Well Above Average’s Stella has been on a writing tear of late– she’s got all burners fired up and rolling fast and hard– so here’s a few quick hits on what’s hot on her plate so that you can check them out– because she’s got me fired up to check some things out
1) Tropic Thunder
Here’s a slice of her perspective oin Tropic Thunder
Damn right it does!
The audience at the Sunday morning showing I went to see was laughing from the beginning faux trailers (heck, one person was chortling at the Martin Scorcese/AT&T turn off your cell phone PSA!) through the closing credits (with Tom Cruise dancing to Ludacris’ Get Back which then segued into The Crystal Method’s The Name of the Game). The movie, co-written, directed and starring Ben Stiller, is unceasingly over-the-top silliness. It’s gorey, profane, politically incorrect and unbelievably hilarious.
In other words, go see Tropic Thunder and realize that Stiller was skewering the film biz more than he was being insulting to specific groups.
2) For those who want something with a bit more substance, Stella suggests Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Here’s Stella’s says about this DVD documentary on the life, times and meaning of Pete Seeger’s contribution not only to music but the American political and social landscapte
…..But what elevates it to a higher level is the music. Seeger was the writer or co-writer of classic songs like If I Had a Hammer, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Turn, Turn, Turn, later covered and popularized by The Byrds. He popularized folk standards such as Michael Row the Boat Ashore, This Land is Your Land, This Little Light of Mine and most significantly, We Shall Overcome–which became the anthem for the Civil Rights movement
Stella puts into perspective what Seeger has contributed and if you can’t quite get through a documentary on Seeger, then at least read her review because it will give you the high points of what the meaning of the man’s life and what he added to and provided to not only the US culture but culture around the world– because he’s inspirational to many musicians and other creative people. So check out her post on Pete Seeger.
3) For all you television addicts– and that particularly includes Well Above Average’s Stella, the commentary is really an dissection of a dialogue from THE OFFICE between Dwight Shrute and Jim Halpert about Second Life. Maybe I should tell you that it’s not *just* about Second Life but life on the internet– which both Stella and I spend an *inordinate time * on the web searching, writing and even emailing back and forth
Here’s her commentary about some crime and punishments that should be instituted to/for/on internet users who “misbehave”. Considering that she and I go way back to online communities, forums and community managers, I found this particuarly funny.
According to the article:
“Slipping a four-letter word into an instant message now could land a user in a virtual timeout. Repeated attempts to make friends with an uninterested character could result in a loss of blogging privileges. And if convicted of starting a “flame war,” or an exchange of hostile messages, a user may endure the ultimate punishment — permanent exile.”
Hmm–seems like the community managers could come up with more original and fitting punishments than THAT!!! Here’s a couple of ideas:
Crime: Content Scrapers
Punishment: They should be tarred and feathered. Not virtually–in real life!
Crime: Shameless self-promotion
Punishment: You will be required to relinquish your cool “Wizard” avatar and replace it with a picture of Donald Trump.
Now.. there’s three different posts you should check out– if for no other reason because she’s just darn funny and I think that that her commentary on movies, documentaries and life online (as well as real life) is so apt..
Trust me– we bitch and moan to each other enough.. but Stella has a biting wit that makes it all seem funny — even when we are the part of the less than 10 people seeing a singer who I happen to think is fabulous .. and we buy a bunch of food just so that we can sit at a booth.. and watch the singer with comfort– rather than stand at the bar.
Stevie Wilson
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