Genghis Blues

Paul Pena was a blind San Francisco bluesman who played with blues greats like T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. After the death of his wife in 1991, Paul spent much of his time alone listening to short wave radio. He had stumbled upon a Russian radio program of traditional Tuvan throatsinging, and he began to teach himself this unique style of harmonic singing as well as some of the Tuvan language. In 1993, Paul met Kongar-ol Ondar, a Tuvan singer on tour in San Francisco. After an impromptu demonstration of his skills, Paul was invited to travel to Tuva and participate in the their triennial throatsinging competition. His adventure to this small country (between Russia and Mongolia) makes up the majority of Genghis Blues. It is truly an amazing film. A must see for any MNITBY fan.

Scaredycat

There is a good article in today's Oregonian (Living section) about this short film. It's directed by Andy Blubaugh, and it recounts his experience the night he was attacked by a group of men while riding his bike on the Steel Bridge. The film is 14 minutes long and part of a group of films curated by Blubaugh. It plays this Saturday at 7 at the Clinton Street Theater as part of the closing night of the Northwest Film & Video Festival. (Yes, that is the same night as the Pink Party.) Here's a link to the article.

Fur from the Secretary Guy

Looks like Ty Burrell (Duncan's brother) is in another big movie. This time he stars as Diane Arbus's husband. Steven "The guy who directed Secretary" Shainberg directs, and Nicole Kidman plays Arbus. It sounds like the writer and director turned this into even more of a freak show than it was in real life. Then they decided to cast Robert Downy Jr as a Lion who lives next door and call it, “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus.” (For those who aren't familiar, she was a photographer not a taxidermist.) Now, you might be asking yourself, "Didn't Dylan predict that Ty Burrell would hit the big time after he saw Friends with Money last spring?" Well you would be correct. Mo's my witness. Here's a link to the Times article:
A Visual Chronicler of Humanity's Underbelly, Draped in a Pelt of Perversity

Books?

Here's some book talk in honor of the book section at the Catlin Gabel Rummage sale going on this weekend. If you haven't been, check it out. There are tons of great books out there. The following is an excerpt from Don DeLillo's short novel White Noise. The book uses the daily life of a small town college professor to explore themes of consumerism, popular culture, novelty intellectualism, the modern family, and fears of death. It's a hilarious read and a masterpiece of contemporary fiction. It's also the only book I've ever read twice. There was a rumor of this being made into a movie but all reference to it recently disappeared from imdb.com.

"I'm sorry you didn't bring the kids. I want to get to know small kids. This is the society of kids. I tell my students they are already too old to figure importantly in the making of society. Minute by minute they're beginning to diverge from each other. 'Even as we sit here,' I tell them, 'You are spinning out from the core, becoming less recognizable as a group, less targetable by advertisers and mass-producers of culture. Kids are a true universal. But you're well beyond that, already beginning to drift, to feel estranged from the products you consume. Who are they designed for? What is your place in the marketing scheme? Once you're out of school, it is only a matter of time before you experience the vast loneliness and dissatisfaction of consumers who have lost their group identity.' Then I tap my pencil on the table to indicate time passing ominously." -Don DeLillo, White Noise