elkit in wonderland

I Don't Know How To Think

Monday Music for you: Tom Verlaine and "Bomb".

Still Too Soon To Know

Elvis bio on the Sundance Channel, from the info on their new series "Spectacle":

Costello is also working on a major television interview and musical performance series, entitled SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... which will be transmitted late in 2008 on Sundance Channel in the United States, CTV in Canada and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The program's eclecticism and depth reflect its uniquely qualified host, a songwriter and performer comfortable in almost every genre imaginable; a musicologist of formidable breadth and knowledge; a contributor to Vanity Fair; and a noted wit whose stint as guest host on The Late Show with David Letterman won rave reviews.

Starts December 3rd on the Sundance Channel, Costello with Sir Elton John. Upcoming episodes include Tony Bennett, Bill Clinton, James Taylor, Lou Reed, Julian Schnabel, Rufus Wainwright, The Police, and Renee Fleming. My TiVo is all set to season-pass. I really like his music - I listen more to Elvis Costello than any other artist by a factor of three, and I enjoy his live show banter and story-telling. Will I like him as a show host? It's still too soon to know. But I'll keep you posted.

We Live In A Political World

If you missed last night's debate (or the previous ones) and would like to catch up, check them out on YouTube - C-SPAN has them all posted, in their entirety.

It's The End Of The World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine

io9 says: Forget Post-Apocalyptic, Today's Weirdest Stories Are All About Pre-Apocalypses.

So CERN switched on the Large Hadron Collider, and the end of the world has begun. But there may still be time to panic — and some hot new pre-apocalyptic spectacles are happy to help. It turns out post-apocalyptic movies and shows are passé, and what we really want is to see people living in the run-up to an imminent global catastrophe.

They cite The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Heroes as examples, and note about the first one:

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which started its second season on Monday, is all about living in the shadow of an impending apocalypse. Half the show's cast consists of refugees from a fucked future. In particular, Brian Austin Green's Derek Reese is a semi-basket case with PTSD from events that haven't happened yet. We're constantly being reminded that "Judgement Day" is around the corner, and our heroes probably won't be able to stop it, given that they've already failed a few times.

I don't really think post-apocalyptic is passé (I am very much looking forward to The Road, for example), but I guess that yes, there really is something to the pre-apocalypse. I'm all for having my cake and eating it too.

Every Picture Tells A Story

The A.V. Club has an interview with J.J. Abrams, who has written, directed, and produced television shows and movies, such as "Lost" and "Cloverfield", and is working on a new TV series called "Fringe". I really enjoy the A.V. Club interviews, they always ask the kinds of questions I find fascinating. With Abrams, they want to know stuff like how working on television differs from movie work; which he likes best: writing, producing, or directing; whether growing up in the business (he says both his parents were producers when he was older) was exciting or demystifying and disappointing. And his answers are thoughtful and interesting. But don't take my word for it - read it for yourself.

PS: Don't forget to read the comments.The A.V. commenters surely hold a record for hilarity, wit, and snark.

Sex Is Not The Enemy

My iTunes libarry holds 245 songs with the word "love" in the title, but only 18 "sex" songs. I was watching the first two parts of a four-part series on the Sundance Channel last night: Sex: The Revolution. The first part looked at the Fifties, Alfred Kinsey and Hugh Hefner and the beginnings of the sexual revolution. The second part was all about the loosening of morals in the Sixties.

I found it entertaining as well as very educational, with lots of historical footage from all sides - hippies advocating free love were represented as well as Billy Graham decrying the descent of America into sin. I'm really looking forward to the next two parts - and don't fret if you missed the first two parts; they'll be on again.

It's funny to me, America's attitude toward sex. Contemporary culture is completely oversexed, everybody talking and thinking about matching up boys and girls, and American life in general is fascinated and titillated by sex, and repulsed and ashamed at the same time. Americans relate to each other as men and women first, and as people second. After fifteen years here, I still really haven't gotten the hang of it. (Of course, maybe I don't really want to. I think they have it backwards.)

Gimme What You Got

The more I watch it, the funnier it gets.

[Found this on The Lost Diary.]

Then Put Your Little Hand In Mine, There Ain't No Hill Or Mountain We Can't Climb

Rise and shine, campers, it's Groundhog Day! The movie was on TV last night, so I had the TiVo record it to watch today. And that is exactly what I am going to do now, on this gray and gloomy 'Hog Day afternoon.

PS: Punxsatawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter this morning.

Yeah ... The Revolution Starts Now

I came across an episode of the BBC program Simon Schama's Power of Art on my local PBS station the other night. It was about Jean-Louis David's famous painting of Marat dead in his bathtub. I knew the painting, but didn't really know much about it - just some half-forgotten high school knowledge of the aftermaths of the French revolution, and that it was a young woman named Charlotte Corday who killed him with a knife. I didn't expect to get such a thorough history of the French revolution along with information about the painting and its creator. I enjoyed it very very much. The next episode is up tonight, about J.M.W. Turner. I set up a season pass for this series on my Tivo, so I won't miss any episodes.

If Dirt Were Dollars

From Fast Company: The Dirtiest Mind in Business -- Mike Rowe -- Dirty Jobs.

He spent three years as a pitchman on the night shift at QVC, a job he lost for appearing to do ungodly things to a nun doll on the air.

This is one of the finest and most entertaining bios I have read in a long time. You should too - I know you want to find out what went down with that nun doll. Go on, it's a great story.