dpb2

Be Here Now - Ray LaMontagne

2009-05-12T16:08:00.001-07:00

can't wait to see Ray in July @ the Bowl

Did You Know?

2009-05-05T09:29:00.001-07:00

Stella Artois shorts

2009-04-10T09:18:00.001-07:00

these are great

Privacy Policies of Portals and Social Media tools

2009-03-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here are links to the privacy policies of a handfull of sites that collect a tremedous about of user data. As you read these it's interesting to note that all the sites have direct links to policy via the homepage footers - all except Google.

Google

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Live Search

Yahoo

MySpace

The Seven Best Capers of 2008 | Threat Level from Wired.com

2008-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

These are great!

"It was a bad year for the economy, the Republican party and gay rights. But 2008 was a banner year for technology-aided crime. Competition was tough, but after an exhaustive search, Threat Level has produced this authoritative list of the best capers of the year."

The Seven Best Capers of 2008 | Threat Level from Wired.com:

Stars At Daybreak: The Raptures of Galway Kinnell

2008-12-27T09:24:00.001-08:00

Palm downtown

2008-12-22T15:58:00.001-08:00

Palm downtown
Originally uploaded by dpbtwo

almost seems as if the palm is painted on the bldg

Precocious Baby Starts Twittering from the Womb

2008-12-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

this is excellent

sad but true

2008-12-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

Brian Cornwell - 1976-2008

2008-12-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

a friend and former co-worker passed on after a long bout with cancer three week ago (at the tender age of 32). He knew he was going to die well ahead of time and one of his wishes was not to have a funeral. Instead, he wanted to get his friends together to get drunk in his honor. Tonight his family and friends are gathering at an Irish pub in San Francisco to celebrate his life. Even though I could not make it to SF tonight to join, I'm raising a glass to remember you tonight my friend. Until next time....

The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

~ Mark Twain ~

These are awesome

2008-11-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

52 Projects: Fall Project

All Summer In A Day Pt. 1

2008-11-26T11:12:00.001-08:00

I've been looking for a print of this for years. Someone finally brought it to youtube...thanks!

Desiree Palmen - Official website - Images

2008-07-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

these are pretty sweet!

Stevie

2008-07-08T08:16:00.001-07:00

I have a list of performers that I have to see before I/they move on to the next "gig". Last night we had the honor of seeing Stevie at the Hollywood Bowl. Such a great show and what a giving performer. The energy this man channels through an audience is an amazing sight to witness in person. Hands down one of the greatest shows I've ever experienced!

Metropolis - Key scenes rediscovered

2008-07-04T15:37:00.001-07:00

ZEIT ONLINE 2008-07-02T10:06:14.397520+00:00 [http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/27/metropolis-vorab-englisch]

Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”

Key scenes from Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” have been rediscovered

Last Tuesday Paula Félix-Didier travelled on a secret mission to Berlin in order to meet with three film experts and editors from ZEITmagazin. The museum director from Buenos Aires had something special in her luggage: a copy of a long version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, including scenes believed lost for almost 80 years. After examining the film the three experts are certain: The find from Buenos Aires is a real treasure, a worldwide sensation. Metropolis, the most important silent film in German history, can from this day on be considered to have been rediscovered.

Fritz Lang presented the original version of Metropolis in Berlin in January 1927. The film is set in the futuristic city of Metropolis, ruled by Joh Fredersen, whose workers live underground. His son falls in love with a young woman from the worker’s underworld – the conflict takes its course. At the time it was the most expensive German film ever made. It was intended to be a major offensive against Hollywood. However the film flopped with critics and audiences alike. Representatives of the American firm Paramount considerably shortened and re-edited the film. They oversimplified the plot, even cutting key scenes. The original version could only be seen in Berlin until May 1927 – from then on it was considered to have been lost forever. Those recently viewing a restored version of the film first read the following insert: “More than a quarter of the film is believed to be lost forever.”

ZEITmagazin has now reconstructed the story of how the film nevertheless managed to survive. Adolfo Z. Wilson, a man from Buenos Aires and head of the Terra film distribution company, arranged for a copy of the long version of “Metropolis” to be sent to Argentina in 1928 to show it in cinemas there. Shortly afterwards a film critic called Manuel Peña Rodríguez came into possession of the reels and added them to his private collection. In the 1960s Peña Rodríguez sold the film reels to Argentina’s National Art Fund – clearly nobody had yet realised the value of the reels. A copy of these reels passed into the collection of the Museo del Cine (Cinema Museum) in Buenos Aires in 1992, the curatorship of which was taken over by Paula Félix-Didier in January this year. Her ex-husband, director of the film department of the Museum of Latin American Art, first entertained the decisive suspicion: He had heard from the manager of a cinema club, who years before had been surprised by how long a screening of this film had taken. Together, Paula Félix-Didier and her ex-husband took a look at the film in her archive – and discovered the missing scenes.

Paula Félix-Didier remembered having dinner with the German journalist Karen Naundorf and confided the secret to her. Félix-Didier wanted the news to be announced in Germany where Fritz Lang had worked – and she hoped that it would attract a greater level of attention in Germany than in Argentina. The author Karen Naundorf has worked for DIE ZEIT for five years - and let the editorial office of ZEITmagazin in on her knowledge.

Among the footage that has now been discovered, according to the unanimous opinion of the three experts that ZEITmagazin asked to appraise the pictures, there are several scenes which are essential in order to understand the film: The role played by the actor Fritz Rasp in the film for instance, can finally be understood. Other scenes, such as for instance the saving of the children from the worker’s underworld, are considerably more dramatic. In brief: “Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s most famous film, can be seen through new eyes.”, as stated by Rainer Rother, Director of the Deutsche Kinemathek Museum and head of the series of retrospectives at the Berlinale.

You can read more about this mystery from film history in ZEITmagazin, which comes out on Thursday

Helmut Possmann, director of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation, the holder of the rights to “Metropolis”, said to ZEITmagazin: “The material believed to be lost leads to a new understanding of the Fritz Lang masterpiece.” The Murnau Foundation now sees itself as “responsible, along with the archive in Buenos Aires and our partners for making the material available to the public.”

The rediscovered material is in need of restoration after 80 years; the pictures are scratched, but clearly recognizable. Martin Koerber, the restorer of the hitherto longest known version of “Metropolis”, who also examined the footage, said to ZEITmagazin: “No matter how bad the condition of the material may be, the original intention of the film, including all of its minor characters and subplots, is now once again tangible for the normal viewer. The rhythm of the film has been restored.”

And perhaps the scratches, which will probably remain even after restoration, will have an added advantage: The cinemagoer will be reminded of what an exciting history this great film has had.

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (original version)

2008-06-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

youtube is def good for something...finding this great old tunes on video!

Janis Ian...at seventeen

2008-06-28T12:42:00.001-07:00

heard this song this morn for the first time in a while
it's beautiful
and the lyrics...so hauntingly honest.

first pass

2008-06-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

mia, nora, ella, iona, kiara, hana, noah, aiden, luca, isaac, rhys, euan, cooper, shane, scarlett, phoebe, quinn

(it'll make sense in the weeks to come)

a giant "expires"

2008-06-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

there are many comedians, a smaller group of truly funny ones, and a select group of those who profoundly leave a mark.

enjoy your solstice

2008-06-20T11:18:00.001-07:00

Xiazhi (夏至), solar term in East Asia.
Summer Solstice Parade and Pageant, in Seattle, USA.
Sanziana celebration of the Western Carpathian Mountains.
Midsummer holiday in various Western traditions.
St. John's Eve celebration of Ireland and Spain.
Saint Jonas' Festival of Lithuania.
Ivan Kupala Day celebration of parts of Russia and Ukraine.
NYC Midsummer, in New York, USA.
Team Lexington Solstice in San Francisco, USA.
Jāņi celebration of Latvia.
Chester Midsummer Watch Parade, in Chester, England.
Golowan Festival, in Cornwall, England.
Pagan Spirit Gathering, in Athens, USA.
Alban Hefin

note from my neighbor

2008-06-16T19:16:00.001-07:00

written on Ritz Carlton letterhead...."Dear Neighbor....Do you think you could move the naked man with penis a few feet from the entrance where you can enjoy it privately. I think it a bit strange to put this on public display. I don't care to come out my door and see it every day. Thanks ......"

well actually Neighbor....to set the record straight, its a naked baby with penis. Furthmore, you wouldn't be looking at it every day if you were not snoopin around our place.

this is an interest article

2008-06-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

mental_floss Blog � He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died

trauma

2008-06-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

our neighbor is going to call the dog catcher because she believes our little bundle of lungs above is traumatized. Neighborly lesson of the day...dogs used to be outdoor animals and they also bark/howl to communicate. If you don't like hearing the dog bark, just say so. Trauma is dressing your little hybrid K9 up in a dog sweater.

pull over...put down your cellphone!!!

2008-06-15T17:25:00.001-07:00

Pasadena Police car from the 60s
Originally uploaded by dpbtwo

We checked out the Pasadena Chalk Art fest this afternoon and there were a few sheet old classic cars on display

Laura Heit

2008-06-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

We went to see her Matchbox Shows last night at Redcat. ...very original and the work is both honest and imaginative. I don't know how often she performs these anymore (this was a special puppetry program) but if you ever have the chance make sure you catch her...very amazing!!!

here is a link to a great short from Laura:

Look for Me

word to mother

2008-06-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

this is some great work happening in the UK

StolenSpace Gallery

Larry Graham - One in a million you

2008-06-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

this is such a great song

paparazzi

2008-06-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

Reverse Graffiti - pretty cool

2008-06-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Modern & Contemporary Design Magazine / Daily Blog / DESIGNSPOTTER.COM

found this thru a friend...really cool!

2008-06-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

2008-04-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

i love DL. i concur with him more or less with one exception, i think shorts with exceptional sound design can work on the iPhone.

2008-03-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

HANSON RECORDS RADIO PODCAST #1 REDUX

2008-03-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

HULGER US

2008-03-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's Los Angeles | Esotouric

the rowing song

2008-01-11T12:44:00.001-08:00

KnowledgeNews :: Video: You vs. The Chimp

2007-12-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

KnowledgeNews :: Video: You vs. The Chimp

100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers

2007-12-09T10:11:00.001-08:00

Monroe/Einstein illusion

2007-12-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

look at the pic at normal distance then squint your eyes and stand back a bit.

david byrne bikecam

2007-12-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Debbie Harry with Kermit - 1981

2007-12-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

I'm going to see Debbie @ the Fonda this Fri and came across this duet.

go Sox!!!!

2007-10-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

time for a dance

New England cloud movement

2007-10-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

chestnut moonrise

2007-10-21T16:58:00.001-07:00

chestnut moonrise
Originally uploaded by dpbtwo

winter is on it's way, albeit a little tardy...

The Bowl

2007-09-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am still on my tour of 'firsts in LA' and tonight was the first time at the bowl. What an amazing venue

- lion tamer

2007-06-02T21:40:00.001-07:00

2001-03-03 01.42.04 PM.jpg
Originally uploaded by dpbtwo

check out this and a few other photos of mine on imagekind

- yacht rock

2007-06-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

greatness!!

- laugh

2007-05-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

this is too great not to share

- declarations

2007-05-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

some quick news on two projects i currently have in the crockpot:

my second feature titled Sonny Side Down will start shooting later this fall - check the site as it progresses.

Stay tuned....

- a fond goodbye to one of the greats - Kurt Vonnegut

2007-04-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

Last Rites of Bokononism - Cat's Cradle - 1963

God made mud.
God got lonesome.
So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!"
"See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars."
And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around.
Lucky me, lucky mud.
I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.
Nice going, God.
Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly couldn't have.
I feel very unimportant compared to You.
The only way I can feel the least bit important is to think of all the mud that didn't even get to sit up and look around.
I got so much, and most mud got so little.
Thank you for the honor!
Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep.
What memories for mud to have!
What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met!
I loved everything I saw!
Good night.
I will go to heaven now.
I can hardly wait...
To find out for certain what my wampeter was...
And who was in my karass...
And all the good things our karass did for you.
Amen.

-The Elk Hotel revival

2007-04-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

May 12: The Elk Hotel at Cafe Du' Nord as pt of the 11th Annual Mission Creek Festival
( followed by a preformance by the beautiful and talented Veronica Klaus)

The Elk Hotel; A Dirty Soap Opera
"Life is a circle. A wobbly circle."

"And all of life's great secrets will be revealed during your stay at the Elk Hotel, including how to tell which potato in your mash is the biggest slut. This vision of hell is a fluorescently lit broken record of the bizarre, presided over by top-notch soap opera actors. And you can only watch in appreciation and schadenfreude as they are spun into the recursive whirlpool of the miseries and mysteries confined to the soiled rooms within the Elk..."
----NY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL 2006

for a primer check out THE ELK HOTEL.COM or check the episodes on youtube.
check the Mission Creek Fest website for updates on the schedule closer to the date.

-check this exhibit

2007-03-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Opening Reception Thursday, March 29 @ 6 pm
http://www.sfcamerawork.org/exhibitions.html#sight

SEEING BEYOND SIGHT:
Photographs by blind teenagers

Author Reading: April 5, Cody's Books, 2 Stockton Street

The exhibition Seeing Beyond Sight is the product of Sound Shadows, a literacy-through-photography class taught by Tony Deifell, Shirley Hand, Dan Partridge and Jessica Toal from 1992 to 1997 at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, NC. Even before you know that these pictures were taken by blind teenagers, they are striking in their use of light and composition, and haunting in their chiaroscuro intensity. Accompanying the images are the students’ own words and captions — in which we see how much the taking of pictures came to mean to them and how the creative process works in ways rarely experienced. With its ambitious, seemingly paradoxical premise, Seeing Beyond Sight challenges our definitions of art, vision, and perception and what it really means to see.

For more information please visit http://www.seeingbeyondsight.org.

Read the review of Seeing Beyond Sight in The New York Times Sunday Book Review: http://www.seeingbeyondsight.org/book/NewYorkTimes_BookReview.html

-vinyl finally (deux)

2007-03-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

one last thought...

miles on vinyl - WHEW!
hold on to your hats and glasses kids...an actual 'Blue Note' record.
silky smooth.

other albums i'm 'spinin' tonight:
Portishead | "Portishead"
Jane's Addiction | "Nothing's Shocking" (i love "summertime rolls")
Stewart Copeland |"Rumblefish" Soundtrack
The Decemberists | "The Crane Wife"
BRMC | "Take them on, on your own"
Jane's Addiction | "So What" 12" Deep Red remixes

-vinyl finally!!

2007-03-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

so i've been damn busy the last few weeks (apologies to those whose calls/emails i haven't returned), but i'm back in the saddle this weekend - finishing the first draft of my next feature titled " SonnySideDown". It's still in 'hush-hush' mode but I'll post more deets about it as soon as I can.

So back to vinyl, I picked up several choice album this morning but the first one that hit the needle (if u read the earlier rant -- this is the first record I've played in like 20yrs) was Floyd's 'the final cut'.

WOW - I forgot how great vinyl sounds.

some positives:

1) you can still make those old school mix tapes...'cept vinyl to digital is much warmer that digital to digital...my .02

2) You are listening the the album as the artist/producer intended. None of this shuttle stuff

3) You have to get off your ass if you want to skip a song or to turn the record over.

If you are rockin iTunes exclusively, i would highly recommend that you go out and buy a record player (you can pick up a good sounding one for $50-100).

It's a good musical supplement and you won't be sorry!!!

p.s. - i haven't found The Flamimg Lips 12" yet :(

-go outdoors!

2007-03-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

-neomuet

2007-03-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

Manifesto
1. The movie shall be a short film
2. It shall be fiction or a fiction with experimental influences
3. The movieshall be shot in Super 8, 16mm, or 35mm and in B/W
4. It shall be silent. No audio recording is allowed.
5. The intertitles shall be minimalist. They shall be written in any language chosen by the director. They can be filmed or added digitally in post.
6. The photography shall be done during shooting. Touch ups during post shall only be to eliminate flaws or add effects that can not be done by the camera.
7. The editingshall be done either on film, or digitally after transfer on video.
8. The score shall be an original soundtrack w/o lyrics. Voices and choirs are accepted.

check out the films & try it yourself sometime!

NEOMUET

-modest needs

2007-03-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

interesting chairty - read the stories & donate

-reunion with vinyl

2007-03-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

I decided after many years of digital musical listening that I would dabble in the world of vinyl once again. I remember the first record I bought (be nice I'm dating myself here) which was a Smiths 12" of 'How Soon is Now'. So I have the record player and now have the daunting question to answer - what will my Second 1st Vinyl be?
I'm a fan of Wayne Coyne & The Flaming Lips and there's an alternate version of The Yeah Yeah Yeah song that I heard a few times recently.

So with that I thought I'd give it a whirl on vinyl and have discovered that:

1) Labels still produce vinyl (mostly 12")
2) They are not easy to get (not as easy as my Smiths purchase @ Lou's Records in 198*)

Anyhow, if any has any recommendation for buying vinyl be sure to pop in a comment.
~~~~~
So back to this version of The Yeah Yeah Yeah song....definitely check it out.
It's almost acoustic and makes you really focus on the lyric:

Yeah Yeah Song (In Anatropous Reflex)

If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch
Would you do it?
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be rich
Would you do it?

If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your back
Would you do it?
If you could take all the love without giving any back
Would you do it?

And so we cannot know ourselves
Or what we'd really do

With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?

With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?

If you could make your own money and then give it to everybody
Would you do it?
If you knew all the answers and could give to the masses
Would you do it?
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah/no no no no)

Are you crazy?
It's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want
Because you cannot know yourself, or what you'd really do

-seabreeze and reaffirming my love of the city

2007-03-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid (about 16 I think) we took a family vacation up the coast from Oceanside as far North as SF. Of all my great memories, the most vivid was the sweeping midst and the cool seabreeze. Spending many years in a SoCal beach town, the seabreeze wasn't new to me...but the Bay Area seabreeze is distinct. I remember thinking at the time that I'd love living in SF someday and the seabreeze became a symbolic reminder of that as the years passed back in SoCal.

Tonight as I was headed home - climbing CA St. - I was reminded of that almost eucalyptus like breeze.
Whipping through the building and hills, then finally reaching my nose - I took a deep breath.

Filling my lungs, that breath that took me back to that memory of the seabreeze.

I smiled. How extraordinary.

I've lived in the city for 12 years now and often I take it for granted -
but not tonight.

-check this link

2007-03-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

onBeing - washingtonpost.com

-Fredo Viola

2007-02-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Keep an eye on this kat...upcoming album later this year on the French indy label Because

Also check out:

The Sad Song video

-Spirit Awards 2007

2007-01-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

This month I'm voting in the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards and have been trying to finish screening most of the 20 or so films. Many of these won't make wide release so look for them in your local art house or Netflix in the coming months:

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints - Dito Montiel
Sweet Land - Ali Selim
Day Night Day Night - Julia Loktev
Wristcutters A Love Story - Goran Dukic
The Dead Girl - Karen Moncrieff
Man Push Cart - Ramin Bahrani
Half Nelson - Ryan Fleck