Sub*Text Saturday - 06/12/10

Hey everybody, just leeching a bit of internet from a neighbor so I can post up the best of the best when it comes to Lit, Flicks, Pics, & Vids.


First up is Augusten Burrough's:
DRY: a memior

In Dry, a follow-up to his shocking and hilarious childhood memoir, "Running with Scissors," Augusten Burroughs recounts his introduction into recovery from alcoholism.

"Squalor" is the only word that comes to Burroughs mind upon returning from rehab to his Manhattan apartment, "filled with empty Dewar's bottles, hundreds of empty Dewar's bottles. They cover all surfaces; the counters in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator. They are under the table I use as a desk, dozens of them there, with a small clearing for my feet... And then I see them: fruit flies, hovering at the mouths of the bottles. They form dark clouds at the ceiling above the kitchen sink. And dead fruit flies cover everything, like dust."

Memoirs usually aren't my bag, and I've avoided any books the likes of Sedaris, but someone told me to read this and so I did. I never enjoyed drinking a beer so much as after I finished this book. I appreciated alcohol like never before, because I knew I could handle it in moderation and not litter my apartment with 40 Dewar's bottles. Oddly, I read this just as my dad entered rehab for basically replacing his blood with Scotch. He apparently badgered the other "clients" with blunt honesty about their problems, ever the callous mechanic, with no bedside manner.

I didn't love it, but it's opened my eyes to more popular books of the day, and made me appreciate a nice solid read with a well structured and precise writer such as Augusten Burroughs.

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THIS WILL BE THE MOST AMAZING THING YOU'LL WITNESS IN YOUR LIFETIME!

Yes, the greatest movie ever has officially been made. I present:
NORWEGIAN NINJA



You're welcome.

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Storm's a-Comin' by Stu Horvath



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I know I'm way late on this one, but my GOD do I love Hot Chip. I'd heard OF them, but someone from work suggested I check them out. I Googled and got this video, which I thought was real, up until Jesus Moby shoots lightning out of his mouth. Just watch.

HOT CHIP - 'I Feel Better'

Sub*Text Saturdays

This week's goods...

Rings by Stu Horvath























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Space Monkey from Leo Burnett on Vimeo.

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You should be aware of Audie Murphy.

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The Amazing Joy Buzzards are a rock and roll adventure band that rivals such legends as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. It's an everyday adventure for them when fighting giant robots, evil witch-doctors, and exploring the supernatural, all with the help of their mystical Mexican wrestler friend El Campeon.

I picked this up from a poor Pratt student sitting on the sidewalk selling manga. This is a series I always wanted to read, and when I flipped it open to a page of the bassist slicing vampire robots while leaping from his race car, I was sold. It's fun, it's got action, it feel fresh for an old scenario (investigative band), and lots of humor that's actually really funny. Like laugh out loud. The artwork by Dan Hipp is phenomenal and the lettering and layouts are very interactive and what could be too messy or chaotic turns into a really fun and unique comic reading experience. Supposedly vol. 2 will be coming out this year, but it has been heavily delayed. In the meantime, read Mr. Hipp's GYAKUSHU! online for free.

Sub*Text Saturdays

Welcome to the little slice of alternative awesome internet that I call Sub*Text Saturdays.

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PIC

Here's a shot I took in the subway out in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The sticker is from Emily Wernet's MOONLIGHTING which I picked up at MoCCA last weekend.





















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VID

The Heavy - 'How You Like Me Now'



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FLICK

Love/Death directed by Ryuhei Kitamura



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LIT


Michael McGill is a burned-out private detective who suddenly becomes enlisted by an army of presidential goons to retrieve the Constitution of the United States, but not the one we all know about. This would be the real Constitution (the one with invisible amendments) created by some of the Founding Fathers as a fallback for their great experiment. Along the way, McGill gains a polyamorous sidekick named Trix, gets scared to death by what men do with warm salty water, and descends into a world where crime, sex, and madness all seem to be the same thing.

I like Warren Ellis' comics. But most of his characters sound like his voice regardless of sex or background. And comic writers tackling novels? Never really works out. However, this book is the "underground classic" it is being sold as. It's funny, smart, ugly, and once you get past the idea of Warren Ellis in different costumes talking to himself, the characters come alive, and Ellis becomes more the Universe the story takes place in. A dirty and clever Da Vinci Code to decode the true ugly America.

Sub*Text Saturdays

Hey y'all. It's 5am on Saturday (Sunday Morning) but it's still Saturday to me, so take this, put it into your pipe and then smoke it.

Check me out over on my Tumblr BRAIN THRUST.

Oh, and if you're anywhere near the East Village tomorrow, swing by KGB Bar for a Comix Reading with Emily Wernet & friends.

Onto the goodies...

K

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Pic

TrustoCorp: rebranding your surroundings one sign at a time.


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Flick

I watched Four Eyed Monsters last night and I have to say it changed my life. This may be one of the most important films I've ever seen. A creatively digital artistic Adam & Eve for the 21st Century. Everything about this is amazing. It will give you new perspective on the creative process & relationships. I will be expanding this into a much longer post/review.


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Lit


Maximum Ride is a series of six young adult science fiction/fantasy books, written by the award-winning American author James Patterson. The series chronicles the lives of six human/avian fugitives. Bred in a science lab called "The School", the Flock endured scientific experiments that rendered them 98% human and 2% avian.

I just finished reading this book which I mainly read as a goof to see what a top-selling author's work is like these days. I found the book fairly engaging and once I got past the horrible cliche dialogue, the fast paced chapters had me reading through the whole 400+ pages in just a matter of two weeks, which is a record for me. My main problem though, how do you get past not having an ending? Make it an ongoing series of course! Patterson even wants you to write a chapter for him!

















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VID

This is f-in awesome.

Broken Fingaz -Graffiti Stop Motion from Broken Fingaz on Vimeo.

Sub*Text Saturdays

Flick

This will be the comic movie of the year, scratch that, of the decade, of all time. Another great Edgar Wright movie and this time it's of Bryan Lee O'Malley's supergenius graphic novel series, SCOTT PILGRIM.

Watch the trailer above and then watch this dissection of the trailer and all the love that was put in it for the fans.



The final volume of Scott Pilgrim will be out this summer, but for a rap-tastic recap check Adam WarRock's 'I Gotta Believe' and check out the rest of his geek-inspired rap songs.

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Pic

Love Imperfectly by me


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Vid

This guy is my new personal rock hero. Tell me he doesn't rule and isn't totally awesomely insane. And the song rocks.

Roky Erickson - The Creature With the Atom Brain


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Lit


There is Doom…and then there is the Master of Doom! Eager readers of the World’s Greatest Comic don’t have to wait nine weeks for the fun, frisson and fantastic action of Fantastic Four! The magnificent Marvel team-up of Mark Millar (Wanted) and Bryan Hitch (Ultimates) wind up their epic run with a rip-roaring yarn that pits the First Family against their deadliest archenemy — and the powerful being for whom even Doom will bow! Are you ready to meet the Master of Doom?

I haven't read Fantastic Four in a long time, but as I catch up on all things Marvel, I came across this story arc which is Millar riding out the characters before Hickman picks up the writing chores for the book.

If you like Dr. Doom and feel he hasn't been the threat he really should be, or you like the high concept weirdness that Millar picked up from Grant Morrison, you should read this arc.

Sub*Text Saturdays

Welcome to Sub*Text Saturdays, where I abduct your mind for a short trip through the alternative awesome of the internet with some Pics, Flicks, Vids & Lit. You may just be rolling out of bed ready to wake'n'bake, or maybe charging your cell while waiting for your friends to swing by before you hit the pub, or perhaps you've just come home from last call, stumbling & mumbling but somehow able to pop open your laptop.

No matter the state of your consciousness...enjoy the Alt.Ent that is Sub*Text.

K

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PICS

Hiya
From Another Very Long Year by Stu Horvath

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FLICKS
You could go buy/rent Ninja Assasin which came out this past week, or you could watch a GOOD ninja movie:

Scott Adkins keeps it real, he keeps it simple, he keeps it real simple in...

NINJA


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VID

Neon Trees - Animal
This song is good, the video is great.

Thanks to Boston Scott for the heads up.

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LIT

SHAMANSPACE by Steve Aylett


What if god were found to exist? What if revenge were possible? Competing groups of occult assassins race to exterminate the creator, with young gun Alix the favorite. But conflict among the Edgemen sends Alix in pursuit of renegade shaman Quinas and a psychic splinter group. Waging multidimensional war, the edgemen travel through sidespace to confront at last the source of evil and hit back at a toxic universe even at the risk of ending it.

Dense language that pokes at your brain and demands attention, poetic babbling and grand posturing, with overly ambitious metaphysical ideals.
A novella worth tracking down, a writer that bears further investigation.

Introduction by Grant Morrison