Sofia Coppola - Lick the Star (1998)

Her debut short film. I had been meaning to watch this for a very, very long time. Watched it today and I thought it expressed a lot of things that I feel at the moment. And it looks good. And it fits into the whole 90s girl-power angsty tavi whatchamacallit blog hype - so kill me!

Activity on my blog might resume over the summer, I'm still thinking about it.

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) - Hideaki Anno
I saw this anime yesterday and it blew my mind. It is filled with technomystic (whatever that means) Kabbalah symbolism. The film screening was a part of the Glorious Basterds film series organised by the Jewish Salon Amsterdam. The next film is in August and will be a kosher kung-fu type of thing, I am terribly sad to be missing it!

2. No Ghost Just a Shell (1999) - Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno
 French artists Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno purchased the copyright for a Manga figure called Annlee from the Japanese agency Kworks in 1999. Annlee was classified as a ‘cheap Manga model’ by the agency, meaning that her character complexity was less developed than others’ in the Japanese Manga industry. She would soon become redundant as a character, Huyghe and Parreno rescued Annlee from imminent character ‘death.’
The title of the art project refers to Masamune Shirow’s manga classic, “Ghost in the Shell,” which explores the possibilities of infiltrating human minds and hijacking identity. Huyghe and Parreno subsequently commissioned other artists to appropriate the Manga character free of charge and to propose scenarios in which Annlee is liberated from ownership and can explore the ambiguities of her existence.

“Each of the projects realized with Annlee is a chapter in the history of a sign, and has a 'life' in the context of the individual artists' activities and within the joint project. The 'life-prolonging' measures taken by the No Ghost Just a Shell project for a short-lived, virtual and commercial being actually raise some 'melancholy' humanitarian questions, but also undermine economic mechanisms by allowing a product that is otherwise viable only in a commercial context to be used free of charge; the artists' autonomous production conditions are another factor. The film and music industries, and the internet, face us with copyright questions nowadays. The project addresses those issues as well overlaps with questions about how identity and difference can be formulated today, given the current demand for the mastery of multiple individual subject realizations.”
In 2002, the project concluded itself when Annlee’s copyright and exploitation rights were signed to her by the French artists, thus liberating the Manga character from circulation and economic and artistic exploitation, yet also condemning her to silence, not unlike the one she would endure if she were made redundant by Kworks. The contract was displayed next to an IKEA coffin built for Annlee by artist Joe Scanlan. The fate of Annlee’s identity, figure and sign remains undetermined.

Roman Polanski - Chinatown (1974)

Aw man, this is the best film in the whole wide world. When you watch it count the whole vs. broken objects - pocket watches, glasses, wheels, tail lights, eyes.

Alejandro Jodorowsky - The Holy Mountain (1973)
We downloaded this film over a year ago and we could never bring ourselves to watch it. Finally, we did, but we had to watch this film in three sittings because of its overabundant use of, well, everything. Do your research first and then (decide if you want to) watch it.

Todd Cole (2010) - Aanteni
I refrain from fashion blogging, but an exception must be made for Cole's speechlesslyfuckingamazing video for Rodarte featured on NOWNESS.
And, AND, the score was written by NO AGE. NO WAY. There's so much good stuff wrapped into this; this has made my week, and it's only Monday.

Fred Worden (2008) - 1859 (Sonic Acts 2010)
Worden's stuff is scarce on YouTube. His work is mainly concerned with the persistence of vision. I won't write more, you just need to see it. I had the opportunity to see his overwhelming "When Worlds Collude" yesterday at Sonic Acts 2010.

Tao Lin is creating a "North American Hamsters" iphone application, buy your hamster here.
I read his "Shoplifting from American Apparel" this past week; fucking brilliant.

And view my response to Subbacultcha Magazine's March cover by Simon Wald-Lasowski.

1. Thomas Mann (1912) - Death in Venice
2. Kenneth Anger (1963) - Scorpio Rising (Parts 2 & 3 can be found on YouTube)
I saw Tom Ford's 'A Single Man' this afternoon and these two things sprang to mind.

1 + 4. Attack of the Crab Monsters - Roger Corman (1956)
2. The whale Jasconius - Honorius Philoponus (1621)
3. Scarily cool Anglerfish

Rose Hobart - Joseph Cornell (1936)
Compiled from snippets of the B film East of Borneo, an eclipse documentary, Nestor Amaral's song "Holiday in Brazil" and a deep blue/purple filter.
Read more about Cornell, he was eccentrically cool. Watch the full version here and here.

Speaking of films/videos, go to Stories. It's an interesting, well executed idea/project.

1. Loves of a Blonde/Lásky jedné plavovlásky - Miloš Forman (1965) (Yeah, this is way cool.)
2. The Witches of Eastwick - George Miller (1987) (Ridiculously ridiculous, the fashion is the shit.)
3. Madonna - What It Feels Like For a Girl (2001) (Good lyrics, really good early noughties bad hair.)

1. Easy Rider - Dennis Hopper (1969) (Shit man, I love this part.)
2. Easy Rider (Sweded) (Sweding stuff is probably the coolest thing ever.)

Joris Ivens - Regen (1929)
A city symphony of Amsterdam.

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? - Frank Tashlin (1957)
A much better alternative to Mad Men.

1. High School Record - Ben Wolfinsohn (2005) (VERY GOOD)
2. My sister's cool/gross Neuroanatomy class featuring REAL brains (Viki, 18)
3. In my opinion the things that make up my identity are having fun and enjoying life no matter what the circumstances are. My friends, family and social life are the most important things for me, rather than education, religion or nationality. I also think that it doesn’t matter what other people think about me or if they think my interests are stupid, but if I do what I like to do and like what I want to like. I also like behaving in a stupid way and making jokes whenever I can.
- The introduction of my brother's cool essay "How I Became Me" (Janek, 12)

1. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Don Siegel (1956)
2. Washed Out - High Times (2009)

The White Station - Seifollah Samadian (1999)

1. Asta Nielsen - Hamlet (1921)
2. NO AGE - Losing Feeling EP (2009)

Lyrisch Nitraat - Peter Delpeut (1991)

1. Autour d'une cabine - Emile Reynaud (1894)
2. A YouTube take on Reynaud