February 1st, 2007Comments Off on Finding the Lewis Gun | # link to | posted by david
This is a film by a gun nut about looking for his favorite, mythical, machine gun, to unload half a gazillion rounds of ammunition at the local machine gun range/diner. It will appeal to gun nuts, or people who have a morbid anthropological curiosity about gun nuts in 21st Century America. In fact if you spliced 30 seconds of Michael Moore at the beginning you could probably submit it as an ironic piece, at Sundance.
You know those machines where one thing trips off another in a Byzantine contraption made of old bicyle parts and see-saws? Well this one lasts 26 minutes, which is possible a record – and utterly mesmerizing.
The World Economic Forum at Davos is where presidents of countries and global corporations meet. It is the conference to end all conferences, and whenever there is a technology bubble, Davos organizers quickly jump on the bandwaggon and invite a bunch of bewildered nerds to explain the ‘Internets’ to them. The end result is absolutely fucking hilarious, in a very understated way.
This year, alongside Global Warming and WWIII, with a straight face, Davos attendees examined the ‘Impact of Web 2.0’. They did not suggest that the impact relative to the aforementioned topics is that of a mosquito farting on the moon.
OK, most of what I’ll post here will be full length finds – but some clips are so great and when you put them together into a list you’ve got a mini TV show.
Here are my top 10 TV intro’s of all time – post yours in the comments.
1. Hawaii Five-0 We are so not worthy-0. Book him Dan-o.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r0-z5ZtsaI”]
2. Knots Landing The ultimate B-league show, it had this really weird link to the characters of Dallas. But the theme tune – once you hear it, you just cannot get it out of your head – dammit. This is what it looked like on German TV, for no other reason than that’s random, and you get to hear the tune twice – so that I can ruin your day.
4. Ironside. Saul Bass style graphics and an ear piercing wail at the beginning, that has you grasping your privates.
5. The Money Program. Jimmy Smith’s big band style from ‘The Cat’, when he switched to Verve records. I guess they knew he was just sooo money.
6. The Monkees. The band made for network TV, that spawned Cable TV, on Internet TV. The thing about the Monkees is that although they were fake, the songs were actually good. Destroys all faith in human kind.
7. Rockford Files. Everyone should own a wood-veneered answer phone system, if they want to get ahead.
8. Taxi. I think I’m gonna cry, a $10.99 keyboard from Wallgreen never sounded so good.
9. Citizen Smith. “Power to the people”, cut to sound of single baby crying.
10. Banana splits. So – Much – Fun. Did you know that the guy in the elephant costume is a Republican Congressman? How are you going to prove I’m lying? And here is the Dickies version, the fastest song ever recorded before the invention of chrystal meth. And here are some fans doing it – cos apparenty that’s what people do over at YouTube cos its one big party there. Smashing Telly is a party of one.
And please, someone, anyone, if you have them, put up the themes for the following: The Liver Birds; The Likely Lads (not the Libertines version); Z-Cars.
January 25th, 2007Comments Off on The French Foreign Legion | # link to | posted by david
You cannot join with a French passport and you relinquish your passport when you join. A long way from Beau Geste this documentary praises the contribution of the bizarre, official French mercenary force in the other war with Iraq.