filmnoir

[Poll #1062040]

~avec plaisir~

[Poll #1047470]

~avec plaisir~

lotus: a water lily with large leaves, regarded as sacred in ancient Egypt, modern South Asia, China and Tibet; in Greek mythology, a plant that makes people who eat it feel a pleasant drowsiness; flower that makes people feel dreamy, indolent and forgetful. (various sources)

It was not Omicron Ceti that I came back from the day before yesterday but it does feel like I'm in the final arc of a soma-like gyre from the conference. I could not give a number to how many people I met in New Orleans, in and out of the conference itself, but I hope I did at least begin some strong liaisons with folks from other places, perhaps go so far as to begin some solid friendships. As the link below testifies, there were a number of good times to be had besides the regular business of association work and law librarianship. Bourbon Street is truly a creature unto itself that writhes and seduces nonstop day and night. The trip wasn't all good times though: the night and day of the opulence of St. Charles Street and the desolation of the Lower Ninth Ward only a few miles away can disquiet even the most optimistic person. In viewing what is left in that latter area, the interesting notion is not being bothered so much by the destruction still evident on the houses or, in some cases, the still visible nine or ten foot high former high water line, but rather the X's spray painted on these houses and what the numbers added beside them stand for. There still may be more time needed for me truly to assess the trip but my eyes are open.

Film's NO Pics

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Film watched this week
From Russia with Love (Terrence Young, 1964)

Most played music (#797)
1. What I've Done--Linkin Park (8 wks.)
2. Capital G--Nine Inch Nails
3. False Pretense--The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
4. Flathead--The Fratellis
5. Once Upon a Time--Air
(new music: "1234"--Feist (22.))

~avec plaisir~

[Poll #994643]

[Poll #974296]

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Films watched this week
Karoshi No Rakuin (Branded to Kill) (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)
Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959)
Arthur (Steve Gordon, 1981)
The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Michael Winterbottom, 2005)

Most played music (#785)
1. Everything--Buckcherry (1 wk.)
2. Survivalism--Nine Inch Nails
3. Pain--Three Days Grace
4. Smile--Lily Allen
5. Dig--Incubus
(new music: "You Are the One"--Shiny Toyguns (27.))

~avec plaisir~

The late Ray Charles really was a musical genius. It's too bad a lot of that early brilliance was marred by heroin.

Our law school's new building was officially dedicated Wed. with help by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer whose speech was really good. Mayor Archer's appearance was in part due to his mayoral service but more for his time before that on the Michigan Supreme Court. It was a beautiful warm day out then (not cool like today) and the reception was really nice. I got to shake Mayor Archer's hand, let him know I was a WSU alumnus and express to him my appreciation for his two terms in office and his starting the revitalization of Detroit. For those of you most appreciated readers who don't know, Mayor Archer had some major obstacles to overcome before and during his tenure as mayor: pre-election opposition from retired mayor Coleman Young who had hand-picked a City Council woman named Sharon McPhail to run against Archer in hopes of succeeding Young and furthering the corrupt stagnation during the now retired mayor's years of urban decay, as well as continued opposition from the same camp throughout Archer's time in office, including a recall attempt in 2001.

This weekend I may focus on some writing and cleaning house, especially if it's going to be cool out the next few days. Some gaming too maybe?

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Films watched this week
The Libertine (Laurence Dunmore, 2005)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)
Awakenings (Penny Marshall, 1990)
Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)
M:i:III (J.J. Abrams, 2006)
American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)
The Man with the Golden Gun (Guy Hamilton, 1974)
Amistad (Steven Spielberg, 1997)
Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005)
Anastasia (Anatole Litvak, 1956)
Find Me Guilty (Sidney Lumet, 2006)
Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959)
Home Alone (Chris Columbus, 1990)
Animal Crackers (Victor Heerman, 1930)
Ray (Taylor Hackford, 2004)
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

Most played music (#782)
1. You're All I Have--Snow Patrol (6 wks.)
2. Pain--Three Days Grace
3. Read My Mind--The Killers
4. Everything--Buckcherry
5. Survivalism--Nine Inch Nails
(new music: "What I've Done"--Linkin Park (8.); "The Missing Frame"--AFI (24.))

~avec plaisir~

I remember once when I was in college and walking back from lunch in Greektown to the Detroit Medical Center down Brush Ave.,on a section of the run-down street near three or four abandoned former mansions of rich people long past, a black homeless woman who smelled of alcohol stopped me and said, "Hey man, did you know you have a guardian angel following you?" I told her, "No, I didn't know that." She pointed to some invisible space behind me and said, "There he is..." before walking away mumbling "Praise Jesus." I told my friend/colleague at the library about it later and she said, "The spirits of the living and the dead travel a lot more freely than you might think." Her being a horror film fan, I thought she was putting me on so I said back, "What do you mean by that?" She just waved and said, "Just what I said" and nothing more.

I used to see a dark haired, dark eyed, woman named Chris (Christina) that lived in Madison Heights that used to hang out with our library/Public Safety officers group at a bar near the Oakland Mall (north part of Detroit metropolitan area) who would often give one of our colleagues shit because his name also happened to be Chris. "That's my name!" she would exclaim, followed by "Get another one!" Chris(tina) would often hang out at a pool hall on John R St. south of the mall and I would meet her there quite a bit. She told me one night back at her place: "[The people in the pool hall] play pool well, but you, you shoot pool like magic!"

The above snapshots appeared again to me during a rather restless night for some reason. I don't reiterate them here for any self-promoting reason other that they came to mind again and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm mentally sorting some things out that really don't need sorting but rather should just be left as they are, no more, no less.

There must be some ghost in this computer that likes its time exactly one hour and five minutes behind the acutal time despite repeated attempts to adjust with regular and administrative network access. Maybe I should leave it as is and not deal with it since I have a watch with the right time.

Today's gray and cloudy outside and that's just fine.

~avec plaisir~

I missed the lunar eclipse Saturday. But for those of you dear readers who also missed it there is this:



I'd also like you all to welcome a brand new fellow reader who is new to LJ altogether (as in less than one day) rogue_dreamer20. :) She is an English student currently in MI and planning on going on to grad school to teach it ultimately besides get some of her work published. Welcome! :)

And now some other bits of Monday randomness:

Anna Nicole Smith is now officially, unequivocably buried in the ground. Hopefully, that is the last that will ever need to be said about this woman.

A former reader has put Björk onto their MySpace website as musical soundtrack for those who visit their site. Inasmuch as the information about themselves is interesting and informative, one may find the musical addition to either be bizarre or simply odd.

Our law school must have really gone aggressive in their recruiting. As far as admissions tours for the month, they have gone from once a week to on average two to five each week. I got roped into three this month (one done last Thurs., another one today, the last toward the end of the month before vacation) mainly because the Head of Ref. thinks the Circ Lib. (Ry.) has gotten into to too many spontaneous tours because of his proximity to the entrance. *mocked sympathy*

For some reason, I have Tones on Tails's song "Go!" going around my head. "Yi, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi, yi...Go!"

Speaking of (weekend) music » Music Sample-3/03

~avec plaisir~

Here's a meme borrowed from sevenjades and max_ambiguity

RULES: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs. No tags.

( My Answers )

~avec plaisir~

Just wanted to say before RefDesk time:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY beatgirl!!!

K., I hope this new year is exciting, interesting and fulfilling! :)

~avec plaisir~