tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-152437388464379312012-01-27T09:41:27.674-05:00Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.comBlogger6941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-17247539796770323342012-01-01T19:51:00.000-05:002012-01-01T19:51:43.929-05:00

19 songs... getting better. Ballroom Blitz - Sweet Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin Christmas At Ground Zero - Weird Al Yankovic I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - Prince Jackson - Johnny Cash & June Carter (duet w/Emma) Maneater - Hall & Oates Panama - Van Halen Supermassive Black Hole - Muse Valerie - Zutons We've Got Tonight - Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton (duet w/Nyree) What Becomes of

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-48418674838722073682011-12-05T16:11:00.002-05:002011-12-05T16:11:30.309-05:00

Twelve is a little better, I guess. It still seems vaguely shameful though. Africa - Toto For The Girl - Fratellis Sunglasses At Night - Corey Hart Supermassive Black Hole - Muse Testify - Rage Against The Machine Too Drunk To Fuck - Dead Kennedys Up On the Roof - Drifters Use Me - Bill Withers Valerie - Zutons Vaseline - Stone Temple Pilots Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai You've Got Another Thing

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-69830626226852654172011-11-07T14:49:00.002-05:002011-11-07T14:49:11.411-05:00

Nine? NINE???????? This won't do. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen Cult of Personality - Living Color Jealous Guy - John Lennon Middle of the Road - Pretenders Never Let Me Down Again - Depeche Mode Night Moves - Bob Seger Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes - Fratellis Panama - Van Halen Punk Rock Girl - Dead Milkmen

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-83789849103403452382011-10-28T12:14:00.001-04:002011-10-28T12:31:14.289-04:00

So you've got your Monster Mash, your Thriller, your Werewolves of London, your Dead Man's Party, your Sabbath and Alice Cooper, your Buffy, Crow and Rocky Horror soundtracks... your Hallowe'en party playlist is all set, right? Sure, if you're pedestrian and bourgeois. Here are some suggestions for songs you (and your guests) may not know, but will fit right in for any Hallowe'en party. In no

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-46785090258094202332011-10-10T15:41:00.000-04:002011-10-10T15:41:14.907-04:00

Quiet month, what with the film fest and inevitable post-fest crash and all. A Small Victory - Faith No More Cult of Personality - Living Color Every Breath You Take - Police Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead Golden Years - David Bowie Killer Queen - Queen King of Pain - Police Pure Morning - Placebo Street Fighting Man - Rolling Stones Sunshine of Your Love - Cream Superfly - Curtis Mayfield Tie

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-18617165875008477802011-09-15T21:53:00.000-04:002011-09-15T21:53:18.337-04:00

Coriolanus (2011, directed by Ralph Fiennes) Never let it be said that Ralph Fiennes half-asses anything. For his directorial debut, Fiennes figured it wasn't enough to bring one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays to the big screen for the first time. Nope, that's not enough of a challenge. He also had to star in it, modernize it and stock it full of machine guns and media saturation, and go

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-76463872982204099442011-09-15T19:44:00.000-04:002011-09-15T19:44:31.089-04:00

The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best (2011, directed Ryan O'Nan) Alex isn't having the best week of his life. The douchey wannabe rocker he's stuck in a duo with cuts him loose after lecturing Alex on how his lonely indie-folk ballads aren't as autobiographical as his own sub-Ozzy-esque werewolf ditties. He gets fired from his job as a musical moose who sings at schools, after he beats up a

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-13439571777459934572011-09-15T18:57:00.000-04:002011-09-15T18:57:35.257-04:00

You're Next (2011, directed by Adam Wingard) Some scenes are universal. A family gets together for their parents' anniversary, and immediately falls into old patterns. The two older brothers squabble over nothing, the baby girl beams at daddy, the youngest brother broods in the corner. Their various significant others watch on with varying degrees of concern and amusement at the whole scene

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-18313821392542475792011-09-13T12:59:00.000-04:002011-09-13T12:59:23.168-04:00

Crazy Horse (2011, directed by Frederick Wiseman) If you've seen a Wiseman doc before, you probably know what you're getting into. His style is verite and he does it extremely well, "simply" pointing a camera at his subjects and letting their lives provide any sort of narrative. There's very little that's truly simple about his films though. In lesser hands that form of documentary can be deadly

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-75675219022573659552011-09-13T12:10:00.000-04:002011-09-13T12:10:05.562-04:00

Juan of the Dead (2011, directed by Alejandro Brugues) Shaun, Juan... I can hardly wait for Siobhan of the Dead, where beautiful Irish lasses fight zombies in slow motion to the haunting strains of Sinead O'Connor and Cranberries tunes. I suppose somebody's already working on Han of the Dead, where zombies invade a Comic-Con-like gathering of geeks. How about Von of the Dead, where a retired

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-74499848630541013312011-09-13T11:23:00.000-04:002011-09-13T11:23:15.570-04:00

Keyhole (2011, directed by Guy Maddin) I love Guy Maddin. L-O-V-E love. A walk down Main Street love. An apple that's so sweet love. Maddin's highly specific, highly weird aesthetic is harmoniously sympatico with my own, and his fantasies have never failed to enchant and transport me. Which is why this is one of the hardest reviews I've ever had to write, because Keyhole in a train wreck. The

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-40030208611915770122011-09-13T10:48:00.000-04:002011-09-13T10:48:17.654-04:00

God Bless America (2011, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait) Holy crap. I mean this in the best possible way... how the fuck did this movie get made? Frank is a decent but down-on-his-luck schmuck, suffering from chronic migraines and the miserable mean-spiritedness of modern America. Divorced, fired from his job for sexual harassment after a misguided but well-meaning gesture, and diagnosed with a

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-14823727294822160132011-09-12T00:01:00.078-04:002011-09-12T00:01:03.587-04:00

50/50 (2011, directed by Jonathan Levine) Dramedies so rarely work, it's a wonder they get made at all. The mix is a tough one to get right. If one element dominates the other seems forced, and if the two don't flow together organically the whole concoction comes out sour. It's like a bad mojito. Too much rum, or the wrong type of rum, and it becomes the kind of swill only a 15-year-old could

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-70047634261237521182011-09-10T12:30:00.000-04:002011-09-10T12:30:14.880-04:00

Killer Elite (2011, directed by Gary McKendry) The fact that a Jason Statham film is a Gala might be the funniest joke this festival has ever played on its audience. Now don't get me wrong: Killer Elite is a perfectly respectable Jason Statham film. It's not a fluffy piece of cartoony silliness like Crank, and even has delusions of importance, but the thought of people getting dressed to the

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-9985672861135636882011-09-10T11:55:00.000-04:002011-09-10T11:55:35.360-04:00

The Raid (2011, directed by Gareth Huw Evans) When Ong Bak hit the scene a decade or so ago everyone flipped out over Tony Jaa and the awesome brutality of the muy thai fight scenes, but the film itself got a few fanboy sneers for not being the polished production you might expect out of the more established film industries of the east. The Raid might end up having just as big an impact as Ong

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-17973242631045513372011-08-06T15:45:00.000-04:002011-08-06T15:45:55.764-04:00

A quick list of some of the coming films that have caught my eye at TIFF this year: Midnight Madness: God Bless America - Bobcat Goldthwait is back in the director's chair, returning to TIFF for the first time since Sleeping Dogs Lie. This one seems to be about a bottomed-out loser on a rampage, sounding a bit like Falling Down meets the Doom Generation. The Incident - a rock band is trapped

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-29782510413434509512011-08-02T20:45:00.000-04:002011-08-02T20:45:48.864-04:00

21 songs... not bad, all things considered. Africa - Toto All Apologies - Nirvana And If Venice Is Sinking - Spirit of the West Animal Nitrate - Suede Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy Broken Wings - Mister Mister Burden In My Hand - Soundgarden Caravan - Van Morrison China Grove - Doobie Brothers Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy Down In the Tube Station At Midnight - Jam Fell In love With a Girl -

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-52096695871916605362011-07-16T18:53:00.002-04:002011-07-18T22:24:04.714-04:00

2011 Source Code 2010 Stakeland John Carpenter's The Ward Blame Legend of the Fist 13 Assassins The Runaways Let Me In Super Griff the Invisible Passion Play Black Swan I'm Still Here Armadillo Score: A Hockey Musical 2009 The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Jennifer's Body An Education Daybreakers Survival of the Dead Bitch Slap The Road Antichrist Dogtooth 2008 Martyrs The Brothers Bloom

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-87205407132619043642011-07-02T11:34:00.000-04:002011-07-02T11:34:46.583-04:00

Another quiet month, just 18 songs. Officially song #500 since I started tracking was Dirty Deeds, which has a whole story behind it. If only I had a blog or something in which to tell it... Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen Cruella de Ville - Replacements (kind of) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC Divorce Song - Liz Phair Drugs Don't Work - Verve Epic - Faith No More Fascination Street - Cure

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-19678281572242171152011-06-01T18:01:00.002-04:002011-06-01T18:24:22.981-04:00

25 songs, and up to 497 different songs sung. Number 500 will be coming any day now... #1 Crush - Garbage 867-5309 - Tommy Tutone Aenema - Tool Angel of Harlem - U2 Animal - Neon Trees Baby Please Don't Go - Them California Love - 2Pac Crying - Roy Orbison Dragula - Rob Zombie Everlong - Foo Fighters Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - Police Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers Groovin' -

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-80206239504429361702011-05-03T02:03:00.003-04:002011-05-03T02:13:38.815-04:00

Only 18 songs... shameful. I am up to 485 different titles sung though. #500 should come in June or July. Animal - Neon Trees Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry Don't Stop Me Now - Queen Good Times Bad Times - Led Zeppelin High School Confidential - Rough Trade History Repeating - Propellerheads w/Shirley Bassey Hit 'Em Up Style - Blu Cantrell Howlin' For You - Black Keys Let My Love Open the Door -

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-60511661400431365342011-04-22T20:49:00.000-04:002011-04-22T20:49:38.428-04:00

So far... A: Alphaville - Forever Young B: Blue Rodeo - Try C: Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is D: Doobie Brothers - China Grove E: Emotions - Best Of My Love F: Foreigner - Double Vision G: Guns 'n' Roses - Mr. Brownstone H: Howard Jones - New Song I: Isley Brothers - Who's That Lady J: K: K's Choice - Not An Addict L: M: Mike & the Mechanics - The Living Years N: Neon Trees -

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-8715083402229026602011-04-02T10:48:00.004-04:002011-04-02T11:11:08.217-04:00

33 songs. Quiet month due to stupid (i.e. what everyone else considers normal) work hours and stupid illness. Up to 477 different songs sung in the database. I may have to start a pool on when I crack 500. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (w/live band) California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys (w/live band) Everlong - Foo Fighters (w/live band) Feel Like Making Love - Bad Company Good Times Bad

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-18211589588309625282011-03-18T18:51:00.000-04:002011-03-18T18:51:02.152-04:00

I fell out of sequence at #abckaraoke. I was a week behind - still had to do my J song, even though it was K week - but by the time I got to Tequila Sunrise last night it was slammed, and I knew I would only be able to sing once, and I really wanted to try Not An Addict, and I was a bit tipsy... Fail. Massive, massive fail.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-68610327154853328122011-03-05T17:13:00.000-05:002011-03-05T17:13:21.180-05:00

Source Code (2011, directed by Duncan Jones) We're two films into his career, and it's pretty clear what turns Duncan Jones' crank. Like Moon before it, Source Code uses science fiction trappings to explore humanity's free will and survival instinct. And like Moon, Jones isn't afraid to apply DJ sensibilities to filmmaking, mashing up genres and sampling from the classics to try and create

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-87463363185001534412011-03-01T21:27:00.000-05:002011-03-01T21:27:49.749-05:00

A: Alphaville - Forever Young B: Blue Rodeo - Try C: Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is D: Doobie Brothers - China Grove E: Emotions - Best Of My Love F: Foreigner - Double Vision G: Guns 'n' Roses - Mr. Brownstone H: Howard Jones - New Song Trying Best of My Love was a nightmarishly bad idea, for the record. I kicked serious ass on the GNR though. It all balances out. My J is

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-54298986175210593402011-03-01T21:19:00.001-05:002011-03-01T21:20:19.438-05:00

30 songs. Not bad for a short month, especially considering that I started back in to the 9-5 office grind and wasn't able to stay out late as often. Have to add them to the DB later, but I should be over 460 different songs sung. Band On The Run - Paul McCartney & Wings Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich Best of My Love - Emotions Dear God - XTC Don't Pay the Ferryman - Chris DeBergh Double

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-7672677655018895702011-02-04T17:42:00.000-05:002011-02-04T17:42:17.501-05:00

Last night's episode of Community was simply one of the greatest half hours in television history... ...if you've ever played D&D.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-65085390182848708072011-02-01T10:41:00.000-05:002011-02-01T10:41:14.303-05:00

The new year kicked off with a karaoke explosion: 48 songs. I'm now up to 453 different songs sung since I started keeping track. #1 Crush - Garbage Age of Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In - 5th Dimension Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty Because the Night - Patti Smith Blue Monday - New Order Bulletproof - La Roux Changes - David Bowie China Grove - Doobie Brothers Common People - Pulp Dead Leaves

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-3873875866109784672011-01-27T19:38:00.000-05:002011-01-27T19:38:49.573-05:00

The tally so far at #abckaraoke: A: Forever Young by Alphaville B: Try by Blue Rodeo C: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is - Chicago D: China Grove - Doobie Brothers Technically I haven't done the D song yet, but gimme a few hours.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-18234698279153520772011-01-24T21:18:00.000-05:002011-01-24T21:18:39.895-05:00

So I'm watching the Raptors-Grizzlies game, and at halftime they do a segment where Rod "Stupidest Man In Sports Broadcasting" Black quizzes Leo Rautins about Grizzlies history. When asked who the greatest player in franchise history was Rautins says, "Pau Gasol. Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round in 2001 and then picked up in the Shareef Abdur-Rahim trade, blah blah blah" Three

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-23250997756868078122011-01-02T11:54:00.000-05:002011-01-02T11:54:38.602-05:00

Religious To Damn. If they remind me of anyone it would be a darker, gothier Gentle Creatures-era Tarnation, but who the heck remembers them but me? Religious to Damn "Drifter" Music Video from Jason Akira Somma on Vimeo. Debut album comes out in February. Hopefully a Toronto tour date will follow.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-60305597707486113522011-01-01T08:17:00.001-05:002011-01-03T02:58:26.212-05:00

Greatest hits month saw me sing 31 tunes, but there are some glaring omissions. No Mack the Knife, no Little Red Corvette, no Common People, no Bowie at all... clearly I will have to hold the program over for a while yet. Africa - Toto All Apologies - Nirvana All I Want Is You - U2 Always Something There To Remind Me - Naked Eyes Animal Nitrate - Suede Babe - Styx Behind Blue Eyes - Who Born To

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-54790472633892701912011-01-01T08:13:00.000-05:002011-01-01T08:13:47.424-05:00

Last song sung of 2010: Social Distortion's I Was Wrong First song sung of 2011: STP's Interstate Love Song Read into these things what you will.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-40215938880496960432010-12-31T17:47:00.000-05:002010-12-31T17:47:51.209-05:00

I see other folks are starting to expand their karaoke horizons as well... I hope they realize what they're getting into when the 'X' week comes around...

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-56481827210018657602010-12-26T23:43:00.000-05:002010-12-26T23:43:42.772-05:00

Two more little clips of me apparently singing every song I know with the word 'girl' in the title: I'm right near the top of this set, at about the 1:15 mark, doing Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend. In this one I'm growling out Neil Diamond's Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon at about the 8:30 mark.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-79581388334113183832010-12-14T09:50:00.000-05:002010-12-14T09:50:49.423-05:00

It's time to face reality: the Democratic Party is populated by spoiled, whiny, petulant, 15-year-olds, at least based on the comments to Nate's NYT post from a couple days ago. Twilight fans are more emotionally mature than that bunch. "Obama didn't give me my pony! Let's primary him!" "I don't think the country has suffered enough to accept my progressive wisdom, so I'm going to vote straight

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-66339408796657338482010-12-12T18:27:00.000-05:002010-12-12T18:27:05.602-05:00

Oh, hello blog. How've you been? I've been joking around that I was going to make December a "greatest hits" month, instead of the usual "try out new stuff and then discard it" approach I use. If I do decide to go through with it, the list of songs I'd consider among my best would look something like this: Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies) Asia - Heat of the Moment The Band - The Night They Drove

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-16948679357234536942010-12-01T12:41:00.001-05:002010-12-01T13:07:07.638-05:00

Kind of a quiet month... only 31 songs. It's not only blogging that has been neglected. New total: 434 different songs sung. A Small Victory - Faith No More All I Want Is You - U2 Angel From Montgomery - John Prine Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze Boogie In Your Butt - Eddie Murphy Breed - Nirvana California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys Creepin' Up the Back Stairs - Fratellis Cry - Godley &

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-33693076801174739442010-11-15T17:51:00.000-05:002010-11-15T17:51:40.874-05:00

The flip side to this DougJ post about those Bainbridge posts (don't worry, I popped a Gravol before writing something that wankerific and nausea-inducing) is that a big part of the Tea Party's success, among non-racists anyway, is the complete lack of a populist appeal from the Dems. Sure, Obama has managed to get some things done which will directly benefit the lower and middle classes, but

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-4842431238185956572010-11-15T17:34:00.002-05:002010-11-24T11:00:42.840-05:00

Looks like the jihadist threat is now targeting Canada. O noes! You'll notice, I hope, what's missing from the article (and maybe even the intelligence report it's based on): any sense of proportion. How successful have those advocating a Muslim "parallel society" actually been? How many people attended that Mississauga conference, and did any of them have any actual influence in the

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-30836171032701838202010-11-10T13:51:00.001-05:002010-11-10T13:54:44.553-05:00

...and instead unleashes his inner wannabe James O'Keefe. I think from now on, I'm just going to openly mock anyone who calls Tucker, or Breitbart for that matter, a journalist. There are stricter requirements for me to get my film reviews on Rotten Tomatoes than there are for someone to "earn" the title 'journalist' in today's media environment. (h/t LGF)

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-80555779043228453392010-11-07T01:42:00.000-04:002010-11-07T01:42:37.951-04:00

More footage of me butchering songs. Actually I don't sound bad in either clip - in fact, I wish more of California Uber Alles had made it into the reel. That seemed to go pretty damn well, and I would have been singing it just about when they would have been declaring Governor Jerry's win.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-65469459010918046672010-11-01T10:49:00.002-04:002010-11-01T11:03:09.784-04:00

32 different songs this month. 'Lifetime' stats: 413 different songs sung, 634 total. Aenima - Tool Back On the Chain Gang - Pretenders Ballroom Blitz - Sweet Black - Pearl Jam Borderline - Madonna Cut Your Hair - Pavement Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison Footloose - Kenny Loggins Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran In a Big Country - Big Country In

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-71760847471954815652010-10-28T22:05:00.000-04:002010-10-28T22:05:03.998-04:00

The anonymous douchefuckbagtard who sold his not-quite-a-hookup with Christine O'Donnell story to Gawker (which got posted this afternoon, and which I won't dignify with a link) has already been outed. Just to be clear: I think O'Donnell has no place in the US Senate, and I think guys who sell hookup stories to gossip rags should be castrated. And not chemically. I'm talking with a meat

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-31466334627969270912010-10-28T19:07:00.001-04:002010-10-28T19:08:14.995-04:00

All electrical towers will be re-designed so as to appear as giant roboty things, as they were in my imagination in my youth. So decreed on this day of the Reign of Our Benevolent Overlord, Anton the Terrible, May His Wrath Come On Swift and Merciful Wings

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-84049703056827326752010-10-26T01:15:00.000-04:002010-10-26T01:15:30.492-04:00

Rob Ford's election as mayor of Toronto tonight has the local Twitterati in a tizzy. He's apparently George Bush, William Harrison Hays and Eric Cartman all rolled into one, a bloated jackanape who will single-handedly destroy the arts community and public transit in the city. From where I sit, he's more buffoon than bastard, and the structure of the municipal government (not to mention Ford's

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-70180063371390817832010-10-24T13:39:00.001-04:002010-10-25T16:04:40.389-04:00

Wow, there are actually bands I want to see playing in town over the next couple of months. The Flowers of Hell have the release party for their new album & DVD on November 13th, then Fang Island come back to town on the 16th. And at the beginning of December, my favorite band from the early '90s Toronto indie scene, Lowest of the Low, stagger back out for a couple of shows at Lee's Palace (the

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-41898283537185831772010-10-21T20:17:00.001-04:002010-10-21T20:17:52.791-04:00

No, this has nothing to do with Juan Williams. Today's PWSLTJ is Jim Pasco, head of the Fraternal Order of Police, who recently said the following about the explosion in private surveillance and recording of police officers: The proliferation of cheap video equipment is presenting a whole new dynamic for law enforcement. It has had a chilling effect on some officers who are now afraid to act

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-42042773886051651332010-10-20T12:26:00.000-04:002010-10-20T12:26:03.635-04:00

I wonder how much extra cash Ginny Thomas' Liberty Central group was able to siphon up from donors after she managed to get the name 'Anita Hill' back into the news with her "olive branch" voice mail...

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-55702430326045689732010-10-20T03:58:00.001-04:002010-10-20T03:59:34.785-04:00

So I get home from Neutral karaoke at about 3:30 or so, long after the garbage trucks have gone by. My obliviously lazy-ass roommate has helpfully collected and bagged the garbage and tied the bag off... and then left it sitting in the kitchen rather than taking it out to the curb. This is nothing new. She does it all the time. It doesn't seem to occur to her that a) it might be a good idea to

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-1707832071107718262010-10-16T17:26:00.000-04:002010-10-16T17:26:10.943-04:00

Martin Freeman appears to be set as Bilbo, which gets a big thumb's up from me. And I didn't even like the movie version of Hitchhiker's. The other names also floating around as potential cast members, though, are a bit more interesting. In order of geeky magnitude: - David Tennant (everyone but me's favorite new-school Dr Who). The only part he would make sense for, to me, is that of Elvenking

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-59881106794395219202010-10-12T19:49:00.000-04:002010-10-12T19:49:12.549-04:00

Otherwise this would make me cry, instead of laugh and laugh and laugh.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-58778879250025575832010-10-12T11:27:00.000-04:002010-10-12T11:27:35.186-04:00

It had to happen. After years of pressure, Banksy has finally broken down and revealed something of his personal life:

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-10507430516211304642010-10-11T12:29:00.001-04:002010-10-11T12:29:49.747-04:00

So Robin Carnahan has submitted a motion to dismiss the Fox News suit against her for copyright violation, based on an attack ad she ran against her Senate opponent Roy Blunt that used clips from a Chris Wallace interview. Carnahan's camp is presenting two really awesome arguments: 1) Fox didn't bother to copyright the footage until after they'd filed the lawsuit. 2) The Fox footage itself

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-77103463758493459412010-10-09T11:19:00.000-04:002010-10-09T11:19:57.256-04:00

In the US, libertarians constantly complain about the erosion of individual freedoms -- and with good reason, as police routinely violate those rights every chance they get. Despite a court that contributes to that erosion, though, the Constitution still provides a bedrock of freedom that is, historically and politically, the envy of people worldwide. Meanwhile, in Canada, the Constitution is

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-25802162582111552262010-10-04T15:31:00.000-04:002010-10-04T15:31:46.035-04:00

I'm with Knappster - the reaction to the 'No Pressure' video from British AGW advocates is downright bizarre. At the Liberty Papers, words like 'revolting', 'amoral' and 'depraved' got thrown around and applauded. Other, less interesting libertarian blogs who I shan't link to went even further off the deep end. Judge for yourself. It's written by Richard Curtis (of Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Four

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-6964855509712504662010-10-02T20:05:00.001-04:002010-10-03T16:32:17.665-04:00

I'm now out to hit the streets for the annual Situationist wet dream that is Nuit Blanche. My planned targets include: - Lightbox, which is hosting a) the marathon movie sing-a-long, b) the Grindbox! stream of awesome cinematic filth, and c) a bunch of free DIY video games in old school standing arcade cabinets. - Lower Bay Station, which features some sort of 'interactive' light-and-sound

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-88389058475162075722010-10-02T00:54:00.000-04:002010-10-02T00:54:39.480-04:00

Just noticed that since I started keeping track of what songs I sing at karaoke, I have now hit 400 different titles sung. Sinatra's That's Life was officially #400, if you're scoring at home. At the rate I'm adding new material, I may just be able to time it so that I tackle #500 sometime around my birthday in February...

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-24430712879474098422010-10-01T21:22:00.001-04:002010-10-02T00:14:48.348-04:00

Despite the film fest and all, still managed to squeeze in 29 songs last month. Breed and Waterfalls are both definite keepers. 24 Hours From Tulsa - Gene Pitney Africa - Toto (duet w/Lisa Awesome) Breed - Nirvana Dancing In the Dark - Bruce Springsteen Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire Everlong - Foo

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-34777953502704349782010-09-30T20:31:00.000-04:002010-09-30T20:31:51.398-04:00

Never Let Me Go (2010, directed by Mark Romanek) This may have been the most exceptionally brilliant failure of a movie I have ever seen. There's no way to write this review without including massive spoilers, so let's just get them out of the way. Never Let Me Go envisions a world in which cloning was developed in the '50s, for the purpose of harvesting replacement organs. The film follows one

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-24888009700136539972010-09-28T17:34:00.000-04:002010-09-28T17:34:33.824-04:00

Ever since Linda McMahon won the Pub nom for the Connecticut Senate seat, I've been warning people in comments sections all over the innertubez not to underestimate her/gleefully speculating on what having a WWE-schooled personality in Congress would be like. And I continually got berated for those warnings, because McMahon was a "joke candidate" who had no chance in hell of winning. Well, guess

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-46040119460901394772010-09-27T15:39:00.001-04:002010-09-27T15:46:52.711-04:00

13 Assassins (2010, directed by Takashi Miike) It has always been vaguely disappointing to be a Takashi Miike fan. No matter how many films he cranked out and how many different genres he tackled (or maybe because he cranked so many out and changed gears so often) the very best of his work seemed to just miss being truly great, and leave behind a feeling of an opportunity missed. Even Audition,

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-18266126483896937802010-09-24T19:05:00.001-04:002010-09-25T13:52:29.964-04:00

Harlan Ellison says he's on his last legs, in advance of an appearance at a Madison skiffy convention. "The truth of what's going on here is that I'm dying," says Ellison, by phone. "I'm like the Wicked Witch of the West -- I'm melting. I began to sense it back in January." His best days as a writer might be behind him, but he can still crank out of some good stuff, and his gift for awesomely

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-6329697627645465002010-09-24T18:23:00.001-04:002010-09-24T18:23:49.178-04:00

I haven't been reading Sully much the last few weeks, even above and beyond the film fest making me not read any blogs at all for a week and a half. He's just seemed to be on auto-pilot recently, even above and beyond his "I'd vote for Sharron Angle!" idiocy, and nothing illustrated that better than two posts he made back-to-back today. In the first, he gives props to Gregg Easterbrook ("

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-26212686746618024222010-09-22T11:19:00.001-04:002010-09-22T11:19:25.307-04:00

If you are of the opinion that the health care bill was just phase one in a master plan to have the federal government take over the industry entirely, you should be very worried (or happy, depending on your perspective) about things like this: The Denver Post reports, "at least six major companies — including Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, and Humana — have said they will stop writing new policies for

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-87638937143270894192010-09-20T17:16:00.000-04:002010-09-20T17:16:44.288-04:00

Client 9 - The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010, directed by Alex Gibney) As with most docs like this, Client 9 succeeds or fails on the strength of the personalities of the folk interviewed, and Gibney manages to get some doozies even above and beyond the charismatic Spitzer himself. It also adds another nail in the coffin of modern political journalists, who come out of the doc looking

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-24295539742718313892010-09-19T23:47:00.002-04:002010-09-19T23:50:17.589-04:00

Boo has a point: while the GOP has benefitted as a party from their relatively lock-step Congressional opposition to Obama, individual incumbent members of the party aren't exactly enjoying the fruits of their labors in the party's primaries. Which could introduce an interesting dynamic for the 2011-2012 session: If the Pubs don't re-take Congress and simply emerge from the midterms as a larger

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-7869941598947878112010-09-19T22:37:00.006-04:002010-09-27T21:35:48.008-04:00

I'm trying to pare down my top 10 list. Right now, it's about 20 films long, although having now ranked everything I'd say there's a drop-off after the top 6: 1: Black Swan 2: Rabbit Hole 3: 13 Assassins 4: Armadillo 5: Stakeland 6: Tabloid 7: Pinoy Sunday 8: Cold Fish 9: SUPER 10: Viva Riva! 11: Blame 12: Game of Death 13: The Illusionist 14: 127 Hours 15: Fubar II 16: Beginners 17: The

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-73268516017715925082010-09-19T21:53:00.000-04:002010-09-19T21:53:42.676-04:00

The Edge (2010, directed by Alexey Uchitel) Newly minted as Russia's Oscar entry for best foreign pic, The Edge is an odd but pretty piece of work that teases real depth without actually having any. At a post-WW II Siberian work camp so remote it doesn't even need guards, a new train engineer arrives and turns things upside down by being an obstinate prick. The whole thing plays a bit like High

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-85530995734775352242010-09-19T21:42:00.000-04:002010-09-19T21:42:48.194-04:00

The Illusionist (2010, directed by Sylvain Chomet) The animation geniuses behind Triplets of Belleville turn an unproduced Jacques Tati script into a heartbreaking elegy to getting older and feeling that the world had left you behind. A past-his-prime vaudeville magician, struggling to find work in the late '50s as rock and roll sweeps Britain, takes a young girl under his wing as he tries to

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-91565186280377767422010-09-19T16:17:00.000-04:002010-09-19T16:17:33.624-04:00

Fubar II (2010, directed by Michael Dowse) It still nods to the mockumentary style of the original FUBAR, but the sequel plays more as a straight-ahead comedy about white trash Canadian metalheads with, like, actual cinematography and character arcs and stuff. At its best, the humor is as black as the long nights in northern Alberta, but towards the end the plot gets in the way of the funny a

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-43252556338048605022010-09-19T10:53:00.000-04:002010-09-19T10:53:20.854-04:00

John Carpenter's The Ward (2010, directed by some guy) A pretty young girl runs through the woods in her nightie, dodging the police searching for her, until she finds an old farm house. She sets it on fire, then collapses to the ground and watches it burn. When she gets picked up, this time the authorities are taking no chances. This time, she's being driven straight to an asylum and put in...

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-13554749057880855592010-09-18T22:56:00.000-04:002010-09-18T22:56:17.243-04:00

Blame (2010, directed by Michael Henry) A troubled young girl kills herself. A group of her friends head straight from her funeral to the home of her former piano teacher, and lover, looking for vengeance and justice. What they find instead is more than they bargained for... One of the real joys of a festival as big as Toronto is stumbling across a new talent, someone who demands that you tuck

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-77599509994736541272010-09-18T22:32:00.000-04:002010-09-18T22:32:41.041-04:00

Stakeland (2010, directed by Jim Mickle) Given the rash of vampire movies and post-apocalyptic movies that have seen the light of day recently, it was probably inevitable that we'd get something like Stakeland. Throw enough Book of Elis and 30 Days of Nights and I Am Legends into the collective unconscious and eventually a post-apocalyptic vampire road movie was going to spring forth from

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-84150600026122644712010-09-16T12:32:00.000-04:002010-09-16T12:32:18.695-04:00

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010, directed by Andrew Lau) Although it mutates slightly with every re-telling, the story of Chen Zhen should be familiar to anyone who gives a damn about martial arts flicks. Bruce Lee played him in Fists of Fury. Jet Li played him in Fists of Legend. And now it's Donnie Yen's turn, picking up where he left off from his mid-90s TV show with Legend

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-56002592446517446882010-09-16T11:39:00.001-04:002010-09-16T11:40:27.121-04:00

Stupid Twitter. I'm trying not to pay attention to anything outside my film fest bubble right now, but this got through. FoxNews is suing Missouri Senate candidate Robin Carnahan for using footage from a Chris Wallace interview with Roy Blunt, Carnahan's opponent, in a campaign ad.: In the ad, Wallace addresses Blunt and says, "You just said a moment ago that you have to show that you’re the

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-66375920759571984202010-09-14T13:55:00.000-04:002010-09-14T13:55:36.611-04:00

Super (2010, directed by James Gunn) Some people are born to be heroes, receiving the spark at birth that makes them one of the few among us capable of doing the extraordinary when necessary. And some have heroism thrust upon them, and find themselves in the right place at the right time in order to do the right thing. Frank D'Arbo is none of those people. James Gunn's Super is yet another

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-81261285495797549732010-09-14T12:55:00.002-04:002010-09-14T14:09:51.231-04:00

Let Me In (2010, directed by Matt Reeves) Here's the Let Me In Cliff notes for those of you who need it: A bullied young boy, Owen, isolated and trying to navigate through his parents' divorce, makes a new friend when Abby and her father move into the apartment next door. His new friend turns out to be a vampire though, forcing him to make some terrible choices along the path to adolescence. At

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-30789468674916035642010-09-14T10:46:00.000-04:002010-09-14T10:46:34.264-04:00

Passion Play (2010, directed by Mitch Glazer) Holy fuck is this thing bad. Mickey Rourke plays a Chet Baker-esque, washed-up junkie trumpeter who gets dragged out into the desert to be killed by a hitman because he fucked the wife of a gangster. When he's miraculously saved, he staggers off and finds a sideshow in the desert, where he meets a freak played by Megan Fox, who amazingly enough is

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-39395859195467208902010-09-13T17:52:00.000-04:002010-09-13T17:52:15.581-04:00

Griff the Invisible (2010, directed by Leon Ford) A little Aussie trifle starring True Blood's Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten), Griff the Invisible is about a timid oddball who deals with the misery of his lonely life by dressing up as a superhero and patrolling the streets. This is no Down Under Kickass riff though. While Griff does seem to occasionally scare off a mugger, for the most part he

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-17719290486222182992010-09-12T11:27:00.002-04:002010-09-12T11:27:41.626-04:00

Having dinner with John Turturro later, plus the Casino Jack party with George Hickenlooper and Kevin Spacey, and might get a chance to corner Guillermo for a chat about Mountains of Madness too.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-76476795040777428192010-09-12T11:24:00.007-04:002010-09-16T12:33:21.924-04:00

Fubar II / Legend of Beaver Dam Illusionist The Edge Client 9 22nd of May !Women Art Revolution Beginners Boxing Gym The Promise: The Making of Darkness On the Edge of Town Game of Death John Carpenter's The Ward Housemaid Horrible Way To Die Blame Rabbit Hole 13 Assassins Tabloid Red Nights

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-40926209275115215132010-09-10T17:25:00.000-04:002010-09-10T17:25:35.971-04:00

Black Swan (2010, directed by Darren Aronofsky) Every year at the Toronto film fest, there's one film I see at an industry screening that I come out of thinking I need to immediately see again, and with a real audience. Black Swan - Aronofsky's beautiful, horrific, brilliant, devastating masterpiece - is that film this year. On Twitter I pithily came up with a 'movie formula' description of it

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-60994224107510910672010-09-10T13:20:00.001-04:002010-09-10T13:20:41.260-04:00

Score - A Hockey Musical (2010, directed by Michael McGowan) We are a rare, lonely breed. Kitted for battle and weaving across frozen terrain, survival instincts cranked to 11, we might have a goal in mind but it's living in the moment and enjoying the dance that really matter as we dodge every skullcrushing danger hurtling our way. No, I'm not talking about hockey players. I'm talking about

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-25979389015007251112010-09-09T17:47:00.001-04:002010-09-10T02:51:31.275-04:00

I'm Still Here (2010, directed by Casey Affleck) Once upon a time, Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix were smoking a bowl together late at night, and bitching about all the asshole fans and journalists and hangers-on who thought they knew them: "Man, they don't know shit. They think the guy they see on the red carpet or in that press conference is the real me, but, like, they don't know." "

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-86429936341424465382010-09-09T17:05:00.000-04:002010-09-09T17:05:03.050-04:00

So the first stage of my plan went swimmingly (as in, Score and I'm Still Here were both dreadful in their own ways), but I'll have to skip the Edge for now and try to catch it later in the fest. On the other hand, I may end up partying with Darryl Sittler and Dion Phaneuf later tonight, which would be, umm, interesting.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-77432646470952572902010-09-08T19:30:00.000-04:002010-09-08T19:30:49.469-04:00

This year, I'm trying a bit of an experiment. As it happens, both Score: A Hockey Musical and I'm Still Here are on the schedule, snugly one hour apart, as press screenings on the first day of the fest. So I'm going to see if watching the two worst movies I possibly can, right off the top, will guarantee that the rest of the festival is nothing but awesomeness. (Mind you, I'm a guy who

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-86187517416432660962010-09-08T16:44:00.000-04:002010-09-08T16:44:06.134-04:00

Just RSVP'ed for my first film fest party - Casino Jack at the Brant House, which is at least a better venue than the last time I was at a party with Kevin Spacey. Ah, so arrogant, so jaded. The real Anton Sirius is coming to the surface. If you were enough of a Whedonite to actually watch Dollhouse you've got an idea what it's like.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-80722128703847258032010-09-07T16:10:00.000-04:002010-09-07T16:10:51.021-04:00

Mind you, I'm not sure even the Koch Brothers could cash them, if defamation suits against her becomes a trend.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-85920466304611465942010-09-07T14:20:00.000-04:002010-09-07T14:20:01.356-04:00

No, this does not mean I have abandoned the proud Iranian people in their struggle for freedom.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-70553885387857374732010-09-07T12:46:00.001-04:002010-09-07T12:46:40.825-04:00

Steve May, Republican asshole from Arizona. (h/t Boo)

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-58784330324308313482010-09-06T10:41:00.000-04:002010-09-06T10:41:52.936-04:00

Last night I tried to sing Stand By Me (the Ben E. King version) and... flubbed it. I mean completely, savagely destroyed it. I couldn't find the right key to save my life - I was stuck somewhere between the King version and Lennon's version, and actually had to bail on it and try the Lennon version instead, which I made it through OK despite being way more familiar with the lyrics and rhythm of

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-85445428472270665372010-09-04T13:54:00.002-04:002010-09-04T13:54:35.459-04:00

Why am I only now stumbling upon the Brick Testament?

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-28497518414846989212010-09-03T20:57:00.001-04:002010-09-04T02:54:44.501-04:00

Armadillo (2010, directed by Janus Metz) A group of new recruits, eager but apprehensive, wait to be taken away to a foreign land, their young heads filled with thoughts of heroism and adventure. Once they arrive though, their illusions quickly get ripped away, and they are never the same... War films have their own conventions and cadence. From All Quiet On the Western Front through Apocalypse

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-50643009929486773082010-09-03T18:35:00.002-04:002010-09-03T18:39:28.875-04:00

I hope RIM holds firm on their privacy stance for Blackberry users. I'm sure they won't, but it would be nice if they did.Or, to put that in Foxnewsese, "High-tech firm Research In Motion, funded by a foreign socialist government, makes phones only a terrorist could love!"

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-38351037167496551332010-09-03T18:22:00.003-04:002010-09-03T18:29:46.165-04:00

While I agree that Justice Jay Bybee is a scumspawned fucktard who I wouldn't piss on if he were being stung by flaming jellyfish, I don't think you can really impeach him for that.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-60661914184144190282010-09-02T12:54:00.000-04:002010-09-02T12:55:33.549-04:00

Anton Sirius has done got hisself beTwittered.I feel dirty.

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-60311240366236277152010-09-01T19:29:00.003-04:002010-09-02T03:37:52.665-04:00

41 songs on the month, 15 (!) of which I hadn't sung since starting the blog, if ever. Breed was brilliant, and I'll be doing it again for sure. Don't Pay the Ferryman... eh, not so much.#1 Crush - GarbageAll Apologies - Nirvana(Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - Elvis CostelloAnimal Nitrate - SuedeBabe - StyxBand On the Run - Paul McCartney & WingsBeds Are Burning - Midnight OilBoogie On Reggae

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15243738846437931.post-23560074962651920432010-08-31T16:43:00.002-04:002010-08-31T17:01:51.678-04:00

I stopped paying much attention to Daily Kos a while ago. I'll check something out if someone whose opinion I respect links to it -- it's not on my verboten list the way Politico is -- but for the most part I think they've lost their collective shit over there, and just don't have time to wade through the nonsense to find any gems.I'm still on the mailing list though, which means I get regular

Erik Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05606049382116502173noreply@blogger.com0