Don @ MindSay

Blindness is Don McKellar’s screenplay adaptation of Jose Saramago's science fiction novel with the same title. The movie, like the book, questions what would happen to society if a super bug that causes blindness were to suddenly infect a large urban center?

It starts like this: A man goes blind while waiting in his car at a stoplight on a sunny morning. The effect is bright instead of dark; the man sees only white light. He’s blind and holding up traffic. After some commotion, Thief (Don McKellar) offers to help the man and drive him to the hospital, and he becomes the next character to catch the disease.

The movie introduces more characters before settling on the heroes of story.

Mark Ruffalo plays The Doctor and is the first ophthalmologist to attempt to understand the affliction. The Doctor’s Wife, Julianne Moore soon becomes the vast exception to the rule, and indeed the premise on which this wonderful film hangs; Julianne Moore’s character does not go blind, and yet she suffers even greater pain as she tirelessly cares for the sick, and silently bears witness to the decomposition of society.

It could happen anywhere at anytime - people in Toronto will remember the fear that paralyzed the city during a sudden outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in North York General Hospital. Every American was shocked when they heard testimony of the bizarre and horrific occurrences in the New Orleans Super Dome during Hurricane Katrina. Blindness puts human characters in those same mental and moral conundrums where they hate themselves and the selfishness they need to survive.

Actually Blindness goes well beyond those scenarios and into the realm of genuine horror. Those who control the food rise above the others. Gael García Bernal, Sandra Oh, Danny Glover, Alice Braga, Martha Burns, and Maury Chaykin round out this amazing cast of characters. Each story offers a different perspective on the phenomenon.

Blindness reminds viewers of the fragility of modern civilization; this movie depicts the evolution of evil in an unknown, terrifying environment.

Rush Limbaugh claims the Evil Clintons are to blame for the demise of Don Imus as a broadcaster! Wow! Super-Duper Wrong! Absolutely without a doubt...wrong as can be!

El Rushpoo is just worried that  he may be the next broadcaster to feel the wrath of decency and advertisers.

Why would an advertiser want to support a radio show that spews bigotry? Bad for biz! Bad for biz!

Imus had a long history of saying some pretty offensive stuff. He did it to himself. Shock jock? Bigot? You decide!

Maybe some good will come out of this episode. Maybe we will some more civility on the airwaves.

What is wrong with disagreeing politely? Instead of pulling out the verbal guns...think and discuss. Disagree amicably.

Maybe something positive will come out of this.

Recently, very popular and renowned talk radio host, Don Imus, expressed a comment which was decided to be undesirable on public radio, thus after his apologies, he has been fired from his near life-long career and publicly humiliated by reverand Jesse Jackson and others, soo at this point I guess that the topic at hand is, is don imus' firing fully justified, does reverand jesse jackson fully reserve the justification of voicing his opinion on imus, and finally, has imus apologized enough, what do you think, and remember to consider the very first amendment of the bill of rights and the constitution, and please, oh please, don't turn this in to a racial argument, those are just sooooo....oo..o unpleasant that i always regret posting anything because some oakie decides that this is good, and this is bad, and the south is gunnah rise again, and all of this other garbage, your opinions are appreciated, and remember, i am not racist, i just started a hot topic, i will eventually express my viewpoint in the matter at hand but at the moment i am not prepared to disclose that info, i would be intrigued to absorb insight from others, first and foremost

What we have here, my friends, is an astonishing collaboration between two underground hometaping legends, Chris Phinney and Don Campau.  Their previous release, THE BLACK ACE, was a more song-oriented project.  On their new cd, SCIENTIFIC STANDARDS, they've forgone vocals in favor of intricate instrumental textures, with dashes of prog rock, electronica, experimental, and world music.  Phinney provides the synthesizer and drum programming, and Campau piles on the guitars and bass parts.  And it's a killer.

Stella By Nitares starts off with a minute of warm washes of Chris' keyboards, then kicks into high gear with drums, and Don Campau's incredible melodic guitar playing.  Campau is, to my ears, one of the most distinct guitar players in the underground.  The second track, All The Goblins You Are, is probably my favorite.  I love the jungle percussion Phinney plays on this tune.  Darn That Dynamo, the album's closer, and a real jam fest between Chris and Don, and it's a lot of fun to listen to, as is the whole album.

And did I mention you can dance to this stuff?  I would if I could (dance, that is.  Yes, I know.  I'm a drummer and yet I have no rhythm on the dance floor.  Ironic, innit it?).  Some of these would sound right at home in more progressive dance clubs.

The more I listen to this cd, the more I discover things I didn't hear before.  Very nice.

Contact:  www.harshrealitymusic.com and www.doncampau.com.

i was working on a blog on another website, and it started having some kind of systemic problems. couldn't tell if it was the system or this computer.. didn't much matter. it's why i'm here. i'm here perhaps at this precise moment to complain about work, that's where my head is at this moment. maybe in this new place where no one knows me it will be easier to complain freely, honestly. openly.

i wonder if a person can be recognized, minus face, minus even hand-writing, purely by what the person writes?

in a book i'm reading these days, a person don juan is telling us that we've got to erase our personal histories, because everyone is just repeatedly using everything you do as proof of what they think of your personal history.

that's all for now