Report on newspapers experimenting with the internet in 1981

Well, now we know how this story played out over the next 28 years:

Your iPhone will not work in 1989, but this will

For the serious time traverler:

Just one more post about Transformers 2

This one is a video, get yer T-formers 2 geek on yo:

These cars transform into old racist stereotypes, their powers include the ability to ruin an otherwise alright robots & war movie

Brief interview with Transformers 2 screenwriters about Michael Bay's Jar-jar Binks moments (creating two Autobots to resemble characters that could have come out of blackface minstrel shows from racist entertainment from a few decades ago) on the robots & war movie part 2, at Film School Rejects.

Other than that weird distraction (Mudflap & Skids), pretty good robots & war movie - saw it today. I think they can also do without a lot of the regular humans interacting with other regular humans parts also - since the creators of the movie are just stringing stock & stereotypical situations together to give the non-military humans something important to do.

They should just make the Duhamel character the main human focus, let the storyline about the kids in love go.

Still remember the cartoons as being better - overall stories wise. But pretty cool to see how they turned the robots into live action characters.

But, aside from all the bad choices that show up in T-formers 2, I most likely will go see the 3rd movie :) - the robots look cool, the military tech porn - things getting blown up through coordinated assaults - is pretty entertaining as simple ( & false) escapism (specially since they don't show the massive & sickening damage & destruction that human bodies would sustain in real life if they got anywhere near the kind of explosive situations that are depicted in the movie).

More on The Mudflap & Skids Situation at Shadow & Act.

- Sujewa

Afro-Punk festival this weekend in Brooklyn!

Read all about it at Shadow & Act.

1989

At some point between 1989 - 1991 I discovered Spike Lee's movie Do The Right Thing. I think I first read an article about it in a Time magazine issue. At that time I was in high school in Maryland & wondering about what kind of work/career I should go after - a pursuit for life type of thing. I saw Right Thing on video - good movie, had some issues with it - but most importantly I realized that it was a movie made by a "regular" person - an outsider to Hollywood, a type of filmmaker called an independent filmmaker. Lee's success with Right Thing made me believe that it was possible for me to make movies. So, 20 years later, here I am, sitting not too far away from where Right Thing was shot - far from Maryland in exciting New York City, & having made 3 indie features & working on a fourth one, & writing in an indie film blog. It all began with me learning about Do The Right Thing (which lead to film school, discovering Jim Jarmusch movies, then digital video, etc.) & how it was made & the path that Spike Lee took to becoming a filmmaker. Happy 20 Do The Right Thing - thanks for a good movie & tons of inspiration.

Check out indieWIRE's article about Do The Right Thing's 20 year celebration.

Later on David Hudson

David Hudson's blog The Daily is shutting down. Hudson (of GreenCine Daily fame, made IFC his blogging home not too long ago) promises to return - with a new film blog venture (i think). Thanks for all the links David, see ya at your next site.

- Sujewa

Ebony/Jet picks Shadow & Act as Editor's Blog Pic

After just a couple of months of existence, the African diaspora filmmaking focused blog Shadow & Act (founded by, among others, Tambay Obenson who was featured in my doc Indie Film Blogger Road Trip) received some appreciation from a well known publication this month. Congrats Shadow & Act!

- Sujewa

Some upcoming screenings

At Thanks for the Use of the Hall blog - links to a couple of July screenings.

Keeping "it" somewhat real in Brooklyn - a quick look back 1 month after start of FT living & work in NYC

If you've noticed a slow down of posts here, that's because I am less bored now (for the last month) & there's a lot to do - since the move to living full time in NYC (and by NYC I mean Sunset Park, Brooklyn). I've been spending a few days or a couple of weeks in NYC every month since December '08 (Maryland, the state of my previous permanent residence is only 4 hours away, so it is possible to work FT there & hang out in NYC part time, at least for a while, 'till you get tired of the back and forth) - but starting June 1 I've lived & worked in NYC on a full time, 5 days + a week, basis. Here are some things I learned:

- First, why move to NYC anyway?

Answers:

- Because it was there, not too far away from where I was living, & it's a massive city, with an epic & romantic (in a romanticizing of ordinary existence/On The Road kind of way, not like in an Annie Hall/indie rom com way - well, maybe a little like that too) history.

- I like meeting new people. And, as soon as you walk out you are surrounded by hundreds of people in NYC - can't avoid 'em, even at 2 in the AM, lots of people take the subway & I do too - I think for some people being around other people is an exciting thing - so maybe I am one of those people. So, people are another reason - lots of them here, not in cars and not miles away, but all around, pretty much all of the time. It's like one big party, even on weekdays.

- Injecting a dose of higher productivity & ambition into the system: lots of people are very busy in NYC - specially people who've moved here from other states & other countries. I know a few people here, & a lot of them work multiple jobs & or have multiple passions (a Starbucks employee I met is a substitute teacher in Brooklyn & acts & has a couple of other jobs, a young attorney I know in Manhattan owns a couple of businesses that employ a few people, etc.). So, people are ambitious here - and ambition is not looked down upon as they may be in some parts of the suburbs - so, that's pretty cool.

Alright, now on to some observations & notes:

- NY parking enforcement officials do have a soft side, they do cut some people some breaks sometimes (like letting someone i know slide about parking a u-haul truck close to a fire hydrant for a couple of hours, btw - in nyc there needs to be 15 feet of clearance on either side of a fire hydrant)

- New Yorkers are generally friendly on the streets & the subway (in a keep it to yourself unless you need some help way - i have not gotten lost on the subway or elsewhere 'cause people here tend to be very helpful whenever i need help)

- there is quiet a bit of day job work for creative types here (if you are not super picky) - lots of professionals are busy/not enough time in the day for them - so, they are on the lookout for reliable assistants - probably pretty good gigs if you can carve out some free time for your other/more important pursuits, also just all kinds of other work - 9 million or so people living in a relatively small space = several million tasks that need to be done each day just for survival = lots of work for lots of people

- some parts of Brooklyn (& i imagine elsewhere in nyc) have a great D.I.Y./start up quality - people opening up small new businesses (just saw a new French cafe/carry out in a neighborhood that otherwise is wall to wall cheap Chinese carry out joints & fast food places like McDonald's. saw the two owners - i assume - of the place hanging out outside their place & taking a cigarette break, one of them was the cook, told me about the tiramisu he makes - anyway, seemed like they were in their early 30's at most, interesting), & joints like art galleries - so, maybe a more entrepreneurial city than most cities - specially for odd & interesting little businesses

- have not had too much time to spend in Manhattan (maybe less than 5 trips there this month - couple of them were work related), so, need to go there more often - LOTS to explore there, and it's less than 30 minutes away if I get on the right train

- it took me a whole month but finally got things worked out so that I will have a significant amount of time to work on my movies & still be able to pay the rent & bills on time & not starve :) So, July should be interesting - more productive on the indie filmmaking front (which was #1 reason for moving to nyc in the first place).

- met/have seen a lot of hard working Latin American immigrants & families

- met/have seen a lot of hard working Chinese immigrants

Also, I like the fact that it is probably impossible for any one person to ever fully explore NYC - 'cause by the time you are done going through all the interesting places in Manhattan, Brooklyn & elsewhere once maybe a few hundred new places & things have started happening - no doubt a cycle that keeps repeating - so - an endless amount of interesting things here - nice place for people who get bored easy.

Maybe NYC is like a visible heart of America (if NYC were one of those see-through body parts from plastic see-through man science/biology toys): the past, present, & the future -and the hunger for success & the immigrant/transplant dreams & hopes are ever present & always new here - in other places those things are underneath several settled & calm layers accumulated through perhaps some wealth collected over time, perhaps families having spent generations here, & perhaps lots of losses over time - a blue layer, & other reasons - but in NYC a true and positive side of humans are on display/hard to miss/easily visible: that constantly on the move, trying new things, taking new risks, open or at least tolerant of differences (maybe not fully out of choice, but making the best of the situation) side. So, America is gigantic & kinda sleepy in most places - but, as shown by NYC - there is a lot of work happening here, & lots of people trying hard to make their dreams come true - in a way/degree/intensity/scale that may only be possible in America & just a few other places in this world for most people.

NYC is like television or the movies - only a little better - when it's good. It's a full immersion in a dream experience - like Jurassic Park - except not for dinosaur related attractions but for human ambition & urban history: big bridges, tall buildings, a train that runs all over at all times of the day, and lots of people with intense desires exist here. That tinge of sadness you get when a good movie or a TV show comes to an end when you are living in most places of the world does not exist here - 'cause most likely, a block or a few subway stops away something far more interesting than the movies is happening, & you can be a part of it - instead of just watching it on a screen - and the show never ends here.

- Sujewa

What, only 6,912?

According to the site Ethnologue, Languages of the World, there are 6,912 living languages on Earth. Check out this page for links to info. on countries & their languages.

What exactly are we seeing in Stargate? Is it a TV show about democracy/"democratic imperialism" vs. monarchy/theocracy/old style imperialism?

I like the TV show Stargate SG1 (i think it's original run of maybe 4 seasons is over, i am catching up on many missed episodes on hulu, UPDATE: 10 seasons). On the surface level it's a fun TV show to watch to unwind after a long day - space action show, featuring McGuyver (Richard Dean Anderson) in the lead role, battling a host of baddies from far off planets. But there are some interesting/maybe not all good stuff beneath the surface, here is a brief list:

1 - The key bad guys - the gaould (don't take my spelling of their name to be the exact one, i am not that much of a stargate nerd to go research it at the moment) - use (or i should say the tv show uses) terms & mythology from ancient Egypt. But on top of that, they aren't really human - they are a snake like parasite creature who take over human bodies as hosts. So, right off the bat, elements of a non-Western culture are used to represent the evil force or one of the main evil forces in the story.

2. The good guys - the four key members of SG1 - are, in a modern social sense - multi-ethnic & international/inter-planetary (more to the point in this case), so, smart move there, deflecting any criticism or a lot of criticism related to the good guys being represented only through traditional Western images & symbols (at least from American TV & film - a group of "white" people going out to save or take over the world). One of the 4 members is an ex-warrior for the gaould - so, representing the good guys as a team that would EVEN take on a former enemy as one of their own - good idea.

3. The show is definitely a pro-military show. Actually the good guys are a part of the US Air Force (a secret unit, but a part of USAF nevertheless). The SGC (Stargate Command) is often shown to be under, ultimately, elected civilian control - so on that front all is good. HOWEVER, in the show both the government & the USAF are keeping a great secret from the general population - that the US gov is fighting an inter-planetary war with aliens - without the consent of the general population/citizens. This element of the Stargate reality is never questioned (at least I have not seen it) by sympathetic/important/good characters. The down side of this approach to things is that it assumes that a few people (few elected officials & a few in the military) know what's good for millions of their fellow citizens. Which is pretty much an anti-democratic idea. Basically the spirit of American style democracy is being subverted here & conducting secret wars for "the good of the people" using people's money & authority granted to the government is presented as generally a good thing. A very dangerous approach to the world in the real world. But, I guess this is only a TV show reality that we are talking about here :) - (or is it? :) When that type of an outlook is transplanted to the real world we have secret wars, alienation between the general population (who are being lied to by the government) & the government, forming of an elite warrior class with special privileges & access to important but secret knowledge, generally not very healthy things for a democracy. So watch out Stargate fans.

4 - The show, like Star Trek before it, is definitely a tool for spreading American values (or some American values) abroad & also reflecting same within the country. On the positive side: immigration can be cool & very helpful, teamwork & sacrifice = good, the individual is valued, blind obedience to self-proclaimed gods & religious domination of life (theocracy) is contested & fought - so on those fronts, good. Oh, also, obviously, the show is in favor of space exploration - both for gaining a military competitive edge & also for civilian purposes (medicine, history, etc.).

5. Stargate might not be entirely fiction! There are, & have been, countless secret military programs in the country (so i've heard), & if a collaboration between the US government & aliens against a common enemy were happening, it would probably be kept a secret for as long as possible - as it is in the show.

6. Both the SGC & The Gaould & other enemies travel the universe & interfere in the affairs of other worlds & people. The Gaould of course do it to enslave others & the SGC do it to liberate others. However, from the perspective of the other world people who are affected by these two alien groups, both can be seen as "imperial"/often using force to get their way in a planet that is not their home planet, and also to secure benefits of one kind or another for themselves. Both are acting out of the belief that their world view is the right one, & the other/all challengers should be defeated. No matter which side is ultimately victorious, I can see people from other planets resenting & ultimately rebelling against either.
- on the bright side, the show asks the following important questions: who do/should we (America) help, who do we ignore & leave to their own fates (even if negative), and why? Probably a very good question for people to think about.

That's it for now, some thoughts on Stargate.

- Sujewa

Sean Meadows' 5 day feature: articles at The Guardian & indieWIRE

Read about it at The Guardian.

UPDATE: Oh, wait, indieWIRE's got a great article on the Meadows film, with a link to the trailer (perhaps this is why i should visit the main page of iW more often instead of just reading the blogs page :) From the article:

"Having first appeared on the DVD extras of Meadows’s “Once Upon a Time in the Midlands,” they were never able to find “an outlet for Donk.” But after the emotionally draining shoot that was 2006’s “This is England,” Meadows “was ready to have some fun.” The result is this 71-minute film, which follows Le Donk’s selfish quest to find fame through getting his lone client, Scor-zay-zee (played by real-life rapper Dean Palinczuk - who joined the project literally a day before it began) a gig opening for the Arctic Monkeys - or “Artical Monkeys,” as Donk calls them. Meadows takes part as well, playing himself as the director of the documentary within the mockumentary (check out a trailer for the film here)."

Read the rest of the iW article here.

- Sujewa

A wild ride for a group of French tourists in NYC