Metaboston

Coolidge Corner Internet Theater

At The Coolidge is an internet video series where Tim Jackson interviews someone from the Coolidge Corner Theatre about what is currently playing.

A good way to provide background and additional information about the films that are playing like the series of Russian films playing through November discussed in this clip. This extra background is something that is really important to get attention in a crowded media environment and should help people get interested in a movie they might otherwise not make time for. 

"At the Coolidge" is part of a more expansive video section called Coolidge Internet Theater.

Inventor of the Video Game Console at Boston Postmortem

Ralph Baer, the inventor of the videogame console, will be speaking at the Boston Postmortem game developers meeting on August 5th.  If you weren't an early gamer the matching game Simon above, also invented by Baer maybe more familiar.  Looks like there'll be some free food and drink as well.  (Image:  Wikimedia)

"[O]ur speaker is Ralph Baer, inventor of the home video game console! His "brown box" prototype, initially created in 1968, was refined and released in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the first ever console as we know it. Some of Baer's other game-related inventions include the light gun and Simon. He remains an active inventor to this day.

Mr. Baer is undoubtedly one of a handful of people who launched our entire industry, but if that weren't enough to get you to come out, he will be bringing one of his "brown box" prototypes with him! (You can see another one at the Smithsonian.) He gave the highest-rated talk at GDC 2008, and will be gracing us with a discussion of what it was like to create an industry."

Details
7pm, Tuesday, August 5
The Skellig, Waltham, MA

Ricky Gervais Blogging His Movie

Ricky Gervais' blog of his first film as director This Side of the Truth (currently shooting in Lowell) is funny.

"We shot our first outdoor scene today too and a huge crowd filled the streets to watch. Usually I would hate this and get stressed out, but because the people of Lowell were so quiet and polite it was actually quite pleasant.

It was like filming in front of a studio audience. They even laughed when I fucked up.

However, the Lowell sun misbehaved a bit. Not the newspaper, the gigantic ball of burning gas 93 million miles away which was meant to drop behind a building by 3.15.

It didn't.

In fact at one point I'm sure it actually went up a bit.

So in those scenes I will be squinting like a fat little mole type creature"

(via boston.com)

Public Radio Exchange Wins McArthur Grant

Public Radio Exchange, a marketplace and forum for radio pieces intended to increase accessibility to work that might otherwise be unknown, won a $500,000 grant from the McArthur foundation.

"The foundation has previously supported PRX with two grants, viewing the small nonprofit as "an ingenious model of harnessing technology to bring more diverse, high-quality content into radio."

PRX, which was launched in 2002, allows aspiring producers, stations, and individuals to sample and critique a variety of programs at prx.org. The organization has made more than 20,000 programs from approximately 1,000 producers available on the site since its inception, says Shapiro. PRX also helped organize last year's Public Radio Talent Quest.

For PRX, the MacArthur award will bring growth and stability. The organization plans to put aside half of the expected award of $500,000 as a capital reserve. "We'll be investing in our future," says [executive director Jake] Shapiro, "which is very difficult for nonprofits to do.""

Congratulations to PRX and enjoy their achievement by signing up at their site and starting to  listen to the great variety of pieces they have.

The Vermont Origins of "The Forbidden Kingdom"

The new Jet Li and Jackie Chan movie The Forbidden Kingdom was written by Vermont screenwriter John Fusco who became immersed in the culture of martial arts at the Vermont Kung Fu Academy in Essex Junction:

"When Jackie Chan was reading the script and said, 'Shon dong black tiger? How did you learn about that? How did you know about "praying mantis?" Where did you learn about "flying lohan?"' I said, 'In Vermont,'" Fusco said. "And he said, 'No, no, Vermont's (all about) maple syrup, not kung fu!'" 

The writer proved Jackie Chan wrong about that, and had backup in doing so from another Vermont talent. Essex High School graduate, Morgan Benoit, now works in Los Angeles as an actor. Like Fusco, he also studied at the Vermont Kung Fu Academy, and credits that experience with changing his life.

"When I was a kid, I grew up in Vermont, and was getting in trouble as a teenager," Benoit said. "At 14 and 15, I was just hanging out with the wrong crowd. Martial arts took me away from that in put me on a positive path."

That path now appears to be leading him to success in Hollywood. He has a small roll as a villain in "The Forbidden Kingdom," and shares screen time with Jackie Chan"

Steven Wright, Lenny Clarke and a Benefit for Bob Lazarus

Steven Wright (above), Lenny Clarke and other comedic  veterans of the former Inman Square club Ding Ho will gather in May in a benefit for fellow comedian Bob Lazarus who is suffering from leukemia.

Info:
Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 pm
Regent Theatre
7 Medford St. Arlington, MA
781-646-4849
www.regenttheatre.com
Cost:  $45-$50

Reminder: David Hajdu on Comics Tonight at the Brattle

A reminder that Harvard Book Store and the Brattle will be hosting "New Republic music critic DAVID HAJDU for a discussion of one of the twentieth century’s most controversial and innovative developments in artistic culture.          

In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created—in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. No sooner had this new culture emerged than it was beaten down by church groups, community bluestockings, and a McCarthyish Congress—only to resurface with a crooked smile on its face in Mad magazine."

John Chang and the Story Behing '21'

An article on John Chang, 50, a member of the MIT blackjack team, that looks at some of the real history of the team and its links to business in Boston as the opening of the movie 21 approaches.  "He’s the Micky Rosa character in the book played by Kevin Spacey in the movie (you can find his blog here, and the April issue of Men’s Vogue also has a piece that quotes him at length."

"[O]ver time, the once close-knit teams fell apart. They were partly victims of their own success, says Chang. Everybody seemed to want bigger stakes or for their investments to grow faster, he says. A number of players decided to form new, smaller teams.

Chang draws a lot of parallels to the challenges businesses face. People become dissatisfied with their compensation as the company grows. Or they miss the entrepreneurial environment and go off to find it again somewhere else. “I guess this is the essence of startups,” he says. And it wasn’t like he had much leverage to convince people to stay. “I had not hidden anything from anybody. It was all transparent, so it was easy to break away. We had no contracts. We didn’t have golden-handcuff-type benefits. You didn’t vest, anything like that.” Chang estimates the MIT teams took about $10 million out of casinos over the years. “Although it seems like a lot of money, it’s not really a lot of money, not in a business sense,” he says."

David Hajdu on Comics: April 3

David Hajdu will discuss his new book The Ten-Cent Plague:  The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America and  how comics became a symbol of moral decline.
         

"In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created—in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. No sooner had this new culture emerged than it was beaten down by church groups, community bluestockings, and a McCarthyish Congress—only to resurface with a crooked smile on its face in Mad magazine. 

 

Created by outsiders from the tenements, garish, shameless, and often shocking, comics spoke to young people and provided the guardians of mainstream culture with a big target. Parents, teachers, and complicit kids burned comics in public bonfires. Cities passed laws to outlaw comics. Congress took action with televised hearings that nearly destroyed the careers of hundreds of artists and writers."

You can see the same impulse in the recent Massachusetts bill to ban sales of some video games.

Anime Boston: March 21-23

Anime Boston, the largest anime convention in New England starts today (and runs through Sunday) at the Hynes Convention Center in Back Bay.

On Sunday there will be life-size cosplay chess:

"Chess is back and better than ever at Anime Boston 2008! Cosplay Human Chess is a cosplay gameshow event in which a giant chess-board is set up on stage and convention attendees in costume serve as the pieces, moving, fighting and dying live on stage at the direction of two chess masters. Highlights from last year's "Angst vs. Sugar" match included Tifa (FFVII) poisoning Count D (Petshop of Horrors) with Nutrasweet, Cloud (FFVII) defeating Sephiroth with a giant sack of pink Pocky, Rock Lee (Naruto) and Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Carribean, Kingdom Hearts II) getting drunk on stage together, Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist) and Aizen (Bleach) hijacking the host's microphone and an epic final battle between dozens of Ninjas, Shinigami, Alchemists and the Ouran High School Host Club. These combats are not pre-scripted but take-place live on stage and no one knows what the outcome will be until the match is over."

6 Hollywood Movies Filming in Boston in Upcoming Weeks

A number of famous actors and at least one famous director are filming or will shortly begin filming six movies in the area.  Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ben Kingsley in Martin Scorsese's Ashecliffe (based on the  Dennis Lehane book Shelter Island)

Other movies filming: 
Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Kevin James in Mall Cop
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars
Bruce Willis in The Surrogates

Check out the article for more details on locations.

Boston Cinema Census: 9:30pm, March 14th

The Brattle Theatre will be hosting the Boston Cinema Census on Friday March 14.  "The Boston Cinema Census is presented by Central Productions – a Cambridge based nonprofit film production support organizations dedicated to supporting emerging narrative and experimental filmmakers. "  The films are described below by the BCC, with filmmakers coming from all around the area including Jamaica Plain, Cambridge and Brighton.  The longest movie is 20 minutes so some of the usual apprehension that you might have (e.g. a 3 hour experimental film starting at 11 at night).

Mysterieuse, by Samantha Olschan
Animation, Easton, Connecticut, May 2007; 3 min:15 sec.
When a local girl is seduced by the arrival of an enigmatic leopard she is left with more than the memory. Mysterieuse is a computer generated animation deeply influenced by traditional myth, as well as collage and printmaking techniques.

Full Stop Hilltop, by David Baeumler
Experimental, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, July 2007; 11 min: 06 sec.
When the water mysteriously stops, a man is forced out of his daily routine to examine his life.  He revisits his past to consider the places and moments that shaped him.  But in a constantly shifting world, these memories have lost the meaning they once had.  Have the places changed or has he?  What can these places tell him now, and do they always say the same thing?

Pearlswig, by Jesse Kreitzer
Documentary, Brighton, MA, March 2007; 10 minutes
Meet Jarome Pearlswig, Boston's #1 celebrity autograph hound and amateur paparazzi.  This thoughtful doc chronicles 40 years of Jarome Pearlswig capturing the world's most beloved celebrities – whether they like it or not!

Where is Estel, by Jared Katsiane
Narrative, Boston, MA January 2007; 3 minutes
Yesterday Estel joined the JROTC youth military progam.  Today she is just hanging out with her friends.  Could this be just a normal day in the life of this group of friends, or has Estel's decision made subtle but significant changes to this schoolyard group? 

The Front Runner, by John MacDonnell
Animation, Bedford, NH, May 2007; 8 minutes
After an unlikely turn of events turns fatal during a rural drag race, a young Texan's mentor's car ends up unjustly in the wrong hands.  Our young Texan takes control of the situation with what might be his first solo victory or his last run.   

Scatterbrain, by Jean-Paul DiSciscio
Narrative/Experimental, Lynn, MA January 2008; 22 minutes
Scatterbrain tells the tale of a man whose brain begins to sing one day, so he has to cut it out of his head (to be replaced by a heavy-duty lithium battery of course).  This unique tale plays out like a silent musical in the slapstick vein of Buster Keaton and featuring the music of Daniel Johnston as the singing brain!

Hanna's Ride, by Anne Loyer
Narrative, Boston, MA January 2008, 13 min: 20 sec.
Coming of age film about a girl caught between two worlds – the open landscape of a horse farm where she confronts physical danger regularly, and the confining suburban environment where she struggles with the external expectations of beauty and propriety.

The Beautiful, by Peter Pizzi
Narrative/Experimental, Boston, MA January 2007; 3 minutes
Inspired by the Michelle Tea poem of the same name, The Beautiful tells the story of one young woman's disillusionment with her family and on a greater level the disappointment she feels for her country.  Sassy and bratty Beauty rips into her parents, comically they will either respond or not… come on America!

The Cambridge Companion, by Ethan Goldhammer
Docudramedy, Cambridge, MA January 2008; 20 minutes
The Cambridge Companion casually follows the campaign of the legendary orator Lloyd Smith as he and his son ArtMan set their sights on one of the highly coveted 9 seats on the Cambridge City Council.  Their miss-managed actions make this original work in turns funny, touching, and perplexing in a very engaging way.

Charles Nesson on the Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert confronts Harvard Law prof Charles Nesson over the value of poker in education and in life.

More on whether the RIAA is afraid to sue Harvard students for file-sharing

More on whether the RIAA is afraid to sue Harvard students for file-sharing.  Wired's Listening Post blog considers the premise that the RIAA might be intimidated by Harvard's law professors and their antipathy toward restrictive copyright.  And comes down on the side that the RIAA probably is intimidated as an explanation for why 407 students at 18 universities have been sued already in 2008 but "the RIAA has yet to address a single one of these letters to Harvard University. " 

MIT Sneak Preview of Jumper with Hayden Christiansen

Sneak Preview at MIT of upcoming science fiction movie Jumper with Hayden Christiansen.  Time and date:  Wednesday, January 16,  at 8:00pm in MIT building 26, Room 100,

There will be geekery and there will be science:

"The screening will be followed by a discussion panel about the film and the physics of teleportation featuring lead actor Hayden Christiansen, director Doug Liman, and MIT Physics Professors Max Tegmark and Edward Farhi."

One problem, if you're not at MIT or don't know anyone who is this might be a tough ticket to get:

"This is a FREE Sneak Preview, with preferred admission for members of the MIT Community with an MIT ID or brass rat. Tickets will be distributed in Lobby 16 at 6pm on January 16."

Chinese punk rock comes to Allston

Chinese punk rock band Brain Failure comes to Allston.  They'll be playing at Great Scott (1222 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02134)on December 19th.  Brain Failure have been encouraged and have toured with Dropkick Murphys.

Boston Typewriter Orchestra at Church on Dec. 22

Boston Typewriter Orchestra  will perform  at Church (69 Kilmarnock Street, Boston, MA) 

What is the BTO?  In their own words: 

"BTO is a collective endeavor which engages in rhythmic typewriter manipulation combined with elements of performance, comedy and satire. BTO aims to entertain the masses while providing an outlet for the creative urges of its members."

Reminder: Writers' Strike Rally with Joss Whedon in Harvard Square today

Reminder:  Writers' Strike Rally with Joss Whedon in Harvard Square today.  From the fans4writers website:

"We are planning the event for Friday, December 14th from 12 noon - 3 pm. There will be an assembly of writers, fans (and potentially celebrity guests!) at the distinguished public affairs program Cambridge Forum in the Meeting House of the historic First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) Church, 3 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138. There, guest speakers (which so far include Joss Whedon, Rob Kutner with a few of his Daily Show crew, and myself) will say a few words of thanks to our fans and talk about the cause they're supporting. Once we are sufficiently pumped up, everyone will march with picket signs and pamphlets throu gh Harvard Square to a rally outside of the famed Harvard Lampoon building, where so many great television comedy writers cut their teeth. It will offer a chance for Boston fans and writers to walk side by side, show the media and AMPTP that we're galvanized in our cause, and we're growing."

Irish Hip Hop at the Middle East

Irish hip hop at the Middle East with locals like Slaine (above) and Sullee and Irish visitors like CmX.

Of course - Irish cliche alert - there’s more to underground Irish rap than just revolution.

'I’ve never been to an Irish hip-hop show without leaving absolutely plastered,' said CmX, who’s come to Boston with crewmembers Tanya D, Hi-T and Terawrizt.

'I feel bad for whoever’s buying drinks that night,' Sullee said after a recent performance at the Middle East.

How do you make Malibu look Maine for a Heroes?

How do you make Malibu look Maine for  Heroes?

"To make the set more authentically "Maine-like," a Heroes producer recently called local businesswoman Beth Shissler, co-owner and operator of Sea Bags, to ask for a Sea Bags tote bag to use in the scenes. You can see the bag in the episode that will air on Monday, December 3."

Joss Whedon to attend writers' strike rally in Harvard Square

Joss Whedon of Buffy and Firefly fame is to attend a writers' strike rally in Harvard Square on December 14th according to plans for the rally organized by fans4writers.  The plans so far:

"We are planning the event for Friday, December 14th from 12 noon - 3 pm. There will be an assembly of writers, fans (and potentially celebrity guests!) at the distinguished public affairs program Cambridge Forum in the Meeting House of the historic First Parish (Unitarian Universalist) Church, 3 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02138. There, guest speakers (which so far include Joss Whedon, Rob Kutner with a few of his Daily Show crew, and [Jaime (Eureka) Paglia]) will say a few words of thanks to our fans and talk about the cause they’re supporting. Once we are sufficiently pumped up, everyone will march with picket signs and pamphlets through Harvard Square to a rally outside of the famed Harvard Lampoon building, where so many great television comedy writers cut their teeth."

(via HubArts)

Emerson Reference on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

Emerson Reference on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season Finale:

"In the opening scene, [Rob] McElhenny wears an Emerson College t-shirt that reads "Emerson Football - Undefeated Since 1880."  McElhenny, executive producer and series creator, wore the shirt as a shout out to the Emerson students in a TV Writing class.  Through a teleconferencing hook-up, he spoke to the students on March 27.  Afterwards, students chipped in and bought McElhenny the t-shirt which he wore in the episode"

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was particularly debased and funny this season so it's too bad the  finale came so soon.

Catholic school in Wakefield just hears about Harry Potter books; finally gets around to banning them

Catholic school in Wakefield just hears about Harry Potter books; finally gets around to banning them.  The purported reason:  "'For some people, reading those books is a vehicle to become involved in the occult.'"  But they've been around seducing kids to the perils of wizardry for years now, so why the delay?  Hicks have been trying to ban them for years.  Maybe it was the gay Dumbledore thing that really got them nervous?

Another South Boston Crime Movie: New Film Planned with Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke

Another South Boston crime movie:  Real Men Cry is a new film planned with Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke (with a terrible title).  As South Boston gentrifies and Boston Harbor becomes a corporate/cultural/tourism area it seems that film-makers are committed to seeing it as a crime capital.  Maybe because New York is too fancy for Mean Streets now too.

" Hawke and Ruffalo will play childhood friends Paulie and Brian, respectively, who are forced to survive on the tough streets of South Boston through a life of petty thievery. They join a local gang of criminals, but Brian finds it hard to reconcile his work and friendship with Paulie and his relationship with his wife ([Amanad] Peet) and son."

Boston Movie Cage Match: Gone Baby Gone vs. Mystic River

Boston movie cage match:  Gone Baby Gone vs. Mystic River:  Bryce Zabel's Movie Smackdown puts Clint Eastwood's film based on a Dennis Lehane novel set in the working-class neighborhoods of Boston up against first-time director Ben Affleck's new movie based on  . . . a Dennis Lehane novel set in the working-class neighborhoods of Boston.  The winner?  Check it out.

Miramax's theory for Gone Baby Gone's Low Box Office: The Red Sox In The World Series

Miramax's theory for Gone Baby Gone's low box office:  the Red Sox in the World Series:  "the release of Gone Baby Gone was poorly timed because it just happened to conflict with the Boston Red Sox World Series run."  One problem with that theory:  the ratings for the World Series were the second lowest in history.

Goodbye to T-Radio

Goodbye to T-Radio.

"Bowing to audience complaints, the MBTA on Thursday suspended its test of T-Radio, just two weeks into the program.

The audio program pumped into three stations got off to a bumpy start, with commuters and subway performers criticizing the venture."

Crime Mob Song Incites Fight at Harvard Party

Crime Mob Song "Knuck If You Buck" (video above) playing blamed for inciting fight at Harvard party.

"More than 20 police patrol cars, including six state police cruisers and several Cambridge and HUPD cars, were deployed to the scene as additional brawls broke out."

Knuck if you buck definition for the uninitiated.

Watch: Movies About Bikes: Boston Bike Film Festival

If you love Breaking Away then this weekend the Brattle has the film festival for you.  The Boston Bike Film Festival will show a program of movies about bicycles in all their varied glory:

"Friday Night: Guerilla Mechanics - a short by Kristopher Carter about secret squad of guys hoping to fix the world one bike at a time; Round Up 2007 - a short film by BBFF 3rd year alum, Lynette Chiang about the race to fold a bike; Take it Or Leave it - a film Dean Dickinson about BMX riders whose favorite spots - empty pools - are sometimes a challenge to get into; and 24-Solo - about an exciting downhill mountain bike race.  This feature was sponsored by Wheelworks.

 Saturday Night: Biking Through Black History by Jonas Chaney about a new ride that chronicles the Underground Railway sites in Pittsburgh; Moving by Bike - a short film by Elisa Kresinger with a novel way of moving to a new apartment; The Flying Scotsman - the true story of Graeme Obree, who originally built his bike from washing machine parts but went on to win the championship - an MGM production starring Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Boyd.  This feature was sponsored by Jason & Fischer." 

 

 

Listen: to "Wave Backwards to Massachusetts"

... by Hallelujah the Hills through their MySpace or watch and listen below:

Watch: Palestinian Movies

Americans are often accused of lack of awareness of the Palestinian experience.  The Palestinian Film Festival will try to increase awareness of  cinema from the region when it runs  from Sept. 29 - Oct. 7 with movie showings spread between Kendall Square Cinema, Coolidge Corner, Harvard and the MFA.  The full schedule will be posted to our calendar.  The films look to be primarily documentaries along with some dramas and youth videos.

Read About: How MIT Prof Henry Jenkins Beat His Wife in Mud-wrestling

"'The game plan we came up with,' [Sam] Ford [graduate student and accomplice] says in an interview, was to have Jenkins fake a knee injury early in the match. 'Then, when Cynthia [Jenkins' wife] turned her back, Henry got up on his knees and held his finger up and said 'Shh,' signaling to the crowd that he was unharmed, while a concerned Cynthia turned to look for help. 'One of the other grad students comes out of the crowd and jumps up and pushes Cynthia's shoulder,' and she trips over Henry, who pins her to the mat.

'It was the first win of his mud-wrestling career,' Ford says proudly."

There's more in this profile about how Jenkins walks the walk as well as talking the talk of pop culture and media studies including his theories of professional wrestling and how to be a great mentor and a visit to his secret lair.

Get: Free Tickets to Titus Andronicus

The Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club's production of Titus Andronicus will run Dec. 7 - 15 and up to 4 tickets a customer are available free at the American Repertory Theatre (via Bard in Boston)

Springfield, VT to Host Simpsons Movie

In a contest that only attracted 100,000 voters, 15,000 votes for Springfield, VT was enough to guarantee the village the right to host the Simpsons movie premiere.

Springfield, MA Vies for Simpsons Premiere

Springfield, MA and Springfield, VT compete against 12 other Springfields across the country in a video contest to host the premiere of the Simpsons movie.  Springfield, MA's video isn't really that great unfortunately for Mass hopes for the premiere.

This Is Nollywood: Inside Nigeria's Movie Industry

This is Nollywood (trailer above) is a new film by Boston film-makers Franco Sacchi and Robert Caputo, made with their colleagues at BU's Center of Digital Imaging Arts. Nollywood (a play on Bollywood) and moviemakers throughout Nigeria are some of the largest producers of movies in the world yet are relatively unknown; in the words of the film-makers:  "Despite all odds, Nigerian directors produce between 500 and 1,000 movies a year. The disks sell wildly all over the continent—Nollywood actors have become stars from Ghana to Zambia."

Sicko' Sneak Previews: June 23rd

You can catch Michael Moore's indictment of the US healthcare system earlier than the rest of the country with showings at the Boston Common and Kendall Square movie theatres.  Saturday, June 23rd only for this sneak preview.

BU Student v. RIAA

A Boston University student is challenging the RIAA's effort to obtain his identity from the university.  The student's argument is that the RIAA's claim of copyright infringement is based on the students' having "stored music files on their computers while connected to the internet without sufficient protection to prevent third parties from accessing those music files and copying them" rather than having actively engaged in copying music files.  THe RIAA describes these files as being offered for download over peer-to-peer networks.

Boston Early Music Festival 2007

The biannual Boston Early Music Festival is underway.  Early music focuses on medieval, renaissance and baroque music and often uses "archaic" instruments like harpsichords and lutes.  The centerpiece of the festival is  Psyché a 1678 opera by French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully but there are many more events going on.  Probably the best way to dip a toe into this would be one of what's called the "fringe" events where tickets are more like $10-$20 and are available all throughout the remainder of the festival period.

Davis Square Backyard Movies

Willoughby and Baltic Gallery in Davis Square will kick off a season of Thursday night backyard movies in the Boloco Burritos parking lot on June 7th.  The first night will be a selection of movies by the Brothers Quay (left) the highly original animation filmmakers.  A great mix of homespun and artistic.  Bring your lawnchairs!

How Mission of Burma Grew in Boston

An informative article from Boston Rock Storybook on Mission of Burma and their development in the Boston music scene.

Alex Ross Commencement Speech at Longy

New Yorker music critic Alex Ross talks about his recent commencement speech at Cambridge's Longy School of Music where he spoke about the continually recurring and continually disproved fears of classical music's extinction.

The Only Jazz Song About the Fung Wah Bus?

Is Daniela Schachter's The Boat and the Storm (Fung Wah Blues) the only jazz piece that's been written about the notorious bus line?  The song's not available for listening on her website but the album by the Berklee grad is worth seeking out.

Boston Pops Fight

The Boston Pops is the more relaxed orchestra based at Symphony Hall but some people took the Pops season opener very seriously; so seriously that a fistfight erupted in the balcony.  Was it a dispute over Keith Lockhart's conducting technique?  You can't see the fight in the video below but you can see Lockhart standing puzzled by the commotion as the performance momentarily grinds to a halt.

Boston '80s Music Scene Videos

Boing Boing points to these Kino Digital Video archives of videos of '80s bands like Mission of Burma and the Buzzcocks, a number of the performances having been shot at Boston venues like the Bradford Hotel, the Rat, and the Paradise.

Good grainy fun.

Somerville Theatre No Longer Dry

The Somerville Theatre in Davis Square will now serve beer and wine alongside the Raisinets and popcorn.  It's a smart move that will help to keep the theatre competitive with the option of sitting at home watching a DVD.  Movie theatres are going to have to offer something different to attract customers away from increasingly elaborate home theatres.  However, fairly strict conditions will apply to drinkers according to the Somerville News:  "Much like Fenway Park, the Theatre limits how many drinks customers can buy at a time, and those who wish to drink must wear wristbands. Ushers patrol the various theatres, ensuring that no one without a wristband is drinking alcohol their friend bought for them." 

David Lynch at the Brattle

Video of weatherman, TM advocate, coffee producer, and movie director David Lynch's appearance at the premiere of Inland Empire at the Brattle.

Trailer for Inland Empire:

Visual Music Marathon

A sample of one of the works from the Visual Music Marathon taking place at Northeastern at the Egan Research Center at 120 Forsyth Street.  There'll twelve hours of audiovisual work playing during the day. Six of the twelve hours will be devoted to works submitted to the event (64 works chosen from 300 submitted). (via Cartoon Brew) Check our calendar for details.

Mike Daisey Contacts Detractors and Vandal

Mike Daisey, the monologuist performing at Cambridge's American Repertory Theatre, had a difficult show on April 19 when his performance interrupted by a mass walkout of a group that's been variously described as christian or a church choir.  One group member poured water over Daisey's notes.  Daisey followed up with the group and the man and details his conversations on his blog:

The first person I managed to reach was an administrator with the group, a woman who started the conversation repeating the same statement time and again, which undercut her apology: she insisted it was a "safety issue", and that "we had to get our students out of there." There was no discussion of language or appropriateness--it had become a safety issue, as though the students were in danger of being physically assaulted. I think it is tremendously chilling that the language of the war on terror, the language of security, has been appropriated for even this--we can't even begin a dialogue about what is and is not appropriate, because it has all become a "safety" issue. That ends a conversation before it has even begun.
***
After the show, I reached the man who attacked my work on the phone. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous--Jean-Michele didn't even understand why I would call him; she was afraid he would simply attack me again--but I knew, especially after that second performance, that I had to try to find some communion with him. If I could look this person in the eye, hear their words and know them I would be able to move beyond that moment at the table. Never forgetting, but being able to walk forward--being able to breathe.

His name is David. At the beginning of the conversation there was a lot of silence--long, long silences that neither of us were willing to puncture. First I made him understand what he had done--that these were the only set of notes for the show, how I work with them, what he had cost me in terms of my physical work and in terms of what it had been like that next night to go out in front of them. I needed him to understand what he had taken from me.

He quietly said that he had heard me, and that he understood.

I gradually opened him up by listening, and responding, the one-on-one version of what I do with an audience. We talked about many things, for almost an hour, and step by step, his story emerged.

He has three kids--one is 21, and two are 17--and he's terrified of the world. Terrified by violence, and sex, and he sees it all linked together--a horrifying world filled with darkness, pornography and filth that threatens his children, has threatened them all his life. They're older now, but he says he still sees things the same way--and that the only way to protect his children and himself is to lock it all out of his life.

He also said he's had anger-control issues for years, and sometimes acts of rage come over him--he explodes, and then has to apologize, and doesn't know why it happens. He tries to lock it down, but it happens, and he's ashamed of it. I told him that regardless of where we both stand, I felt very strongly that the repression of walling off everything in the world and viewing it all as filth is connecting with these outbursts, and that it isn't going to work--until you deal with the root causes, and deal with the world, his anger and rage would keep using him.

He agreed with this.

It wasn't all agreement--he reiterated the administrator's line that it had been a "security issue" (his words) and that "we had to get our kids out of there". He said at one point, "You're probably more *liberal* than I am" and the word *liberal* had this hook on the end of it, one that he probably didn't even intend, but it was unavoidable for him--it sounded edged, like a slur." 

The full description is on the blog.  You can watch the video again below:

Film Racing: Boston 48 Hour Film Project

Another film race comes to Boston:  the 48 Hour Film Project will begin its fifth competition in Boston on Friday May 4th and end at 7:30pm on Sunday May 6th, with the completed films being show at the Kendall Square movie theatre on May 8th-10th and 15th-16th.  Like other film competitions there are required elements such as a prop that must appear in the movie but in this competition the elements and even the genre of the film like horror or romance must be picked from a hat by each team just prior to beginning the competition.