So, hunter, kelly, kristin and i watched Battle Royale over the weekend. Wow, it was quite great. A bit like lord of the flies, to be sure, but an interesting (and controversial) play on the idea. You’ve got crazy slasher film violence, interspersed with friendship, love and betrayal. Not to mention Beat Takeshi‘s dry and dark sense of humour. “Here is a list of your dead friends!”.

You may have guessed that this movie is not for everyone. It certainly is bloody, and by some could be construed as crude or crass. However, within it’s dark and bloody confines, lies a very interesting treatise on the human connection, both positive and negative.

Check my earlier post on BR.

point in case. Yamaha touches your heart.

This just in: the transformers have nothing on these trucks. and somewhere, optimus prime weeps in fear.

Thanks to the j-kizzle for the links.

BEEEEEEEEES!

I’m sitting here listening to Led Zeppelin‘s “How the West Was Won” — a three disc set of live Zeppelin from the early seventies. Most of this stuff hasn’t been heard since it was played, and having not lived during a time at which I could have seen Zeppelin in their hedonistic heyday, I certainly haven’t heard anything like this. Yeah, I’ve heard a fair bit of Zeppelin live stuff — like their BBC sets, etc, but even then they were constrained by airtime, etc. This set really showcases how tight and strong — a true force of rock — Led Zeppelin was in concert. More later…

Slight update: Last night, I told Hunter that the first track (“Immigrant Song”) is like a punch in the gut, it’s so hard and urgent. I think it’s more like a knee-drop in the chest, upon further listening.

I can’t remember clearly if Hunter had mentioned Battle Royale to me a while back, but it certainly sounds like something i’d be interested in. Either that, or it’s something i’d like for reality TV to turn into.

The capsule from TokyoPop’s Battle Royale page reads:

In the future, random Jr. High School classes are chosen to compete in a game called Battle Royale. The rules: only one student can survive after 3 days on an island or else they all perish. Weapons are handed out and each student is sent out into the field alone and unprepared for the horror that awaits them. The classmates turn upon themselves in a battle for survival, treaties are made and broken, and former friends become foes as the relentless countdown continues. Amid the betrayals and rising body count, two classmates confess their love for each other and swear to survive this deadly game together.

Based on the live-action feature film that became a cause celebre and polarized much of Japan.

Yeah, did you read that? It was actually a movie before it was manga. It starred none other than Takeshi Kitano (ne’ Beat Takeshi). And never fear — in true Asian cinema fashion — they’ve made a sequel.

update: Wild and Woolly video has it in stock.

Well, The White Viking, Jackson, Kelly and myself went out to the ballgame last thursday to see the Louisville Bats vs. the Richmond Braves (that link is to the gallery, so click it). The White Viking (that being Hunter, by the way) pointed out that the the Louisville Extreme Park “RULES” sign was funny in itself.

When someone tells you “Hey man, Louisville is boring and sucks,” you can promptly direct that guy to the URL for the 2nd Annual Lebowski What-Have-You festival right here in Louisville. I don’t know if it’s the only Lebowski What-Have-You Festival in the nation, but I do know this — the man who was the inspiration for “The Dude” will be there, drinking white russians and bowling. Yeah.

i hopped over to Funtongue’s Listing of Louisville Blogs to check out what’s going down in the five-oh-two, and I found a number of new blogs:

Bobby Bailey – at the moment, a very productive blogger, and witty at that. check his bit about bumper stickers.

i.code – a guy who collects miniature doors, and works at Mission Data (word up to Pauly)

Man, I need to get kygeek[dot]org up and running.

Hey, it’s Cockeyed.com appreciation day! First off,
The Hans Blix Ultimate Fanpage. Next — Cockerham’s Special Report on Those Annoying Work-From-Home signs. Finally, but certainly not leastly — How Much is Inside?

There is a ridiculous amount of content on Cockeyed.com if you can find it as the navigation is often confusing, but keep digging!

In case you were wondering, Hans Blix is not actually a rally driver.

Or, perhaps more accurately: “something i wish wouldn’t happen”:

I enjoy Jolly Ranchers (the candy, not the commune). Specifically, the lemon variety. Thai Smile 4 has a large bowl of them. I took a lemon, as is my want. I got back to work, and realized I had yet to eat it. Now, I’m not one to just chew it up and swallow it. The lemon variety of Jolly Rancher lasts for quite a while — and I intend on enjoying every bit of it. Well, that is, I intended on enjoying it, until a twist of my tongue shot it into my throat at an unretrievable velocity. As the lemony goodness was fast disappearing, I briefly considered attempting to regurgitate it. However, imagining both agreeable and unagreeable outcomes of such a solution, I decided against it.

Oh well. Unexpected swallowing is something I wish wouldn’t happen.