Destroyer's Bay of Pigs

Destroyer started using synths in a more organic way with last years track My Favorite Year, most of the song was in fact synth/keyboard chords leading up to his central lyrical coups and by the last few minutes it slowly faded it out with more of the same. Bay of Pigs is Dan Bejar most audacious work in this vein to date.

Bay of Pigs is also a call back to his largely midi record, that also happens to be his masterpiece, Your Blues, where the synth lines where clearly and intentionally artificial. It was him taking his Brecht influence to it's furthest expression, and in the end it made those extraordinary songs even more poignant, calling attention to the fact that these songs where pop music. He's mocking common place notions of sonic and emotional authentically in popular music, but as he usually does Bejar ended up achieving just that. Bay of Pigs is Destroyer's latest engagement of these troupes and it's a brilliant success finding the artist stretching to light techno flourishes that make his emotional if occasionally mocking pleas for authentic intellectual and emotional content that much more poetic.

Only Destroyer could construct something out of processed and airy synths like this, something even the electronic DFA titans would consider to be going too far. Of course Bejar tosses out the usual musical traits, the insistent rhythm guitar, the non nonsensical lalala dada'a taken to a place where melody is less the point then letting the listener know they're listening to a pop song. Sure it doesn't quite hold the emotional gravitas of Looters Follies or Notorious Lighting, but it's musically more ambitious then either of those tracks.

This is Destroyer as mournful proclaimer of all things that represent fakery. Hence the lie as subject, one of the great political and moral failures in American history. Really only Bejar could take a foreign policy fiasco like the Bay of Pigs and make into what plays as a metaphor for artist failure or that in-authenticity. Of course it's not a literal expose on that event, here it's his usual lyrical abstractions taking themes from past and present, towards an exciting new direction.

Bejar once again has his cake and eats it's up in this gorgeous monolith (clocking in at 13:38 minutes it's his longest track to date), referential like it's predecessors to this own artist's place in the art he holds dear to his heart.

Top Five Battlestar Galactica Episodes

*** Spoilers Ahead***

Battlestar Galactica may not match other series which I would consider to be pinnacle television drama(The Wire, Deadwood and most recently Breaking Bad would win that distinction), but there is no doubting the high standard it set for a non-HBO series and on a station like Sci-Fi (or ScyFy) Channel no less. No it should be noted that BSG like Buffy before it, or the show that Lost later evolved into, often reached for the epic with a capital E in it's mythology, it had plot turns which were bold in ways those few shows or others could ever muster(the majors would be the occupation, the Cylon and earth reveals), but at it's best, like Buffy and Lost, the epic turns ultimately served both character and the ultimate thematic focus of the creators. The occupation evolved from and into a vessel of humanities worst impulses, the final 5 reveal represented the existential crisis that most of the crew(and the matter the Cylons themselves) had experienced since the holocaust, and the mid season gut punch of Revelations did the same for the whole fleet with respect to their faith. However BSG could also be concise in it's narratives and could hold it's focus on specific characters, often at it's best it could be many things. That being said my favorite BSG episode is a combination of both those things, the epic and the intimate. It's balance especially with the year end finales was incredibly refined all the while swinging for the fences. I give you my top 5 favorite BSG episodes ranging from 5 to 1.
****Spoilers Ahead****

5. The Ties That Bind (Season 4) - This ep is one of the first of the season to really look at the resulting consequences of the Cylon reveal , it's focus is primarily on the marriage of Cally and Tyrol, and in that sense it's a hauntingly shot domestic drama from writer Michael Taylor and director Michael Nanken. It's the story of what happens when lies become more then lies, where the very fabric of your existence is in question. By the time Cally realizes the true identity of her husband, her grasp on reality fails her. BSG at it's best plays as an existential primer, where the characters are looking desperately for meaning in a universe(both physical and meta) that often offers nothing but a cold metallic reminder of what was lost. For a brief moment under the sun for whatever lie(consiously or not) both these people held to their marriage, it gave them a purpose against the brink. With the whole truth of her current life pulled out from under her, Cally decides to end it all, but changes her mind only to be thwarted by.. Tory. Of all the new Cylon characters Tory embraces her new found status with both fear and curiosity, she ultimately realizes that for her it is best to simply acknowledge the truth of her existence as it gives her purpose, something other characters Cally included (and later Dwella) did not have. However her ultimate transgression underlines another point that has been at the front of this series. Be they Human or Cylon, our true nature abides us to do what we must to survive. To that end there are the haunting final moments as Cally finally finds a degree of peace intended or not in the cold of space.

4. Precipice ( Season 3) Following what was then the most politically and socially charged episode of it's time with a brutal second helping of allegory and it turned out to be the gut punch. Already having established it's Iraq parallel in Occupation, writer creator Ron Moore continued to explore the moral consequences of the resistance's actions, turning a well worn perspective(the one we use everyday while our eyes glaze over on the latest suicide bombings and the body counts they bring up) and actually put out a deeply empathic eye towards what would happen when the heroes give up moral high ground for pure survival. Unlike most of BSG this ep was largely planet bound with it's eye on the everyday choices and struggles, the weariness and the grime, and like the best BSG, the ultimate uncertainty in living day to day. The events of this episode and Occupation will haunt the fleet until the series finale.

3.The Oath (Season 4) - What do you have left when society has gone to shit? Well for most of the series the fleet had it's rag tag notion of democracy, and the Galactica for a long time had the order of the military as their glue. Back in season 2 we saw what would happen if the balance was not found, Galactica may be run by one man but in the end they fight for something greater then vengeance or mere survival, but the best values of their civilization. The Oath documents the political and social fall out from the Earth fiasco, just as Sometimes a Great Notion and A Disquiet Follows my Soul covered the emotional fall out, and set the ground work for the awesomeness of this episode and it's companion piece Blood on the Scales. Long time dissenter Tom Zarek finally makes his move from mere under the table politics and wet works to a full out coup and Gaeta having had enough of Roslin and Adama, handles the mutiny aspect of it. The Oath on the surface is all set up, but in fact for the major characters the resulting events are the source for much catharsis. Starbuck's becoming hard core action hero after the "reveal". Roslin breaking out of her shell to become a leader again, Gaeta finally acting on his desire to do the realistic things(meaning stop following crazy people like Roslin, and Baltar) and Tigh and Adama finding their camaraderie grove again as Cylon and human, yet emotional brothers against a common enemy. Of course the enemy this time literally were their fellow soldiers and for a lot of them the chickens really have come home to roost. The director here was John Dahl of Last Seduction-Red Rock West fame, and it should be noted on top of this awesome work from 09 he directed the stellar Breaking Bad ep Down which expertly documented the emotional and material fall out of Walter and Jessie's drug business.

2. 33 (Season 1)- The most perfectly scripted and directed episode of BSG and it's not even my favorite(ok it's close to). One of the things I love about BSG is the power it afford dreams and memory's as a reprieve from the ongoing nightmare that is well... BSG in a nutshell. It's not the symbolism that the writers afford these moments, but the powerful idea that for one instance you can lose yourself in your old life, itself a very recent memory. So 33 begins with the most pointed and sheltered of the characters Gaius Baltar struggling to separate himself from a reality which continually sets itself upon the fleet. Every 33 minutes the Cylon's jump to the fleet's location, and everybody is on alert, with the pilots in particular drugged to stay awake from the numbing fatigue. In the final scenes in their midst of this state Apollo is forced to make the first of the series major morally ambiguous choices. This episode, in effect the pilot even after the well received mini-series, went well beyond it's predecessor, and amazingly without a four hour running time managed in the course of 42 minutes to make the dramatic realities of this fictional universe vivid to the viewer. In this new world nothing is at it appears, the line between human and Cylon is blurred at the beginning and by the end the realization dawns that these characters will have to continue to make hard choices and face the struggle to tell truth from lie or man from machine. What an amazing start to an amazing series.

1. Kobols Last Gleaming Part 1 and 2 (Season 1) - Sure this doesn't have the "twists" and epic scope of Lay Down Your Burdens Part 2, or Revelations(or any of the other finales for that matter), but to me this is the most perfect balance between BSG's many modes. It's makes a masterful introduction to Ron Moore's spiritual mythology, it is stellar as individual character drama(with the choices of Lee, Starbuck, Roslin, Baltar, Adama, Helo, Anthia and Boomer given equal time and quality), and works in the previously mentioned existential inquiry, as each character is forced to consider his or her place in the world they presently occupy. Roslin making a leap of faith to her role as prophet, Lee making a ideological based choice against his father, Starbuck losing trust in her father figure, Boomer loosing her sense of self as her Cylon identity fully emerges (in a truly creepy and surreal moment on the base star), Helo accepts the reality of Sharon status and pregnancy, and Baltar acceptance of the divine in his life as only a narcissistic like him could. It's also a stellar bit of action, with the inter-cutting between the various stories becomes increasingly tense, be it the mystically charged or the more "earth bound" being tied up nicely. It all comes down to the final scenes, a twist if you will, that will have major consequences for the fleet. It ends as it in the beginning with a haunting montage of the characters in their respective corners, trying to assemblage meaning from their surroundings, and Adama laid out from a god's eye perspective as he bleeds out. Now that's the way to cap a great finale.

10 Albums to Live Off While Stranded On a Desert Island

1. The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle -Bruce Springsteen

If not Springsteen's best record (Born to Run covering his romantic opulence and Nebraska his sparse heartland tales at their respective peaks) then it's the most joyous and playful album of his career. A work that nearly matches Born to Run in it's romanticism and manages to be as musically rich if not as epic in it's emotional and lyrical scope. Indeed it is the Springsteen's 'summer' album and the one that firmly established his place in the pop music spectrum even more then his excellent debut Greeting from Ashbury Park NJ. So yeah why would I play this record on a desert island over Born to Run or Greeting or The River, again because it's the most exuberant expression of Sprignsteen's vision, one that skirts yuppie nostalgia to achieve a honest expression of working class rebellion.
2. Gal - Gal Costa

Of all the early Tropicana records (with the obvious exception of the brilliant Os Mutantes LP from the year prior which is on another stratosphere) this is my favorite. It's bursting with color and energy and from my heterosexual perspective, it is the sexiest female recording until Betty Davis came onto the scene in the 70's. This is a wild trip, constantly shaking up my expectations and by consequence putting her peers in Brazil, US and Britain to shame in it's emotional intensity and musical scope. It's a true musical freak out and I need that on a desert island.

3. This is our Music - Galaxie 500

This is the music for lazy days wandering around on a desert at sundown or something like that..so yeah it's some dreamy shit. Honestly it's some of the most gorgeous music ever crafted and this record slightly beats their previous masterpiece On Fire if only for the fact that Kramer and company have more room to work out their incredible sonics.

4. Push Barnum Open- Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian are the greatest of the indie pop groups and while so much of their music is filled with joyful exuberance they've also managed to craft some of saddest documents of failed romance in the spectrum. So why not Tigermilk or If You're Feeling Sinister? Well besides being a great album band this collection of their ep's manages to cover the best of a decade of superior pop song craftsmanship. I need to have this record on a desert island because I love being a sad sack.

5. Feels - Animal Collective

I wanna be a baby. I wanna feel without logic without an ounce of self awareness. I want to scream like Avey Tare, I want the music of my mind to glisten and gleam. I want to hear Feels on repeat with a constant freak out to Purple Bottle, I want to sway to Bees and to hear pop perfection in Grass. I wanna take the best band of the decade to my desert island.

6. White Light - Gene Clark

Over Cohen, Morrison(Van!!), Lightfoot etc I take the former member of The Byrds for some down time in the canopy hammic. This record his solo masterpiece makes me want to feel even when I least expect it. It's humanism is what carries me over each and every time. Spanish Guitar absolutely breathtaking.

7. Substance - New Order

Perhaps the best singles record of all time and yes I need to dance on a desert island. Bizarre Love Triangle, Blue Monday, Perfect Kiss are the best pop songs ever...........sort of.

8. The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan and the Band

Makes me want to break out the mandolin and act like an idiot. Perhaps the pinnacle of American roots music and yeah it needs to be on a desert island because I need a laugh and this record's good vibes provide that in abundance. Yeah and it's good around the campfire drinking.

9. The Meadowlands - The Wrens

I need to be a self-pitying romantic on this desert island and the Meadowlands take my self-righteous vision and let's me wallow like a true sad sack........... so yeah the perfect music to listen to when you're alone on a island. God I love this record I want to rock out and curl up in unison. Depression never sounded so right.

10. Masters of Reality - Black Sabbath

Because I need some hard rock on my desert island. This fills the quota and then some. I will get high from a secret rebel stash to the sludge of Sweet Leaf.

Five Reasons the Emmy's are Not to Be Taken Seriously Part 5

Guest Actors Nods Male and Female Categories Are a Joke

In a year with standout guest work from Bob Odenkirk in Breaking Bad, Chevy Chase in Chuck, Melinda Mcgraw in Mad Men, Dean Stockwell in BSG, Alice Evans in Lost, Will Farrell in Eastbound and Down, and Oswalt Patton in Dollhouse among many others, the votters choices are nothing more then pure and utter bullshit. I mean really the only thing of note here is the pity nod for CCH Pounder who should have been nominated for her work in The Shield. Now I don't know how many of the above listed actually submitted their performances, or if any of them did at all, regardless the award proof selections of the voters are shameful.

08 Revisited: Wendy and Lucy

Along with Shotgun Stories I can't remember an American film of recent that had such an appreciation for small town milieu, or of the struggles of the lower middle class and poor. In this case director Kelly Reichardt gives us a locale we rarely get to experience in cinema, rural Oregon. The broke down community featured here is no vicious trap it merely exists with no real lifeblood, even it's citizens seem quietly bewildered by their plain fortune. The film presents a series of life sized challenges that originate from our economically troubled times and become a source of desperation for the films central character (whose own frustration and loss of dignity is brought to vivid life by Michelle Williams). Socially astute and lyrical in it's outdoor locale, this is a portrait of a woman fiercely holding onto the remnants of dignity and her independence. Throughout Wendy and Lucy we are witness to the ways in which society seemly if not always in actuality, seems to push against our simplest hopes and desires, for it's own self preservation. Ultimately this is a very humanistic work where even the worst of us (the grocer) seem to be maintaining their own circle of self despite the consequences to others around them, and the best as in the security guard, find simple ways to affirm themselves against the tide of apathy. Note: Reichardt is a poet of night and my favorite scene is that of the campfire encounter at the beginning of the film where the lighting illuminating the faces of these drifters and hobos.

Top Five Favorite Angel Episodes

**spoilers ahead**

Angel is often praised as the darkest of Joss Whedon's shows, not that Buffy was all sunniness or that Firefly, or Dollhouse themselves have a particularly optimistic view of human nature or human institutions. Angel was primarily about a man who was forced to deal with the consequences of his past and make amends, it was a story of the search for redemption, but that struggle was never an easy one. Angel from Season 1 to 5 is the Joss Whedon's attempt life allegory at it's starkest and most earth bound, it had something to do with the city LA, and it had something to do with the people the man surrounded himself with, but of course like Buffy, life was often a struggle by itself without demons and vampires to deal with. Angel beat Buffy in it's central villain (s) (although Buffy had it's share of well written and played ones), law firm Wolfram and Hart, another tie into the real world and it's moral gray areas. Ultimately I prefer Buffy just for the quality of it's particular episodes (eps like The Body, Restless and Once More with Feeling are among the greatest television ever), but as a whole Angel is just as compelling as it's father show, it's a portrait of people creating a surrogate family to hold off the world, a show about the burden of responsibility, about the moral ambiguity that pervades dispite any clear moral code, and it never hurt that in a moments notice Angel(or Buffy for that matter) could stop at notice of the sound of either of their names, but it was too the credit of this show that it developed on it's own, while expanded on Whedon's own philosophical fascinations.

5. Birthday On Buffy Cordelila Chase was pretty much a source of comic relief for 2 seasons (she was merely Buffy's rival in the first season), and although she had a few grace moments (her relationship with Xander being the biggest), it wasn't until Angel that she became a truly compelling character nearly on par with Angel himself. Specifically it was the third season when the employees of Angel Investigations really bounded together to become a surrogate family, and with the birth of Connor, Cordelila got to play surrogate mother. Two seasons of visions had changed her, and although the show had commented on that change up until that point and her developing relationship with Angel, Surprise was where Cordelia actually got to choose between those two lives, the spoiled rich girl/superstar actress vs a sacrificial hero against the forces of evil. She gets her It's a Wonderful Life moment with an alternate future where she never met up with Angel in the shows pilot episode. You can praise alot here, Cordy's ghost conversations with people who can't even see her, the continual surrogate family vibe regarding Connor, her conversations with vision guide Skip in a mall of all places, and then the Choice. In a simple and yet non-sentimental way Surprise not only shows us the degree to which Cordelia had matured but also how her presence has served as a humanizing factor for Angel. Even though things will get alot worse before they ever get better for them all, Cordelia's demon accession is not only a wide grin moment, but the best touch off ending for this character who reached her peak here (although Season 5's You're Welcome comes close as well).

4. Are You Now or Have You Ever Been - Season 2 was where Angel really became it's own show(despite continually sharing it's central character's mythology with Buffy) and this ep was a bold declaration of the series ambitions. It expands on the central themes of the series , while working as a standalone tale. It is unquestionably the best of the Angel flashback episodes, and part of the reason is that it was the first to really take the viewer out of the 18th and 19th century's, which the previous Angelus/Angel flashbacks had been placed. It's a ghost story, and a mid century period piece with lots of wonderfully written moments about 1950's LA, scenes that touch on Hollywood, the Red scare, and race relations. The central baddie is one of the most terrifying things the series would ever come up with, and the ultimate horror lies in how the villain draws on the characters fears and anxieties (and listen to that voice of the actor). It's a gorgeous work that ultimately affirms Angel's desire to stand up to the evils of the world be they supernatural or more everyday.


3. Through the Looking Glass - This is my favorite episode of the Pillia arc although I could have selected There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb. The Pillia arc is one of the great achievements in televised sci fi, at once a remarkable departure for this series, and yet unmistakably of it. It's tonally speaking one of the best things Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt ever did in their careers. It's a fairy tale but in the true traditions of those European stories, there are mirror or opposite reflections to everything. Humans are slaves, or "cows", the pillians heart is in their ass, their sun doesn't hurt Angel but it does turn him into demon incarnate when angered. Most perversely this universes "hero" is a tall exotic human demon hybrid who is regarded by the demons as grotesque, and yet who is about every human woman's dream. Plus Cordilla is queen!!. Of course she's a puppet queen and religion is used to enslave and control the populace. But the most haunting aspect of this episode is the beauty and beast A plot regarding Angel and Fred, as Angel vows never to return to LA(or our dimension) after Gunn and Wesley witness his demonic self and Fred plays his protector (and he plays that role vise versa when in human form), the shot that gives me pause is the one where the beast looks at his reflection in a pool of water and haunted by what he sees transforms into his human self. Speaking of reflections Angel sees his hair in a mirror and he wonders it is so spiky. On top of everything this ep is just plain funny.

2. Waiting in the Wings - This is one of the great romantic works in American television,. Angel Investigations goes to the Ballet, ot's basically a 42 minute version of the Red Shoes where art and life ultimately and boldly reflect each other. Cordy and Angel very nearly consummate their relationship (and it's sexy as f*$K) as they play out the roles that the spirts of past had (note the similarity between Buffy's "I Only Have Eyes for You" which also had Angel as the spirit vessel), and Gunn and Fred actually begin their romance with a kiss in the heat of battle. This is Joss Whedon's only directing credit on my list and he wrote it as well, and it's one of his finest. Stylistically it's one's of his most lyrical works, with gorgeous dolly's, pans and crane shots. It's also a fascinating cautionary tale of the cost blind love can give, reflected in the very supernatural forces that create the massive backstage labyrinth, itself serving as a subtle visual evocation of the villains obsession. In her first major film or television appearance Summer Gulu plays the star ballerina, trapped in time with the rest of the troupe, an image of seeming perfection for the villain. She has performed the same dance for over a century, and is still aware of every single pain in serving as the object of desire (her late ep monologue is powerfully conveyed by Gulu). In the end though the heart of Waiting in the Wings is with Wesley as he loses his own game of love, and Whedon usual empathic eye comes into play in executing the parallel between him and Cristoff, of course where one man fights against the love of two others, this man valiantly but sadly accepts his own place as friend and co worker in this episodes haunting final shot.


1. Not Fade Away - My favorite ep is ultimately my fav due to it's ending, the most powerful in American television. No by the close, Angel is not a greater series then Deadwood or the Wire, or recent fav Breaking Bad, but if it's going to be remembered for anything it really should be that ending. Of course without the rest of the series it doesn't really carry the same weight. That's not to say that the rest of the ep is less then excellent it's just it's almost like Angel's greatest hits, with Whedon's and director/ writer Jeffery Bell closing out some of the stories and in their own way giving their final nods to the Buffyverse as a whole. But honestly outside of the ending, I would rank the death of Lindsey, noir style, at the hands of Lorne with two bullets in the chest, itself a shout out to the original version of the show as a detective series. It was fitting as Lindsey was one of the first characters on Angel, with his arc standing out front and center in Whedon's thematic focus with the series. It makes sense that Angel would make his move by taking him out as he was in many ways his mirror reflection. Then there is Wesley's death and boy what a dozy as Illeryia changed into Fred's form and you realize in this moment that she's not lying, she is really grieving for him even if she doesn't love him. Not Fade Away delivers the action goods as well, with the creators writing up a Godfather baptism style massacre on the Circle of Black Thorne, with no chance to survive the fall out for the characters. Angels confrontation with Hamilton brought on the geek boy sweetness as Hamilton gave away the source of his strength. Bell and Whedon provide the viewer with a lyrical interlude prior to the action where all the players (Lindsey included) indulges themselves prior to "cowboying up", Gunn goes back to his old neighborhood, Lorne does his nightclub act, Spike reads his poetry to a receptive crown praise more then a 100 years in the making, Wesley takes care of Illyeria and Angel has a chat with his son. But it's that ending that sticks out, the cumulative images of Whedon's central concerns on this series(and Buffy), that you fight against the evil of the world not cause you're going to win but because it defines who you are. Redemption or not when Angel goes out with Spike, Gunn and Illeria, even if they they live or they die, that brutal final image and call to arms reminds you amends is an uphill battle for everybody. It's a bleak yet life affirming way to close this important work of American television.

Late Marriage

**Spoilers ahead**


Late Marriage is a film where the stifling vise of family obligations turns from blackly funny to tragic by mid mark. It is a brutally honest portrait of a man child, one whose parents want to intentionally drain any romantic notions out his head for his own betterment. It's a work about the desire of parents to protect their children by any means necessary, right down to negating notions of love, unless love is convenient or socially acceptable.
As Zaza's father Yasha proclaims while meeting a prospective wife for his son, marriage is something between the head and down there as he points to his groin.

This practice is not so much an arranged marriage, as it is a forced marriage, but one where however horrific the parents and the immediate families actions are in trying to keep Zaza and his lover Judith apart, by films end Kosashvili manages to humanize them knowing full well that the older generation did make past sacrifices. Not an excuse for the rampant degee of social and even sexual prejudice that this family rages on towards Judith, but regardless a sadly understandable truth in the world we live in.

By the time the family does confront both Zaza and Judith incredibly with her child present, they are a no holds barred attack force, insulting and tearing up any scrap of dignity this duo has acquired. Dover Kosashvili manages to make this confrontation truly volatile without the actions of the family members ever going over into the realms of melodrama. Indeed the remarks of the family border on the absurd taking every little thing as a personal insult. The degree of hysteria here is just right.

What we witness in the films sweetest moments are what a few select other works have achieved in film. That is a work that recognizes the emotional baggage that people bring with them to any relationship, right into the bedroom. To that end Kosashvili manages to give his lovers a honest intimacy that it's actually sexual in a naturalistic way, something which gives greater depth to the objectives they both face, be they a child or a misguided family.

Lior Louie Ashkenazi's performance during the emotional breakdown in his character's apartment is the films most heartbreaking moment, tears and anger gushing up without refrain. You realize how much his ex and her child meant to him, and his own understanding of what he has lost as a result of his fear.

By films end Kosashvili has his lead character look into the mirror at himself in self disgust and you understand the extent of his anger. His face seems to be drained, removed of any hope. The parents have succeeded in making the man into an acceptable member of society, but he clearly does not like it.

Five Reasons the Emmy's Are Not to Be Taken Seriously Part 4

Chuck



Chuck is quickly becoming the new Buffy, since Season 2 (the natural maturation point for any series), it has been the most giving, in terms of entertainment, to its audience, but never is it condescending like most of its network peers, its balance of the comedic and the dramatic more refined with each ep. It is consistently the best pure entertainment on TV. The fact that it was completely snubbed in the comedic area by the likes of Entourage and Family Guy is one of the saddest things to happen in recent Emmy history. I mean Zachary Levi is bringing back the art of the pratfall and that alone should warrant something from these assholes.

Great Films of the Aughts : Moolaade

**Spoilers Ahead**


"Africa is a Bitch!"

This statement made by merchant Mercenaire represents the contradictions that face certain places on that continent. Among these factors are the dominant force of tribal law, competing religious beliefs, an attachment to western materialism unless it affects those in power. A fickle nation, resilient to change and pain in ways few others can match. Ousmane Sembene's Moolaade is the story of how the woman class of a small African village defies a hierarchy that defines those qualities.

Semable approaches the absurdities of these traditions and laws with a series of images resolving around the town center, where the Islamic shire stands, along with the mythical ant hill itself the supposed remains of a cursed king of past who defied the process of Moolaade. The men see the radios that their women use as a corrupting influence, so they pile the radios in effigy next to the shine and ant hill all the while the radios continue playing music from around the world, even as more and more radios are brought to the pile. The music continues to play despite the number of radios that come, there will always be radios and civilization will move forward.

This is another cause to unite, as the women who work all day need some distraction and now they're denied a simple pleasure as if they were children. But the central area of contention that Sembene and his female characters have is the process of purification or vaginal mutilation. Speaking of children, Moolaade manages to give it's child characters a great deal of dignity and respect relating to their fear of the purification process. They know the consequences (although to some degree they won't know the true scope until they become young women) and yet they fight either through hiding or tragically by committing suicide. Sembene sees the village elders missing the ultimate point of their children's actions, and the symbolism tied into it. Regardless of it's tradition in the village it's the women that have to experience this horror and they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Moolaade is a film concerned with a society that is unwilling to recognize the changing tide of civilization, either through technology, or simply the plain truth of the pointless tradition of purification. Sembene has his character Colle state that many women who practice Islam do so without being cut, that many can worship at the Mecca.

Despite it's critical eye and angry perspective Moolaade is a film that is visually briming with color be it the water pales or the yellow of the shrine, or the blue dusk. The camera obverses the telling of stories or the meeting of people with a curiousness, capturing the different dynamics that arise from multi-sexual conversations, or even multi generation ones. It's a film that visually recognizes the contradictions that occupy every day life, right down to the fear then men have of breaking the Moolaade rope or the way the animals and children just seems to move beyond it without care. It sees the collective emotional horror of purification as a waking nightmare with the priestess with their masks representing a legacy of hurt passed down from generation to generation, each woman holding her tongue for fear of trouble. When the character of Mercenaire makes his escape by nightfall, the torch carrying execution mob follows along the path matching his movement, until Sembene cuts to the day where vultures hang in the air, simple but powerful. When the husband of Colle makes his case to his wives about why they should call off the Moolaade, he is presented by the lighting as some heightened sexual figure when in actuality he is cowed, Sembene slyly has some contemporary R&B in the back ground which even the husband can't abide by for it's corrupting influence per the elders. In one scene Colle mentally recalls her purification as her husband brutally has sex with her, the mark this past inncident has had on her consciousness is evocatively conveyed through this striking cross cutting of images.

It again needs to be said on wonderful perspective Sembene has on his female characters, as they mock and howl, while feigning obedience to their culturally subservient husbands. When the women of the film get together and discuss custom or their sexual legacy, it rings with a honestly and joy that no other film detailing a woman's struggle ever has. However the women, as much as the men, are subject to the mob mentality, the fear of being publicly ostracized for a disregard for the sacred. The women who wish their daughters cut ultimately turn away from it by films end, but even Sembene recognizes the initial hypocrisy as they tell Colle they felt every blow she suffered at the hands of her husband, if ultimately holding them to the united fold. The woman at the center who defies the elders is doing so not just in celebration of her right as a woman which she will often convey though song along, but as a reaction against a physically brutal act which could possibly leave any one of the village mothers childless.

Sembene is constantly showing the limits to which wealth, and western prestige have. The village elder is too poor to pay his own debits but he has his son, who gained some degree of wealth in France, pay them for him. When the son breaks tradition his father is not beneath insulting his son for his lack of respect or love. In one of the key moments of the film which is mirrored later on, Sembene recognizes the surface appeal western dress as to the villager, with the prodigal son shoes visually spotlighted by the director as soon as he gets out the truck that carries him to fanfare. It's later in the film when he goes to see Mercenaire to pay his father's debit that a little boy at the market having purchased his first pair of shoes sees his stylish European shoes in amazement. The villagers appreciate wealth and the appeal that this cultured man bring with him, as long as the wealth trickles down, his clothes are just another sign of prosperity, but many are not into the profound notions that come along with western culture, specifically the idea of choice be it a son's or a wife's. The son doesn't quite get the absurdity of it either, although he's on the path to recognizing the limits that a classification like Bakooko has, a term which the women ultimately and proudly usurp for their own purposes by films end. Back to the son and his dialogue with Mercenaire which plays as a sharp double edged sword, with Mercenaire recognizing the corrupt nature of bedding women under 15 and the son recognizing the brutal and selfish nature of this man's own trade. Mercenaire wins out for his self awareness, despite his hucksterism, the man knows where he stands in all of this and it gets him killed.


With its satirical eye intact, Sembene dramatizes a series of escalating injustices, until the women come back with a fury that no man could hold down. In the films most powerful scene the woman who had her child purified while Colle was being whipped, and who ultimately died from the cut, cries in pain as the rest of the women pledge to their new belief that cutting is wrong. It continues with the rest of the women comforting her, then as she lets out her pain in song, we're provided a flashback of details of what actually transpired in the events and the sounds of the horrified children cut though every discussion of tradition and cultural legacy.

Moolaade is the story of mob law holding its weight over people, where the barbaric is held up as natural law despite its life threatening and violent nature. When the women come together at the end to face the elders and their pawns it's a powerful moment of reawakening as the women sing their resolve, their knowledge that despite what anyone says or does that no child will ever be cut again.

Ouemane Sembene died in 2007, having directed a number of films which dealt with African life and the influence of western culture. Moolaade is the only film of his I have seen to date and it's unquestionably a masterpiece.

Five Reasons the Emmy’s Are Not to be Taken Seriously Part 3

Michael Hogan on Battlestar Galactica

Everybody has already extolled on the glories of Edward James Olmos, James Callis and of course Mary McDonnell, but it was really Michael Hogan's season as far as I'm concerned. I mean come on, the man is forced to use one eye to convey the horror that Saul Tigh goes through as he comes to terms with his newly discovered Cylon status and the Emmy's didn't even give the pity nod that is their specialty. Of course that was too much to ask. The Emmy voters deciding instead to bestow WILLIAM SHATNER as well as some guy props for the awful Boston Legal. I mean actually give a talented Canadian props for once(no offense to the wonderful Sandra O) The man has had his game on for pretty much forever, but never more so then in the fourth season. It's shit like that causes me to write pseudo rants like this.

Lots O' Scots

(Left to right: Orange Juice, Jesus and Mary Chain,
Teenage Fanclub, Frightened Rabbit)

Just felt like doing up a list of Scottish alternative artists.

Simple Minds
Josf K
Cocteau Twins
The Commotions
Aztec Camera
The Bluebells
Fire Engines
Orange Juice
The Associates
Friends Again
The Pastels
The Blue Nile
Mike Scott
The Vaselines
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Orchids
Primal Scream
Shop Assistants
BMX Bandits
The Trash Can Sinatras
Teenage Fanclub
Belle and Sebastian
Isobell Campbell
Edwin Collins
Mogwai
King Biscuit Time
The Delgados
The Beta Band
Life Without Buildings
Franz ferndinad
Camera Obsura
The Twilight Sad
Frightened Rabbit
The Phantom Band

Ugly Change : Funny People Review

***Spoilers Ahead***

One of things I like about the comedies of writer/director Judd Apatow is there are always key scenes which clearly and uncomfortably show the messy and sad reality of being an adult in emotional stasis. In 40 Year Old Virgin when Catherine Keener brutally if sympathetically tried to pry Steve Carrol away from his action figure legacy, Apatow stuck a powerful chord in his story of how the man child became a man. Of course his criticism wasn't just directed at the "40 year old Virgin" but his immature co workers and even to an extent the Catherine Keener character whose own business ideas were not exactly sound business. So from 40 Year Old Virgin on to Knocked Up the characters that Apatow wrote were stuck emotionally in their 20's, if not an earlier state. These comedies and several others that have gone under his name as a producer went out of their way to touch on how people don't like to change, that they like the stability of geek hood, or bachelorhood, or chronic philandering, or the stoner lifestyle. All characters who refuse through fear or a past misunderstandings in the sexual or romantic areas to grow up. It's an uncomfortable subject which manages to seriously say a lot of what it means to slowly, if awkwardly mature, while the rest of the world seems to be moving forward with careers and families.

This brings us to Funny People, Apatow's most brutal film in this vein to date, yet one that manages to a funny and touching look into the life of the average immature adult(s). It has its eye squarely on male insecurities through its central subject, the ultimate of the immature stars, Adam Sandler. Now this isn't the first time Sandler has had his onscreen persona deconstructed(Punch Drunk Love), and it isn't the first time he's done a dramatic role (Spanglish and Love Rein Over Me), but it's the first time he's blatantly taken aim at his own fame, and it's a ugly picture that the film paints.

This is however not a work of condescension (although it's satire against Hollywood product it sometimes comes calose) , and to be fair the children's films that George Simmons makes resemble later Eddie Murphy comedies or the Wayans Brothers (although the tag line for Do it Over is like the most crass and commercial version of this film, where life lessons are easily learned especially if you're immature). Simultaneously with fictional tv show Yo Teach, he takes aim at the same easy solutions and simple life lessions that again this film turns away from. Apatow is having his digs into the banal nature of the popular American comedy and at it's best it's hilarious satire.

Despite being at its core a critical, even at times bleak film with Georges breakdowns adding up to the most honest and naked portrait of star egoism gone amok, Funny People is often hilarious and is so without mocking it's characters selfish and occasionally crazy impulses. Indeed even the most sympathetic of the characters are seen with all their fears and insecurities laid open. This is the story of how people change only under the most dramatic circumstance and then rarely if ever do completely change.

Faced with a life threatening illness George Simmons returns to his night club roots to display an ugly cynicism, and then finds himself putting a naive man child (Seth Rogen expertly doing his most emotionally stunted man child to date) on his pay roll to find comfort. By mid film when the viewer finally thinks George Simmons has seen the error of his ways, faced with his ugly nature, decides to take happiness at the expense of the people around him, specifically the love of his life played by Leslie Mann ( in her best performance to date).

For most of the second half the film has her character Laura paint a picture of her second husband as the emotional twin of George, but worse cause he's mean and cheats around all the time (which is really just George now despite what he tells her). While recognizing the selfish nature of George's actions, Apatow puts the viewer in a position where these characters would appear more sympathetic in their destructive choice. Of course the character of Ira can see the brutal truth of the situation, mostly due to his emotional remove and his own naivety with matters of the heart. So when Eric Bana comes into the film, the viewer is treated to a gradual reversal of the initial conceptions, and later the films slightly shifts our own sympathy in favor of his character Clarke. We also get a gradual perception of how the kids actually feel about the situation, as the older daughter confesses her fear of her parents divorce to George. Clarke's a flawed man but he's not near the asshole that Laura has presented him as, a perspective mostly colored by her strong mid life sexual and emotional insecurities. Apatow has presented another female character in a honest way openly showing how her neurosis arose from both her past relationship with George, as well from Clarke's arrogant nature and long distance career, which takes him away from his family for long periods of time.

The second half of Funny People charts George's sad and misguided attempts to reconnect with Laura, and these scenes underline how human beings will take any semblance of happiness where they can get it regardless of the cost for others, unless of course faced directly with it's consequences as George finally is. Laura and Clarke finally reconnect and although it is clear she still feels for George, he clearly hasn't changed (although it's not clear to what extent Clarke would change, but his attempts at reconciliation are a lot more honest). Apatow has presented the viewer with an ideal and recognizable situation, the possibility of renewed love, something which rom coms have sold for years and in Funny People is substituted with several ugly truths. Despite what George tells Ira, divorce or love isn't simple thing that people deal with, and people can't easily change who they are despite what they want.

Despite being somewhat overlong, and a little too on the nose about Sandler's own celebrity persona, and for that matter about star f**kery in general, Funny People is a hilarious look at the perils of Hollywood celebrity worship (which Knocked Up played up nicely as well), and the cost of enclosing ones self from the rest of the world.

Doiron, Elverum and Squire.... AWESOME!! Part 2

Forgot to mention this in part 1 but performing in a church is really better then a club. I mean I just accepted it as fact for years, but actually hearing the harmonies of Squire sold me on it, especially when he let loose from the mike and made some shouts to his right, that the abilities of the church devoid of speaker system, rang out clear. Even when I was listening to the pre show music before Danny Keating, Midlake's Trials of Van Occupanther, it felt like Midlake was meant to be performed in a church. I think that had a little to do with the stain glass windows and those mighty pipe organs at the back of the pulpit but still the sound was awesome.

So Julie Doiron's set was strong, and to be honest I've only spend a short time with her solo output in the past, still I love her guitar breaks between verses or her occasional foot stomp which the acoustics of the room served well, again a prime venue for her confessional and not in the literal sense, I'm sure she sounds lovely in any other stage venue, but still the atmosphere was just right for her performance.

Still it was the Lost Wisdom performances that I adored, with Doiron and Elverum's close harmony's among the most beautiful male female harmony's since...John Doe and Exene Cervenka on More Fun in the New World back in 1983. They're that much in sync, maybe a more contemporary point of reference would be Neko Case and AC Newman, regardless they're work together both on record and in concert is haunting. "What" was probably the best performance for me, but still I loved the called up sing along for "Voice in Headphones", although I can only say I faintly sang the chorus, then again I could say "Flaming Home" as well cause that's my fave song off the whole record. So overall it was gorgeous set.

So we come to Winds Poems which finds Elverum embracing volume on his AC, of course it didn't help that somebody carelessly set off the alarm in another part of the building and then decided to leave the door open so we could all hear the alarm while Elverum was playing, still the man kept it up in spite of that annoying sound and even joked of playing a song that would utilize that noise. So Elverum performed beautifully solo as well.

So the set was cut sorta short because of that fire alarm thing, one song instead of two to close out, all because the fire dept was apparently soon to arrive.

So to sum up it was lovely music in an awesome venue.

Doiron, Elverum and Squire.... AWESOME!!

(carelessly left my camera at home, so no show pics)

Quick recap cause I'm tired. Sad news Calvin Johnson didn't appear, and I'm not sure if Elverum was joking but apparently went to the wrong "Saint John". Funny but sad, as we didn't get to experience, even if it was only in appearance, that icon, but Elverum regardless did one and a haft Beat Happening tracks for the audience (You Turn Me On being one of them) and clearly loved Johnson's music as much as the next die hard. Anyway on other Johnson news I bought the You Turn Me On LP for 12.00 at the K Records area they had set aside(although I regret not getting the Dreamy LP they were selling as well but anyway). So back to the show proper. Danny Keating the first act, and only local one, did a nice job despite needing to work on his lyrical skills and his comfort level with an audience. I don't want to say it was enthusiastic, because it was better then that, especially in his vocal phrasing and his overall skills as a songwriter, the guy has an ear for melody and a decent hook, and laid it out nicely on his acoustic guitar. Still it wasn't till Fred Squire came on with his gorgeous tenor that I really moved by what I was hearing, and Squire really has a nice presence with his audience, very playful, even in vocals when performing. It was a short set with less then haft of the songs that Keating had performed, but it was beautifully executed despite the seemingly off the cuff way he presented it all. Over all the first half was strong. Anyway tomorrow I'll get into the even better second half of the show, with Doiron, then Elverum with Doiron and Squire ala Calm Down it's Monday performing Lost Whisdom tracks (or as Elverum joked the Mount Eerie band), and of course a solo Elverum doing stuff off Winds Poem only to be interrupted by a..............fire alarm(WTF)??

Lonely Hunter: Willy DeVille Passed at 58

For most of my adult life Mink Deville's Spanish Stroll was swagger incarnate , it defined a dirty hipster shake, no affection, nothing forced, it was the authentic sound of American attitude, the lone wolf walking the streets with total confidence in his sexual prowess. It was a aural approximation of a lecherous glance, but it was beyond reproach in it's raunchy sound. That came alot from lead singer Willy Deville. Here was an artist who had by the late 70's assembled an American rock n roots tradition into his blood, specifically a glorious combination of New Orleans R&B and rockabilly sparkled in production with a new wave vibrancy, all of which only underlined the inherent truths in the twin movements on both sides of the Atlantic; That the new music was tied into the old music, and an artist like Deville just called attention to the American urban and backwater sounds with more understanding and well a shit load of swagger.

Willy Deville passed of pancreatic cancer on August 6. A true original, a poet laureate adored by the French more then by his own countrymen, was regardless a legend among audiophiles, specifically those of us who recognize artists who had mastered the American music linage. I'm speaking of a select few here, the likes of which Bob Dylan and Tom Waits belong. Maybe that reads as hyperbole, as it's not like Deville truly challenged and changed popular music like those men, but like them he held a grasp of music past, and had the gift of making it totally his own. As leader of Mink Deville or as a solo artist, this man totally owned his art. In evidence of this I would refer the reader to his 1993 masterpiece Backstreets of Desire where Deville charted the American roots experience with a emotional depth that few of his peers could ever match. So farewell Willy Deville your art shall long be remembered and you will most certainly be missed.

Five Reasons the Emmy's Are Not to Be Taken Seriously Part 2

Not a single writing nod for Breaking Bad

As much as I love Mad Men, and appreciate the Lost nod (although it was for the wrong ep), putting four Mad Men episodes was lazy in such a rich year in terms of teleplays (although kudos for putting in The Jet Set and Meditations in a Emergency). No a two episode limit was needed here, and actually given the quality perhaps even one episode per slot. I mean with obvious contenders like BSG’s The Oath, The Shields' Possible Kill Screen, Dollhouse’s A Spy in the House of Love, and Rescue Me’s Perspective, there was absolutely no need for it. However the true criminal act was that the great teleplays of Vince Gilligan and company were excluded, with awesome contenders like Bit By a Dead Bee, Breakage, Peek-a-boo, 4 Days Out and ABQ among others. If you're going to give this show drama and acting nods then you should go the full stretch and give it writing nods too (not to the mention directing nods but alas).

Sadness Mix # 1

1. I Wanna Be With You - The Rasberries
2. Dive For Your Memory - The Go Betweens
3. Different Day - Heavenly
4. Starry Eyes - The Records
5. A Man Walks into a Bar - Jens Lekmen
6. Insanely Jealous - The Soft Boys
7. All My Little Words - The Magnetic Fields
8. Vaguely Yours - Friends Again
9. So This is Goodbye- Junior Boys
10. When I Came Home From The Party - The Clientele
11. Give Me Another Chance -Big Star
12. Thieves Like Us - New Order

John Hughes Cultural Icon Passed at Age 59

Beloved director John Hughes reportedly passed away today after suffering a heart attack. Just recalling his best film Ferris Buller's Day Off, the most stylistically striking, best written and acted work of his career (although some would probaly argue for Planes, Trains and Automobiles), as well the best of the mid-80's brat pack films, I can't help but admire it's well earned place in 1980's cultural history. Hughes defined the 80's teen comedy genre by writing and directing The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, She's Having a Baby writing and producing Pretty in Pink, as well as directing John Candy in what were probably his best films in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Uncle Buck. On a side note was also largely responcible for careers of Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald and Macaulay Culkin cultural icons of their respective decades. Anyway I'll either be rewatching a copy of Sixteen Candles or maybe paying tribute in spirt by listening to M83's Saturday = Youth.

Five Reasons the Emmy’s Are Not to Be Taken Seriously

*(This is a belated rant)*

This Emmy season held the possibility of great 08 and 09 shows competing against each other, and the promise, specifically in the dramatic category, was that you had five of the best television dramas ever (and Lost only cause since Season 4 it's really gotten it's game on) giving arguably the best seasons of their runs. You had the final seasons in The Shield and BSG, and the sophomore seasons of Breaking Bad and Mad Men, combined with Season 5 of Lost taking the sci-fi inclinations by the horns and delivering bold television you had some pretty awesome television season overall. But alas while three of those landmarks were awarded with slots, it seems more a case of the Emmy's following the popular trends as opposed to actually listening to the critical community, and for that matter watching more then a qualifying episode to make a judgment. So what happened was BSG and The Shield, two shows which have been continuously screwed over by the Emmy's, were in a prime position to be finally and fully claimed, the atmosphere was ripe for appreciation. But it's not like a group of out of touch voters to recognize the judgmental errors in criteria for the past say 20 years. So what happened was old hat got rewarded for being reliably mediocre, and the stellar sophomore seasons were awarded slots less for quality then for their novel flavor. There is no doubt Breaking Bad Season 2 and Mad Men Season 2 are among the greatest television seasons of all time, but I don't believe the voters of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences really grasps the quality of the work, at least not based on their past track record with both nominees and winners. There were other casualties to this list, Sons of Anarchy, Friday Night Lights, Rescue Me (a show I usually dislike for the last few seasons but as really been game this season), the underrated Kings, Southland, Pushing Daisies, Eastbound and Down, Chuck, and Dollhouse. The end result was you had a list of nominees with the occasional strong selection, but more notable for the glaring omissions. This list covers specific ommissions as well as selections that did make it, but that I feel are not going to win(if they win at all) for the right reasons. Anyway I'll be taking it one slot at a time so here it goes.

*Spoilers ahead on the respective series*

1. Walton Goggins - Michael Chiklis won for the first season and while that was deserved his performance has only gotten better in time, similarly co-star Walton Goggins had by the fourth season become Chiklis’s acting equal and I believe did the finest work of all the actors in the masterpiece final season of The Shield. Either black mailing a gang banger to assassinate his friends, to losing his cool ever so slightly while his plot was discovered, to lovingly cleaning his wife, to the haunting moment where he calls the final family meeting, Goggins was an acting god. Every critic and casual fan recognized this and yet the Emmy's had not a fucking clue. The heart of Season 7 was with the character of Shane Vendrell and despite Vendrell being largely immoral, Goggins succeeded here in making the guilt of his character's 7 seasons of destructive choices painfully vivid. I would also say that this award should not have been a best supporting actor nod (although if it had I suppose I wouldn't have complained) but a best actor nod. Season 7, or for that matter The Shield as a whole, was the story of men trying to survive by any means necessary, and the fall out from that had catastrophic consequences. Goggins, like Chiklis, was the focal point of this singular American tragedy.

Julie Doiron, Mount Eerie and Calvin Johnson on Saturday!!

I will be seeing these three legends at St George Church downtown come Saturday and I am truly psyched. I mean CALVIN JOHNSON!! Beat Happening were one of the great bands of later 80's/early 90's alternative, and obviously Julie Doiron needs no introduction for her work with Eric's Trip and her solo recordings, but Phil Elverum is here too and his work under the Microphones moniker in the early aughts makes him one of this decades land mark artists. OF and Doiron and Elverum will be performing tracks off their album Lost Wisdom on top of their own respective discographies.


For me this is a big deal in a town where great alternative artists rarely show up unless they're high profile.

Kneeling Drunkards Plea

One of the more somber yet powerful tracks off the 1960 album Satan is Real has Ira and Charlie in complete empathy with the titular sinners struggle to find redemption. This is the kind of hymn that the Louvin's had been doing for years, delivering straight faced religious sentiment and making it profound in the execution with their gorgeous close harmonies. Right down to the accompanying organ and Ira's haunting high tenor on the chorus this track reaches for the grace notes without tipping over into the maudlin. Man's struggle against the forces of evil was the theme for the Louvin's and while it was not a commercial propriety in the least, the end result was emotionally devastating.

Summer Mix # 2

1. My Girls - Animal Collective
2. Girls Girls Girls - Jay Z
3. The Long List of Girls - The Blow
4. Down and Out - Cam'Ron
5. House Jam - Gang Gang Dance
6. Chi Don't Dance - BBU
7. Manwomanboogie - Q Tip
8. Wait for the Summer - Yeasayer
9. Unforgettable Season - Cut Copy
10. Milk Shake - Kelis
11. Paris - Friendly Fires
12. Sweet Talk - Spank Rock
13. DLZ - TV on the Radio
14. Psychic City - Yacht

Method All the Way

I was watching the Millennium episode Closure when I was given an early entry into the career of the great Garret Dillahunt, unquestionably one of the finest working actors today. He was playing this psycho Rich Van Horn perfectly, and this character immediately became one of my favorite TV sociopaths based on Dillahunt's performance. Just to recap you on his career, the high point so far was most certainly playing both Jack McCall and Francis Wolcott in the great series Deadwood and he was also involved in creator David Milch's criminally undervalued series John From Cincinnati as Dr. Michael Smith. The man played Jesus in the Book of Daniel and by appearance alone you can see he was made for either a modern day or an ancient times Christ. He gave my favorite performance in Andrew Dominicks overrated if interesting The Assassination of Jessie James by The Coward Robert Ford and gave what was without question the best Terminator performance since Robert Patrick took on T200, with his role in Sarah Conor Chronicles, as well as compellingly playing another AI character, for me Dillahunt was that late series' secret weapon. He's going to be in the upcoming adaptation of Comic McCarthy's The Road (Gillahunt was also in No Country for Old Men) and it's a performance I greatly anticipate. Anyway I only hope the best for this American treasure, whose work defines versatility.