this blog is a visual notebook of inspirations for a group of bandit bloggers. we post things we see and like. our lives don’t revolve around singular topics and neither does our blog. sorry! nothing is in-or-out of context here. enjoy xx
a cast of characters (including a stint by charlotte rampling) devouring each other in a small world awash with big money. set against the backdrop of contemporary London and the international art scene, it casts an eye over the appetites and morality of some of its major players.’ saw the film finally tonight, and it’s a hilarious and observant film. if you have had any contact with the art world in anyway, you are bound to encounter a stereotype of one in here. a “must be considered” film to be sure. by dd
sky people: mayan artifact from tikal ruins guatemala
aliens who came to earth thousands and thousands of years ago? established civilization as we know it? bred earth and alien DNA to create a race known as man? i mean i would have laughed this man out, and considered him in desperate need of a hobby. i’d picture ron hubbard and a bunch of hollywood freaks on prozac writing alien scripts in the church of scientology. i mean come on, to believe this type of stuff is more foolish than believing in god and organized religion… but hell it’s fascinating!
in my search for documentaries on the similarities of the pyramids of egypt and south america, in accordance with my desperation in my choice of films on demand, i came across a history channel series titled “ancient aliens” and its 2nd episode: “gods & aliens”. not generally being a fan of aliens, the word “god” did get me interested. after all, we’re told there’s a god up there and we’re told there are aliens up there. supposedly, both visited us and are planing to come back soon… i pressed play. twenty 44 minute episodes later i’m bummed that it’s all over. i thoroughly enjoyed the “stories” and the imaginative fictions, and although i find 80% of the “reasoning” and “facts” in the series assumptive and weak, i have come to place this theory that is frowned upon by millions (including myself) well above god and religion which billions still believe in. not that this says much about the theory but still.
the premise of the theory is grand but surprisingly fully compatible with evolution. what is different between this and christianity, or scientology, or religion in general, is that you are not asked to “have faith and believe” but look, ask and judge a “theory” based on assumptions. it goes something like this: 1- our solar system is a micron in relation to our galaxy (milky way). our galaxy is but one of estimated hundreds of billions of galaxies (per nasa hubble telescope research). 2- there is a higher probability that life exists somewhere out there, than the probability that it doesn’t. 3- life organisms can travel through space via galactic collisions (the big bang being one) this is referred to as panspermia. 4- we know that myths, stories, even religions and beliefs are generally routed in some form of events or truths that were passed down, granted distorted or exaggerated down the line. 5- the story referred to here is the story of beings in the skies, gods, angels descending, inception of a virgin by god and other nonsense. the type that is present in almost identical sequence in egyptian, greek, babylonian, mayan, african, indian and even pagan documents. what was there that provoked this completely disjointed cultures to talk about the same thing? 6- well the AAT’s have come up with a magical story:
aliens came to earth long ago. in a series of experiments, they meshed alien DNA with earth beings. the failures were the hybrids of men (actually alien) with bird heads, centaurs, unicorns, and cyclops as depicted by egyptian, mayan and other cultures in paintings and stories. the successful experiment was man, a sapien with a larger brain similar to aliens. this they claim is what darwin claims to be his missing link. james watson, the man behind the discovery of DNA, claims that there is a chance that man kind’s missing link was simply a fluke accident, but the chances of this accident are like a tornado going through a junk yard and coming up with a fully assembled 747 aircraft… meaning next to none. so the plot thickens… aliens then pass knowledge to this new man with a bigger brain. man being still dumb, sees the aliens as gods (thus the multiple gods of the past). so the aliens don’t actually resemble us, we resemble them. thus most alien sightings are with 2 large eyes, 2 arms, 2 legs and a pot belly (every mans future). eventually either man revolts against alien, or they leave earth for one of many reasons they give in the film. man idolizes alien in some cases, for it gave him life and knowledge. what we think of god today, they claim, was simply alien flesh and intelligence. the stories of angels with wings, are aliens that flew to the sky and back and this goes on and on… it has surely made me dream a bit and i’m glad i saw it, beats natalie portman’s “black swan” any day. if you have 20 hours to kill you too can stream it on netflix. by dd
but if you want to see the film properly, get it streaming or get the dvd
here is a cheesy hollywood film, and perhaps one of the few out of a handful of films ever made on the topic. it was recommended to me by a mexican friend with mayan ancestors, and while he warned me that it isn’t great, he did say that it is the best rendition to date in film on the topic. the film is done in original mayan dialect with subtitles. i watched it in tulum on the night after a visit to the templo dios del viento (god of winds temple) which resides on a cliff facing the ocean. swimming towards it, i could imagine the spaniards first sight of the mayan ingenuity. it’s enough for any beginner to light up your interest. worth a watch. by dd
i had pretty much given up on woody allen’s later films, but i have heard great things about this one. just based on my sources alone, i would put this in the to be considered section. by dd
i so want that look… from the neck down that is. oh how i miss the old woody, and in hindsight the man was stylish. the entire dick cavett series is available to watch on DVD under “dick cavett show” and some of them are brilliant. all worth a watch. by dd
smashing couple. has anyone seen the new gainsbourg film? i saw a clip with make believe jane (lucy gordon) and was rather disappointed, but the man (eric elmosnino) playing serge looked pretty convincing. any word? by dd
saw this film tonight on netflix simply because i liked the poster graphics. after a few minutes in, i was about to skip the film, but then entered the “sweet mexican boy”, jose maria de tavira and i gave him a chance. it’s not a “great” film by any means, but a good first film by a daring woman who tackles a worthy topic. the film, written and directed by zeina durra, follows french actress elodie bouchez as the jordanian, bosnian, palestinian, french born trustafarian living in NY pursuing what any rich young person would, if they could… art. the artists house maid and the margiela bag sequence are fun little anecdotes in an otherwise paranoid atmosphere. if you are a new yorker you’ll probably recognize some of the usual fixtures and characters in the LES and china town hoods. unfortunately this film does not pass the rigorous test to be posted under our “must see films” but it is a film worth a watch or it wouldn’t even be here. by dd
hilarious clip from the movie “sleep with me”. my favorite part however, remains to be the rap about the party though…“what is this party? who are these people? they make me sick. what is that? who are you? who ARE you? what is he wearing? some kind of like a dance jump suite, freakish, little guacho, lets go to spain and dance with our arms over our heads…” by ar
very funny how lincoln center chose to place patti smith as the single image defining the godard film in their booklet. not that any one image could do the job, but given patti was almost irrelevant in the film, and perhaps a good lure is rather funny.
for those expecting to see a rock film, be advised….
la porte etroite, renoir, palestine, jj martin, des choses comme ca, napoli, greece, andre gide, patti smith, cruise ship, opera, egypt, wind, balzac, barcelona, hitler, chris marker jab and meow meow… just a few of the things i took away on sept 29th.
115 years of cinema and the man dominating the second half of it, was at it again. godard’s latest film at the new york film festival at lincoln center was a must see. first off let me say how much i love lincoln center, it reminds me of why i love new york so much. just being there i felt vibrant and at ease, its the best of new york in one place. the film started on time, and the audience was a who’s who of film buffs. I ran into wes anderson after the film while getting a coffee in the lobby before going back in for the discussion panel. ironically i had just seen ‘the fantastic mr. fox” and i told him how disappointed i was that jarvis cocker had such a short role in that.
anyhow, back to film socialisme. as i had anticipated i was amazed, bored-to-tears and lost. to clarify, godard remains my hero but that doesn’t change this. after prenome carmen, in my opinion, you must be fluent in french in order to watch a JLG film. even then you best have read up on your literature, art history and philosophy to put that puzzle together. the audio is so dense and layered there is simply no way to do subtitles on the later godards. i was mad at myself for my lack of lingual stamina–if nothing, just to be able to see his films. so yes, it’s not for everyone and chances are it will not be released in cinemas. but as balzac said: you must never forget… who your real daddy is. by dd
a visual collective outlet of inspiration
