I had been looking forward to seeing Intolerable Cruelty for a while, but I was still surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It is and isn’t a Coen Brothers film – Joel directed and Ethan produced, and both worked on the screenplay, but it was a script that had sat on a shelf for over seven years before being made, and wasn’t originally intended to be made by the Coens themselves. That said, it’s hardly a black mark on their resume. There’s fewer of their trademark quirks and ticks, and the direction itself is more conventional than you might normally find, but it’s still off-kilter enough to satisfy. George Clooney, who I like more and more every time I see one of his films (and I used to really dislike the guy), seems to take a real manic pleasure in portraying characters of the Coens’ creating. It’s a delight to watch him as Miles Massey, legendary divorce lawyer, lock horns with professional golddigger Catherine Zeta Jones, and Billy Bob Thornton gets to do his best Boomhauer impersonation in his limited role.

The Wavelength zine has hit the streets, and it’s good to have it back. The contents are still approximately the same as in the original incarnation, but the presentation is more professional and the cover is in colour. Points off, however, for the lousy new logo – I hope it’s not a permanent fixture. One feature of the new issue is a summer wrap-up – brief capsule reviews of all Wavelength going-ons during the zine’s hiatus. Of course, I headed straight for the August 3rd entry, to see what they had to say about our set:

“..Lake Holiday were good as well but I cannot comment on them as well as I might due to the overwhelming crowd and the anticipation for Les Mouches…”

That’s it. Not only did we not get to do a little interview for the zine as bands usually do, the only mention we DO get after the fact amounts to little more than a patronizing, “There, there, you’re all special”. Pfft.

Fox News conducts a “fair and balanced” interview with Steve Earle, speaking of whom – have they rescheduled his appearance on The O’Reilly Factor? Not that I get the channel, but I would so dearly love to see that. Or maybe I wouldn’t, on second thought. Bill O’Reilly makes me want to go Elvis on my television as is, him vs Steve might be too much for me to take.

Will, concerned about my dearth of things to write about, sent me this link to New Zealand Herald wherein they try to write a review for Return Of The King, mindful of the fact that they’re not actually allowed to do so yet. They sound impressed.

Today – cleaning, rearranging the furniture in my bedroom (a grand total of two pieces, sure, but it still required more consideration than you might think), groceries (I had no food. Nothing. At all.) and now some sitting around and reading time. My Sundays all seem awful similar, but you know what? I don’t mind. It’s relaxing.

np – Bright Eyes / Lifted… Or The Story Is In The Soil Keep Your Ear To The Ground

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