Model Citizen

This is a Suparmarine Spitfire MKII. In my opinion, it's the most beautiful airplane ever built. Aesthetically speaking, the Spitfire has everything going for it-- gorgeous, sweeping lines, sophisticated British styling, those exquisite elliptical wings. This is the plane that won the Battle of Britain. Had she not come along, the world today may be very different indeed.

As my first attempt at building a model however...well, let's just say it could have been worse. My history with building plastic models is the age old story of desire meeting frustration. I seem to recall trying to assemble a Corvette Stingray when I was about 10, only to smash the thing when I cracked the window as I attempted to glue it into place.

I've come a long way in 30 years. My patience has been tempered by life's incessant and cruel winds. I've earned my old fart badge the hard way and I wear it with defiant ineptitude.

I was originally inspired to get back into model making by James May and his Toy Stories episode about Airfix. Me being me, and me being fed up with all things internet, this plunged me into a crash course in WWII aviation history. I'm happy to report the distraction has been most welcome.

Not only do I have a newfound appreciation for the skill and art of model making, but I have a profound interest in and affection for the men who flew these amazing machines. I've reached the non-scientific conclusion that these boys had balls of steel. I'll be posting more on that later.

In the meantime:

This is a Messerschmitt BF109G, mortal enemy of the Spitfire. It's not as purty as the Spitfire, but with its ragged gray camouflage, asymmetrical exhausts and air intake, and spirally spinnaker prop, it must have been an intimidating sight to behold.

Long story short: The Spitfire was the RAF's response to the superior Messerschmitt BF 109E. The 109G (the Gustav) was the Luftwaffe's response to the Spitfire. It had a more powerful, supercharged engine, but by the time it came into service in 1944, it was too late. Not only was Messerschmitt turning its attention to developing the first jet fighter, but the war itself was drawing to its inevitable conclusion.

Lucky for us in the 21st Century, we can built these little planes, admire the amazing technological achievements of both the good guys and the bad guys, and marvel at the sheer size of the balls it must have taken to actually fly them.

Me! I Disconnect From You

I've put myself on a sort of at-home internet quarantine. I realize that sentence is loaded with nonsensical qualifiers, so let me explain.

First the "sort of." I say sort of because I do have a few things at home I need to take care of, like processing orders for Furthermore and looking for a new job. I also don't have a television, so I use my computer as a television, so, yeah, sort of.

Second, I say at home because at my current job I sit in front of a computer all day and I've reached the conclusion that sitting in front of the computer when I get home is not mentally or physically very healthy.

Because I try to limit my surfing and only do what is necessary, I haven't made much of an effort at sweeping out the cobwebs here. For the three of you who may actually look forward to what I have to say, I apologize. For what it's worth, this dropping out has given me a hearty +5 happiness.

That said, I do have some things I'd like to share. Mostly things that my time away from internetland have allowed me to do. In the meantime, please do enjoy some Gary Numan.

Snow on the Mountain

Record cold temperatures and rain in L.A. have brought the snow almost within reach. This is the view from my apartment. The last two days have been amazingly beautiful. I'm torn about the phone lines.

Bummer

I don't go to many live shows anymore. I've seen more awesome shows than any one person is reasonably entitled to in a given lifetime. Maybe it's just me being an old fart, but the past few non-jazz shows I went to were far more trouble than they were worth. At my advanced age, I can neither bear the disappointment of a mediocre show nor the audience which usually attends such gigs.

There are a few exceptions. And by few I mean maybe two or three bands I'd gladly fork over the dough to see because I can go into it with a fair degree of certainty that they won't let me down and the crowd won't make me want to dismember them. Einstürznende Neubauten is one of those bands. I was so stoked that I would be seeing them play in the next few days until this announcement turned up in my inbox:

"EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN HAVE TO CANCEL NORTH AMERICAN THIRTIETH

ANNIVERSARY SHOWS

It is with great regret that Einstürzende Neubauten announce the

cancellation of their planned thirtieth anniversary appearances in Los

Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto and New York. While the US

Department of Homeland Security did issue approvals for the band’s

visas, it was not done in time to secure the appointments at the

overseas embassies and consulates that represent the necessary final

step in the process.

The band members are tremendously disappointed by this turn of events

and wish to thank all those fans who purchased tickets for these

performances for their support. The band would have loved to do the

tour and meet their overseas fans. Because this tour was a

time-sensitive production, it will not be rescheduled. Ticketholders

can obtain refunds from their point of purchase."

I've seen the mighty Neubauten 4 times in the last 20 years or so years. And each time, they were better than the previous time. The last time I saw them was about 5 years ago, when Perpetuum Mobile came out. They were astounding. Majestic. Wonderful. I was really looking forward to this show, the whole 30th Anniversary thing being the icing on top. But this news is a serious bummer.

November 29, 2010: The day Leslie Nielsen died and the day Eintstürzende Neubauten canceled their North American tour. I think I'll have a drink and watch this performance of "Youme & Meyou" for the millionth time.

Amon Tobin - Esther's

Amon Tobin's sinister yet sweet Esther's is the coolest music video I've seen in a while.

Jazz in the workplace

I love this video by Dutch jazz group De LP Fabriek. Featuring Han Bennink and Ernst Reijseger (behind the plant.)

The Animation of Piotr Kamler

I love all kinds of animation. As a parent, I've probably watched more animated feature length films and shorts in the past two years than I care to admit. They've run the gamut from truly inspired and wonderful movies like Coraline and Despicable Me to dreadfully dull fare like The Tale of Despereaux.

I grew up with Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry-- which is weird come to think of it. Was there such a dearth of cartoons available in the 1970s that they had no choice but to show cartoons from the '40s and '50s? I haven't figured that out. But ever since I was in high school and could rent things like Wizards and Fantastic Planet, I've been enthralled by the potential of animation to take me places that regular films cannot. It allows for a total suspension of belief that even the best science fiction or fantasy films aim for, but for me at least, usually fall short of delivering.

My eyes were peeled wide open after I got out of high school and discovered Japanese animation (even though it was really there all along, what with Speed Racer and Star Blazers-- I just wasn't aware it was what would later become known as anime) and the experimental animation of Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay. This was the stuff that truly resonated with me.

Over the summer, I was turned on to Polish animator Piotr Kamler. I found quite a few of his films on youtube and bookmarked them but most of them have now been deleted.

Anyway, some have reappeared so I'm going to post them before they're gone again. I love his stuff because it's like some of my favorite surrealist painters' work come to life and most feature soundtracks by prominent musique concrète composers. Jean-Pierre Jeunet claims Kamler's films inspired him to get into filmmaking. Enjoy while they last.

Coeur de Secours (Heart of Relief) features a score by Francois Bayle.

L'Araignéléphant (the Spider Elephant) features a score by Bernard Parmegiani and text in French.

His 1982 award-winning film, Chronopolis, featuring a score by Luc Ferrari, can be viewed in its entirety here.