...being the observations and navigational extracts
from the ongoing expeditions of San Francisco Piano Pop trio
True Margrit

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Trebuchet in 3D

Since I'm working on a science fiction rock opera, I've been forced to watch a lot of late night sci fi dvds. Some are good and some... not so much ( of course with Battlestar Galactica reaching its mighty series climax who can compete??)

Anyhoo, I watched "Lathe of Heaven" with the sloe-eyed Lukas Haas and the ever excellent David Strathairn--the film is just ok, though the cast is great, and the story itself is quite good--based on the excellent Ursula Le Guin classic of the same name. Then I watched "Timeline" . Hmmmm. I will say that I liked it more than the other film I've seen with Gerard Butler ( the loathsome "300")--but that's not saying much. BUT! The plot involves time travel to a 1300's era siege of a French castle, and big ol' catapults--or trebuchets--- figure in the battle scene. Now, I'd never heard the word trebuchet before, but today as I was working out at the gym watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire, there was a question about trebuchets! And thus it is proven: science fiction can make you really rich. Or surprise you with coincidence---or?

To balance out the sci fi I've been reading some Shakespeare ( again) I just re-read The Tempest. Ahhhh. Love it. I also re-watched the Baz Luhrman Romeo + Juliet. So good. (I also read Cannery Row recently which is neither Shakespeare nor science fiction, but in fact exactly in between.)

SO! We all know this wouldn't be a proper True Margrit update without---yes! a report on how GREAT "The Juggler's Progress" is sounding!! This time however, I hasten to add: I'm posting some previews this weekend. So look out! I mean, listen out! We are within a few weeks of the final tweaks -- as we like to call it in the biz. Just as long we aren't the final tweakers. God forbid.

But getting back to coincidences-- it seems like they come in storms or packs or pods or flocks. I had a handful the past few weeks, of which the trebuchet incident was just one among many. What about y'all? Do tell! I will write an essay and send it to Scientific American, or Coincident Weekly, or Synchronicity Journal of the Lower 48, or Redundancy Department of Redundancy Report, or...Or not. Who has time?

PS--I also saw ”CORALINE” in 3D this week. “Wow” doesn’t begin to articulate the kind of stimulus the optic nerve receives from this monumental creation. It’s a multidimensional visual orgy--hallucinogenic, hyper-vibrant, almost fevered, and the story is kind of a brain-squisher too, so prepare thineselves accordingly, people. But see it in 3D for god’s sake. Even though your optic nerve will feel a teeny bit violated by a veritable trebuchet-load of imagery. You'll wanna listen to some splendid music in a dark room afterwards... I know about a great album coming out this spring...