Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hearts XOR Diamonds



I was mad for this film [The Fan (1981)]. And, as many of those commenting on the clip said, this song from the musical Sally Ross (LB's character) was starring in stuck with me for years. Imagine my delight at finding this clip so readily. If only this film would get a bold new imagining on the Broadway Stage followed by the inevitable re-re-imagining of the play as a film. (Circle of life...)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

I Am SciFi -- no.... wait....

My Associate informs me the The SciFi Channel has completed their name change to Syfy. My response (after "WTF?") was: "...WTF?" According to the network "It's a brand that catches up with our programming." Mmkay. We figure this probably refers to the fact that rather than crappy yet expensive-to-produce though nominally science fiction 'original movies' ("Mansquito?" Really?) they can now do more equally crappy but much less expensive "reality programming" -- ("Ghost Hunters?" Oh no thank you, I simply couldn't). Next: "WWF:
Intergalactic Smackdown." See also the History Channel who's been dining out on 2012 nonsense for the past little while. Maybe they can change their name to "The Alternate History Channel".

Associate Mine further notes that this sort of naming thing is necessary so they have something trademark-able ("SciFi" on its own likely would not be, although "SciFi Channel" presumably was) and that this also clears the way for other ventures like "Syfy for Kids" and "Syfy for Pets". As to that last one, I should note that My Associate has scary lathe-of-heaven powers and often what he says in jest tends to come true (usually the more outlandish, the more likely). So, set phasers on 'Purr' I guess.

What Dreams May Come... or Whatever

I dreamed I attended a production of a Shakespeare play (I'm not sure which one) staged in a men's locker room shower. Used an elaborate system of mirrors, lighting and strategic steam to simulate nudity. I know this because the production included a behind-the-scenes talk after the play. I'm not sure why they didn't just stage the play with Actual Nudity, [or what, if anything, the significance is that I censored my dream that way]. My Waking Mind tells me this was probably the product of having heard a segment on Fresh Air yesterday where Lloyd Schwartz reviewed the DVD release of "Playing Shakespeare." Further, dream took place in a high-rise building that is a frequent recurring dream locale. I think Bill Mumy was in the cast (of my dream), along with Brian Cox.