Today’s Rhapsody is a Brazilian Rhapsody by Jean Absil.
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My good friends Aron Tarbuck and J Kovach have a Kickstarter Campaign this month for their project “Prospero’s Price” all about The Tempest, the Cthulhu Mythos and… Well, I’ll let Aron explain it himself:
I am very proud to announce the project that J Kovach and myself have been working on! We have launched a Kickstarter for this, and if you are interested; please follow the link below: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1569820395/prosperos-price-a-lovecraft-and-shakespeare-tale
We did not simply wish to retell any existing story, but create something new that builds upon to both the works of HPL & the Great Bard. The Tempest is not simply one of Shakespeare’s finest works, but also ladened with a great many elements that have long been unexplored. There is also a great deal of symmetry between many of the Lovecraftian concepts and this specific tale. I hope to provide a very unique tale that is not at all pedestrian and quite unusual ….
As a long time fan of the Bard I like all the questions that occur to me when this idea comes up.. Just what was the book Prospero buried? Just who was Sycorax? the list goes on.
Anyway I have the banner ad on the right sidebar for this campaign and I’ll have it it up for as long as they need it. Show them some love.
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This weeks’ double feature is just a little short because… okay I confess I was weak. I could not watch the first film in this week’s selection, Heaven’s Gate in its entirety. I toughed out the first hour and a half and had to take a break. Then when I told my friends I was watching it I kept getting pitying looks and questions about why I was doing this to myself… and then I started reading old reviews calling it one of the worst films in history… and killing the Western as a viable genre… So rather than tough it out I gave in to peer pressure and gave up.
I won’t say it was utterly terrible the world building of the period was good and none of the performing was bad but… it was all the little things but mostly the pacing. I know what they say about the modern American having the attention span of a gnat but it took them an hour to tell us what the plot was!
Anyway after watching an incredibly bad expensive film I finished my double feature with a very good and VERY cheap film, Primer.
Primer is probably one of the smartest and complex time travel movies you are ever going to see.
There are two things I like about it.
The first is it doesn’t talk down to you. The technobable is grade A backed with real physics, it assumes you are smart and does not wait for you to keep up. You have to watch it more then once to catch everything that’s going goes on.
The second is how they portray scientists. As the son of an academic I get REALLY tired of all of the portrayal of scientists in media from absent minded flakes, idealists who ignore evidence that doesn’t fit their world view, arrogant hubristic elitists, or even incompetents. Our two heroes whatever else their faults (and they had plenty) were careful professionals who used the scientific method and checked their work.
I was amazed by how they were able to do so much with so little and enjoyed it, so I guess for this weeks viewing, one success out of two isn’t all-bad.
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Today’s Rhapsody is some Jazz-Fusion from 1978 with Chick Corea and his title piece from the album of the same name… The Mad Hatter Rhapsody!
As you can probably guess, the track names and the title come from by Lewis Carroll‘s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and I am told in good authority that sounds best if you crank up the volume so enjoy!
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Like many people across the globe I found PSY’s Gangam Style to be a catchy and frighteningly addictive ear worm.
As a longtime fan of Bluegrass when I heard the Cleverly’s do a version I just had to share.
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“What was that?”
Dielle rolled her eyes. “I said I thought they made a good couple…” They were walking in the middle of Maple Lake Park after they had left the restaurant. She had wanted to see the moon reflected in the water and had refused to listen to Gage’s litany of crime statistics, or that the park had closed at 11. “What did you think?” She asked again.
Gage tried to remember what he thought of Dielle’s friend L. He knew that L had told him his name but he just couldn’t remember it, one of those long Polynesian names. He remembered him as an earnest and polite in a shy nerdy sort of way. And his date… what was her name, Inna… Anais? Something long. She seemed nice too… but when he stopped thinking about it, what really stuck out was the way they loomed.
This was strange since when he thought about it in a perfectly rational way they seemed perfectly normal and smaller. He certainly didn’t remember a low rumbling bass that rattled his fillings when either of them spoke. “Yeah. They were all right. ” He said.
Dielle grinned. Her smile was blinding. “What’s the matter with you, Clarence? If you got any stiffer I would have had to get L to carry you home… and that would have spoiled his night”
“I was not stiff!” Gage shouted out instantly and instinctively.
“Of course you weren’t, Clarence. ” Dielle laughed putting a hand on his shoulder. “I could see you fidgeting all the way through. It’s a good thing those two were even more nervous than you were. ”
“I wasn’t that nervous. ”
“Of course you weren’t..” She repeated and paused looking up at the sky she looked back at Gage. “Full moon sure is pretty, isn’t it?” She said.
“It’s gibbous.”
“What?
“The moon. It’s not full. it’s waxing gibbous. ”
Dielle frowned. “Clarence? Do you always correct girls making small talk?”
“Uh I didn’t mean…” He began to stammer but Dielle put a finger to his lips.
“You want to be careful. The next one you run into might think you’re being rude. But you had fun, right?”
“Oh yeah… We really should do this again…. Can we?” He asked.
Dielle gave him an enigmatic smile turned and sat down on a park bench. She took off one of her shoes. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to heels,” She said. “My feet are killing me. ” She grinned mischievously and raised a stocking foot towards Gage. You want to rub them for me?”
BOOOM!!
Before Gage could say anything there the noise of a loud explosion followed by several more. They looked up to see fireworks going off all over the city. Gage thought he could hear a tune he couldn’t recognize being played through loudspeakers. The fireworks seemed to go on for over a half hour until finally they filled the sky over the lake with the words “LOVE YOU FOREVER”.
Gage and Dielle stared at the sky speechless as the display ended. Neither seemed to notice their hands touching. In the distance they could hear people talking, dogs barking, car alarms and sirens.
Dielle glanced at Gage they both pulled their hands away. “Aww, Clarence, you shouldn’t have.” She said smiling.
“What!? How could I have….”
“No. Of course not.” Dielle frowned. “But damn. Somebody has it BAD”
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