Will our nation's youth ever rage against the machine?

I just finished reading an interesting piece of commentary by The Plain Dealer columnist Phillip Morris concerning the possibility of the United State's youth eventually raging against the machine.

Morris claims it's not a question of "If?" but more a question of "When?"

After reading the commentary and thinking this over for a couple minutes, I've got one word to say: Bullshit.

Look, Morris makes some good points - including the fact that even after your beautiful young children graduate Magna Cum Laude at Notre Dame University - not to mention after you shelling out close to $50,000 on college tuition - there isn't going to be a guaranteed job waiting for them.

That's got to suck big time.

But, I just can't see this generation raging against anything that doesn't have to do with video games, television or pop culture.

So what are you getting at, Eimer? Well, what I'm getting at is there is this big blob of yes that's walking around and conforming to whatever the taking heads are saying.

- Stimulus package. YES.

- Raise taxes. YES.

- More government intervention. YES.

- More rules against non-conformity. YES

There's no fucking free thinking anymore! Or none that I've seen anyway. If Morris thinks that this next generation is going have the next Che Guevara, Samuel Adams (the person not the beer), Malcom X, Lech Walesa or even Guy Fawkes - he better think again.

Of course, I'm generalizing. And I'm sure there are some nuggets of anger stewing out there. I'm sure there are some young kids that think about the future of the United States and are actually interested in the current events that are happening around them.

But I don't see it anywhere: My work. My home. My neighborhood. My city. My state. Seems apparent to me that nobody under the age of 30 even fucking cares that people are losing jobs, losing homes, losing their cars and losing their freedom.

I simply don't see the anger. I don't see the angst. I don't see that hatred. I don't see the slightest hint in the populace that's even thinking about raising a middle finger in the air in the land of hypocrisy and screaming "FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!" over and over again, untiil something violent happens.

Nope. Don't see it at all.

All I see is our citizens walking straight into the meat grinder of conformity with this bland look on their face, nodding their heads in agreement and marching forward until they end up in some god-for-saken assisted-living facility drooling in their eggs with shit running down their pants.

Hmmmm, maybe Pink Floyd was onto something?

Who knows? I may be totally wrong. Hopefully, I'm eating crow and the next generation is already writing a big Breakfast Club fuck you letter to the principal.

I'll even digress, and go back to my Fight Club and Die Hard with a Vengeance theology and say that the next uprising won't be in an open field with bayonets, spears and screaming men in kilts. It's going to take place via our laptops.

It's going to be silent. It's going to swift. And very little blood will be shed. (Well, hopefully a little.)

But, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Thanks Mr. Morris for a very thought-provoking article with balls.

Choke on this Fight Club Snuff.

Speaking of Fincher, way back in 1990-something when I found out Fincher was directing a big-screen version of the book Fight Club. I had to pick it up and see what it was all about.

Lets just say that I've been a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk's work ever since. I even drew a Christmas cartoon about it.

Pahlnuik's new novel, Snuff, was released last week. It's about the filming of one of the world's largest porno movies ever made from the vantage point of three men, among 600 men, waiting in the green room (or should it be the white room?). Over the course of the first act you learn that the lead porno actress, who will be taking the 600 men, plans to die during the production.

Click here for a review of Snuff that I found on Aint-it-cool-news.com. Don't know about you, but this book sounds right up my alley. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at a book club review of this book. Also, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this book will never be made into a movie.

Although I haven't read all of Pahlnuik's stuff (yet), I've also enjoyed Invisible Monsters, Survivor and Diary: A Love Story.

I also enjoyed Choke which, coincidentally, was made into a movie starring Sam Rockwell.

The story centers around a sex-addicted con man who, in order to pay for his mother's medical bills, forces himself to choke on food at a restaurant in hopes that a good samaritan will rush in and give him the Heimlich and, eventually, money. Oh yeah, he also works in a Colonial Village (a' la the Ohio Historical Society), which is also filled with some rather unusual people.

The film is helmed by first-time director/long-time actor/two-first namer Clark Gregg who also penned the screenplay for Zemeckis' What Lies Beneath.

Check out the trailer below...



Looks entertaining enough to me. I'm interested in seeing how far Gregg delved into the intricate character that is Victor Mancini (Rockwell's character in the film). But, judging from the trailer and some of the reviews from Sundance Film Festival, it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. In a sexual deviant sort of way.

So, what do you think?

Rendezvous with David Fincher

I'm a big fan of director David Fincher.

Ever since his first mainstream foray into film, Alien3, Fincher has continued to develop his storytelling abilities and transform himself into, arguably, one of the best directors of my time.

He's literally churning out one great film after another including Se7en, Fight Club, The Game, Panic Room and Zodiac. And lets not forget the upcoming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a guy who is born old and ages backwards.

A couple months ago, Fincher announced his intent to direct the film version of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction epic, Rendezvous with Rama.

In an interview with MTV, Fincher said the following about the Rama film:

It's my understanding that [producer] Lori [McReary] and Morgan [Freeman] have a script, and when they're happy with it, they'll send it to me. It's a project I've always loved. It's probably technologically within striking distance right now. That was always the thing: You couldn't afford to build these things as sets. It's just too huge.

Although I've heard of the book, I really didn't know too much about its content or plot. But Fincher's announcement had me intrigued. So I quickly visited Amazon.com, bought the book and read it within a month.

The novel, set in the 22nd century, involves a thirty-mile-long cylindrical alien starship (nicknamed Rama) that drifts into Earth's solar system. A group of humans from the spaceship Endeavour decide to explore the ship and, hopefully, unearth the strange mysteries of the Ramans.

And so begins the story.

In my opinion, it's a great book that should be read by anyone who has some interest in science, astronomy and science fiction.

Clarke's writing ability is seemingly effortless and reads surprisingly smooth considering the content. When he's tackling heavy, heady, scientific jargon, even the most unscientific of readers (i.e. me) can easily comprehend what the characters are talking about. And, by writing from the explorers' point of view, in a sense, the reader experiences first-hand what they're seeing, hearing and feeling as they enter the ship. The writing makes you feel like you're part of the story.

The creative world in which Clarke creates on Rama is, for lack of a better word, fantastic. I really don't want to give too much away because I think the reader should experience the novel first hand. But, to comprehend the vastness of a spaceship that is 30 miles in length is, to quote The Princess Bride, inconceivable.

And although the end of the novel hints at possible sequels [which did happen, by the way, but without Clarke behind the typewriter] this book can stand alone as one of the most important science-fiction books of our last century. And to think that it was written in the early 70's should be a further testament to Clarke's creative genius and insight. And I don't toss the word genius around too often.

In addition to winning every possible science fiction award upon its release, Rendezvous with Rama also influenced generations of science-fiction writers and films including Ridley Scott's Alien, Robert Wise's Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Michel Crichton's Sphere among others.

Which completely explains why I had a sense of deja-vu when I was reading this book. Because I've seen the basic premise so many times in other movies and books. (i.e. A crew or person goes on a mission to search a strange object or place with some rather peculiar, if not fantastical results.)

So my question is, how do you make a movie where the plot has been virtually copied, dissected and remade by producers, screenwriters, novelists and directors since its inception almost 40 years ago?

I'm sure Fincher realizes this fact. At least I hope. And I'm sure he has some ideas on how to make this novel seemingly 'new' to the eyes of science fiction and movie fans around the world.

Whether or not the film comes to fruition, I'm just happy that I was able to read the book. And I strongly urge you to pick it up. Heck, you can even borrow my copy if you want.

On another note, Clarke was 55 years old when Rama was published in 1972. Four years prior, he wrote the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey with Stanley Kubrick, at the age of 51.

With Clarke creating a masterpiece like this in his later years, this gives me some hope that my best days of writing are yet to come.

And, by no means, am I comparing his dedication to the craft to my own. I'm just saying his writing aged like fine wine.

And hopefully mine will as well.

10 Great Film Endings Set To Fantastic Music.

I just finished watching King of California yesterday. It's a good movie with fine acting by Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.

The final scene, which segues into the end credits, played to the song "California Stars" by Billy Bragg and Wilco pretty much summed up the entire film experience for me.

In my opinion, the final song in a movie can represent a film's entire soul.

Then, started to think about some other great films with spectacular final scenes set to great music.

Off the top of my head, here are ten great examples:

PULP FICTION
The Lively Ones' Surf Rider kicks in as Jules and Vincent exit the diner in flip flops and dorky t-shirts.



FIGHT CLUB
The Pixies' Where is My Mind brings it all together as buildings crumble while Marla Singer and Tyler Durden's alter-ego hold hands and contemplate their future.



THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
The Farrelly Brothers and the rest of the cast ham it up with Build Me Up Buttercup from The Foundations.



THE SHINING
As Jack's fate is sealed in the hedge maze, Kubrick tosses in one more red herring with a cut to the hotel and a slow camera pan to a small portrait of New Year's revelers (with a surprise guest!) circa 1921 set to the eerie music of Midnight With The Stars and You performed by the Ray Noble Band.



THE MATRIX
Had there not been any sequels, this ending set to Rage Against The Machine's Wake Up would have went down as one of the all-time best. It completely sets the tone of the entire experience.


THE BREAKFAST CLUB
As Principal Vernon finishes raeading Brian's hope-filled prose summing up a long day of Saturday detention, on the football field John Bender raises his arms in the air and The Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me kicks in.
Click here to listen to Anthony Michael Hall's Breakfast Club prose.


TRUE ROMANCE
After going to hell and back, Alabama, her husband (minus one eye) and son are sitting beside a sunny beach. While we listen to her narration, our ears are dabbled with Hans Zimmer's feel-good score You're So Cool. Perhaps Tony Scott was foreshadowing a happy ending throughout the film with this musical choice?
Click here to listen to You're So Cool.


STAND BY ME
As an older Gordie Lachance (played by Richard Dreyfuss) types in the final sentence to his coming-of-age novel, Ben E. King's Stand By Me begins and the credits roll.


DONNIE DARKO
The viewer is taken on a journey of all the main characters while Gary Jules performs the Tears for Fears hit Mad World in this striking end sequence.

CLOSER
In this beautiful end sequence set to The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice, Natalie Portman walks the streets of New York City to many rubbernecking males while, in London, Dan finally realizes the true identity of Alice Ayres.


I'm curious, what's your favorite? Are there any that I missed?

The First Rule of SANTA FIGHT CLUB.

Don't talk about
SANTA FIGHT CLUB!!!

Pottery Barn Fight Club

About a year ago, I was in Columbus hanging out with a bunch of my guy friends.

One of the guys (lets call him Pedro) brought up the subject of shopping with his wife. He mentioned that they went shopping the night before and stopped into Pottery Barn for some crates and shit.

Another guy immediately stopped mid-drink, sputtered a bit and blurted out:

"My God! I love to shop at Pottery Barn."

I was completely and utterly shocked. Why in the Hell were they talking about Pottery Barn while we're hanging out, tossing back some brews and being, well, men?

I've got a theory: If you're a dude and you love shopping at Pottery Barn, basically you're a fruitcake.

Maybe you’ve dabbled in college. Maybe you're interested in doing it right now. Maybe you will come out when you're older. But, if you love to shop at Pottery Barn, you are as fruity as a pack of Skittles.

I'm going to start a club. I'm going to blatantly rip off the movie Fight Club and call it POTTERY BARN FIGHT CLUB.

The first rule of Pottery Barn Fight Club is
YOU DON"T TALK ABOUT POTTERY BARN.

The second rule of Pottery Barn Fight Club is
YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT POTTERY BARN.

And, if you do talk about Pottery Barn,
YOU'VE GOT TO FIGHT.

Anytime you're hanging out with the guys and one of them talks about POTTERY BARN, punch him as hard as you can in his right arm. That's it. Then don't say anything.

If he mentions Pottery Barn again, punch him in his left arm as hard as you can. Repeat arms, every time he brings it up. Eventually, he'll realize the error of his ways and stop talking about Pottery Barn.

If he doesn't stop talking about Pottery Barn,
YOU'VE GOT TO FIGHT.

So guys, let's bring a little male-induced testosterone back to the good ol' United States of America, eh?

Let's stop talking shop, literally.

Unless, of course, you're talking about Sam's Club, Home Depot or Gorilla Glue.

Then, I'm all ears.