Three 250 word reviews

Book - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

"How can you expect a man who's warm to understand a man who's cold?"

These are the words our protagonists Ivan Denisovich Shukov muses to himself in preparation of a long day ahead in “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch”. The novel examines the daily routine of prisoner, Shukov, on a brutally cold winter day in 1951 in a Siberian work camp. From the early wake up calls, back breaking labor, and scarce food rations, the novel serves as an inside look into a dark time in Russia's past based on actual experiences by the author Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

What “One Day” does so effectively is show that even in the worst scenarios it is possible to keep not only some human dignity but also individuality. Shukov in the midst of his imprisonment has managed to keep intact a set of core values that have stuck with him throughout his many years imprisonment and countless hardships. These values are the one thing that keeps him from becoming another victim to the environment he is surrounded by everyday.

The novel manages to convey so many deep and meaningful messages of how human perception is changed in the harshest of circumstances brought upon by an oppressive system. It shows how easy it is to crumble amidst such a rigid routine with seemingly no end in sight and how the only thing that will keep you alive and sane in such a place is equal parts determination and wisdom.

Album - Wish You Were Here

Following up Dark Side of the Moon is no easy task. In Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd has toned down their sound but strengthened their message. The album opens with the track “Shine on you Crazy Diamond I-V” from the subtle synth drone to the memorable opening guitar riff, the track builds altering in sound several times but never loosing it's focus, giving way to the quietly powerful song “Welcome to the Machine”. Through the use of a variety of synthesizers and tape effects that accent perfectly David Gilmour's tapped and painful vocals attacking the music industry. The track shows a darker side of the band, a more serious tone that had never been explored in any of their previous albums.

Where the record really culminates is in the title track. Not only is “Wish You Were Here” the best song off this album but it might arguably be the band's best of all time. The opening duet of acoustic guitars is so simplistic but so effective and memorable. The track showcases the bands impeccable ability to hook the listener in almost immediately and take them on an irresistible journey seemingly through space and time.

“Wish You Were Here” as a record conveys an overwhelming sense of hope. There are so many instances where the album could spin off onto a tangent, loose it's grasp on the listener and become an unfocused mess revolving around effects and synths but Pink Floyd unlike any other band knows how to walk the fine line of being accessible to just about any listener while still retaining a rich sound and deep meaningful lyrics.

Movie - The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan's “The Dark Knight” goes beyond the panels of Bob Kane's original Detective Comics where the memorable hero Batman got his start. In fact it goes beyond any other comic book film to the point where it is inappropriate to even put it within in the context of a comic.

On the surface the plot is fairly simple, the Joker played by Heath Ledger, has arrived in Gotham to take the entire city hostage by upstaging local government and law enforcement in the most extreme and heinous of ways. Crippled by fear the city and it's people are ready to give up and quick to blame Batman, seemingly the only person who has a grasp on how to stop the never ending reign of terror and the only one who has enough determination to save the city.

What “The Dark Knight” does that so many other films like it have failed to do, is put the characters at the forefront of the action. Because of superb writing and direction each character throughout the film is genuinely important to what is going on, and because of this the audience cares and the film never looses it's core focus despite showcasing a large ensemble cast. It's easy to look at this film and merit its superb visual effects or it's stunning cinematography but none of it ever upstages the actors on screen and that is what makes it so powerful and so memorable.

Website review

Nick Veasey X-Ray Photographer

http://www.nickveasey.com/

When initially logging on the viewer is confronted with a homepage that looks reminiscent of a light table used to display X-ray pictures. In white, grainy, block lettering the heading reads “Nick Veasey, X-Ray”. The text on screen flickers whenever it is scrolled over with the viewers mouse cursor. It is a small touch but one that is necessary in order to gain the desired effect associated with the piece of technology the homepage is emulating.

There are four headings on the sparse homepage that can be clicked on. They are respectively, about, blog, contact, and projects. When the viewer clicks on projects they are greeted by a spinning yellow and black caution wheel which visualizes the buffering process before the work can be viewed. The load times on this site are a little lengthy even for something as high resolution as photography. Surely there must be some better compression techniques that can be employed for the photos to cut down on the amount of screen time spent loading each page. The visualization used of the spinning yellow and black caution wheel feels random. Not only does it not fit the sites white on black color scheme but has nothing to do with the x-ray theme prevalent throughout the entire site.

Once the portfolio or “projects” loads the site design is once again sparse, putting an emphasis on placement and symmetry when it comes to how the images and options are displayed on screen.

On the left hand side there are small thumbnails that can be interacted with, each displaying a separate work pertaining to a particular category. When a thumbnail is clicked, the corresponding photo loads into a larger window directly to the right. What is essential and this site does it perfectly, is having the ability to view multiple photos and have each load within the same page, this keeps it so that one click on the “back” button of any web browser will take you back to the sites homepage and not the previous photo that you had just been viewing. The category sets can be toggled by clicking on a piece of text in the lower left hand column. The text used is the ever popular Adobe Myriad font that was made famous by Apple in almost all of their products. Each category is accompanied by a quotation pertaining to that particular set. The quotations read pretentious statements that only an artist could write, for example “The world of fashion is obsessed with appearance and superficiality. As an antidote to this disease I delve beyond the surface and reveal the beauty within.” The quotes do nothing but form a bad taste in the viewers mouth and are frankly unnecessary. Let the work speak for itself, if the collection is meant to convey a particular message then that should be evident by truly examining the pieces and letting the viewer come to that conclusion. There is no sense force feeding a viewer the deep contextual meaning of a collection of art, let them draw their own conclusions. The quotes feel more like a space filler than anything else.

The site is presented with the kind of simplicity and neatness expected with not only modern websites but websites that house works of art. Aside from a few questionable moves in terms of content, the site manages to display information and more importantly the art in a manner that is easy and does not take away from the pieces themselves.

TV Review "Saxondale"

 Steve Coogan stars as Tommy Saxondale an ex roadie who toured with rocks biggest acts back in the 70's and 80's. Now in his late 40's still dealing with the aftermath of a messy divorce he works as a pest controller and lives with his girlfriend Magz played by Ruth Jones and his young assistant Raymond played by Rasmus Hardiker. Both Magz and Raymond are left to deal with Saxondale's recurring anger issues and unwillingness to part with the life he lived as a younger man.

We are introduced to the character of Tommy Saxondale in an anger management meeting where he makes his feelings abundantly clear that this type of counseling is in his words is “horseshit”. Saxondale dons an Alabama State T shirt, a long mane of thick grey hair and a scruffy salt and pepper beard, the get up gives off a feeling of white trash trapped in a Brits body. His slurred speech throughout the dialogue is very monotone and he hails himself as a free thinker, making his ideologies known to anyone who will listen.

Coogan who has gained a reputation for his loony and often over the top portrayal of his characters has seemingly toned it down in this. In Tommy Saxondale the audience see's a character who knows his best years are behind him and appears to just be going through the motions in life. Once you get over the quirkiness of the character a lot of the charm is lost.

The dialogue in many instances is completely ad libbed, another thing Coogan is known for, but in this case it tends to fall flat on it's face. There is a scene in the pilot where Saxondale is interviewing potential new employees to help him with his pest control business. The scene is a relatively simple set up with cameras fixed on each subject. Coogan is left to ramble on about a multitude of different subjects ranging from Trans Ams vs Mustangs, DJs, and the topic of Anthropomorphism or the attribution of human characteristics onto animals or non living things. What you are left with is an overwhelming sense that it all is just a big inside joke that only Coogan knows the context to. The scene seems as though Coogan is simply bouncing anything and everything he can off of these unsuspecting actors hoping to yield something, the problem is nothing genuinely funny ever surfaces. It's a bit that's short on laughs and heavy on confusion.

Saxondale also suffers greatly from the fact that the audience is never allowed the opportunity to step outside of the mind of Tommy Saxondale and look at him subjectively, seeing how absurd this man really is. The dialogue and secondary characters are simply there the react to whatever this man says and does, never do they have a say in how the story progresses or how Saxondale goes about his business. This makes the show so one dimensional that it is hard to stay invested. After awhile you know what Tommy Saxondale is all about and no longer need to be fixated on him in every facet.

The show does have is shocking and vulgar moments of humor that Coogan has always done but this time it's not enough. The laughs are to few and far between to warrant sticking with these character for an entire season. The shows slow pacing is hurt by it's low budget, the same familiar settings where the action takes place ultimately becomes tiresome. Saxondale certainly has it's moments but consistently leaves the audience wanting more not only from it's characters but the manner in which they are presented and interact with each other.

Aqua critique

Aqua is equal parts skyscraper as well as sculpture. At each level its waves of concrete slabs divide each floor of the building and give the it a texture that changes with just about any viewpoint. From up close looking directly above to the buildings tallest point it is reminiscent of waves of water brushing over sand, it is a texture that looks so inviting you it begs the viewer to run their hands through it. It has managed to take the symetircal elements of a traditional skyscraper and alter them ever so slightly with each protruding balcony to give a look as though these slabs have grown over the existing building, they climb from bottom to top like ivy on a brick wall. Aqua could be best described as an uneven slab of clay, where the flat sections of glass typical to a normal skyscraper look as though they are the finished product and the uneven portions have yet to be carved out. The slabs carry with the them a rhythm that shoots through the entire building, while it looks random at first sight where the slabs protrude and depress, it once again reminds of the natural symettry found everywhere in nature that the architecht Jeanne Gang has masterfully captured.

During the day when the sun shines it's brightest is optimal for viewing the Aqua building. The light and the way it interacts with the building as a whole is equally if not more crucial to the building than the design itself. When the building soaks in as much light as possible then the viewer is able to see it from all different angles and vantagepoints and be amazed at the myriad of shapes that appear. Looking at the building at a slight angle from the west end yields the most ineresting visuals, after a few moments the eye loses sight of the building level by level and instead it begins to take on one uniform shape that flows like a piece of marine plantlife swaying back and forth in calm waters. The windows when in direct sunlight give off a piercing blue color that has such deep values it's hard to imagine all it is is a piece of glass.

At night the Aqua building is harder to judge the building. Without the sunlight bouncing off of every inch of glass and concrete the illusion is essentially lost. The limited supply of tungsten light coming from the streets as well as light from within each individual apartment cannot support such a massive illusion. The waves and flow of the building are flattened, the smooth texture is lost in the darkness and the vibrant blue color that excentuates the building so well during the daytime hours can obviously no longer be seen. This is one of the few faults that can be found in the Aqua building, the fact that it looks rather pedestrian when it's not soaking in the suns powerful rays. A passer by would be hard pressed to even recognize it as the same building because it gets lost among the numerous other buildings in the foreground and background.

It is hard not to sit back and wonder though how much thought truly went into these uneven concrete slabs. Was it meticulously thought out in every aspect of design or was this just a quick idea that popped into the architects mind of a practical and easy way to break up the look of an otherwise normal building. It is clear that if they were to be taken away what would stand in it's place is a run of the mill skyscraper no more or less extrordinary then any hotel or buisness center. While the idea of having these concrete slabs divide each level is ingenious and innovative, it is strange to think that they essentially make or break the building. Unlike the recently built Trump tower or similar buildings in Chicago's downtown that have spires or some sort of vertical piece that the entire building culminates in at the very top as a center piece of their design, Aqua has one claim to fame and that one thing like stated before loses nearly all of it's effect when the lights go down. Another issue with the Aqua building albeit minor is the supposed practicality of the concrete slabs, the architect has said they are enviromentally friendly and are there to cool the apartments, but what about the portions of the buildings where the the slabs are nonexistent. Are those residents not only left with absolutely no balcony to step out on to but out of luck when it comes to being energy efficent and cool inside of there own homes. It is interesting to think that some residents have spacious areas to walk out onto while others can barely measure theirs with the centimeter side of a ruler.

Art Criticism

 

"In Advance of the Broken Arm"

Marcel Duchamp's very first in his series of “Readymades” is known as “In advance of the broken arm”. It is quite simply an antique snow shovel with the title of the piece as well as the words “from Marcel Duchamp 1915” painted on. It is said that these readymades are purposely absurd, that it was the intention of the artist to elevate an otherwise ordinary object to the status of a piece of art merely because it was the artists choice.

It represents the little interaction between the artist and the piece and there in lies the problem. Duchamps collection of found objects or “readymades” marks a shift in thinking, it stretches the definition of what a piece of art should or can be.

The answer is simple, a piece of art should be something the artist has taken time and effort to create. It simply cannot be something that is found, scribbled on, and hung on a wall for all to see. “In advance of the broken arm” should not be viewed as a piece of art but instead a critique of art and the vast ambiguity that pertains to the process of creating and presenting art.

I don't think it was Duchamp's intention for his readymades to be hailed as great works of art but over the course of time they now have been. Duchamp deserves all the credit in the world for presenting an object that evokes conversation about what truly is art and what it means to create it but at the end of the day no effort was put into the creation of the object itself.

Why then are Duchamp's readymades or reproductions so prevelant in art museums, the public over time has warped the perception of these pieces and Duchamp's initial message of anti-art associated with these found objects. It is not the fault of Duchamp but that of the public that has failed to see these pieces as the critique of art that they truly are.

"The Big Three at the Yalta Conference"

The picture is imfamous, three men, all from completely different cultures and backgrounds, dressed in a style that is native to their respective homelands, united by the fact that they are leaders of their vastly different nations. Taken near the end of World War II the photograph has a very staged feel while at the same time posessing a candid nature. The three leaders look off in different directions begging the question of what at that particular moment in time each of the men must be thinking, not only about the events preceeding the Yalta conference but the many descions yet to be made.

Men of all three nations converse in the background carelessly, many smiling and appearing to have a good time. It is also important to note the fact that the three powerful leaders all sit while the men around them stand, most likely because of Roosevelts boutwith polio that rendered him unable to stand unassisted but it adds so much to the composition of the photo that while the men around them talk and interact with eachother, the three most important men in the room share a moment to themselves.

The photo from a technical standpoint is nothing to write home about. Parts of Churchill and Roosevelts heads are very overexposed and the color is so washed out that the the red on Stalin's hat and collar pop out and immediately catch the viewers eye.

All is forgiven though, the technical shortcummings in this photo are merely an after thought. When you look hard at it it's hard not to admire the event and the fact that photos like this simply are not taken anymore. Such iconic leaders, at such a pivotal point in human history sitting around casually among their most trusted men. It is photos like this that define the World War II era, promoting these men to the status of legends, and it is rare when three legendary leaders from the three most powerful nations at the time sit and enjoy a moment of peace together.

"Black Dogs" book review

In 1973 $203,000 was stolen from the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin during a stop in New York City where the band was set to perform several shows. No one knows exactly what happened to the money to this day, no suspects have ever been aprehended.

In Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock's Greatest Robbery, author Jason Buhrmester tries his hand at giving an explanation of what might have happened.

The book introduces a gang of young men led by their veteran leader Patrick, along with his ex-con friend Alex, music loving record store employee Frenchy, and career technician/ thief Keith all of which have been committing crimes collectively since they were young boys growing up on the East Coast.

Patrick now working for a catering company in New York City has returned to his native Baltimore in order to attend a party for his friend Alex who has recently been released from jail. Alex was locked up as a direct result of the gangs latest robbery but despite that Patrick lays the groundwork to his childhood friends for another heist, this time taking a large sum from rock's biggest act at the time.

As the preparations for the sting commence, the four friends each have a hand in complicating their current situation. Whether it be stepping on the toes of a violent, Christian motorcycle gang known as The Holy Ghosts, trusting in Alex's greedy ex-con Uncle Danny, or having to fork over several thousand to a funk group reminiscent of Sly Stone known as The New York Giants. There is no shortage of shenanigans and colorful characters to move the absurd narrative along.

Black Dogs is a fun read by all accounts, but in being so amusing it suffers an identity crisis. The four main friends are by all indications the quintessential low life, burnouts whose social hierarchy is dictated by whether or not you graduated high school. They are a sad, sorry group who's parent's clearly are so out of touch and negligent that you can't help but feel sorry for them. Every time you want to root for this rebel gang they always find some way to make you despise them, whether it their overwhelming greed to snatch anything in sight or the fact that throughout every step of the way the group makes crucial, stupid mistakes resulting in consequences the reader could see coming from a mile away. Each section of the book is just an exercise in how many times these guys can shoot themselves in the foot and ultimately push each others trust in one another to the breaking point.

Time and time again Buhrmester bails his protagonists out with absurd events and convenient plot twists that after a while frankly become old and scripted. As you read on you are expecting these young men to prevail and rightly so, they are the focal point of the book and there is obviously no other way to move the narrative forward. It is Buhrmester's inability though, to take these characters into the unexpected, through each hurdle these characters encounter they come out unscathed and what the reader is left with is a group of heroes who gain everything and lose nothing, and the reader knows this is how it is going to go down from very early on. Never do you reach a point as a reader where you are surprised by the outcome of any twist or turn the narrative takes, there is no risk what so ever.

Too often Black Dogs feels like the authors homage to classic rock and growing up in the 70's and while it the exploits of Patrick, Alex, Frenchy, and Keith are certainly lively they lack any substance. In place of sections when you could see this book diving deeper into these characters and striking more of accord with the reader Buhrmester has played it safe, never focusing enough on these young men and their relationships with one another but instead promote formulaic, over the top events that really in no way shape or change the subjects.

Black Dogs is no doubt a fun, quick read, but it will be hard to not constantly be thinking of what could have been long after you put the book down. It's a novel best suited for picking up at an airport and brushing through on a flight to kill time, then immediately forgetting about it after the plane has landed. In no way does it bring anything new to the genre, favoring the same cheap thrills, wacky scenarios, and convientant plot twists that sometimes feel as though they have been pulled out of a hat.

"Collapse" movie review

 Uncertainty.

In economic times such as these it lurks around every corner, where do we as an American society go from here, is there anywhere to go.

Michael Ruppert the subject of the film shares his opinions about he current energy and economic as they pertain to the concepts of peak oil and sustainable development. Ruppert lacks the traditional credentials one may think needed to speak with such authority about such deep and complex problems but despite his rather modest background as a former LAPD detective, Ruppert speaks to the issues at hand with great knowledge and emotion.

From afar one may view Collapse as a rather unspectacular film technically. The interview with Ruppert is conducted in a sparse, dimly lit room but the camera whips back and forth, up and down in an effective manner to make the static setting and scenario extremely compelling. The b-roll is simplistic and formulaic but fits perfectly, the filmmakers know that Ruppert is passionate enough in his opinions and thoughts that he really needs no complement, they allow him to carry the film.

Ruppert has been billed in the past as just another run of the mill consiracy theorist, a man who lacks the formal education and understanding to grasp such large comcepts as the current energy crisis, let alone publish books and opinion articles that predict social revolution and imminent governmental collapse as a direct result.

Whether you believe in the concepts Ruppert speaks of or not you still owe it to yourself to hear him out. His ideaology may be considered conspiracy but there are just some points Ruppert makes that are truthfully hard if not impossible to argue with such as the fact that our society is built on a platform of infinite growth which is unsustainable in every way, Ruppert plants a seed in the viewers mind that doom is inevitable, that the day to day life as we know it is about to change in a big way sooner rather then later.

The seed Ruppert plants while at first may seem perposterous has a way of lingering in your mind long after the end credits roll, long enough to realize that maybe what this seemingly simple man speaks about has a very scary truth to it. It forces the viewer to consider the worst while at the same time coming to terms with the fact that it might be to late to do anything about it.

Lateralus by Tool

Tools third studio album Lateralus is an uninspired Hodge-podge of double bass drum kicks and filtered guitar that unlike their previous albums amounts to something that is neither deep nor meaningful.

Opening with a track entitled “The Grudge” Tool puts on full display that they have resorted to a myriad of electronic delays, vocal effects, and sludgy drum beats to fill their so called new millennium sound. Maynard James Keenan, the lead man, applies a vocoder effect to his vocals that does nothing but give the song an over the top silly feel while unleashing equally laughable lyrics like “Saturn ascends, choose one or ten. Hang on or be humbled again” or “Give away the stone. Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.” Gone is the promising new age progressive rock sound that had made the band so promising after the release of their first two studio albums Undertow and Aenima.

In place of meaningful, socially relevant lyrics, the band has resorted to songs that revolve around planets, astrology and just about anything else pertaining to the metaphysical. As the album progresses the lyrics feel more and more like an inside joke between the band instead of something that the listener can really grab onto and find meaning for themselves. This is on full display in the single off the album entitled Schism, James Keenan sings phrases such as “Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing, Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion” and “Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over, To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication” what the band is trying to say in these songs is anyone's guess but it's clear that they have alienated their listeners by seemingly picking loose phrases out of a hat and crudely cutting and pasting them together to create a jumbled messes of songs.

The dissonant electronic noises and elements that Tool has employed to try to give a more modern depth to the album fall flat and just add unwarranted noise to an already noisy, annoying soundscape. In the end it is just an exercise in boredom, the band tries to see how long they can go through the motions, pounding the same repetitive rhythms, following the same formula of starting slow, ramping up far to early in each track and subsequently sputtering through the remainder of the songs. Each track is so muddied with the sludge sound of the low tuned bass and excessive double bass drum kicks that the tracks have no identity, after awhile each track melds into one another to make an amorphous wall of sound distorted with digital effects accompanied by meaningless songwriting.

Lateralus quite simply put is an album that overstays it's welcome. Each track has the appearance of a deep soundscape destined to immerse any listener but unfortunately it amounts to absolutely nothing. In an attempt to create a magnum opus that transcends space and time Tool has come off as a group of self obsessed musicians whose sound and message has taken a step in the wrong direction.

Album Review "The Final Cut" by Pink Floyd

The last studio album to feature all four members of the band is often an overlooked work that is spun more or less as a Roger Waters solo project featuring the talents of David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright.

The album opens with the track “A Postwar Dream” a bare bones track consisting of Waters sob filled vocals supported by a subtle organ drone which is followed by a chorus of defeated trumpets and violins, ultimately ending in an explosion of drums and Gilmour's patented wailing guitar possessing an airy atmospheric quality. This song sets the format for just about every subsequent track on the record.

Waters agenda is out there for all to see, unlike previous Floyd albums, it seems as though this time more emphasis has been put on the lyrical aspect of the music instead of the music itself. Gilmour still has his moments of powerful guitar work, no time more obvious then the song “Not Now John” which is the only time Gilmour's vocal talents are lent to the album.

As the album spins on it is obvious that the two were at a loss of how to incorporate each man's strengths as seamless as they have in previous releases, the lyrics clash with Gilmour's guitar more often then they support each other, the final product feels forced as if Waters sectioned of a certain amount of time in each track for Gilmour's famous soloing and then would cut off immediately.

In the end “The Final Cut” still goes down as a Pink Floyd work and rightly so, it still contains elements that are not truly exclusive to Waters style but comes up short. It is clear that the band had reached a crossroads in this album, Waters heavy, socially charge lyrics could no longer be supported by the Pink Floyd sound and style that had been so prevalent in each and every album before.