Killer Whales

Killer Whales
only come out at night
that's what they
used to tell me

Back then
before you were born
when there was still

Starlight in the static
can you see it?
Starlight in the static
can you hear it?

Killer whales
only come out
in the middle
of the night

That's what they
told me
in Marine Biology
in 2014

Before you were married
when there was still

Starlight in the static
can you see it?
Starlight in the static
Can you hear it?
Can you hear it anymore?

Summer 2013

  This summer, just like every other brings a new wave of books to read in the sun, movies to watch in dark theaters and all sorts of activities to do. Here are a few things I am excited about this summer:

Man of Steel

 When 'Superman Returns' came out a few years ago I left the theater feeling a bit disappointed. It seemed as if half the movie consisted of Superman floating in space silently staring at Earth looking stoic. I guess it was supposed to show how he felt responsible for the whole planet and how he was not quite human, but it just seemed boring. This time out it looks like the film is going to have a bit more life to it. It looks like Superman will finally have something his own size to fight rather than Lex Luther with a green rock.

Pacific Rim

This one comes from Guillermo Del Toro, the man behind Pan's Labyrinth, the Hellboy movies as well as a few horror films. He knows how to blend action with comedy and thrills with inspiring imagination. Not only that, this movie is also going to have giant robots fighting pan dimensional sea monsters. Now you might be thinking that this is going to suffer the same fate as Transformers and Real Steel, just another sloppy big budget robot flick. But I disagree, I think 'Pacific Rim' is going to have heart. Del Toro is a nerd making a nerdy movie; like an Edgar Wright film, I think its going to be a fun ride.

The World's End

  Speaking of Edgar Wright director of  'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz', the third film in his Simon Pegg/Nick Frost trilogy 'The World's End' comes out this summer. The story is about 5 friends reuniting to retry a failed pub crawl from their youth in their home town. The final bar is named The World's End, but the world ending might actually stop them from reaching it.

Joyland by Stephen King

   Joyland is Stephen King's latest book that is going to be straight to paperback from Hard Case Crime, without e-book availability. A throwback to the golden agae of paperback crime/detective novels, Joyland is about a kid in college in the 1970's taking a summer job at Joyland. There he comes across the trail of a grisly murder from the park's past. I don't think its going to be scare-filled as some King books are, rather I think it will be a fun summer crime novel. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

   Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors. He is a master story teller, able to conjure up fairy tales that seem fantastic and realistic by turns. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about a man remembering a childhood summer that was otherworldly, dangerous, and heartbreaking. 

Animal Collective with Dan Deacon

My brother and I were going to see these two acts a few months ago but the show got cancelled due to the members of Animal Collective catching the flu. We saw Dan Deacon four years ago at the inaugural Cleveland Art Museum Summer Solstice Festival. Mr. Deacon got the whole crowd, consisting of a variety of age groups dancing. He had us do crowd activities, dance offs and sing alongs; it was awesome. I'm excited for round two with Dan Deacon and the dripping Psychedelic madness that will come with Animal Collective. 

Whatever Else

  Besides that I'm excited for whatever might happen. I think spontaneity is one of summer's best friends.  Maybe I'll finally get around to some night kite flying. Hopefully there will be some swing dancing in there. Perhaps I will have time to write a few stories. And surely there will be bike rides and barbecues and sunsets and swimming. 

BOY - Drive Darling

  The video for BOY's song 'Drive Darling' is a mini cinematic wonder. At first glance it is simply two women driving along a snow covered highway. But a few more seconds in the camera pans down and we notice that the woman in the passenger seat is injured. The woman driving is talking urgently, trying to take her mind off  the pain. There's a cut to them sipping coffee in a diner silently gazing at each other. At the other end of the diner is a man looking on. Is this a flashback? Is he their pursuer? A ghost from the past? It is never revealed. All we see is the endless curving, snow covered mountain roads and the two women who are running away from something.

The song itself builds piece by piece from soft guitars and a drum keeping beat to later a bit of xylophone. The lyrics are sung softly and deliberately evoking a past left behind. Even without the video, you can feel the motion in the words and in the music. The regular drum beat feels like a clacking of train tracks. The chorus of "Drive darling, drive darling, drive" come off somewhere between a command and a plea, but either way a constant urging to let go and move on.

BOY
Drive Darling



Directed by: Rafael Palacio Illingworth
Cinematography by Todd Banhazl
Editing by: Daniel Raj Koobir
Produced by: Eleonore Meier
Production Company: NORA FILMS