Best News Of The Day

J.J. Abrams collaborating with Steven Spielberg on his next film? The movie nerd in me is already smiling. http://bit.ly/9QZJuf

Vote Bioshock

Amazing video game-inspired posters from Justin Russo. Vote for BioShock!

Cabaret Reflection

In this modern era of 24 hours news cycles, it is nearly impossible to experience a new piece of media without any preconceived expectations. However, on April 20^th 2010, I rejected the norm, and entered into Bannan Theater having nonexistent expectations about the upcoming show Cabaret. Cabaret is a musical original released in 1966, which focuses on the happenings in and around a Berlin nightclub during the 1930’s. The main plot focuses on two couples, the first being, author Cliff Bradshaw’s riveting relationship with exotic dancer Sally Bowles. The second focuses on elderly Herr Schultz and his adorable courtship with kind landlady Fraulein Schneider. These storylines are deeply intertwined, and by the end of the show, you find yourself rooting for both ultimately doomed romances. The acting and singing produced by the cast was generally good, however the stand out performance was undoubtedly Amelia Rudnicki’s portrayal of Sally Bowles. Rudinicki’s voice brought a much-needed extra dimensional to a seemingly one-dimensional performance. The only major flaw I found with the performance was the accents. Valiant efforts were made, but ultimately the majority of the accents came across as bad clichés, instead of excellent additions to the characters. However, despite my minor quibbles, this production is one of the best productions I have seen at SI, and is far better than last years showing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Skirting On The Surface

I just released a new photo album entitled Skiting On The Surface. I really appreciate any feedback. On an unrelated note, it is an unbelievably nice day in the San Francisco bay area, go outside and enjoy it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjonny21/SkirtingOnTheSurface#

Dunbar’s Apocalypse; The Hidden Meanings Behind Monsters

Since the Easter season has just concluded, I thought it would be appropriate to write something seasonal. However, after several uninteresting and meandering drafts, I realized that writing something insightful about the Easter bunny is almost impossible. So in my blind frustration, I entered a Ben & Jerry’s induced coma on my couch, and began watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 zombie epic, 28 Days Later. I’m not sure if it was the copious amounts of ice cream or Mr. Boyle’s masterful use of symbolism, but during the viewing, I began to ponder the merits of two specific types of monsters, vampires and zombies, and how there creation is dictated by the modern day zeitgeist.

It is a well-known fact that throughout human history, we have created monster as a personification for society wide fears. This subconscious urge to blame a fictional being when tangible human cause does not exists, has inadvertently created a highly detailed backlog of human fears. The classic example of this is the vampire. During their existence, vampires have transformed from revolting personifications of death due to plague, into mysterious aristocratic foreigners, to the cast of Twilight, which is inarguably the scariest incarnation yet. Yet, monsters still constantly evolve with the times, we set off a nuclear weapon, the result is Godzilla, have a national debate on torture, we get seven Saw movies, and some parents have trouble raising their children, the end product is the Omen. What will the next generation of monsters bring? My money is on something Miley Cyrus related.

In order to have a good monster, which the hero and his party of compatriots can vanquish in the name of peace, justice, and the American way, it needs to be utterly dehumanized. A perfect illustration of this is the Nazi. Featured in every single World War 2 film, they are the perfect monsters, completely evil; the only line they articulate is a muffled “Die Amerikaner”, and the intimidating uniform makes them all near identical. Dehumanization is also aided by sharing no common interests with the monster; this principle is exactly why no war movie ever showcases how much Hitler loved his cat. Yet, my favorite dehumanized monster is one that literally looses its humanity, the zombie. Zombies have had an illustrious career as an integral part of Voodoo folklore, then transformed into a flesh eating metaphor for social upheaval, and in recent years have embraced the idea of modern terrorism. However, you would be shocked to learn that a zombie equivalent is present in our daily lives. In 1992, Robin Dunbar came up with a concept entitled Dunbar’s Number. Conjuring up a definition for the Internet generation, the idea states that as individuals we essentially have a hard limit on our facebook friends. We have the ability to deeply care for about 150 people, and everyone else is essentially Joe Francis, they sound human, and act human, but we have few reservations about fighting them in a bar brawl. This unattached hatred is undoubtedly far easier then caring, but imagine a world that didn’t consist of 150 survivors and 6,692,030,262 zombies. For one thing, the odds of survival would be much higher.

Atoms For Peace Reflection

I need to preface this piece by stating, that I should never attempt to craft a critical piece about Radiohead. In my mind, this group of Oxonian musicians is an infallible musical force, and I can think of no other group, which has had such a profound impact on my life. So in reference to my deep-rooted bias, I shall solely reflect on the performance, rather than attempt at articulating any critical conclusions.

When I learned that Atoms For Peace (The Radiohead Side Project) was playing at the Fox Theater on April 15^th 2010, my weekend sleep pattern was forever ruined. The following Sunday, I found myself setting my alarm, making copious amounts of hot chocolate, and plopping myself in front of the computer to refresh ticket master every couple of minutes, just in the name of seeing one of my heroes. Atoms For Peace is a temporary group formed by Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke, in order to play his solo album, 2006’s The Eraser. The group is composed of Thom Yorke, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the famous producer Nigel Godrich, Mauro Refosco from Forro In The Dark, and Joey Waronker who has drummed for Beck, R.E.M, and The Smashing Pumpkins. The group emerged on stage after electronic DJ Flying Lotus opened the show. Then for the next hour and a half the group played the entirety of Yorke’s solo album, whose lyrics focus on issues of nuclear power and global climate change. During the set, the albums themes seemed to create a lingering sense dread around the venue. The heavy percussion, buzzy synths, and wiry guitars, effortlessly personified many fears ingrained into the zeitgeist of the modern era. Yet, despite this puncturing sadness, I couldn’t help feeling that I was experiencing a true piece of art. Yes, it was entertaining, but more importantly it made me think, it made me feel. After the group finished playing The Eraser, they left the stage, only for Yorke to reemerge alone, and play some Radiohead songs acoustically. I have often described Radiohead’s music with the following phrase “It grabs your soul, and doesn’t let go.” Nothing illustrated this more, than when Yorke played an acoustic rendition of “Airbag”; the opening track on the bands 1997 magnum opus, Ok Computer. During the piece, my stomach twisted, head throbbed, and tears began to fill my eyes. Yorke had my soul, and I cherished every minute of it. After a few more Radiohead pieces and some oddly beautiful new material, Yorke left the stage, the lights illuminated the packed theater, and generic house music began to play over the stereo system. Yet, despite the show obviously being over, the audience did not budge. Everyone just stood up and passionately applauded, truly showcasing the emotional investment every attendant had experienced during the last two hours. Then suddenly the entire band emerged back on stage, playing Joy Divisions 1980 hit “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. This impromptu second encore alone might have been the biggest revelation of the evening. It revealed that a band, which has clearly suffered, is ready to have fun.

Citizen Cope Reflection

On April 10^th 2010 I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing Citizen Cope at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Cope is an alternative folk musician hailing from Brooklyn. He has been releasing albums since 2002, and his latest effort Every Waking Moment, peaked at number 69 on the US charts in 2006. The doors opened at 8pm, and the infectious singer songwriter Sandrine opened up the show. I was personally not familiar with much of her material, until she played the hit single “Where Do We Go”, which was featured in the feature film Last Chance Harvey. Her style is clearly pop music, but with some interesting alternative and folk influences, similar to that of Regina Spektor or KT Tunstall. Then after a short intermission, Clarence Greenwood, more commonly referred to as Citizen Cope, took the stage. During the set, Cope played some of his more famous pieces such as “Bullet and a Target”, “Let The Drummer Kick”, and “Sideways”, which was recently featured on the hit television show Scrubs. In retrospect, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Citizen Cope was able to seemingly create a relaxed reggae show atmosphere, while still being very engaging with his sharp lyrics and catchy beats.

College Decision

So after a long and harrowing two year process, I have decided to attend Loyola Marymount University for my undergraduate studies. I will be majoring in screen writing with a possible minor in photography. In a very roundabout way, I can argue that I am majoring in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now I just need to get all powerful and take over Hogwarts...thats what you get for not sending me a letter on my 12th birthday, Dumbledore. In all seriousness, this is a bittersweet moment. For one, I am excited to be starting a new chapter in my life, and I feel that I can look back fondly on my high school experience. However, I am saddened to be leaving the myriad of good friends I have made during my 18 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet, whatever the future brings, I still need to overcome one major obstacle, finishing high school.

For my own personal records, I came to this decision on Monday April 12th 2010.