2003-06-24-5:44 p.m.
Tuesday, June 24

A Personal Note:
I can't log in to my personal diary today, and I don't want to leave anyone hanging. I took two OTC pregnancy tests today, and they both came up negative. Whew! I got an extra-tight hug and a "congratulations!" from my father. My mother is still looking at wedding dresses for me.

But until my woman-parts start acting like they should, I just don't know...

2003-06-23-4:10 p.m.
Monday's DVD

Mostly Martha (2002) is a Bavarian film about an emotionally distant but brilliant chef who finds herself stuck with her dead sister's daughter. From here on the film is pretty predictable: a lively Italian chef is hired behind her back. She is hostile to him, he is persistent and good-natured. Her neice is hostile to her, and she persists as well. Soon she and the Italian are making out, and her neice is hugging her. The ending can be seen coming at least 20 minutes before the end...

...which is better than most films, I suppose. It was well-done, and there is not one food film I have not enjoyed. If anyone can think of a bad food film, let me know. Food-based television shows do not count.

I just checked the Tomato reviews. More than one critic repeated what I said-the film is not surprising but nourishing. How clever, you silly little reviwers. What a way with words. Well. I didn't think of it.

Tampopo (1986)
In order for a film to fit into my idea for a food movie, it has to have at least three things: cooking, eating, and sex. Having those three things puts it automatically into the wider category of movies that celebrate life. I would have to say that is the most spiritual thing I can think of. Tehrefore, food movies are highly spiritual, even if they have no mention of a god whatsoever.

I don't remember if Tampopo mentions a god, but it has a lot of eating-eating one can feel. That's because it allows the viewer to hear and see the eating up close. I never wanted noodle soup more in my entire life. Too bad there were no Pho shops in my hometown. Seattle is lousy with them. Montreal? Well, that's going to take some work. It has a Chinatown, but haven't been there much....anyway, back to the movie. Every time I see a noodle soup shop, I think of Tampopo. That was pretty brilliant of them. There are few people who have seen the movie who can even possibly forget that movie!

Big Night
I've never seen it, but the critics seem to be pretty positive, and it's about Italian food..hm...maybe I'd better stay away from this one.







Babette's Feast (1987)
Babette's Feast was so popular for a foreign film in its day that more than a few catering companies have taken the name.





I can't remember if I already reviewed this, but the movie is basically about a French Chef's preparation of a real, several-course feast, complete with turtle soup and flaming dessets, to a group of Scandinavian protestants who vow not to enjoy it too much because it's some kind of witch's sabbath. Hilariously glorious celebration of life.





Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Directed by Ang "Hulk" Lee
I don't remember the film too clearly, but I do remember the colors and the table: the food set out in the middle, and everybody grabbing lovely things to eat from it. And seems to love table settings as a place to put family controversy, doesn't he? (I'm remembering Ice Storm.) I want some shrimp.




The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989)
Directed by Peter Greenaway
This movie did not make me want to eat afterwards, but there was a lot of eating and sex. But it wasn't so much about the food as it was about the clothing designer, Jean-Paul Gaultier. This was about the time Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour was going on, and we were all fighting prudishness, blah blah blah.

But the celebration of life isn't there, so it doesn't belong on this list. But I will put it there anyway.

2003-06-23-12:45 p.m.
Monday, June 23

Sunday's DVDs









Frida (2002)
I really enjoyed this film, but the thought that stays with me is I really wanted to see more of her work. I also thought this film might have been better entitled, "Frida and Diego."

As my brother and I watched, enthralled, he remarked, "I wish we had been born with some sense of style." True, we grew up in west-coast America in the seventies. All around Frida is color, color, color. And pet monkeys. I'd have a hard time saying Frida was lucky, considering she suffered her whole life from an accident that impaled a steel bar through her pelvis and she was at the mercy of early twentieth-century doctors, but she did live in quite a well-off family. Certainly life was not as colorful for most citizens of Mexico city, was it? But Mexico had big, giant flowers and allowed huge papier-mache representations of the devil and walls painted bright blue and red. The most wild my parents could ever get is a sort of dusty, periwinkle blue on the walls of their living room. But then, they never had steel bars going into their hips and out their vaginas.

I guess this has nothing whatsoever to do with the movie.

P.S.: She does Trotsky.

Legally Blonde (2002)
I understand that this has a real message--that women are essentially judged by their appearances. But I can't escape the feeling that she is still kind of a ditz, and I didn't feel so happy for her at the end. I mean, it's weird to feel triumphant about an incredibly rich girl graduating with honors from Harvard Law school. Lots of people graduate from Harvard Law school. I suppose we've seen endless movies about people overcoming odds and exceeding their expectations. Which she did. Her goal was to marry a future senator, who turned out to be much slower-witted than she. She ended up becoming the brilliant young lawyer. That's great, that's wonderful, hooray. But we certainly aren't allowed to forget thaT she got there because some old men thought she was hot. She worked extremely hard and preserved her honor, and we applaud. But there's something....that makes me not care all that much.

2003-06-21-3:54 p.m.
Saturday, June 21

Happy Johnsmas!

Today is, for the northern hemosphere, summer Solstice, or, as they call it in most of Europe, Midsomer.

I called it Johnsmas, because the Church did to it exactly what it did to the Winter Solstice. It saw that folks were doing some incredibly Pagan, polytheistic things as their parents and grandparents did. So, when the church made the day of the Stopping of the Sun, The Feast of Saint John, people went on doing the same things, and just made it a Johnsmas, or even a Johnsmas Eve tradition. Of course, many of these traditions live on in Europe (especially Scandinavia), and even North America. The biggest of these traditions is the June wedding, mostly out of the convenience of the other tradition that lives on: people take their vacations in summer because the schools close.

Current Traditions

Midsomer Parade


Swedes put up the Mittsommerbaum (Midsummer Tree).


Fremont (Seattle) Solstice Parade

Early Solstice Traditions

From Religious Tolerance.org:

The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc.

Significance of the summer solstice:
In pre-historic times, summer was a joyous time of the year for those Aboriginal people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. The crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable.

The first (or only) full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives.

This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the "grand [sexual] union" of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, "newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon.

Ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes in Europe:
Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires. "It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames..." It was believed that the crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire's power, "...maidens would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were banished." Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic: giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest.

Ancient Rome:
The festival of Vestalia lasted from JUN-7 to JUN-15. It was held in honor of the Roman Goddess of the hearth, Vesta. Married women were able to enter the shrine of Vesta during the festival. At other times of the year, only the vestal virgins were permitted inside.

Ancient Sweden:
A Midsummer tree was set up and decorated in each town. The villagers danced around it. Women and girls would customarily bathe in the local river. This was a magical ritual, intended to bring rain for the crops.

Christian countries:
After the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the feast day of St. John the Baptist was set as JUN-24. It "is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest feast, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honour a saint." Curiously, the feast is held on the alleged date of his birth. Other Christian saints' days are observed on the anniversary of their death. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that St. John was "filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb...[thus his] birth...should be signalized as a day of triumph." His feast day is offset a few days after the summer solstice, just as Christmas is fixed a few days after the winter solstice. "Just as John was the forerunner to Jesus, midsummer forecasts the eventual arrival of" the winter solstice circa DEC-21.

2003-06-20-2:07 p.m.
Friday, June 20

It's Insolitous Music Day!
I define "insolitous music" as music that could be composed by the unique individuals showcased in my other website, Insolitology. Hey, that gives me an idea. What I mean is the music is not necessarily listenable for 98.99% of thepopulation.* The following are several websites with lovely pages chock-full of downloadable and streamable music, and eye-popping album art. Enjoy.






* The People's Choice Music
I'm starting with this website to illustrate what insolitous music actually is. The site speaks for itself:

A poll, written by Dave Soldier, was conducted on Dia's web site in Spring 1996. Approximately 500 visitor's took the survey. Dave Solder and Nina Mankin used the survey results to write music and lyrics for the Most Wanted and Most Unwanted songs.

The Most Wanted Song
a musical work that will be unavoidably and uncontrollably "liked" by 72 ± 12% of listeners:

...The most favored ensemble, determined from a rating by participants of their favorite instruments in combination, comprises a moderately sized group (three to ten instruments) consisting of guitar, piano, saxophone, bass, drums, violin, cello, synthesizer, with low male and female vocals singing in rock/r&b style. The favorite lyrics narrate a love story, and the favorite listening circumstance is at home...Most participants desire music of moderate duration (approximately 5 minutes), moderate pitch range, moderate tempo, and moderate to loud volume, and display a profound dislike of the alternatives.

The Most Unwanted Song
fewer than 200 individuals of the world’s total population will enjoy this:

The most unwanted music is over 25 minutes long, veers wildly between loud and quiet sections, between fast and slow tempos, and features timbres of extremely high and low pitch, with each dichotomy presented in abrupt transition. The most unwanted orchestra was determined to be large, and features the accordion and bagpipe (which tie at 13% as the most unwanted instrument), banjo, flute, tuba, harp, organ, synthesizer (the only instrument that appears in both the most wanted and most unwanted ensembles). An operatic soprano raps and sings atonal music, advertising jingles, political slogans, and “elevator” music, and a children's choir sings jingles and holiday songs. The most unwanted subjects for lyrics are cowboys and holidays, and the most unwanted listening circumstances are involuntary exposure to commericals and elevator music. Therefore, it can be shown that if there is no covariance—someone who dislikes bagpipes is as likely to hate elevator music as someone who despises the organ, for example—fewer than 200 individuals of the world's total population would enjoy this piece.

Art for the people—
Your pal, Dave Soldier
June 1997

There is proof that art, for the most part, shouldn't be democratic! Well, what they did was arguably art. I suppose if they made a much larger poll, they might come up with a Billboard hit!

I should mention that one may listen to excepts from both of these lovely pieces on my favorite radio show, This American Life. Click Numbers for the RealAudio stream, or go to the website and search for episode 88, or January 2, 1998.

Irwin Chusid is the first name I think of when I think of Insolitous Music. I first heard of him when listening to The Incorrect Music Show on WFMU in Jersey City. The show featured Great Music such as Diary of an Unborn Child by a foetus, "L'il Marky," Heart of the Heartland, by Mark Kennis (the lyrics, in their entirety: "I grew up in the heart of the heartland; I grew up in Iowa." repeat ad infinitum)and the genuine, sweet BJ Snowden, who sings songs about Canada. The website offers hours and hours of streaming audio on its archived playlists pages.

Mr. Chusid is also known for two books and their accompanying cds, Songs in the Key of Z, I and II, and Innocence and Despair, the Langley Schools Music Project.

These 1976-77 recordings, captured on a 2-track tape deck in a school gymnasium, weren't staged to achieve money or fame, to sell albums or land a record contract. These kids played music because they loved it. Innocent, flawed and bittersweet, guided by Fenger's unsuspecting genius, these recordings deserve to be heard and preserved. They brim with charm and youthful élan, sparked by flashes of lo-fi Spectorian majesty and Pet Sounds subtlety. Call it folk art, outsider, or campfire rock -- the labels don't matter. These are gorgeous, heavenly artifacts. Period.

Basic Hip Digital Oddio offers a complete and unusual record album on mp3 every week. This week, it's HI-FI SOUNDS FOR HOUNDS from 1957. This concise site also offers great new links weekly, and a streaming station on Live 365 of space-age pop music.






Bollywood LPs Cover Gallery shows us a world that never existed-although we sure wish it had.










The Friendly Persuasion Radio Show is not currently playing, but it will start on July 20.

Otis Fodder is the west coast's Irwin Chusid. His show has been on "forever." I started listening back when I was first hooked up to the internet. I heard about him through Dana Countryman's now-deceased Cool and Strange Music magazine. He also has a great and informative blog, which is chock-full of wondrous mp3s, such as Even Squeaky Fromme Loves Christmas, The Cheese Band, with I Like Cheese, Religion for Retarded, Lessons 13 and 14, and I'm a Mormon. I'm sorry to admit, but his links page is much, much more extensive than what I am offering.

Weirdo Music is a great resource for information, downloads and mailing lists, for the collector of and listener to the world's strangest music.

Exotica? Easy Listening? Outsider Music? Space Age Pop? Whatever it is that you're looking for, weirdomusic.com will try to point you in the right direction.

We'll try to find the coolest sites, the best mp3 downloads, the hottest discussion groups, and the latest news & reviews. Of course we''ll give you our own original content too.

April Winchell's multimedia pages have more strange downloads than you can shake a stick at. Included are training tracks from KFC, Abba covers in Hindi, Golden Throats, How-To records, many wonderful covers, Fabio's romance lessons, and much, much more. Check out her weblog to find out more about this Radio Savant. The scrollbar on her downloads page is pretty tiny, so make sure you have a lot of spare time.

That's certainly not everything. I suggest if you need more, to subscribe to the yahoo group, Outsider Music. You'll get daily emails, and oftentimes folks will send in links.

Happy (?) listening!

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