caffeine-headache

It's Monday and as we all know, Mondays suck! So here's some choice picks guaranteed to make yours a little brighter...joining me this week is our very own Fernando of the Rock N Roll Inferno Show. Here goes...

FERNANDO OF RNR INFERNO PICKS:

1. The Modern Drunkard by Frank Kelly Rich

Exerpts: Rule 6) “Buying a strange women a drink is still cool. Buying all her drinks is dumb.” Rule 33) “The only thing that tastes better than free liquor is stolen liquor.” The Modern Drunkard starts off with 86 rules of drinking and although at first glance it all seems like someone is making a joke, the truth is anyone who drinks (i.e. me and all of you) should read this. After the 86 rules of drinking, the book jumps into the 40 things you should before you die and I am really excited about trying the first one: 'Open and Close a Bar'. Find a bar that opens before noon, stake out a comfortable seat, and hunker down. Resist informing the bartender of your tremendous plan, as this will cause him to pour waves of pre-celebratory shots and you won’t survive happy hour. Pacing is everything. Watch the crowds come and go, watch bartenders rise, reign, and fade while you remain like a cagey Methuselah. From that day Forward (within the walls of that bar at least) your name will be legend. There is 'Etiquette for Inebriates', 'Best Bar Moves', and my personal favorite 'Dealing with the Dry’s'. Even moderate drinkers should know there is a code and a harmony at the bar and all drinking events, to disrupt it could lead to disaster. The simple fact of the matter is people get upset at each other anyway, throw liquor in the mix and need extra etiquette. For more of a taste of what you would be expecting check out Modern Drunkard Magazine Online which is run by the author of the book Frank Kelly Rich. It might make ya some good friends, it might show what an all nighter is all about, but in the process you just might kill your liver.

2. Warren Ellis

I’m currectly obsessed with Warren Ellis and if you knew any better you would be too. He has written graphic novels for over ten years. He’s most famous for what I’ve been reading lately 'Transmetropolitian', a series about a “gonzo” journalist in the ridiculous city of the future where all the bad things of this time have fully come to light. Greed, violence, and corruption are dominate in every story, rant, and reflection in the series. Another series of his that I love called 'Bad World' is filled with full-page rants and illustrations about disturbing things going on in the world. You could turn the page and feel uneasy looking at the illustration and then read the paragraph or 2 about some group on the internet that likes to have sex with big lizards. Good stuff.

Warren also is doing his second podcast 'Apparat' which features a mix of eclectic mix ambient and indie music and as you all know if you have a podcast you are twice as cool as those who do not. His latest graphic comic series is available to download free over the internet. I have seriously not bought a comic in over two years and then I ran across 'Fell' (Warren’s new comic) and I remembered how much I loved his writing. How simply vulgar at times and still all too true. So here I am, on the verge of falling off the nerd wagon. I went to the comic store and bought a Transmetropolitian I had not read this week and I’m thinking about going back and getting a few more. Here's some Sample Reading.

3. A Snake of June

Asia Extreme to the rescue! God bless this company. Yes, this is another dark and incoherent movie that Asian cinema fans will watch just so they can say the watched it, while secretly knowing that it's just as bad as American cinema...hold on, that’s not the case with A Snake of June. The movie is surreal, dark ,and I can count how many times it stopped raining, but it's still carried a story with it….until the end.
The story involves and a married suicide hotline operator how may have saved the wrong life. She seems to have a stalker that enjoys taking pictures of her during her “alone time”. Things aren’t all bad there something not right about her marriage and she is obsessed with cleaning everything on an almost disturbing level…..did I mention the rain? All and all great visuals, “Donnie Darko-esque” plot turns, and although I bought this you might want to rent this first. View the trailer here.

4. Mc chris

MC Chirs has a new song up on his MySpace called "For the Win"...lyrics are available on his site.

JAY OF CH PICKS:

1. Clap! Clap!Get Naughty EP

If you're still waiting around for The Rapture to release another album, this EP from Texas' Clap! Clap! should hold you over just fine. Here's the EP courtesy of the bands website:
"Talk Shop"
"Pop Ice! No, Dance Ice!"
"You Love, We Party!"
Clap!Clap!
"Talk Shop [Who Shot Mike G Remix]"

Be their MySpace friend.

2. Seven Swords

I believe this movie was described as part Crouching Tiger, part Lord of the Rings and while it doesn't come close to living up to either of those films (but hey what does?) it has plenty of redeeming qualities. Tsui Hark's martial arts epic involves seven swordsmen who try to protect a village from being slaughtered by the royal court that has outlawed the practice of martial arts. If the film had just stuck to this simple story, it probably would have been a much better. Instead, there are two or three love triangles and a bunch of extraneous subplots. Hark also goes overboard with the melodrama, resulting in a whole lot of cheese, yet there is still plenty to love. The film is based on the wuxia novel by Liang Yu-Sheng "The Seven Swordsmen from Mountain Tian". If you're a fan of wuxia (pronounced "woo seeyah") films, then you may find this to your liking. View the trailer here.

3. Apple's MacBook Pro

Powered by a dual-core Intel engine. This thing can go four times the speed of the PowerBook G4 and has eight times the graphics bandwidth (so now you gamers have nothing to complain about). I really don't need a new laptop, and I should really save my money for more important things, but the techie in me just won't let go. MacBook Pro's ship in February, view the add and fall in love with me.

4. Jens Lekman

I can't get enough Jens Lekman. Jens is a Swedish pop musician who has released one album and several EP's since 2003. His music is often compared to Erlend Oye, Jonathan Richman, Morrissey and The Magnetic Fields. You can hear a few legal downloads courtesy of 3hive:

"Black Cab"
"Rocky Dennis Farewell Song to the Blind Girl"
"You Are the Light"

You can hear more from Jens Lekman's Department of Forgotten Songs (from Secretly canadian Records). A repository of demos, unreleased and hard-to-find material.

5. Carnivale Season Two

I was not fortunate enough to have cable when this show originally aired on HBO (I still don't, for that matter) so I picked up the Season One DVD and became completly absorbed. Imagine my surprise when I finised the first season only to find out that the Season Two has yet to be released on DVD? So I managed to track down a fellow who put together a nice package of the complete second season (including Buzz clips with cast interviews) and I am currently midway threw and trying desperatly to pace myself. If you've already watched this show then you already know how great it is. If you haven't, then I recommend getting absorbed. Fans of (my all-time favorite show) Twin Peaks will fall in love with the intricate storyline, the wonderful cinematography, and the dark undertones that surround the show. Get your tarot reading from Sophie here.

Previous Monday picks.