movie times

Penulis : Unknown on Monday, 30 January 2012 | 22:00

Monday, 30 January 2012

All of these were originally published in the early 1980s and reprinted in 1991, a little later than I normally post here, but the covers were designed by the modern master Massimo Vignelli.

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Mylène Farmer

Mylène Farmer, French singer, songwriter, actress and author.

Some say she is France's Lady Gaga, bien sur, before the latter was even born. Others say she is a sort of Madonna with more substance, imagination and artistry (la French touch), some compare her to Michael Jackson as, like Thriller, her music videos changed the way music clips were being made. What is certain is that Miss Farmer is a mega-star.

Mylène Farmer has sold more than 30 million records, is one of the most successful recording artists of all time in France and holds the record for the most #1 hits in the French charts with 12 to date, 8 of which were consecutive. She is the only French singer to have a #1 hit throughout four consecutive decades.

Pretty impressive.

Born in Quebec in 1961 to French parents, she moved to France when she was 8. At 17, she discovered acting and changed her surname name to Farmer in tribute to her idol, actress Frances Farmer. In 1984, she met 17-year-old film student, Laurent Boutonnat, after responding to an ad for an actress in a small film he was working on. They became friends, writing and producing music together, with Boutonnat being the force behind Mylène's music videos--a collaboration that still survives today.

It was with the release of the single "Libertine" on her 1986 album, "Cendres de Lune" that the tone for Mylène's musical style was set, the lyrics are sensual and romantic, inspired by 19th century literature. Boutonnat, who directed and produced the video, was inspired by Stanley Kubricks film "Barry Lyndon" and the novels of the Marquis de Sade. It is the very first video in which a French female singer appears full frontal naked.

Here is part one of two of Mylène's richly decorous erotic epics set in 18th century France. They are certainly more films than music videos, carrying the watcher back to another époque.

Libertine

Her second album, "Ainsi soit je" (a play on the French expression "ainsi soit-il", or "so be it"), has a much darker ambiance, and is more sexually ambiguous than her previous album. Its songs are inspired by Mylène's favorite authors, including French romantic poet Charles Baudelaire and American horror writer Edgar Allen Poe.

The first #1 hit of her career from her second album, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"is the suite to "Libertine".

Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces

Mylène Farmer notoriously shied away from the public eye, and hesitated to tour in concert. Finally she agreed in 1989 to a full scale 52-date tour in Europe; her costumes were designed by Thierry Mugler.

The release of her 3rd album in 1991, "L'Autre..." made her an icon with its single "Désenchantée" (the best selling French single of all time according the Guinness Book of World Records). Unfortunately, a man who had been stalking her entered Polydor Records in Paris and held employees at gunpoint demanding to speak with Miss Farmer. He murdered the receptionist. Mylène fled to Los Angeles to live for a short while.

Désenchantée

In 1992, her album "Dance Remixes" was releases which included a new song, "Que mon cœur lâche", a song dealing with AIDS and sexual relations, and directed by the amazing French director, Luc Besson (I will blog about this director soon as his films are absolute masterpieces).

During her time in California, she wrote her forth studio album, Anamorphosée, again, a huge success.

In 1999, her fifth studio album, Innamoramento, was released, and later that year she toured, the Mylenium Tour, which set the record for the highest grossing tour by a non-English speaking artist.

In 2001, her first greatest hits collection came out, "Les Mots", whose title track and single, a duet with Seal, became a huge hit.

After a long period of silence, in December 2004, Mylène held a press conference to announce her new album "Avant que l'ombre" with her new single "Fuck Them All". The album went multi-platinum. This was followed by a 13-night concert engagement in Paris in 2006. There was little to no promotion, marking a new level of reclusively for the icon (to date, nothing is known about her personal life). This show was designed by Mark Fisher, and featured two stages connected by a mobile bridge and a curtain of words written with water.

She recorded a duet with Moby entitled "Slipping Away", to which she translated the lyrics into French.

Mylène then worked on Luc Besson's film "Aurther and the Minimoys", doing the voice of Selenia whose character was voiced by Madonna in the international version.

2008 marked the release of her electro-driven album "Point de Suture". Mylène Farmer beat her own record of having more #1 hits in France than any other artist with 5 singles from the album at #1.

"Bleu Noir" was released in 2010, produced by Farmer, RedOne, Moby and Archive with collaborations with Line Renaud and Ben Harper.

Her single "Oui mais... non" was produced by RedOne who co-produced "Poker Face", "Bad Romance" and "LoveGame" and who has worked not only with Lady Gaga, but with Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull.

Mylène Farmer performed this last Saturday at France's NRJ (pronounced energy) Music Awards.

So, my big question is... what is she going to surprise and astound us with next? En tout cas, well done, Miss Farmer, chapeau (hats off)....

Groses bisous de musique original et a bientôt.

Love, Charley

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Daily Book Graphics #995

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Daily Book Graphics #994

Penulis : Unknown on Sunday, 29 January 2012 | 20:19

Sunday, 29 January 2012

©1965 / I found some interesting stuff in this book. A filled out, but never mailed, Newsweek subscription card, a 1972 Scientology flyer, and the question "Does art differ from science?" written in the upper left hand corner across from the title page.

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Poll now up...I goofed

I forgot to include the poll for the Rock Star selection today. I guess this proves I ain't perfect. It is up now and everything is all operational.

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Rock Stars - Left Handed Reliever

With the bullpen, I decided at the beginning to have 3 right-handers and 2 left-handers total, so I was waiting for the results of closer to figure out how many of each you guys (and myself) could choose. Since southpaw Brian Fuentes won the closer race, we will picking one more lefty for the Rock Star pen this week. Lefty reliever is possibly the weakest position in Rockies history as you will soon see, surprisingly even weaker than second base. Primarily this is because, aside from Fuentes, most recognizable relievers in Rockies history have been rightys. Here are the five choices (including one holdover from closer) for the LOOGY on the Rock Star team.

Bruce Ruffin (1993-97)

Bruce Ruffin was signed as a free agent from the Brewers before the Rockies inaugural season in 1993. He had primarily been a starting pitcher before his Rockies career, but was converted midway through the 1993 season. In his five years with the Rockies, Ruffin was the primary closer for three of those years. His career record was 17-18 with a 3.84 ERA and 60 saves. Ruffin retired from baseball following not making the 1998 team.

Chuck McElroy (1998-99)

Veteran reliever Chuck McElroy was acquired from Arizona during the 1997 expansion draft for pinch hitter Harvey Pulliam. McElroy spent 1 and a half season wearing purple pinstripes and was a very effective reliever for the first year, but blew up in his second season in Denver. He finished his Rockies career with a career record of 9-5 with a 4.13 ERA in 119 appearances. McElroy was traded to the Mets along with Darryl Hamilton for three players, including outfielder Brian McRae, that accumulated a total of 20 games played for Colorado.

Gabe White (2000-01)

Gabe White was acquired from Cincinnati at the beginning of the 2000 season for reliever Manny Aybar. White spent nearly two full seasons in Denver with a fair amount of success, mainly in his first season. He had a career record of 12-9 with a 4.00 ERA to go along with 5 saves in 136 appearances. Following the 2001 season White along with Luke Hudson was traded back to the Reds for Dennys Reyes and Pokey Reese.

Mike Myers (2000-01)

Mike Myers was acquired from Milwaukee for longtime Rockies reliever Curtis Leskanic following the 1999 season. Myers also spent 2 seasons in Denver and had more successful first season than second, although his drop off was not nearly as dramatic as the prior two entries. He had a career Rockies record of 2-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 151 appearances. He was the very definition of a LOOGY because in his 151 games, he only pitched 85.1 innings. Following the 2001 season, Myers was traded to Arizona for prospects J.D. Closser and Jack Cust.

Franklin Morales (2007-11)

Franklin Morales was signed by the Rockies as an amateur free agent in 2002. Morales was a highly decorated minor league prospect ranking as high #8 overall in the minors in 2008. In his first two abbreviated seasons, Morales was a starter, but his final 2+ seasons were strictly out of the bullpen. In his 4+ year career in Denver, Morales ended with a record of 7-11 with a 4.83 ERA to go along with 10 saves in 102 games. Morales was traded to Boston midway through the 2011 season for a PTBNL or cash (still undecided).

Honorable Mention: Joe Beimel, Javier Lopez, Mike Munoz (sorry, Rosenort), Lance Painter

Voting for the Rock Star left handed reliever can commence immediately and voting may continue until Saturday at 4PM Eastern. As always, your votes are highly encouraged and appreciated. Thanx for playing along.

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Rock Stars - Closer Results

Penulis : Unknown on Saturday, 28 January 2012 | 15:12

Saturday, 28 January 2012

I have finally figured out a full schedule for the remainder of the Rock Star team. There's just 5 weeks to go and the multiple picks are coming up after next week.

01/29/12 Left Handed Reliever (choose 1)
02/05/12 Right Handed Reliever (choose 3)
02/12/12 Outfielder (choose 3)
02/19/12 Starting Rotation (choose 5)
02/26/12 Manager (choose 1)

Should be a fun few weeks, but let's check out the results of the closer for the Rock Star team.

Your votes:
Huston Street - 7 votes = 5 points
Brian Fuentes - 6 votes = 4 points
Darren Holmes - 2 votes = 3 points
Jerry DiPoto - 1 vote = 2 points
Bruce Ruffin - 0 votes = 0.5 points
Jose Jimenez - 0 votes = 0.5 points

WAR
Brian Fuentes - 8.8 WAR = 5 points
Bruce Ruffin - 5.7 WAR = 4 points
Jerry DiPoto - 4.7 WAR = 3 points
Jose Jimenez - 4.2 WAR = 2 points
Darren Holmes - 3.8 WAR = 1 point
Huston Street - 3.4 WAR = 0 points

My Vote
Huston Street = 5 points
Jose Jimenez = 4 points
Brian Fuentes = 3 points
Bruce Ruffin = 2 points
Jerry DiPoto = 1 point
Darren Holmes = 0 points

Total Score
Brian Fuentes = 12 points
Huston Street = 10 points
Jose Jimenez = 6.5 points
Bruce Ruffin = 6.5 points
Jerry DiPoto = 6 points
Darren Holmes = 4 points

The Rock Star closer is Brian Fuentes

Okay, that one was fun even if it proves how much I dislike WAR as an accurate measurement of ability. There is no way Huston Street was the 6th best closer in Rockies history. I could accept 2nd or even 3rd, but 6th is very telling and more so of the statistic than the pitcher. I also was not the biggest Brian Fuentes fan, well I didn't like how he left even though I understood it. However, this was how I set up the parameters for making the team so I will honor it and we will have our "Bush v. Gore" moment with Brian Fuentes as the winning closer. That being said, Fuentes was probably the best closer in team history, just not as likable. I was a little surprised at the lack of love for Jose Jimenez, although it is understandable because at times I forget about him too even though he was a darn good closer for his four years in Denver. Jimenez (and to an extent Fuentes) is the rare breed of pitcher that had a much better career at Coors than away from it. But for now let's celebrate Brian Fuentes as the Rock Star closer in the closest competition yet.

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Daily Book Graphics #993

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2008 Rockies Want List

Penulis : Unknown on Friday, 27 January 2012 | 22:10

Friday, 27 January 2012

Completed Team Sets - 45/396 = 11.4% COMPLETE

pending arrival = red

2008 Bowman - COMPLETE

2008 Bowman Gold

8, 105, 164, 206, 217

2008 Bowman Blue

67, 119, 138, 164, 206

2008 Bowman Orange

8, 67, 105, 119, 138, 206, 217

2008 Bowman Chrome

132, 215

2008 Bowman Chrome Refractors

64, 101, 132

2008 Bowman Chrome X Fractors

8, 36, 64, 101, 115, 132, 215

2008 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractors

8, 36, 64, 101, 115, 132, 215

2008 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractors

8, 36, 64, 101, 115, 132, 157, 215

2008 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractors

8, 36, 64, 101, 115, 132, 157, 215

2008 Bowman Chrome Red Refractors

8, 36, 64, 101, 115, 132, 157, 215

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects - COMPLETE

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Gold

BDP31, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Blue

BDP31, BDPP75, BDPP100

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome

BDP31

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Refractors

BDP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome X Fractors

BDPP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Blue Refractors

BDP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Gold Refractors

BDP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Orange Refractors

BDP31, BDPP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Red Refractors

BDP31, BDPP31, BDPP75, BDPP100, BDPP106

2008 Bowman Prospects - COMPLETE

2008 Bowman Prospects Gold

BP62

2008 Bowman Prospects Blue

BP11, BP13, BP62, BP98

2008 Bowman Prospects Orange

BP11, BP13, BP45, BP62, BP77, BP98

2008 Bowman Prospects Chrome

BCP229

2008 Bowman Prospects Chrome Refractors