Sunday, November 8, 2015

Electric Literature: Engineering A Writing Career

Kurt Vonnegut’s Inspired Years Among the Scientists at General Electric

In 1973, Kurt Vonnegut was asked by an interviewer why he started writing science fiction. “I was working for General Electric at the time,” he replied, “right after World War II, and I saw a milling machine for cutting the rotors on jet engines, gas turbines.”

The machine was computer-operated, and it inspired Vonnegut to write a novel, Player Piano, about a future society in which industry has become completely automated, at enormous human cost.

“There was no avoiding [writing science fiction],” he told his interviewer, “since the General Electric Company was science fiction.”

Click Here For Complete New Republic Article by Evan Kindley

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Banana Peel Trope Slip

Still Tickin': The Return of A Clockwork Orange - The Interviews: Part Three (5:14 mark)


"Despite all the claims of sociologists that there are abundant studies proving a direct correlation of represented violence to violence enacted, I think that the, it's mini-school, minuscule compared to the overwhelming numbers of people, millions upon millions of people, who would see any given violent movie; that the seeds for violent behavior have been sown long before the individual film."

-- Professor Camille Paglia, Writer and Critic

Friday, October 9, 2015

City Paper Obit

Bell Curve: CP's Weekly Quality-of-Life-O-Meter


By Patrick Rapa
Published: 10/08/2015 0 Comments Posted |

[-4]  This is the last issue of City Paper. The district attorney is legally permitted to seize it from you at any time.
[+1]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Thank you for storing your garbage in our boxes.
[-5]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Orange is the new not around anymore.

[+3]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Does anyone know the Blue-Book value on a gently used A.D. Amorosi? Asking for a friend.
[-1]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Stu Bykofsky outlived us.
[+5]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Thus ends the 250-year run of the publication that began as Benjamin Franklin’s Ye Olde Punk Zine and Silly Hat Directory.
[-1]  This is the last issue of City Paper. Maybe we shouldn’t have given it away for free.
[+100]  This is the last issue of City Paper. The schools are fixed, the cops are clean, the theaters are packed, the bands are popular and the restaurants are booked. We’ve done all we set out to do.
This week’s total: +98  //  the year so far: +1,000,000
My name is Patrick Rapa. I've been editing and mostly writing the Bell Curve column for the last 10 years or so. Thanks for reading.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Philly Cig Tax: One Year Anniversary

Dear Customer,

Effective October 1, the City of Philadelphia Cigarette Tax goes into effect.

We have implemented the Cigarette Tax [$2.00 per pack] in all of our Philadelphia stores. We understand this price increase may be difficult for some customers, and hope customers remain aware of our commitment to value pricing and ongoing promotions across our store offer.

We also understand and wholeheartedly support the need to strengthen the schools and budget. We have been part of the Philadelphia community for more than 100 years, and have a long standing commitment to supporting our communities. We are committed to supporting education and children in many ways, including programs and community partnerships that champion children’s health, wellness, and well being.

If you have any questions regarding the cigarette tax increase please contact our Call Center at 1-800-[redacted].

©2014 Wawa Inc.
Buck Slip (PC) 

 
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Personal Note: If your "politics" are left-of-center or progressive & you're a smoker, your opinions are sorta less than valid simply cause, hey, you feed the worst of corporate profits.

Monday, September 28, 2015

CEO Shills

Who is the worst CEO Pitchman hawking a product on television? The old guy with glasses (Dr. Neil Clark Warren) for eharmony.com or John Schnatter of Papa John's Pizza fame? Both terrible.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Saturday, September 19, 2015

FLP Dvds Checked Out

Movies Watched: 9/7 - 9/18

(*) Looper

(*) Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

(*) American Sniper

(*) The Judge

(*) The Hit

(*) Flash of Genius

(*) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

(*) Lucy

(*) The Messenger

(*) Prometheus

(*) Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa

(*) Cemetery Junction

(*) Everything Is Illuminated

(*) Paths Of Glory

(*) Take This Waltz

(*) Zombieland

(*) Black Snake Moan

(*) Grizzly Man

(*) Guardians Of The Galaxy

(*) Deception

(*) After. Life

(*) Dr. Strangelove

(*) King of Devil’s Island

(*) Naked Lunch

Monday, September 14, 2015

Werner Herzog: 24 Life Lessons for Filmmakers

1. Always take the initiative.

2. There is nothing wrong with spending a night in jail if it means getting the shot you need.

3. Send out all your dogs and one might return with prey.

4. Never wallow in your troubles; despair must be kept private and brief.

5. Learn to live with your mistakes.

6. Expand your knowledge and understanding of music and literature, old and modern.

7. That roll of unexposed celluloid you have in your hand might be the last in existence, so do something impressive with it.

8. There is never an excuse not to finish a film.

9. Carry bolt cutters everywhere.

10. Thwart institutional cowardice.

11. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

12. Take your fate into your own hands.

13. Learn to read the inner essence of a landscape.

14. Ignite the fire within and explore unknown territory.

15. Walk straight ahead, never detour.

16. Manoeuvre and mislead, but always deliver.

17. Don't be fearful of rejection.

18. Develop your own voice.

19. Day one is the point of no return.

20. A badge of honor is to fail a film theory class.

21. Chance is the lifeblood of cinema.

22. Guerrilla tactics are best.

23. Take revenge if need be.

24. Get used to the bear behind you.


Hat-Tip: Phawker.com

Monday, September 7, 2015

FLP Dvds Checked Out

Movies Viewed 8/1 - 9/6

(*) Michael Clayton

(*) Boyhood

(*) American Hustle

(*) The American

(*) Brazil

(*) Zero Dark Thirty

(*) The Hangover

(*) Full Metal Jacket

(*) Drive

(*) The Ice Storm

(*) Moon

(*) Trading Places

(*) Frost/Nixon

(*) Repo Man

(*) The Diving Bell & The Butterfly

(*) Amadeus

(*) Whiplash

(*) St. Vincent

(*) The Imitation Game

(*) The Monuments Men

(*) A Late Quartet

(*) Nightcrawler

(*) The Master

(*) Dallas Buyers Club

(*) Lincoln

(*) Gone Girl

(*) Lone Survivor

(*) Fury

(*) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

(*) The Wolf of Wall Street

(*) Sudden Impact

(*) Nebraska

(*) Slaughterhouse-Five

(*) Once

(*) The Informant!

(*) Schindler’s List

(*) Frank Miller’s Sin City

(*) Gran Torino

(*) High & Low by Akira Kurosawa

(*) David Lynch’s Inland Empire

(*) Midnight Cowboy

(*) Pan’s Labyrinth

(*) Paradise Now

(*) This Is The End

(*) Walk The Line

(*) Rosewater

(*) Argo

(*) 3:10 To Yuma

(*) Edge Of Tomorrow

(*) What’s In A Name?

(*) Lost In Translation

(*) Gravity

(*) What We Do In The Shadows

(*) The King’s Speech

(*) Our Idiot Brother

(*) The Equalizer

(*) Inside Llewyn Davis

(*) Django Unchained

(*) Inglourious Basterds

(*) Dracula Untold

(*) Cloverfield

(*) Lost Highway

(*) The Reader

(*) The Darjeeling Limited

(*) The Theory Of Everything

(*) Broken Flowers

(*) Being There

(*) Apocalypse Now - Redux

(*) Blade Runner - The Final Cut

(*) Exit Through the Gift Shop

(*) Citizen Four