Collectible Chick-Flick

I’m not a fan of so called “chick-flicks” or movies about female-bounding/fighting! And of course “the Devil Wears Prada” isn’t a flick that I normally enjoy watching (even though I can’t say no to miss Hathaway in her naughtier outfits and “sluttier” roles! hehe). However I just bought this Swedish Limited Edition of the movie for my girl friend who happens to be a fan of both chick-flicks and fashion (she just loves her SHOE-BOXed “Sex and the City“ collection)! Alright, …I ADMIT that I wanted the cool DVD-package in our collection!lol Anyway, two bird with one stone eh!! ;)

The funny part is that this edition is Swedish! Often it’s the Asians that come up with the most clever and beautiful special/limited editions, but lately the Europeans in general and Swedes in this case have started to understand the market for such collectibles! They have learned that with a nice package they can reduce the risk of piracy and subsequently a commercial flop!

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Strike THE pose!!!

As a music fan listening to music, whether you’re a kid imagining yourself a ROCK-/POPstar or an adult trying to “feel” the music, you often find yourself striking familiar poses. As if these poses are imprinted in our collective subconsciousness! You either grab the MIC and sing without sound (miming) or grab your invisible guitar and take wild swings at its even more invisible strings (playing air-guitar)! However there are also those like me who have ever since they remember been a fan of ELECTRONICA and as such fascinated with synthesisers and keyboards of different kinds. When I was a kid, listening to music and having the “urge” to close the eyes and striking a pose none of the common poses mentioned above were found suitable for the music played! Sure you could always imagine yourself by a stationary gear tapping on the keys, but since back then most keyboard players were more or less in the background while the vocalists and guitarists shone in the foreground it was nothing exciting or fun to imagine. Halleluiah, then the “remote keyboard” (MIDI REMOTE CONTROLLERS) or so called “belly synths” came into the picture! Although today a device often ridiculed and locked in the museum of music as a relic, it was the saviour of the charismatic keyboardists back then and not to forget a popular product in the Iranian industry (just watch the old music videos). Like a loyal sidekick it came and lifted its owner under the spotlight! Suddenly the keyboardist became just as famous as the vocalist and the guitarist! And the pinnacle of its popularity came when the French ELECTRONICA prodigy Jean M. Jarre adopted and developed it as his mighty EXCALIBUR. When he appeared on the city skyline, with the wind in his hair, the look in his eyes and the custom-made YAMAHA KX5 in his hands it was as if he RULED THE WORLD!!!

Still today I get incredibly nostalgic and excited whenever I see an image of the old “belly synths”! I remember its glory days and hope for a future resurrection and revival of this once so faithful servant of the stages!

Jarre is Back!

A brand new album by the French Electro-Maestro Jean Michel Jarre, entitled TEO & TEA, is released today. The album is a soundtrack to the life and relationship of a digital couple, two kindred spirits with kindred name! Each song belongs to one phase of their relationship. In TEO & TEA Jarre has once again returned to his 80’s inspired COMPUTER GAME/FILM SCORE flavour of Electronica! The album cover represents the music perfectly, where the dark and ambient scenery lifts the colourful neon features! Its melodic and energetic! Make sure to get the limited edition with a bonus DVD!

MYSTICAL ROCK

If you are a fan of Evanescence’s MYSTICAL ROCK then I recommend you to take a listen to the Dutch band Within Temptation’s new album ”Heart of Everything” with a beautiful cover art! Try to catch the Limited Ed. Digipack if can!

Gift to Myself!

I’m a collector (in case you haven’t noticed yet)! Of art, books, comics, music and movies …you name it. And as such one of my slogans is ”eye-appeal is buy-appeal”! I just love aesthetically superior and creatively clever editions. Limited or not I want a product to stimulate as many of my senses as possible! Even with its packaging! And the fact that it will also grace the display of my collection as an eye-catching ornament is just a big plus. Latest edition to my precious collection is the Korean Limited Edition (LE) of the amazing film ”Pan’s Labyrinth” (you have read my little review on the feature earlier in this blog)! Let me tell you that the design and packaging is almost obscenely gorgeous!! In fact one of the most relevant and elaborate editions of a movie that I’ve ever seen! I just received the product, just in time for NOROOZ as an ”eidi” to myself, and it has already found its pedestal in my collection! I highly recommend you to get this one as long as its available, keep in mind that its ”limited”!

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To Buy or Not To Buy?

On Friday Sony’s new game console PlayStation 3 will be launched in the European market! A few months later than Japan and USA, because of postponing! I still haven’t decided whether I should pick it up or not! Not just yet! Its far too expensive for being what it is, a GAME console! I guess the integrated Blu-Ray player, the 60 GB hard-drive and all other goodies thrown in make it worth all the money spent! But the thing is that I don’t need any other goodie other than a good and powerful GAME console! Anyway, at the moment the cons outweigh the pros, the price is $ 950 -1000 and no decent game is available before later on this year when Assasin’s Creed (I’m drooling!) and Ninja Gaiden Sigma are released, but still I cant help but to feel a bit tempted to show up at the GAME store first thing on Friday …!

Comedy COUPLING

I’m usually not a fan of British TV-series since their rather slow pace and rigid sense of humour is not really my cup of tea. But ironically enough one of my all time favourite sitcoms is COUPLING which is because of its British twist a gem of grown-up comedy in my collection! Its smart, fast and witty! With a lot of sexual intrigues that the generations of today can relate to (God knows I can!lol)! Lets say its like FRIENDS meeting SEX AND THE CITY in LONDON! Of course just like ”the Office”, there was an attempt to Americanise the sitcom with American actors back in 2003. A failed attempt that should not been associated with the original in any way! So if you have seen some episodes on BBC America then you know what I’m talking about and if you have seen the American version you better forget what you’ve seen and get a hold of all the four seasons of the British original! I highly recommend it, watching the brilliant Richard Coyle as the hilarious Jeff is worth every money spent on this box!

BOOTY BATTLE!

Beyonce ft. Shakira - Beautiful Liar! What can I say, it should be a dream coming true but except for the pseudo Arabic booty shaking showdown at the end I’m deeply disappointed with the director of this video! I mean come on, you got two of the showbusiness’ mightiest booties in one room and don’t do them justice?! How on earth did you manage to do that?!lol Its like having two exotic peacocks in the shot and not showing their beautiful tail-feathers shaking!! Artsy-fartsy by all means, but when it comes to quality thighs and booty you just cant hold back on the ”meat and potatoes”!! Hand over the cam to me and I’ll show you how it should be done!! hehe! ;p

watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtIHBRsy1lI

“300″, a Comic Conspiracy?

The visually and conceptually faithful cinematic adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300” is soon shown on cinemas everywhere and as it was expected it has already generated fury and protest among many Iranians with letters and petitions being written to the production company! Why all the fuss you might ask, well its because the genius artist Miller’s (who also created “Sin City”) graphic saga is based on an actual historic event that involves Persians! And as if it wasn’t enough to provoke Iranians Miller has in his fictional mystification and exotication of the event, beside throwing in all sorts of supernatural and mythological elements like beasts and giants also depicted Persians as tribal savages with an almost androgynous king as Xerxes! In other words as “fantasy-freaks“!! It should also be mentioned that in no way has the artist or the company presented or marketed this graphic novel as historically precise and accurate! Not a filmic dramatisation based on Herodotus’ account in other words but rather as what it is, namely a commercial movie adaptation of a fictional story based on an historic event developed and ornamented in the mind of a comic book artist/author! And finally turned into a movie as a nod to the “Sin City” success and the whole lucrative business of comic books-turned into-movies!

But despite knowing all the facts I cant help but to feel slightly irritated and offended by “300”! It’s an unjustified and awkward feeling that I do NOT want to have, yet do so! Logically I should not be offended by seeing a misportrayal of the Persians in a comic book! Yet I get so! And its wrong! I should know better!! Since its all about fiction and fantasy and do not in any way claim to be historically “accurate“! If it was based on other nations or historic events would I be equally upset? Of course not! Do I share the Kazakhstanis furry over Borat’s (Sacha Baron Cohen) misportrayal of them? Of course not, I even accuse them of having a lack of humour and self-distance! Yes, its all about self-distance and its my self-distance and cultivated sense of tolerance that is being compromised here by a latent yet deeply rooted sense of Iranian nationalism or better said “pride” that surfaces every once in a while! I am not against nationalism, but rather its manifestation in the most illogical and destructive fashions! Just like in the case of “300”! I’m illogically upset and offended by something that is not offensively meant! So I’m going to intentionally snap out of it and reinforce what’s being jeopardized here, namely common sense and tolerance!!

Watch “300” as what it really is, a comic book-turned into-movie! Pure entertainment, not a lesson in history! Watch it as a practice, even if it feels awkward!!

Note: the image shows Xerxes as imagined by Miller, both as a comic and cinematic adaptation!

Happy Women’s Day

8th March is celebrated worldwide as the International WOMEN’S DAY!!!

I salute ALL the ladies of the HISTORY in this day of yours!!!

Without YOU, we men would not be MEN!!!

Sofia from Sweden

A nice album by the Swedish singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik for the fans of AMERICANA/Alternative Rock. Feat a great duet with the SUEDE vocalist Bernard Butler! I love the colourful cover image, by the way!

Check out the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIjARbvX5X8

Swede-Iranian Feature …s!

God bless the sexy actress Nadia Björlin and her best-of-both worlds‘ “feature …s“, hehe! Half Iranian, half Swedish! Can one even ask for more?! No wonder I feel so nationalistic all of a sudden!lol hehe, God bless her, and her “prominent” feature …s of course! ;p

Full-size image:

http://www.bia2.com/review/nadb_full.jpg