Alan Tudyk: Single Greatest American Actor

I was first exposed to Alan Tudyk's brilliance in Firefly as Hoban "Wash" Washburne, pilot of the Serenity. His first line in the show guaranteed Firefly a permanent spot in my heart.

Firefly is brilliant because of it's characters. The best shows all are. Its plot line is interesting it setting is inspired but it's the characters we fall in love with. Wash was my favourite. 

The most important quality in a character is their humour. I rarely watch anything that can't make be laugh. Wash not only could make me laugh but he could make me cry. Never have a cast of characters felt so real. Even Doctor Who has an otherworldly feel to it. It has been five years since the first and last season of Firefly yet I still say "mine is an evil laugh" after every outburst of hysterical laughter.

A Knights Tale 
This may sound shallow but for me the second most important quality in a character is their accent. Even though he's a Yank Alan Tudyk has a remarkable talent with accents. Unlike most Americans he doesn't sound like a Beatle or Eliza Doolittle. He sounds like a proper Brit. He proves this as Wat in one of my favourite movies, A Knights Tale. He plays sort of the same character as he does in Firefly but I really don't mind. He ones again spins the line I we always fall back on as being the best line in the movie.

Death at a Funeral
When you put those to traits together, funny and British, you get British comedy. You get Death at a Funeral. Not the awful American remake but the original British dark comedy.This movie can only be described as screwball. It reminds me of old Howard Hawks films. For me there is no greater compliment.

In Death at a Funeral Tudyk plays a relative of the deceased who accidentally take hallucinatory drugs to quell his nerves. I won't tell what happens because one it's too complicated and two you probably already get the general idea, all i'll say is at one point he gets naked. In a nutshell it's funny, dark (adult) and very British.


Minera

  

Unearthed: Soundtrack to Ancient History

There is nothing like instrumental music to set your imagination. Unearthed by E.S. Posthumus can only be described as an epic set to music. Each song carries the essence of the culture in represents. Estremoz is broken up periodically by the soulful strum of a Spanish guitar you can almost hear the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Ulaid, the only Celtic themed song in the album represents the very best of a great genre of music complete with an Irish bagpipe. (Irish bagpipes are gentler and more venerable then Scottish bagpipes and for me preferable). When listening to Isfahan you can almost smell the spice and excitement of a great Persian metropolis. 

Many of these cities have a story of their own. Most are tragic. Menouthis, the sacred city of Egypt was taken by the Nile when it flooded you can hear the great river race through the streets. The Nile was a sacred to the people for it to engulf one of their cities must have felt like punishment from the gods. You can hear the fear and confusion in the wild symphonic music.

Pompeii was also taken by disaster. Unlike Menouthis it was not taken by water but by fire. Most children are taught the story of Pompeii and Vesuvius how the mountain erupted burying the Roman city and its people under burning ash before they could escape or even grasp what was happening to them. Thousands of year’s later archeologists find their bodies turned to stone by the mountain, statues of men cringing in fear and woman clutching their terrified children. Just as these figures from the past invokes feelings within us this song puts to music the fear as the sky turn black with ash and despair as the city suffocates.

"Posthumus" is dog or made up Latin meant to represent "all things past" and E.S. Posthumus stays very true to that theme. E.S. stands for experimental sound. This is represented in their use of contemporary drums and electronic instrument. The best example of this is Nineveh although Nineveh was an ancient trade city between the east and west the song incorporated modern electronic sounds that we relate to busy marketplaces. Every one of these songs welds the essence of the ancient and modern in a new and innovative way.

Track Listing

In keeping with the theme of "all things past", each of the thirteen tracks on the album is named after an ancient.

1.             Antissa - Ancient Greek Island City (Greece)

2.             Tikal - Ancient Mayan City (Guatemala) 

3.             Harappa - Ancient City of the Harappan Civilization (Pakistan)

4.             Ulaid - Ancient Celtic kingdom or culture (Ireland)

5.             Ebla - Ancient Amorite City (Syria)

6.             Nara - Ancient Japanese Capital (Japan)

7.             Cuzco - Ancient Inca Capital (Peru)

8.             Nineveh - Ancient Eastern Trade City (Iraq)

9.             Lepcis Magna - Ancient Carthage/Roman City (Libya)

10.          Menouthis - Ancient Egyptian Holy City (Egypt)

11.           Estremoz - Ancient Roman City (Portugal)

12.          Pompeii - Ancient Roman City (Italy)

13.          Isfahan - Ancient Persian City (Iran)

Minerva

Abbey Road

I'd like to talk about Abbey Road. You should all know what this is, if you don't I weep for your Beatleless existence.  Abbey Road is not my favourite album nor does it contain my favorite song that honour goes to Let It Be and Across the Universe. It is however the best put together album. 


Abbey Road should always be listened to in order. Before the invention of MP3's people listened to music on records, you couldn't skip and you couldn't shuffle. Because of this the best albums would organize their albums so that they play together smoothly. 


The first 10 songs sound pleasant together. The seamless transitions start Sun King changes to Mean Mr. Mustard then Polytheme Pam whose last cords run marvelously into She Came In Though The Bathroom Window. Then comes Golden Slumber and Carry the Weight which might as well be the same song.


You should have abbey road in your tunes right now, (if you don't i suggest you get it). Take this opportunity to listen through it again, from beginning to end. 


Enjoy!


Minerva

Babylon 5: Makes my List

Marcus Cole

Babylon 5 has been gradually making its way onto my list of favourite TV shows due mostly to its clever historical and Tolkien references.  It leaped to the top seven when it introduced Marcus Cole at the beginning of season three. He’s a ranger (reference to my favourite group in Lord of the Rings). He’s witty, charismatic, and quotes Shakespeare. He’s Persian (or Spanish) and drop dead gorgeous in his dark middle earth inspired uniform. Most importantly he is the one thing Babylon 5 was missing, he's British. It's as if this character was tailor made to drag me in. well I’m  already addicted lets seal the deal with steamy gorgeous chocolate for the heart. 

It just gets better and better!

Minerva

Babylon 5: My Decent into Geekdom

I recently watched the first season of Babylon 5. To be honest I never would have watched an episode if my dad hadn’t picked it at a discount. I’ve been avoiding it due to its similarities to Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, which I have never warmed to. However, contrary to what I thought Babylon 5 has very little resemblance to those shows.

The first season was addicting and well written. The second season was intense, invocative and also extremely well written. The deep incite and impressive storylines are not what you expect from an outwardly generic looking sci-fi program. I was expecting the western style storylines, Zen quoting and random violence you get in sci-fi shows such as star trek and Battlestar Galactica. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the characters although cold and militarist at first were layered flawed and flexible. Even the alien inhabitants feel very human. They deal with emotional problems that are very much like our own and the circumvent emergencies with to the best of there abilities. This does not mean things always go right or even that they make the right dissections. Ever one of them at their core is good and every one of then contains the seed of corruption. Much like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings there is no real bad guys (with the exception of greed and evil itself a.k.a. Soron or the shadows). There are only people who have made the wrong choices. Even when some characters make bad choices they are not portrayed are evil till the end there are still some aspects of good in them. I’ve mentioned before how much I admire this in writing of any kind. It is so difficult not to fall back on a bad and a good and it so easy to say that someone does bad things because “that’s what they do”.

I also admire Babylon 5’s the peace agenda. The reason I avoid most American sci-fi programs is there overuse of violence sometimes even glorifying it. The fight against insurmountable evil and even the exploration rigmarole gets old read fast. It’s the same glorified propaganda empires have been producing since the Persians. Amidst all this Babylon 5 is a breath of fresh air.

I may be descending deep into the dark abyss of geekdom by watching this TV series but it’s different, its intelligent, and its epic what more can you ask for.

There will probably be more mentions of this show in the future.

Minerva

Soviet in the US: Regina Spector

   Regina Spector                                       
A veteran of New York's anti-folk scene, songwriter Regina Spektor makes quirky, highly eclectic, but always personal music. Born and raised in Moscow until age nine, Spektor listened to her father's bootleg tapes of Western pop and rock as a young child and also learned to play piano. She and her family moved from Russia to the Bronx, where she was immersed in American culture (at the time, hers was the first Russian family in the borough in 20 years). Eventually, Spektor and her family became part of a community that balanced her Russian Jewish roots with her new home's culture. Meanwhile, she continued to practice piano anywhere she could, including at her synagogue, until her family got a piano of their own. 



Bio by Pandora

I recently discovered this fabulous artist while listening to Moldy Peaches radio on Pandora. I was immediately intoxicated by the sound of her voice and her enchanting piano skills. Now I’m not usually a piano solo person by this turns the instrument into a symphony of passion. Her earliest stuff is quirky and alterative typical of a young woman experiencing a new country. Her second album Soviet Kitsch is edgy and expressive focusing on her background and the perceptions of the American public. This early albums remind me of other talented young artist such as Lily Allen, Kate Nash and Florence Welch.  

As she matures so does her music. She begins experimenting with deeper subjects such as religion and human nature in Begin To Hope and her newest album Far. Although she is from a strongly religious family Specter spotlights the drawbacks of blind faith as well as the danger of being closed minded, whether in the name of god or the name of science. 

However my favourite of her songs, Laughing With (God) advocates for organized religion or at lest sounds like it at first. I am agnostic but I do not believe in avoiding something that is beautiful because it involves God. Don’t spin this the wrong way laughing with in no way a church hymen. She praises the power of faith in time of hardship in the chorus.

No one laughs at God in a hospital

No one laughs at God in a war

No one's laughing at God

When they're starving or freezing or so very poor  

Yet in the next line the she points out the lunacy of that same faith with,

God could be funny


When told he'll give you money if you just pray the right way


And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini


Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus


God can be so hilarious.

Some of her songs like Laughing With, Samson, and Blue Lips have a bluesy timeless feeling, in the style of jazz legends such as Billie Holiday.  Others have a new age style that is uniquely Spektor. These later albums remind me of the best of the Lennon and McCartney, blackbird, hey Jude, across the universe, golden slumbers, and Eleanor Rigby.

Minerva

Bringing Up Baby: the Story of a Girl, a Boy, a Leopard, and an Intercostal Clavicle

I personally am a little miffed at how easily people dismiss black and white movies as being dull and overly complicated. These people should be tied to the floor for an hour and a half and made to watch Bringing up Baby. The only thing hard to understand about this movie is due to the speed at which the characters talk. It's just not possible for any movie involving a ditzy socialite and absent-minded professor, a yippy dog, a leopard, and an intercostal clavicle to be dull. 

What’s odd about this movie is that when it came out it got rubbish reviews Paramount called it a "catastrophe". They even ended their contract with Katharine Hepburn. Yet Bringing up baby is one of the most loved classic films of all time. The only reasonable exclamation I can come up with is that it must have been ahead of its time. After all the film industry was just closing the door on the age silent movies, the fast passed, witty dialog must have been too much for them. 

  

My favourite thing about watching this movie, beyond the funny dialog, clever characters, and outrageous plot twists is seeing Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn without the typecasting. Hepburn is known for her strong feminist roles. You see her playing characters such as righteous and independent Red from Philadelphia Story. Grant is known for his dashing matinee star roles. You're more likely to see him playing the mysterious man in black or a charming but settled family man.  

In Bringing Up Baby Grant plays a nerdy zoologist. He sports a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that has the same effect as superman's specs for hiding his stunning good looks. Unlike his character in his girl Friday Grant stubbles over his words and gets tongue-tied whenever Hepburn's character shows up one the scene.

Hepburn plays a ditzy and lovesick socialite. She’s airy and outwardly seems stupid yet she is clever in a conniving yet admirable way. This is often the way with Howard Hawk’s main characters. It’s something I love about old movies; subtle strength is a single facet of the deep and relatable characters. Even in a screwball comedy like this the characters make an impression. 

Minerva