(hey, Roy!) from NBC and SNL. In tribute to George, the network will run the original 1975 debut episode hosed by GC this Saturday night.
and Billy Preston are the musical guests. Ian performs the suicidally depressing "At Seventeen" and something I don't remember. Preston does "Nothing from Nothing" and something I don't remember. I do remember Carlin makes faces at Ian and cracks her up just before the end of the break and her cue. The stage manager scolds him like a child, "cut it the fuck out, please George. It's a serious song." Carlin reacts like he's been slapped by a nun.
Into the Wild with ERIC HORAN
Someone once said, “buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner.” For the record I am a Nikon owner. Eric Horan, on the other hand, is a photographer.
Someone once said, “buying a Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner.” For the record I am a Nikon owner. Eric Horan , on the other hand, is a photographer. Just have a look around the page. His work is sought after and respected by people who publish big glossy magazines and dispatch photographers to the far corners of the earth in search of a single shot of a rare animal. He’s also known to art directors and marketing types, gallery owners and collectors. You get the idea. So you can imagine that as a fairly dedicated Nikon owner it’s just a little bit intimidating to head out into the field with a guy whose telephoto is a lot bigger than yours, so to speak. The man has forgotten more about the art of light and shadow than I could hope to know. I need a manual for my Nikon’s manual, if you get my drift.
As it turns out my apprehensions are ill-conceived.
I’m tagging along with Eric into undiscovered country: a water bird rookery on private land heavily populated with Wood Storks and Snowy Egrets , two of Eric’s favorite subjects. As our guide explains, the terrain makes this place special as there are roads built up high atop the old earthworks that dam this cypress pond. “Some of the nests are so close to the road,” she says, “you can look right down in them and see the chicks.” This is practically a trip to the corner store for someone used to spending long hours in extreme conditions hunkered down in photo blinds waiting, waiting, waiting for the right shot.
“You work with a different person almost every day, so everybody works with different equipment, they have a totally different approach and they have specialties: food photography, fashion, someone who just does autos. It was amazing.” But not amazing enough to spend a life shooting food porn for Gourmet. He took what he learned and returned to the Lowcountry to, appropriately enough, “cast a wider net. I don’t like the word, but I’m a generalist. It’s a resort market and resort marketing is what I do.”
Correction, it pays the bills. What Eric Horan does exceptionally well is peer into nature and afford us rare glimpses of things the modern human takes utterly for granted. “It’s a life-long learning [process], educating yourself about the natural world,” he admits. It’s a process he takes seriously. The rare individuals who capture images like these don’t just stumble upon them (for the most part). They have a plan, they have patience and they have the commitment to endure whatever may be necessary to get the shot.
It’s almost always about the waiting.
Our guide does not exaggerate. The trees rising out of the duck-weed choked water have all gone condo with huge, meticulously constructed nests and their striking, stoic tenants.
The egrets seem to have staked out the perimeter property while the storks appear to prefer loftier views further off-shore. These are big birds – hundreds of them, in some areas virtually stacked on top of each other, all watching us. The scene is as awe-inspiring as anything I can conjure in memory - and slightly eerie. The egrets are in constant motion, wary of these bipedal anomalies who have suddenly appeared along the bank. Big wings beat above our heads as the birds change shifts in the nest or simply spook at our approach. Most of the nests are filled with downy chicks, some with clutches of eggs. “It would be better to shoot from the car,” says Eric. “It’s more like a blind.”
Not an option today. We’re on our own for a couple of hours killing time waiting for the right light. In the realm of wildlife photography, early and late are best. We’re too late to be early and too early to be late. Naturally, we wait. Gradually the birds become a bit more accustomed to us. A pair of large gators make a rather disconcerting beeline toward us, then vanish close by in a swirl of duck-weed. “Wow, that was odd,” says the Seasoned Wildlife Veteran. Right.
The sun arcs behind the rookery, eventually giving Eric the natural back light he wants to shoot the magnificent snowy egrets. The effect is ethereal. The dazzling white birds are suddenly luminescent.
While I’ve been snapping away like a crazed paparazzo at Britney Spears intervention (hey, digital is free), Eric’s been quietly firing off select shots, biding his time instead of - like me – amassing a vast slag heap of images to wade through and discard. His tripod-mounted Canon with the 500mm lens looks like a baby howitzer. This is the problem with hanging out in such company: before you realize it, you’re on E-bay surfing obsessively for deals on pro gear.
A few days later as I drop by the Horan house to do the obligatory interview, I find Eric on the back deck with the same rig aimed at a tiny birdfeeder just a few feet away. The term “fish in a barrel” springs to mind. “My wife wanted some shots of songbirds,” he explains and hands me a photo. Brilliant. Like most of his work the simplicity of the shot – the honest, un-retouched detail is astonishing.
Paul Sand once said “the artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.” Indeed.
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The Previews Let's face it, summer's the season of escape, particularly a summer like the one ahead - one that promises to bludgeon us silly with waaaaaaay too much real life what with the war, the election and no American Idol (yikes!). Keep your films. I’ve had more than my fill this past season. There Will Be Blood made good on its self-fulfilling prophecy and No Country For Old Men sure was. In the summertime I want entertainment, distraction, escape, good guys vs. bad guys, impossible feats of heroism and derring-do, and lots and lots of stuff blowing up real good.
In the meantime, drop that Cormac McCarthy book, lace up your PF Flyers, hop on your bike (the one with the cards in the spokes) and wheel on down to the comics wrack at the dime store. Iron Man 5/2 The Story: Stark is captured following a demonstration of his latest WMD and forced to build a super weapon for some very Al Qaeda-looking guys. Instead, he undergoes a moral epiphany, builds an armored suit and escapes with the idea of protecting the people he’s "put in harm’s way." But first he’s got to do what every self-respecting, aspiring superhero must do: perfect the tools of the trade, cultivate an alter ego, confront his inner demons and, like fellow Marvel alumnus Peter Parker , learn that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Oh yeah, and kick some righteous bad guy butt. The Buzz: Behold! Another super franchise is born. Crowds at comic convention screenings around the country have gone nuts during the sneak peeks and the studio has already locked down both Downey and Favreau for at least two more movies. At one point while he's testing the suit, Stark says "let's see if this dog will hunt." Yeah, it'll hunt. And wash and wax your car. Parents, this is THE action figure/Halloween costume of the year. Get ‘em while you can. Extra: Downey's Stark appears briefly in Marvel's other potential blockbuster, The Incredible Hulk. Easter eggs apparently abound in both movies signaling Marvel's intent to bring the old comic book crossover formula to the big screen. A Spider-Man/Iron Man/Hulk film is allegedly in development. The Incredible Hulk 6/13 The Story: The fresh cast picks up shortly after the close of the last film as Banner searches for a cure to his "condition." The military and certain shadowy nasties are in hot pursuit. This time around though, Hulk must face the diabolical Emile Blonsky (aka Abomination), who - like Banner - harbors an irradiated monster within. Only his is bigger, badder and kind of purple. Manhattan barely has time to sweep up after Cloverfield before the gamma ray smack down hits town. The Buzz: This big green bird's come in under the radar. Although the initial trailer continues the trend of splattering the screen with spoilers, recent test screenings have been through the roof. Norton was rumored to have tapped out a few tantrums in his prima donna shoes during filming. Hey Ed, no one's coming to the theater to see Bruce Banner. Really. You’re the segue between lines like "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" and CGI Hulk taking care of business. It’s a problem with changling heroes; we’re always waiting for them to change. That said, Tim Roth's turn as Hulk's new nemesis, Blonsky/Abomination, is said to rival Heath Ledger's Joker as the summer's best baddie. Liv Tyler replaces Jennifer Connelly as Banner's stalwart love, Betty Ross, while Oscar winner William Hurt takes over for Sam Elliott as her dad and Hulk chaser General "Thunderbolt" Ross. The Story: An ancient truce between humans and the invisible realm of the fantastic is shattered and a ruthless leader who moves between these worlds unleashes – wait for it - an unstoppable army bent on mankind’s destruction (basically, business as usual for the BPRD). According to the studio, Hellboy and his team “must travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal.” We’re awarding extra points for both “strata” and “corporeal” in a studio handout. The Buzz: Prepare to be amazed and entertained. Few filmmakers truly deserve the handle of “visionary.” Del Toro is at the head of the class (and it’s a small class). HBII marks his third foray into the genre (Blade II, Hellboy), and this time he’s calling all the shots. Now go rent Pan’s Labyrinth. Extra: Good news for Middle Earth as Guillermo del Toro is packing for New Zealand having just been tapped by Peter Jackson as his successor on the two Hobbit films currently in development. High Voltage DC The Dark Knight 7/18 Director Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins had more peaks and valleys than the Swiss Alps, but still managed to work somehow, thanks to Christian Bale’s charismatic intensity as the Batman and Michael Caine’s fatherly butler, Alfred. Most of the impressive supporting cast is back (Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman) and Nolan’s tweaked the one part that didn’t work in Begins, replacing the spectacularly vapid Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenahaal (Jake’s older sister and Heath’s ol’ pard in Brokeback Mountain…hmm). Apart from Ledger, Aaron Eckhart is the notable addition as Gotham D.A., Harvey Dent (potential spoiler ahead). The Story: Bats, Dent and Lt. James Gordon (Oldman) join forces to battle the crime wave unleashed in the first flick. As the partnership evolves, a grinning psychopath unleashes a wave of terror on Gotham City forcing a showdown with the Caped Crusader from which only one will survive. The Buzz: The title should have been changed simply to “Joker.” Ledger owns the movie, but (spoiler here) as all faithful Batfans know, Harvey Dent’s doomed to become Two Face ... Word is, there may be a legion of lesser villains for the Bat to deal with, as well. Extra: Nestor Carbonell (the Mayor), once played a character called Batmanuel, a kind of barrio Batman knock-off in the brilliant but short-lived TV superhero satire, The Tick. “It’s not the years honey, it’s the mileage” Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Okay, so it’s not from a comic, but it feels like it should be) The studio tag line proclaims “The man in the hat is back.” Oh yeah? Well what the hell took him so long? It’s been 19 years since Indy rode off into the sunset at the end of The Last Crusade. In the intervening years an entire generation has grown up without our favorite whip-cracking, two-fisted, globe-trotting archeologist on the big screen. Then there were all the problems trying to get Speilberg , Lucas and Ford on the same page – literally. Seemingly, every writer in Hollywood took a whack at a script - even M. Night Shyamalan (nothing really happens for a long time, but it’s creepy with a surprise ending and I have a cameo). Finally the venerable David Koep (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man) apparently turned in something neither Spielberg, Lucas or Ford could disagree on in unison. Somebody wake up John Williams and cue the theme music already.. The Story: So, there’s this kingdom, right? And there’s, like, a crystal skull or something there. And some dudes in weird headdresses swinging things on chains and Cate Blanchett kind of looks like Natasha from the Bullwinkle cartoons and… Never mind. WE DON’T KNOW. We’ve just watched the trailer online about a thousand times. As the last Star Wars trilogy proved, George Lucas couldn’t direct traffic these days, but he sure can drop the Cone of Silence on a movie. The only human to spill any sort of “inside info” was an extra who was immediately cut out of the film and sued. You go George. What we do know is there are no Nazis this time out, Cate Blanchett (Agent Irina Spalko) does indeed look a bit like Natasha from Bullwinkle, up and coming phenom, Shia LaBeouf , is there to bring in the aforementioned lost generation and Ray Winstone fills in for the late Denholm Elliott as Indy’s new sidekick. Oh yeah (theme music swells), and after a mere 27 years, Karen Allen reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood, Indy’s true match and always a threat to drink the bad guys under the table. The Buzz: Duh, did we mention it’s the first Indiana Jones movie since W’s daddy was in the White House? Who cares if everybody’s older? That’s the running gag. It’ll all work out. Trust me . Extra: See George Lucas. The Wrap I once heard a couple of guys arguing hammer and tongs about a scene from Superman Returns. They weren’t questioning the believability of an impervious, flying alien (who looks just like us) capable of reversing the orbit of the planet and therefore time itself. No, there was hearty disagreement over how a plane would have handled the stress of a high altitude freefall … forget it. The point is we go to comic book movies to escape, to forget, to be wowed. For a couple of hours the world is a better place once the hero actually succeeds in saving it. Or as the Fantastic 4’s Ben Grimm (aka “The Thing) might say, “everything’s better after clobberin’ time.” Save me a seat in the middle. |
Excuse me while I have a strange interlude:
Chiles, chiles, chiles!
"Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [expletive] that is," he tells The New York Times' Play magazine. "That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.
"Go anywhere in America and you won't see Red Sox hats and jackets, you'll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We're going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order."
Gee. That's just the kind of bloated, belligerant arrogance that makes me root for the Sox and whoever's playing the Yankees. In fact, Go Mets! Here's hoping that when they sweep away the dust after the implosion of Yankee Stadium - love 'em or hate 'em, it is legend - the inarguable greatness that was the Yankees of yore will be swept away as well.
Stuff I forgot to post because of a condition known as Holidaze...
Dixie Highways don't come anymore Dixie than this: the Old Charleston Highway near Oaklyn Plantation in Darlington County, SC.
