There are plenty of places to learn about magnificent Chinese boomboxes from the 1980s, and I have no interest in interfering with these places. And yet, when I find the Boombox Museum, can I keep silent? Not in good conscience.

If you don't already know about Emily Flake, then take a minute to school yerself. She is syndicated in lots of free hipster weeklies (f'rinstance, my beloved Weekly Dig here in Boston) and apparently also appears in McSweeney's. As Stevie says, isn't she lovely?

Today is a joyful day at my house! In 1986 I found a dubbed cassette inside a greasy boombox, in the basement of the Japanese restaurant I worked at in high school. I loved the tape, and played it over and over for all my friends. Never could read the Japanese handwriting on the tape.

Cut to 20 years later: found Haruomi Hasono on the web, ordered the CD of that greasy cassette.. and today it arrives!

Happy

Haruomi Hasono Day

to you!!

Need something spooky to listen to before going to bed? How about garbled transmissions from Egypt? Or ethereal CIA children (thanks, Jeff)?

You will be inspired to collect these sounds by the audio safaris of Ben Burtt and Jack Dangers, who lives in this same eerie ionosphere, and broadcasts to us.

Hold on to your hats! Geoffroy Barbet-Massin's La Chute De L'Ange has the polished, elegant black-and-white look of Marc Craste's Jojo in the Stars. When you've marvelled at that one a few times, check out Barbet-Massin's other short films. Wow! Thanks to Fous D'Anim!

I never cared for Buffy. I liked Donny Darko alright. Never had much time for "The Rock." Yet somehow the concept of putting all these characters in one film, with Cheri Oteri, Wallace Shawn and, you know, Christopher Lambert, just seems like a really efficient use of celluloid.










Plus, while trying to find out more about this Poseidon Adventure of the 21st century*** , I found this picture, and that led me to this link.

So I thank Southland Tales for existing, even before it leaves the studio.

***TERRIFYING UPDATE***

Jan 11, 2006

I was trying to be funny by calling this film the Poseidon Adventure of the 21st Century. How ignorant not to have known that the scab-eating vermin in Hollywood are actually re-making the Poseidon Adventure. It's just impossible to make fun of these toenails anymore. The good news, of which there is little, is that I got this terrible news while waiting for the 37 previews to end so I could watch KING KONG which is also a remake and which has AWESOME MONSTERS in it.

Recommended, dudes and dudettes!! GO !

What Looked Unbefrigginlievable About Blowing Up Robots In Outer Space, c.1980:

A Pictorial Essay by Das Brick.

Joe Johnston,

Shogun Warriors spaceships,

Battlestar Galactica spaceships,

Hot Wheels in space,

John Berkey,

The Black Hole,

Star Bird,

the oft-overlooked

Megabug Gladiators,

the Micronauts,

Matchbox Battlekings

(umm, in space), the occasional old Gerry Anderson toy

from the 1960s,

Lego sets (in space)...








...and, on Channel 25

just when we got home from school

every Thursday afternoon,

The Spaceketeers

O, the heartache of growing older, more reflective, and questioning one's belief that once Grimace was evil and had six arms. At least now I can relive that youthful certainty.

Thanks, "world wide web"!

If you have kids, then you already know about Saxton Freymann. And I understand that his stuff is cute enough to be pasted onto the walls of giggling college freshmen, next to their Puffy Amiyumi poster, or whatever.

Still, and still, stop and just let the elephant yam make your day. C'mon.

This is the kind of thing the internet was made for... you can play Harry Partch's instruments with your mouse, while sitting at work pretending to be earning your keep.

Heh heh heh!!