long lost Muhammad Ali clip

This interview from “This is Your Life” was conducted on Christmas Day, 1978.  After the “Thrilla in Manilla” and the rivalry is finally put to rest, I find it incredibly interesting to see Ali and Frazier interact.  Watching this, I truly wish Muhammad Ali had stopped boxing and not gone after Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick but eh, you do what you gotta do.  The part I find most chilling is Joe Louis message to Ali and the almost unbearable resemblance he shares with present-day Ali, now suffering from Parkinsons.

I have not been able to find the full interview online, but they do sell it on this website: http://www.radiofones.com/ali.htm

My Big Rant about Spider-Man (in development)

Ok. So. This morning I woke up and I decided I’m tired.  Even though I had just woken up.  Tired of trying to enjoy the exploits of my long-time favorite superhero.  This is not a rant about the horribleness of the “One More Day” storyline or what it did to Spider-Man.  I’ve already covered that, long ago. (But here’s a quick (and funny) rundown, if anyone needs to catch up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDF52sDD_78&feature=related).

So, One More Day is over.  Brand New Day is over.  There have been numerous storylines that have started, ended, left hanging, etc.  Currently they’re drudging up some old story about Ben Reilly (aka the clone) that seems kindof interesting.  But here’s why I’m still disappointed – bad storytelling.  Yes, nobody remembers Peter’s identity.  And by nobody, I mean NOBODY.  Harry Osborn? Nope!  Norman Osborn?  NOPE!  Black Cat for whatever reason has no clue.  Even though he revealed his identity a loooooong as time ago.  In events that had nothing to do with Civil War or Mary Jane or anything.  Not only that, but now they constantly have shitty throw-away lines like “it’s really dark, so there’s no way Harry/Felicia could’ve seen my face.” WTF.  What the Fucking Fuck?  How old are you guys who write this?  I love the Black Cat.  Seeing this cover made me quite excited:

Woah, a blast from the past!  Finally, after bringing Mary Jane back into the fold, now Black Cat comes!  Cool!  But the truth of the matter is this:  Mary Jane remembers he’s Spider-Man.  And she is barely in the book at all.  She’s on a list of about 5 people Peter Parker is boning (Black Cat is also on that list).  That’s his former wife, partner, best friend, the lady of his life.  Reduced to another notch on the belt.  I guess that’s the thing that still upsets me about this new Spider-Man.  Yes, they did Brand New Day for a reason.  Aunt May is alive, Harry is alive.  Neither are really in the book in any significant way.  It’s frustrating.  And the writing suffers from such gimmicks as “oh no! my webshooters aren’t working” and “I’m glad nobody saw my face because it was so dark” !  Sloppy and lazy.  And yet I’m still giving them my money, 3x a month.  Why?  I’m on the edge of quitting the damn book.  I already quite the Hulk because of Jeph Loeb’s sloppy storytelling.  Damn.

Progress and Baby Steps

Quote from www.thebody.com:

HIV Vaccine Study First to Show Some Effectiveness in Preventing HIV

September 24, 2009

Rockville, Md. – A Phase III clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult volunteers in Thailand has demonstrated that an investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. According to final results released by the trial sponsor, the U.S. Army Surgeon General, the prime boost combination of ALVAC^® HIV and AIDSVAX^® B/E lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31.2% compared with placebo.

Full article linked below:

http://www.thebody.com/content/treat/art53804.html

NYC – September 2009

Here are some images from my very recent trip to New York City:

Construction Crane at Ground Zero

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Ten Truck

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High Line Sky

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Pink is the new Pink

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Lost in the Background

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Love and Music

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False Positive

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With a Little Bit of Luck

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Flat Iron

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It’s Not About What You See

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Me on the set of “Rescue Me” – thanks Doug from props, you made the insane subway ride to Queens worthwhile!

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Memorial for the 343

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Child’s artwork in the 9/11 Museum

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Guy: “So where are you from?”

Me: “Staten Island, originally, but been in South Carolina a few years now.”

Guy: “Ah, Joe Wilson country.”

Me: *sigh*

- That’s a special thanks to you, Mr. Wilson.  Thanks. A lot. Jerk.

new Robin Williams movie

Let’s face it, there hasn’t been a decent Robin Williams movie in a long time.  Which makes me all the more excited about this movie, because it actually looks promising.  I hope it is.  Here’s a reminder of a really excellent Robin Williams film:

A few new, good-looking movie about Muhammad Ali

First one, I may have posted the trailer for a while back, it’s called “Soul Power” – somewhat of a companion piece to the great documentary “When We Were Kings” about Ali’s comeback fight with George Foreman in Zaire.

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The second film is another documentary called “Facing Ali” – it’s about the opponents Ali faced throughout the years.  Funnily enough, I just started reading the book this is based off of, and poof, a movie is being made.

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I think both films will be worth watching, right along with the Michael Mann directed “Ali” and Leon Gast directed documentary “When We Were Kings”

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Wow, I actually dont hate Jake Lloyd anymore

Watch this:

Man.  Jake Lloyd, you are not such a bad guy after all.  Taking a year off from school, working, trying to make some green, checking out hot chicks, playing KOTR.  Mad props, my friend.  You’ve come a long way from the little kid in that film.

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

Asterios Polyp is a graphic novel by comic book artist David Mazzucchelli.  Published in 2009, it is hardly his first foray into the comic world, as his previous work in Daredevil and Batman: Year One have garnered him much acclaim.  In Asterios Polyp however, he really shines.  Full of inventiveness, it reminded me most of Craig Thompson’s masterpiece Blankets (click here to learn more about that) – full of hard honesty enhanced by a unique and interesting artistic style.  Those styles, however, could not be more different.  Whereas Blankets had a very draft-like quality to the line, Asterios Polyp is very symmetrical and clean-feeling.  My guess is that this style reflects the views of the titular character in the novel, who is himself an architect.  Another thing that stands out in this work is the wonderful use of color; not in a normal way, but in an almost homage to “pop art”.  Last and certainly not least, the story itself is both intricate and involving.  Yes, it deals with relationships and people and change and possible reconciliation, but in such a way that feels realistic while not shutting out the imaginative and surreal.  You can check it out on amazon.com.

Below are some examples of David Mazzucchelli’s work on Batman and Daredevil:

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Indeed.  Good art is hard to come by these days.

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” Love. Trust. Respect. Take any one of those away and the whole thing falls apart.” - Manana on love (from Asterios Polyp)

“Moon” – movie review

Ok so I’m going to attempt to give a review of the movie “Moon” without any spoilers.  But be warned, I may screw up and spoil something, so FYI in advance.  Click the pic above to watch the trailer.

“Moon” was a phenomenal movie starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Duncan Jones AKA David Bowie Jr.  In the film Rockwell plays the character “Sam” who is contracted by Lunar Industries  to stay on the moon for 3 years mining “Helium-3″ – a particle that helped create clean and abundant energy back on Earth.   Except for a robotic companion named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) Sam is all alone.  Left behind on Earth are his wife and daughter, whom he misses very much.  Sam is about to wrap up his 3-year duration and at last end his isolation when, while on a routine check on the moon’s surface, he discovers someone else, someone that seems quite familiar.  That’s all I can say on the plot without massive spoilage and believe me, this is one movie you do not want spoiled!

What I can say is that this movie is a welcomed breath of originality in a summer filled with sequels, eye-candy, and Bruno, which I’m pretty sure warrants its own category.  Make no mistake, this is an original hard science fiction movie, but one that is done tastefully and with heavy attention to emotion and character.  The movie hinges on Sam Rockwell’s performance and he manages to pull it off pitch-perfectly, hitting subtle nuances of loneliness and possible near-psychosis that can be pretty heart-breaking to watch.  The movie also focuses on the idea of “identity” – who we are and the “value” of our lives.  I know that sounds like a lot for one film, but it really is all there in this one.  Certainly check it out if you’re in the mood for something different and thought-provoking.

HIV/AIDS patients face immigration restrictions

UPDATE!

U.S. To Begin Removing Ban on HIV-Positive Visitors

Well then.  Seems I was a little late on this story.  Just yesterday the US Department of Health and Human Services got the ok to begin removing the ban.  Apparently its a long and quite confusing road to do so (read more in the link up top) but it could potentially be gone by the end of the year. Wonderful!

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(below is an except from the article posted on www.TheBody.com – an amazing resource for HIV/AIDS info)

http://www.thebody.com/content/art47485.html

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People With HIV Not Welcome Here

Nathan Schaefer, Felix Lopez, Vishal Trevedi, and Joshua Volle

Summer 2008

The U.S. remains one of only 13 countries in the world to bar even short-term visitors from entering simply because they are HIV-positive. (The other 12 countries are Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Moldova, Russia, Armenia, and South Korea.) This policy violates the human rights of immigrants and travelers and contributes to stigma and discrimination. Highly skilled workers who have full health insurance cannot seek legal permanent residence in the U.S. if they have HIV, unless they have an opposite-sex spouse or child who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident. This discriminates against gay men and lesbians. Further, the ban undermines the global fi ght against HIVAIDS by blocking access to treatment and returning people to countries where HIV care is limited or unavailable.

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” The heart of the security agenda is protecting lives – and we now know that the number of people who will die of AIDS in the first decade of the 21st Century will rival the number that died in all the wars in all the decades of the 20th century. “

– Al Gore