:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Friday, September 24, 2004 ::

"Oh, crap!"

That's what I said a moment ago, when I discovered that the recent rerelease of George Lucas's THX-1138 is no longer playing in a Chicago area theater. I had really looked forward to seeing it on a big screen for the first time, but I suppose it didn't draw large enough audiences to keep it around. Bummer.

There are all kinds of tangents about why this film is interesting that I would love to elaborate on, but I don't have time right at the moment. Sorry.
:: Ray 11:44 AM [+] ::
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A sad day for lovers of cleavage

Russ Meyer is no longer with us, having died of pneumonia on Saturday at age 82. Who could better eulogize him than his longtime friend Roger Ebert?

I've been a fan of Russ's work since the early 1990s, when Facets Multimedia presented a festival of his films. I attended several of them, and I greatly enjoyed hearing him speak at one of the screenings. For those of you not tuned in to alternative culture, Russ Meyer made skin flicks in the sixties and seventies. I'm not talking about porn...that's not what he was about. Russ's films were generally comedies with lots of topless and naked large-breasted women, but even that makes it sound more crude than they were. There was an art to them, such as in Kitten Natividad reciting verse as a Greek chorus in Up!, which transcends today's porn, topless video collections (a la Girls Gone Wild) and teen exploitation films. I agree with Ebert in that Russ's films are remarkably feminist for the genre, presenting powerful women and sex-object men. Today there is little market for what he did, but he had a pretty good run in his time.

My favorite story about Russ came from another article about him written by Roger Ebert several years ago. Ebert relayed a conversation among himself, Russ, and Hugh Hefner about which parties they were planning to attend at a big film festival. Russ and Roger asked Hugh if he was going to a particularly big one (I think it was Vanity Fair's), and Hugh said he couldn't. Asked why, he answered that only one guest was permitted to invitees. Asked why this was a problem, he answered, "I'm dating twins," to which Russ Meyer quipped, "You, sir, are an inspiration!" I am glad I had the chance to hear him speak, because when I read that line, I knew exactly the appreciation with which he had delivered it.

Rest in peace, Russ Meyer, and thanks for all the mammaries.
:: Ray 3:08 PM [+] ::
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RIP Betty

This year's trip to Burning Man went a little differently than expected. Betty the Airstream has always fishtailed a bit when being towed, but on Saturday, August 28, heading West near Underwood, Iowa, the fishtailing got out of control faster than anyone could do anything about it. A few seconds later, we were in the ditch, no longer upright. Fortunately, none of us were injured, except for a few bruises and some minor emotional scarring. We climbed out, sat in shock for a few minutes, then began regrouping and contemplating a way to complete our pilgrimage to Burning Man. By Monday morning we were loading all of our belongings, miraculously undamaged including the bicycles, into a 25' rental truck. For two and a half days we continued, four people piled into a three-person truck cab, and we arrived on the playa Wednesday afternoon, only two days late. Our camp, Burnstream Court, was a welcome sight for sore eyes, and we had a fun, though foreshortened, time in Black Rock City. As a bonus, I never expected the back of a moving truck to be such a luxurious accomodation.

More pictures will be online soon, but for now, here is a parting shot of Betty, whose final resting place will be a scrapyard near Omaha, Nebraska. Thanks for the memories, Betty.


:: Ray 10:23 AM [+] ::
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