Sunday, 3 October 2004
Hippos, hats and harmony
Greetings Blog Machines, here is the news. Correspondent Paul McC was at Belmont Park yesterday and he swears Funny Cide is as bright and shiny as ever. I had a trifecta box on that race: Funny Cide, Newfoundland, and The Cliff?s Edge. How much money would I have made if I had actually gone down to OTB and placed the bet? $356. Newfoundland is still my favorite horse this season. Go Newfy go! Pico Central and Voodoo were hot yesterday too. And if you lost money at the race track this weekend, don?t sweat it. A bad day at the race track is still better than a good day anywhere else.
And now: the Optimistic Hat Production Update: A Season in Hats:
Daniel?s bright guy Oct 7th
Lisa and Mark?s dogdeers Oct 7th
Jeff Chester?s Field Theory Oct 7th
Russ?s two crazy kid caps Oct 14th
One special secret agent hat Oct 20th
Joe?s chupacabra two Oct 24th
Janet?s field theory hat Oct 31st
Laynie?s Rose Colored hat Nov 7th
Jake?s Chupacabra Nov 15th
Peter O?s sherpa cap Nov 22nd
Kaia?s Walla Walla Wear Dec 1st
Stacy?s Dog Dear mubarak Dec. 7th
Jennifer T?s field theory hat Dec. 15th
Devin?s Dog Deer Xmas
Kelly?s pink and green hats Xmas
Juliana?s pick of the month Jan 1st
Chris B?s Seafood Deluxe Jan 1st
Sophie?s light blue snowflake Jan 2nd
Lizzie?s Sheepinator Jan 7th
Jeff Chang?s Another basic hipster Jan 14th
Angelo?s spider man hat Jan 21st
And last but not least, mind the gap. That?s right dear Lisablog readers. You may notice a slight gap in programming this week. Why? Like Dante in La Vita Nuova, I have to go on another one of those secret agent missions. I could tell you about it, but then I?d have to kill you, and that would be unpleasant for all of us.
Here are some wise words from that great Italian bardster to keep you occupied while I am away:
?It was but a short time before I became so weak and so frail that many of my friends were concerned about my appearance; while others, full of malicious curiosity, were striving to learn about me that which above all I wished to keep secret. Then I, becoming aware of the maliciousness of their questions, by Love?s will, which commanded me according to the counsel of reason, would answer by saying that it was Love that had governed me so. I said that it was Love because on my face so many of his signs were clearly marked that they were impossible to conceal. And when people would ask, ?For whom has Love so undone you?? I, smiling, would look at them and say nothing of my friend across the Atlantic due to arrive at JFK at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.?
Saturday, 2 October 2004
Community Service Update
Go to Guatemala and help people My friend Giselle works for this organization. Check it out.
Onward to the Hippodrome!
O there are some beautiful races at Belmont Park today. The weather report: it looks like rain, but the track is fast and the turf is yielding.
Here are my hot tips:
Race Seven: 1 1/4 miles on the turf. It?s a grade one. Of course you might want to bet on Film Maker, just for her name, but I?m betting a box on Humaita and Moscow Burning. And Riskaverse? Maybe.
Race Eight: 6 furlongs on the dirt. It?s another grade one. Speightstown and Pico Central are going to be neck and neck. You better believe it.
Race Nine: 1 1/2 miles on the turf. Grade One. That?s a long ass race. Who can pull it off? Maybe one of those European horses like Maktub or Magistretti. But I have to be loyal to my Eastern European ancestors: bet on Polish Summer as a long shot.
Race Ten: 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. Grade One. What a race. What a super line up of horses. Imagine putting Bob Creeley and Michael Ondaatje and John Ashbery out on the track. That?s the kind of race this is. Newfoundland is my favorite, but there?s all kind of star power here: the Cliff?s Edge, Evening Attire, Bowman?s Band, and Funny Cide. It?s a cool day, which bodes well for asthmatic Funny Cide, but you know that The Cliff?s Edge and Evening Attire are rough and tough.
And here?s a close up of the tenth race:
The Cliff?s Edge is the one horse and is three years old and was born in April and is trained by Nicky Zito and Gary Stevens the movie star is riding on him. The Cliff?s Edge simply loves big ass races. He runs in grade one and grade two races all the time. He?s a true Olympian, like a horse out of a Pindar ode. He?s come in second place in his last three races and tends to be a closer. So what?s up with him? Can he win? Maybe. 4/1.
Love of Money is the two horse and is the grandson of Mr. Prospector, just like the Cliff?s Edge and he race his first graded race in September and came in first and beat Pollards Vision. The problem with Love of Money is that he?s inexperienced. The tricky thing about Love of Money is that he?s a Dutrow horse, and you know that Mr. Dutrow is a razor sharp trainer. 7/1.
Domestic Dispute is a four year old son of Unbridled?s Song and grandson of Unbridled. He?s a world traveler and has even been to Saudi Arabia. But he?s never run at Belmont before and he?s got a mediocre trainer named Patrick Gallagher. 12/1.
Evening Attire is number 4 and he makes horses quake with fear. He is 6 years old and is grey. He won his last race at a mile and a quarter at Saratoga in August and beat Funny Cide and Bowmans Band. But is he past his prime? Probably. 9/2.
Bowman?s Band is the five horse and he is six years old. He is trained by Allen Jerkens. He likes to run a solid third. He would be a good team player, but as an individual in a field of individuals, he is only slightly above average. Don?t get me wrong, he?s a nice horsie and he could win this race but I don?t think he will. 8/1.
Newfoundland. Go Newfoundland. Why did Newfoundland flounder in his last two races? I simply don?t know, but he seems to be tired. He is however a Todd Pletcher horse, and that means something. And he has good blood? he is the son of Storm Cat and the grandson of Storm Bird, and the grandson of Deputy Minister on his mother?s side. He?s a tough one to figure to win today, even though I am loyal to him because I won money on him in July. Poor Newfoundland. 7/1.
Funny Cide is the seven horse and is everybody?s best friend. He is the grandson of Forty Niner and the grandson of Slewacide. He runs and he runs and he runs and sometimes he wins and sometimes he doesn?t. He likes to come in second place in this crowd of horses, so it?s tough to bet on him to win. 6/1.
Lisa?s Picks: Try to beat The Cliff?s Edge, but you?re going to have a hard time doing that.
Friday, 1 October 2004
The following is a paid advertisement
Hey, my friend Jenn made this excellent movie and she is simply the best young filmmaker in the universe. Stan Brakhage thought that she was the greatest. Dig it. Also, believe it or not, I'm in this movie. I play a crazy person who is a writer. It was one of the most challenging roles of my acting career.
Jennifer Reeves' The Time We Killed (2004, 94 min, B&W)
*The director will be present for Q & A at these screenings...
Vancouver International Film Festival:
*October 1, 2004, 7:00 pm (Friday)
*October 3, 2004, 3:00 pm (Sunday)
Pacific Cinematheque
www.viff.org
Chicago International Film Festival:
*October 15, 2004, 6:45 pm (Friday)
*October 16, 2004, 5:00 pm (Saturday)
October 17, 2004, 8:30 pm (Sunday)
Landmark Century Theatre
2828 North Clark Street
www.chicagofilmfestival.com
London International Film Festival:
*October 22, 2004, 20:45 (Friday)
October 25, 2004, 14:00 (Monday)
National Film Theatre, Screen Three (NFT3)
http://www.lff.org.uk/
http://www.lff.org.uk/films_details.php?FilmID=543
National Film Theatre
Upper Ground, South Bank
Cinematheque Ontario
*November 10, 2004, 6:30 pm
Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. West, Toronto
The film is also showing soon at:
Seoul Film Festival
Milwaukee Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Mix Brazil
THE TIME WE KILLED
A Sparky Pictures Inc. Production. Produced by Jennifer T. Reeves and Randy Sterns. Written, directed, and edited by Jennifer Todd Reeves. Camera (B&W, 16mm, DVCAM-to-16mm) Jennifer Todd Reeves. Music by Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, Zeena Parkins, Pitt Reeves, Eyvind Kang. Running Time 94 MIN. With: Lisa Jarnot, Valeska Peschke, Rainer Dragon, Susan Arthur, Jennifer Reeves.
AWARDS
Berlin International Film Festival: FIPRESCI
Award in the Forum section
Tribeca Film Festival: Best NY, NY Narrative Feature
OUTFEST, Los Angeles: Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award
"In this film, an agoraphobic writer retreats into the presumed safety of her New York City apartment, only to be confronted with psychic travails triggered by overheard conversations about suicide in a neighboring apartment, televised images of the American invasion of Iraq, memories of September 11, and thoughts and dreams of childhood experiences, travel adventures, and former lovers. The confinement of the protagonist's apartment world is visually expressed through crisp black-and-white digital video cinematography. These present-moment scenes are interlaced throughout the film with more lyrical passages, which represent the flights of fancy of the protagonist's internal, subjective world. Such moments are visually expressed by the filmmaker in more abstract fashion, through the use of dazzling images photographed on 16mm black-and-white motion picture film. The panoply of landmark experimental techniques, such as grainy and overexposed shots (all photographed and optically manipulated by Reeves' own hands), imbue this film with a rich and varied texture. A brilliant feature debut".
--JON GARTENBERG, Film programmer, Tribeca Film Festival.
A full-length interview with Reeves about The Time We Killed (by Brent Kite), appears in the Fall 2004 Cinema Scope issue.
--
Thursday, 30 September 2004
Campaign 2004
Harry and Bela?s Expert Political Analysis of the First Presidential Debate
Harry: That guy has bad hair.
Bela: I agree with you Harry. He has very bad hair.
Harry: Is he for the war or against the war?
Bela: He?s for sending more troops because help is on the way but he also says it?s a war we can?t win that has nothing to do with the war on terror and we shouldn?t be there.
Harry: What?s a Tora Bora?
Bela: I don?t know.
Harry: Do you think the Tora Bora is edible?
Bela: I don?t know.
Harry: Let?s go look out the window. I think the neighbors are hanging up some laundry.
Bela: We haven't finished our expert political analysis yet.
Harry: Okay. I'm endorsing the Tora Bora.
Bela: Me too.
Wednesday, 29 September 2004
Society Pages
By now you are wondering, when will Lisa get over her strange fascination with London. Fear not, I'm going to Greece for Christmas and you'll never hear the end of my stories about the oracle at Delphi. But until then, more London photos.

Here are the three T's at my reading at the Whitechapel Gallery, September 9th: Tim, Thomas and Tom. Go T's!

Here's me with my new friend Paul Noble. He's an excellent artist. Check out his work. I posted a link to his work way back a couple weeks ago.
Tim and Chiaki took this picture of me and Thomas in an excellent Greek restaurant. I drank Greek beer. Thomas drank the weirdest best Greek liquor which I think was Tsipouro. It was clear and hot and the owner of the place said it was made from the vapor of distilled grapes. Here is some information about it: "Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing approximately 36% alcohol per volume and is produced from the must-residue of the winepress. The distillation process lasts for about three hours, during which the product is tasted for its alcohol content, and controlled by increasing or decreasing the heat. Finally, the distillation stops just when the acquired Tsipouro has the desired taste.
The name Tsipouro is used throughout the country, except for Crete, where the same spirit with a stronger flavor is known as "Tsikoudia". In some areas of Greece, the Oriental name "Raki" is also used."
More on the alcoholic beverages of Greece soon.
Tuesday, 28 September 2004
names of the dead
Seven Arabs in the West Bank
David W. Johnson, National Guard
Clifford L. Moxley, National Guard
Robert Oliver Unrue, age 25
Number of Americans Killed in Iraq: 1046.
Memorial T-Shirts dedicated so far: 81.
Black Magic

This post is going out to Dave in Sacramento.Okay, so check this out. Last night in English 64 we're reading the Egyptian Book of the Dead (Hymn to Ra) and my student Peter says "I'm a freemason" and everyone says what? And he says "Malcolm X was a freemason too." So Peter is a Prince Hall Mason, which is a special group of black masons and he says "we're really into Egypt" but then he says he can't tell us anything else.
Now check out Elijah Muhammad's red fez-- mason or not a mason?
Monday, 27 September 2004
And now a short preview of upcoming programming on Lisablog:
In-depth political analysis of the 2004 Bush-Kerry Debates by mammal commentators Harry and Bela.
Bargain Travel News: How to get across the Atlantic without having to sell a kidney.
From the House of War: More bad news, of course.
From the House of Ra: Divine incest: which sibling did you sleep with?
From the House of Achilles: How Athena tricked Hector into biting the dust.
And a brief update of the skull bones, world leaders (back to Central America) and the arabic word of the day.
When you want the latest and the greatest news, tune into Lisablog.
Sunday, 26 September 2004
news and noteworthy
Maybe you don't know where the word gossip came from, like I didn't know until I looked it up in the OED a few minutes ago. It's Old English, and also Old Norse, coming from godsibb and gudsifi and gudsifia as in a godfather or godmother-- someone with a close affinity to another person. Be kind to the gossips in your life, they only talk about you because they are your god-siblings.
Lisablog Gossip: The great crocodile did not suceed in devouring the solar disk this morning and it is a sunny day in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, one source tells Lisablog that Ms. Hawaii has been arrested in her home state for selling meth amphetamine. Also the following people are on a terrorist watch-list and are grounded from air flight: Cat Stevens, Ted Kennedy, Osama bin Laden, everyone with the first name Akbar and of course, Ms. Hawaii. More on these story soon.
Also in other news, rumors abound that one of Lisablog's contributing writers, Lisa, has been kidnapped by a Burmese prince and taken to a small island off the coast of Africa to work as a sheep shearer. Don't believe everything you hear, gentle Lisablog readers. Lisa was in fact seen at home in Brooklyn today with her cats Harry and Bela. They made four bucks on Our Rite of Spring in the 2nd Race at Belmont Park.
Newer | Latest | Older