full blown comedy.

I find Kung Fu films to be good morality tales, and this one especially teaches the value of dedication. There’s a reason it’s considered one of the best Kung Fu films around. Also known as The Master Killer.  Highly recommended.

Mirrors

Appaloosa- Lawman Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his deputy Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) are hired to defend an 1880’s town from a murderous rancher (Jeremy Irons). Complicating things is the arrival of widower (Renee Zellwegger). Ed Harris directs this adaptation of the Robert B. Parker novel.

Vicky Christina Barcelona- Two Americans (Scarlett Johansson & Rebecca Hall) spend a summer in Spain with a couple (Javier Bardem & Penelope Cruz) and become enamored with the husband. Woody Allen directs. I haven’t liked a Woody Allen movie since Sleeper. I even hate Annie Hall. OMG!!!

My Best Friend’s Girl- Jason Biggs girlfriend dumps him so he hires Dane Cook to treat her like poop in hopes that she will come running back to him. The twist is that she actually wants someone the total opposite of the good boy she just dumped. Complications and hilarity ensue. Hey, did you know that Jason Biggs was an up and comer after the American Pie movies, Kate Hudson won an Oscar and Dane Cook was funny….I think. How long before Kate’s in a sitcom?

Innerpartysystem is from the Reading, PA area. This probably makes no difference to 98% of you, but I grew up shopping in Reading malls and my Dad’s friend lives in what Wiki lists as their hometown. So it gives me some sense of hometown pride that such an awesome band is gaining national attention and at the same time referencing things that make sense to Pennsylvanians like myself (for example, the video mentions “The Road to Nowhere,” which has been part of our lexicon since I was little. The chick is right, you can’t make that shit up).

I’ve been trying to think of how to describe this song, the first track of their full length self-titled release, all day.  I feel like whereas Girl Talk provides a heterogeneous mixture of music I like, Innerpartysystem creates a homogeneous blend of bands I’ve listened to through the years.  I hear hints of Nine Inch Nails, OMD, Depeche Mode, The Faint, Orgy and even Patrick Nissley’s vocals remind me slightly of Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco) in that he annunciates pretty yet pensive lyrics.  I’m not going to lie, sometimes his voice makes me melt a little.  And even though I can compare IPS to all those bands, their sound is truly unique to me.  They are not too electronic and not too alternative.

The song is danceable, and some take it as a party anthem, but it’s darker than that.  The first verse claims, “nothing’s too excessive / when you’ve got nothing left,” and the rest of the song kind of illustrates an emptiness felt from losing control completely.  Judging by their other songs and videos, the band isn’t exactly condoning the false happiness brought by hard-partying behavior (though in this song, the lyrics most people prefer to examine are “If we all should die tonight / We will have no regrets” even though that mantra changes to “If we all should die tonight / We got nothing left” by the end of the song).  They don’t seem to be a fan of “plastic” people, so I guess this means that we won’t be seeing Rock of Love with Patrick Nissley in 20 years.

I have to admit that it was difficult for me to pick this song, but I thought I would because it was their second single.  I’m partial to the songs “New Poetry” and “Obsession.”  IPS has also remixed several popular songs including Katy Perry’s Hot’N'Cold (I’m sorry if I butchered the title, but they at least were able to improve the song. Thanks, IPS!), Ladyhawke’s “Paris is Burning” and Radiohead’s “Nude.”  Yes, just in case IPS was worried I wouldn’t like them, they remixed my favorite band.  And well.  Swoon!

So, I’m pretty excited for tonight and I hope you all enjoy Innerpartysystem.

Embedding disabled, so please view “Die Tonight Live Forever” out on YouTube.  Watch some of their other videos, too.

Here is a commercial for their “Don’t Stop” single:

Update: They were amazing live!  The last show I enjoyed this much was The Dandy Warhols.  I highly recommend seeing them if they are coming to a city near you.