Southpaw Jones

I’m back! Happy Monday to you. I took a week off from work, the site, and performing to rest, reflect, and give thanks. I feel rested, reflected, and thanks-drained.

I spent time in Houston and Austin, visiting with friends, family, and my dang self. I did not shop very much at all, but I did see three whole movies on the big screen. Did you know that’s really fun to do?

I ended up seeing three very different films with perfectly corresponding companions. Here are my Southpaw Jones Brand Five-Point Reviews for each:

No Country For Old Men (with dude friends)

1. Tommy Lee Jones is Texas personified.

2. There’s no music! But it works.

3. It’s a bit long, with a meandering plot. In other words, a lot like life.

4. The scary guy is very scary.

5. I think it makes a solid point that the world is and ever has been a bit insane. Every tired, old man thinks he is the first to notice it. Things have never been worse than they are always. Something like that. Go see it. Coens rule.

August Rush (with my mother)

1. This film is highly and unabashedly manipulative.

2. It’s about the power of music and the interconnectedness of all things. Not a bad theme, brotha!

3. Keri Russell is pretty. Robin Williams is pretty annoying.

4. The kid in the film is a musical prodigy, but all the music he creates sounds like typical, emotional movie music. Julliard would not really be that impressed, would they?

5. The film is produced by a company called Southpaw Entertainment. Yay!

I’m Not There (with my girlfriend)

1. This is the ultimate film for Bob Dylan fans.

2. Who is this guy? Who was that guy? What is identity? What do you mean by “people”?

3. Cate Blanchett steals the show and has fun doing it.

4. It’s a little long and indulgent, but so are many Dylan songs.

5. When a character elicits awe, pity, envy, anger, and worship, well, you know you’re watching a good flick.

In our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart
until, in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.
Robert F. Kennedy, slightly misquoting Aeschylus, upon the assasination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 1968.

Money-gami!




One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

Your voice sounds all rough and hissy like an Egyptian cobra. What’s up with your…

Highlight here for answer: [asp rasp]

Thursday, November 29th, 2007
8:00 PM
Flipnotics at the Triangle
4600 Guadalupe
Austin, TX
(512) 380-0097
flipnotics.com

After the show…
Groundwork Music Project Benefit
Scoot Inn
1308 E. 4th Street @ Navasota
Austin, TX 78702
www.eastinns.com
An Influences Hoot Night featuring The Ginn Sisters, Chris Brecht and the Broken 45s, Cat Scientist, Graham Webber, The People vs De La Rosa, Ricky Stein and Friends, Synoptic Fusion, Abi Tapia, LeatherBag & Co., Slowtrain, Gary Graves, and Clifford. I’ll go on with Matt the Electrician around midnight.