From the Associated Press…
Improv Everywhere: “Human Mirror”
Improv Everywhere strikes again, this time using 15 sets of twins to create a “human mirror” in a NYC subway car. Great stuff.
“Human Mirror” – ImprovEverywhere
Congratulations, Jason Thompson…the 12th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft!
Sacramento Kings 2008 Draft Pick – Jason Thompson
Jason Thompson, a senior out of Rider University, was selected by the Sacramento Kings last night with the 12th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft. Projected to go later in the first round, Thompson’s stock rose to the point where he was taken as a lottery pick by the Kings.
Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ president of basketball operations, on selecting Thompson with the No. 12 pick…
We had considered a small at 12, but as the draft went on, we felt the best place to go was to go big. He was the number one pick at 12 for us if we were going to go big. He is a 20 (point) and 12 (rebound) guy and there was only one other guy like that, and that was (Michael) Beasley. He gives us another young forward that I think will compliment the rest of the people we have such as Spencer (Hawes).
When we first met him he was 6’2’’ in high school or maybe even junior high and was playing point guard. He said ‘but I have these big feet’ so when he got to college he was around 6’4” and then grew to 6’10”. Again, when you see him make plays he really runs well and is really comfortable when he makes plays with the ball. I think that some of that is because he got an early start playing a position that was more of a size for his body at that time.
It is such a gradual process as you work through all of the different players that work into all of the other information and reports you have on people. At some point you have to make a choice. I think we made a good one.
He is a more mature kid and his game is more developed. It is part of our process of trying to rebuild our front line, plus we have other areas we need to work on too, but we can’t do that with just one player, unless Magic Johnson just so happened to be there at number 12, but he wasn’t.
Kudos to the Kings for taking Jason at No. 12…and for their web site staff for putting the following splash page up just minutes after the team made the selection (click image to enlarge):
YouTube: Christian Beach – “The Finest Day” (Live, 6/21/2008)
Christian Beach – The Finest Day
Above is video of Christian Beach performing “The Finest Day” at The Brickwall Annex in Asbury Park, NJ, on June 21, 2008. Accompanied — in the darkness — by Gorgo on mandolin, John Pfeiffer on dobro and Brian Kelley on accordion.
A couple of notes:
1) It was obviously very dark in the venue so I tried lightening up this video the best I could without turning it into a grainy mess.
2) The pause button was hit about 21 seconds into the song, but recording resumed a few seconds later…to fill the gap, I spliced in some of the studio version of the song.
Video shot by Alison Litecky, who also unplugged the jukebox that was blasting away during the night.
“The Finest Day” © 2008 C.J. Beach
http://www.myspace.com/christianbeach
YouTube: Christian Beach – “Way Back Home” (Live, 6/21/2008)
Christian Beach – “Way Back Home” [Live, 6/21/2008]
Here is dark and grainy, but decent sounding, video of Christian Beach performing “Way Back Home” at The Brickwall Annex in Asbury Park, NJ, on June 21, 2008…accompanied by Gorgo on mandolin, John Pfeiffer on “mouth percussion” and yours truly on accordion.
“Way Back Home” © 2007 C.J. Beach
http://www.myspace.com/christianbeach
“Iron Man” day is here (spoilers included)!
Well, today is THE day! “Iron Man” opens with advanced screenings starting tonight (May 1) at 8 p.m. Of course, I have tickets for the 8 p.m. show at a nearby theater.
Between my waiting for this movie since childhood and the positive reviews, I am REALLY psyched to see this film.
And what makes it even better?
Since there are spoilers involved, I’ll put the rest after the jump…
Continue reading ““Iron Man” day is here (spoilers included)!”
“Iron Man” is almost here!
Well, this week, “Iron Man,” the movie I have waited for most of my life, finally hits the big screen. Directed by Jon Favreau (“Zathura,” “Made”), “Iron Man” is based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name — and my favorite character in the Marvel Universe.
Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, the billionaire defense contractor/playboy/genius who initially creates the Iron Man armor to escape his captors in Afghanistan and then refines the suit in order to defeat those using his technology for evil. Jeff Bridges plays Stark Enterprises executive Obadiah Stane, who becomes the main rival to Stark/Iron Man when he builds his own armored creation and takes on the name of Iron Monger.
Gwyneth Paltrow portrays Virginia “Pepper” Potts, Stark’s assistant, and Terrence Howard is Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes (who will go on to become War Machine in future installments of the “Iron Man” saga).
I am so pumped for this movie. I was a big fan of the comic book as a kid (and even in later years), and the footage and early reviews I have seen are making me even more excited about it. I actually have tickets to one of the 8 p.m. shows on Thursday, May 1, so I will be seeing it a day before its official May 2 opening.
Also, I love the “Star Wars”-esque poster.
Anyway, here is one of the early reviews…
Mike Doughty – “Fort Hood”
Above is a video Mike Doughty shot for the song “Fort Hood” from his latest CD, “Golden Delicious.”
The song, which borrows its chorus from the musical “Hair,” is named after the base in Texas that has suffered the most casualties during the war in Iraq. On his blog, Mike Doughty asked fans to post the video wherever they could…
Bex Schwartz directed this video for “Fort Hood.” We made it together, without the record company, because we wanted to get a message out there, about young people whose bodies and minds are still being damaged in Iraq.
Actually, by posting it here, and making it available on YouTube, and embeddable, we’re bumming the record company out. They liked it when we showed it to them, and wanted to coordinate a whole marketing and radio campaign about it. We were going to wait, and let them do their thing, but I watched the primary last night, and hearing Obama and Hillary snark at each other while this terrible nightmare is still going on, I realized I didn’t want to wait.
It’s up at AOL Spinner right now, and soon will be on Stereogum; we’d be humbled and grateful if you guys put it on your profiles; we’d like to get our message out. Thank you.
Thank you, Mike!
Texas photos and videos
OK…I have a few minutes so I just thought I would post some photos and videos from my recent trip with my girlfriend to San Antonio (and Austin), Texas.
To start you out, above is a photo of The Alamo. Here are the rest of the photos.
And here are a couple of videos from the trip. This first one is of the Texas Cavaliers’ River Parade, which is held each year as part of San Antonio’s Fiesta.
The following video is a bit grainy, but about a minute into it, you will start seeing thousands of bats flying out from under their summer home underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin — a nightly ritual during the summer months.
Back from Texas…just in time for a Christian Beach gig!
Hello, all! This is just a quick post to say that I have just returned from a brief vacation in Texas. My girlfriend and I spent an extended weekend in the San Antonio and Austin areas. We were able to take in some of Fiesta, which began last weekend in San Antonio and runs through April 27. Also, we were able to spend a day in Austin, where we went on a tour of the Texas State Capitol, watched hundreds of thousands of bats fly out — a nightly ritual — from their summer home under the Congress Street Bridge, and saw Mike Doughty’s Band at Antone’s on 5th Street.
I’ll have some photos and videos from the trip on the ol’ blog for you at some point in the near future.
However, now that I am back in New Jersey, I would also like to share some news about my good friend, singer-songwriter Christian Beach. Christian is playing the Writers in Raritan Showcase tonight at DeCicco’s (10 Anderson St., Raritan, NJ 08869, Map). He will be taking the stage around 9:25 p.m.
But that’s not all! Christian has a bevy of shows coming up over the next few weeks. Here is a listing:
May 3, 2008
Twisted Tree Cafe
609 Cookman Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
9:15 p.m.
May 16, 2008
Klee’s Bar & Grill (Seaside Music Festival)
101 Boulevard
Seaside Heights, NJ 08751
9:00 p.m.
June 18, 2008
Triumph Brewing Co.
“Unplugged Acoustic”
117 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
9:15 p.m.
Please visit www.myspace.com/christianbeach for more information.
Finally, here is video of Christian and his ad-hoc backing band performing David Bowie’s “Five Years” at the Main Man Records Showcase/Record Release Party for “Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie” held at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ, on March 28, 2008 (because of potential setup problems with the 1970s Yamaha organ Christian usually brings to the gigs, I instead played a cheesy organ sound on my Alesis QS 6.1 synthesizer for this show). Enjoy!
Brian Kelley 