Extraordinary Machine

This next thing is mostly for Jim...

As some of you might know, Fiona Apple's new album has been finished since 2003, but Sony shelved it because of a "lack of a strong single" to sell the album.

Well, I was surfing the net, and came across this:
the entire new Fiona Apple album, "Extraordinary Machine".
The album was leaked on the internet somehow (possibly even by Apple herself), and the MP3 files below are CD-quality versions of the songs, straight from the album itself. Enjoy!

Track 1: Not About Love
Track 2: Red, Red, Red
Track 3: Get Him Back
Track 4: Better Version Of Me
Track 5: Oh Well
Track 6: Oh, Sailor
Track 7: Used To Love Him
Track 8: Window
Track 9: Waltz
Track 10: Extraordinary Machine
Track 11: Please, Please, Please

Hey Mike, here's that song I was telling you about:

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction (MP3, 3 MB)

(My list of) the best films of 2004

(Clicking on each of the films will bring you to a clip/trailer from each)

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Fahrenheit 9/11
3. Garden State
4. Sideways (Clip 1) (Clip 2)
5. Tarnation
6. The Life Aquatic
7. Before Sunset
8. Ray
9. The Aviator (Clip 1) (Clip 2)
10. Collateral

I was looking at my website stats today, and I was happy to see that I've had some site visitors from France and Italy! Pretty crazy. Lots of visitors from Canada too. There's actually been a pretty big surge of people lately... I now get about 100 unique visitors a day. Kinda strange for something that started out as just a little blog for family and friends. So yeah, I definitely encourage all of you new visitors to leave a comment here and there... Whenever you feel so inclined...

Corn Nuts

This made me laugh SO hard when I heard it...

On Loveline, Adam and Dr. Drew are talking about something else, when radio station engineer Anderson drops in a sound effect: The Corn Nuts radio jingle (almost too crazy to believe).
Listen to the loveline clip (MP3, 390 KB)

I did a little research on the internet about that Corn Nuts jingle...and sure enough, it's true:
Here's the entire radio jingle as it originally aired. (MP3, 337 KB)

Adam Carolla (on Loveline) talking about the flaming piece of shit that is Million Dollar Baby
(MP3, 1 MB)

Something to look forward to (hopefully)...

I hate to call things too early, but The Weather Man looks good. Really good. From the trailer, at least. Funny, slightly dark, and possibly pretty clever... What really peaked my interest, though, is that people who've seen early cuts of the film have been comparing it to American Beauty. I guess we'll see...

The Weather Man trailer:
Click on the picture below to watch it. (9 MB, Windows Media Player required)

Eastwood/Scorsese

I was thinking about the Academy's little Clint Eastwood wet dream they had this year, and the terrible fact that the greatest living American director today (Scorsese) doesn't yet have a director Oscar.
So I was thinking about that, and it occured to me, the best way to show how crazy that is, is to show both of their filmographies, with the best films in each of their careers highlighted, and have the films speak for themselves.

Martin Scorsese (unedited filmography, in order):
The Aviator (2004)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
My Voyage to Italy (1999)
Kundun (1997)
Casino (1995)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Cape Fear (1991)
Goodfellas (1990)
Made in Milan (1990)
New York Stories (1989) (segment "Life Lessons")
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
The Color of Money (1986)
After Hours (1985)
The King of Comedy (1983)
Raging Bull (1980)
The Last Waltz (1978)
New York, New York (1977)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Italianamerican (1974)
Mean Streets (1973)
Boxcar Bertha (1972)
Street Scenes (1970)
Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
This man is responsible for some of the best films ever made. Just look at those highlighted films... and even the ones not highlighted. And he doesn't yet have an Oscar.

In contrast, look at:

Clint Eastwood (as director)(selection of best films):
Mystic River (2003) (drama)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) (crime drama)

A Perfect World (1993) (crime drama)
Unforgiven (1992) (western)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) (western)

That's it, you say? Those are the highlights of his directorial work? Yes, folks, that's it... and I was being nice by putting Josey Wales and Midnight... on the list.
But what about the rest?
Million Dollar Baby (2004) (drama)
Blood Work (2002) (crime thriller)
Space Cowboys (2000) (comedy)
True Crime (1999) (crime thriller)
Absolute Power (1997) (crime thriller)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995) (romantic drama)
The Rookie (1990) (buddy-cop action movie)
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) (action)
Bird (1988) (drama)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) (action)
Pale Rider (1985) (western)
Sudden Impact (1983) (action)
Honkytonk Man (1982) (drama)
Firefox (1982) (action)
Bronco Billy (1980) (romantic comedy)
The Gauntlet (1977) (action)
The Eiger Sanction (1975) (action)
Breezy (1973) (romantic comedy)
High Plains Drifter (1973) (western)
Play Misty for Me (1971) (thriller)

Now, here's the reason I put the genres next to Eastwood's films. Here's the total genre count:

Comedy: 2 Thriller: 4 Drama: 7 Action: 7 Western: 4

While he was out doing westerns and action films, Scorsese was out doing Mean Streets and Taxi Driver and Raging Bull... Films that actually meant something...films that had something to say. And Clint sits there now with 2 director Oscars (Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby).

I'll leave you now with one little list. Look long and hard at each of these names, because it's quite obvious no one in the Academy ever has.

Mean Streets. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Taxi Driver. The Last Waltz. Raging Bull. The King of Comedy. After Hours. The Color of Money. The Last Tempatation of Christ. "Life Lessons". Goodfellas. Casino. The Aviator. Martin Scorsese.

About the "Indifferent and Collapsing" clip

Some of you have been reporting problems with the "Indifferent and Collapsing" clip (the original short, without commentary).
The clip is not broken... The clip actually has an audio introduction before the clip, and then when this stops, the video clip plays.
The post below has been updated with the same information.

So, this audio introduction has been updated with a still image stating that what you are watching is an "audio introduction". If there's still any problems with this, let me know.

Just a little tip for people trying to watch the video clips: If you're using Mozilla (or a similar browser) you may have a problem viewing them (a screen with letters and numbers pops up). In this case, I'd recommend using Internet Explorer for viewing the site.

short films

Well, here's the first time on this site that I've put a piece of my own work up here...
These are a couple of short films that I've made, over time. Use the clickable image below (made to simulate a DVD menu!) and choose to watch the short itself, or the short with commentary.
(The "Taylor" clips are 15.5 MB each, and the "Indifferent and Collapsing" clips are 8.5 MB - Windows Media Player required)
(Note: The first "Indifferent and Collapsing" clip has an audio introduction that plays before the video. After this plays, then the video itself starts to play.)