One more music video for your Monday (it's rare for me to share two), because it was released today along with the song.
Behold "Clockworkbird" by the faerie who signs her work as Possimiste:
©2012 Possimiste.
Spread your wings and fly!
March 19, 2012
Music Time: Luthea Salom
Yes, Mondays are no fun. So let's try to make this easier to deal with. Maybe this official video for Luthea Salom's song "Be Me" will do the trick:
©2012 Luthea Salom.
There. Feeling better?
One, my darling, come get upscaled
“One, My Darling, Come to Mama” from The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales (Random House–Schocken Books, New York, 1978, reprinted 1997).
©1978, 1997 Diane Wolkstein. Used with permission.
Video ©2010–2012 Diane Wolkstein / Cloudstone /Philip David Morgan / Rosegarden Media and Entertainment.
Here it is: the last Just One Story… episode to get upscaled to 720p HD.
For those new to this one: Diane Wolkstein is seen here with a poignant story from her collection The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales (1978). The most amazing thing about this story is the fourth — and intentionally forgotten — daughter’s capacity to forgive her mother for the injustice done to her as a child.
But why say more? Just enjoy.
March 10, 2012
Spring–ing ahead
A lot is happening at Rosegarden House in the next few weeks, and this is a brief time out to get it all out in the open.
First, the Dianne R. Carr episode of Just One Story… — "Dragon Days and Rabbit Ways," recorded in May of 2010 — is back now at 720p HD. Just make yourself comfortable first before pressing play.
"Dragon Days and Rabbit Ways" ©1990 Dianne R. Carr.
Video ©2010–2012 Dianne R. Carr / Philip David Morgan —
Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
And now for the rest of the news…
The Just One Story… will be put on pause after Wednesday 14 March, because of the anticipated invasion of one nephew and two nieces from Southern California (Antelope Valley, to be exact) for ten days of sight–seeing and getting quality time with my Mum and Dad. Chances are quite good they will be sleeping downstairs in the basement, thus blocking almost all access to the iMac used for post–production of all Rosegarden Television content. That means that any new videos or remastering of old ones will have to wait, in part, until after the kids head back out West.)
And then comes April… on which the wraps will stay for a while longer.
But trust me: We will be back soon afterward.
A happy Spring 2012 to everyone.
First, the Dianne R. Carr episode of Just One Story… — "Dragon Days and Rabbit Ways," recorded in May of 2010 — is back now at 720p HD. Just make yourself comfortable first before pressing play.
"Dragon Days and Rabbit Ways" ©1990 Dianne R. Carr.
Video ©2010–2012 Dianne R. Carr / Philip David Morgan —
Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
And now for the rest of the news…
The Just One Story… will be put on pause after Wednesday 14 March, because of the anticipated invasion of one nephew and two nieces from Southern California (Antelope Valley, to be exact) for ten days of sight–seeing and getting quality time with my Mum and Dad. Chances are quite good they will be sleeping downstairs in the basement, thus blocking almost all access to the iMac used for post–production of all Rosegarden Television content. That means that any new videos or remastering of old ones will have to wait, in part, until after the kids head back out West.)
And then comes April… on which the wraps will stay for a while longer.
But trust me: We will be back soon afterward.
A happy Spring 2012 to everyone.
February 17, 2012
Just One Story... A Taoist Tale
Yes… Just One Story… is slowly coming back to life. In higher definition (720p). And ready for Internet TV.
If your Internet TV or VOD device can pull in Vimeo content, you're good to go.
So here is a refreshing of our very first episode, made in November 2009:
©2009–2012 Diane Wolkstein et.al./Rosegarden Media and Entertainment.
To refresh your memory, this episode featured the celebrated Diane Wolkstein, recorded in live performance at New York's Orchard House Café, telling a Taoist tale from Lieh Tzu (The Huainanzi) that begins with the simple act of a farmer's horse riding off. All the farmer can wonder aloud is "Who knows what the future will bring?"
There. Your memory has now been refreshed. Now it's time to refresh your ears and heart for a world of story. Enjoy.
If your Internet TV or VOD device can pull in Vimeo content, you're good to go.
So here is a refreshing of our very first episode, made in November 2009:
©2009–2012 Diane Wolkstein et.al./Rosegarden Media and Entertainment.
To refresh your memory, this episode featured the celebrated Diane Wolkstein, recorded in live performance at New York's Orchard House Café, telling a Taoist tale from Lieh Tzu (The Huainanzi) that begins with the simple act of a farmer's horse riding off. All the farmer can wonder aloud is "Who knows what the future will bring?"
There. Your memory has now been refreshed. Now it's time to refresh your ears and heart for a world of story. Enjoy.
January 19, 2012
Coming Attractions: Good Night Good Morning
For those of you still smarting from Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost (see the previous post) or who had the sense to keep clear, your patience is about to be rewarded with this weekend's simultaneous theatrical / IPTV stream release of Sudhish Kamath's Good Night Good Morning, opening tomorrow.
Seema Rahmani (Loins of Punjab Presents) and Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams) co–star.
I really like this trailer, which is part hommage to the old–style Hollywood previews of way back when:
Courtesy Sudish Kamath and PVR Pictures.
Who's got popcorn this time?
Seema Rahmani (Loins of Punjab Presents) and Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams) co–star.
I really like this trailer, which is part hommage to the old–style Hollywood previews of way back when:
Courtesy Sudish Kamath and PVR Pictures.
Who's got popcorn this time?
January 17, 2012
First-Run Review: Ghost (2011-2012): Rest in pieces
Ghost (2011 production, 2012 release)
Starring Shiney Ahuja, Sayali Bhagat
Directed by Puja Jatinder Bedi
Produced by Bharat Shah
Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited
In theatres (India) / Streaming on demand via Mela
CFBC: not declared in IPTV presentation, but likely A (Adults only —
religious blasphemy, adult themes, intense graphic violence)
WARNING: Trailer embedded below is for adult audiences only (please see above).
Statutory Disclaimer (Before We Begin…):
I wish to state before diving into the following review that I screened this film — which was simultaneously released to theatres in India and IPTV (Internet protocol television) services — via Mela, a United States–based IPTV service for South Asian (Indian) audiences. Mela was launched last year to deliver both movies–on–demand and Indian television broadcasters as different as Doordarshan, Sun Network, Maa, UTV, Raj Networks, and Jaya TV among others.
One of Mela's goals is to convince their target audiences — Indians living abroad, Bollywood fans, and the like — that they don't have to go to video pirates in order to get their first–run filmi fix. Indeed, Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost, which opened in Indian cinemas on Friday 13 January, was made available to Mela viewers on-demand the same weekend — the first of, I am sure, many to come in the months ahead.
I have also been informed that the cut of the film under review is the same that moviegoers in India saw, right down to the last frame.
Finally, I want to make it abundantly clear that Mela is above all else an open window on Indian media and entertainment, both good and bad. It is about something for everybody, no differently than what a legacy media company (Cablevision, Verizon, Comcast et.al.) does for its subscribers. And Mela deserves support and praise for delivering on its promise of "pure entertainment," as their slogan makes clear. Those who've had a taste of Bollywood and want more should seriously consider Mela; they will soon discover another world of pop culture they may not know exists.
And with that out of the way…
©2011 Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited.
It is almost incredulous to believe that Bharat Shah, who once helped support Ram Gopal Varma's move to Bollywood (remember Satya?), would want to even invest one rupee into Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost, which can now declared the first true filmi bomb of the New Year.
And that is hard enough to swallow.
To be sure, it'd be easier for me to write this off as the sort of picture that has one breaking out the Criterion Collection's Region 1 DVD of Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 House (ハウス) or hit VODO online for the torrent of Carlo Ledesma's The Tunnel.
But then, both House and The Tunnel are films that actually respect their audiences. Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost (which needs to be tagged with the director's name to avoid confusion with the Hollywood blockbuster of the same title) doesn't even bother caring. Indeed, it won't matter if the viewer is a practicing Christian (as are some of the characters), holds Southeast Asians or women in high esteem (one nurse of Southeast Asian birth meets her doom before the main titles kick in), or expects a coherently–told story. Bedi's Ghost, quite simply, will offend anyone who fits into any or all of the above.
And is that ultimately what Bharat Shah wanted? After all he did for Ram Gopal Varma? Was he serious?
First off, even minor Ram Gopal Varma can be amusing (Contract e.g.), but here we are in the hands of someone who can't even summon a little inner RGV. All Bedi seems capable of doing is to crib like mad from so many past creature features — the omnibus Creepshow, Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist, the Ringu or Ju–on franchises, the Steven Spielberg / George Lucas—made Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom™, and so on. (The opening titles, themselves a complete mess without declaring the film's title, include a subtitle–style come–on for accepting Christ Jesus that unfortunately seems to have been indirectly inspired by — it hurts to utter the name — Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Except that the object of worship isn't a moose or a llama.)
And we have not even dealt with the plot — such as it is.
Basically, a string of gruesome murders in which the victim's heart is savagely removed, à la Spielberg and Lucas, is bad enough to put a call out for a supposedly hotshot detective (yeah, right), who himself, midway through the film's second half, can't help but make this a personal matter (despite what his superiors say as a warning)… because, sadly, he is a witness to one sadistic act — and the victim of another, albeit minor by comparison, which blanks out part of his memory à la, of all things, Ghajini (except that recently–disgraced actor Shiney Ahuja is clearly no Aamir Khan).
If this review seems messy, it's because Bedi's film is even more so. When this Ghost isn't ripping off Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg, or A.R. Murugadoss, it's offering up a head nurse (Sayali Bhagat) in clearly hospital–unsuitable attire and a cross swiped from pop idol Madonna's collection, a suspicious father figure who can't accept his son being a detective, some item songs that only drag the film's pace and running time (and one of them could have been spun off into a 60–second spot for Mercedes–Benz — that's how anonymously bland Mr. Ahuja is here), and an Aussie Christian woman who in flashback marries our hero… only to be subject to "like Jesus" sadism that could have been swiped straight out the 20th century European sado–masochistic exploitation movie catalogue.
Courtesy T–Series /Super Cassettes Industries, Ltd.
©2011 Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited.
This is a Bollywood horror movie? Shall we revisit the Ramsay Films catalogue?
(Reportedly, the Government of India's Central Board of Film Certification demanded some scenes be trimmed from the film. Although the digital print that Mela obtained isn't preceded by the expected rating card, I assume that it was given an "A," or adults–only, rating.)
Yes, I know, as a Creative Commons campaign made abundantly clear, that "creativity is built on the past." Certainly Puja Jatinder Bedi understands this very well, as anyone else would, like A.R. Murugadoss, Ram Gopal Varma, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Steven Spielberg, Shaik Nasir (Malegaon ka Superman) or for that matter Damon Packard. But if his Ghost is any indication, Bedi is not in league with any of them — certainly not even Damon Packard, whose ability to rework plundered material into something completely distinct and intriguing is beyond question (Reflections of Evil makes that perfectly clear, but so do Space Disco–One and Tales from the Valley of the Wind).
Of course, Bharat Shah is welcome to discover this for himself. May I suggest that he invite Mr. Packard to make his next film in India — and then fund the whole project from script to simultaneous theatrical / home video / IPTV release?
He would certainly learn something.
Starring Shiney Ahuja, Sayali Bhagat
Directed by Puja Jatinder Bedi
Produced by Bharat Shah
Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited
In theatres (India) / Streaming on demand via Mela
CFBC: not declared in IPTV presentation, but likely A (Adults only —
religious blasphemy, adult themes, intense graphic violence)
WARNING: Trailer embedded below is for adult audiences only (please see above).
Statutory Disclaimer (Before We Begin…):
I wish to state before diving into the following review that I screened this film — which was simultaneously released to theatres in India and IPTV (Internet protocol television) services — via Mela, a United States–based IPTV service for South Asian (Indian) audiences. Mela was launched last year to deliver both movies–on–demand and Indian television broadcasters as different as Doordarshan, Sun Network, Maa, UTV, Raj Networks, and Jaya TV among others.
One of Mela's goals is to convince their target audiences — Indians living abroad, Bollywood fans, and the like — that they don't have to go to video pirates in order to get their first–run filmi fix. Indeed, Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost, which opened in Indian cinemas on Friday 13 January, was made available to Mela viewers on-demand the same weekend — the first of, I am sure, many to come in the months ahead.
I have also been informed that the cut of the film under review is the same that moviegoers in India saw, right down to the last frame.
Finally, I want to make it abundantly clear that Mela is above all else an open window on Indian media and entertainment, both good and bad. It is about something for everybody, no differently than what a legacy media company (Cablevision, Verizon, Comcast et.al.) does for its subscribers. And Mela deserves support and praise for delivering on its promise of "pure entertainment," as their slogan makes clear. Those who've had a taste of Bollywood and want more should seriously consider Mela; they will soon discover another world of pop culture they may not know exists.
And with that out of the way…
©2011 Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited.
It is almost incredulous to believe that Bharat Shah, who once helped support Ram Gopal Varma's move to Bollywood (remember Satya?), would want to even invest one rupee into Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost, which can now declared the first true filmi bomb of the New Year.
And that is hard enough to swallow.
To be sure, it'd be easier for me to write this off as the sort of picture that has one breaking out the Criterion Collection's Region 1 DVD of Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 House (ハウス) or hit VODO online for the torrent of Carlo Ledesma's The Tunnel.
But then, both House and The Tunnel are films that actually respect their audiences. Puja Jatinder Bedi's Ghost (which needs to be tagged with the director's name to avoid confusion with the Hollywood blockbuster of the same title) doesn't even bother caring. Indeed, it won't matter if the viewer is a practicing Christian (as are some of the characters), holds Southeast Asians or women in high esteem (one nurse of Southeast Asian birth meets her doom before the main titles kick in), or expects a coherently–told story. Bedi's Ghost, quite simply, will offend anyone who fits into any or all of the above.
And is that ultimately what Bharat Shah wanted? After all he did for Ram Gopal Varma? Was he serious?
First off, even minor Ram Gopal Varma can be amusing (Contract e.g.), but here we are in the hands of someone who can't even summon a little inner RGV. All Bedi seems capable of doing is to crib like mad from so many past creature features — the omnibus Creepshow, Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist, the Ringu or Ju–on franchises, the Steven Spielberg / George Lucas—made Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom™, and so on. (The opening titles, themselves a complete mess without declaring the film's title, include a subtitle–style come–on for accepting Christ Jesus that unfortunately seems to have been indirectly inspired by — it hurts to utter the name — Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Except that the object of worship isn't a moose or a llama.)
And we have not even dealt with the plot — such as it is.
Basically, a string of gruesome murders in which the victim's heart is savagely removed, à la Spielberg and Lucas, is bad enough to put a call out for a supposedly hotshot detective (yeah, right), who himself, midway through the film's second half, can't help but make this a personal matter (despite what his superiors say as a warning)… because, sadly, he is a witness to one sadistic act — and the victim of another, albeit minor by comparison, which blanks out part of his memory à la, of all things, Ghajini (except that recently–disgraced actor Shiney Ahuja is clearly no Aamir Khan).
If this review seems messy, it's because Bedi's film is even more so. When this Ghost isn't ripping off Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg, or A.R. Murugadoss, it's offering up a head nurse (Sayali Bhagat) in clearly hospital–unsuitable attire and a cross swiped from pop idol Madonna's collection, a suspicious father figure who can't accept his son being a detective, some item songs that only drag the film's pace and running time (and one of them could have been spun off into a 60–second spot for Mercedes–Benz — that's how anonymously bland Mr. Ahuja is here), and an Aussie Christian woman who in flashback marries our hero… only to be subject to "like Jesus" sadism that could have been swiped straight out the 20th century European sado–masochistic exploitation movie catalogue.
Courtesy T–Series /Super Cassettes Industries, Ltd.
©2011 Mega Bollywood (Private) Limited.
This is a Bollywood horror movie? Shall we revisit the Ramsay Films catalogue?
(Reportedly, the Government of India's Central Board of Film Certification demanded some scenes be trimmed from the film. Although the digital print that Mela obtained isn't preceded by the expected rating card, I assume that it was given an "A," or adults–only, rating.)
Yes, I know, as a Creative Commons campaign made abundantly clear, that "creativity is built on the past." Certainly Puja Jatinder Bedi understands this very well, as anyone else would, like A.R. Murugadoss, Ram Gopal Varma, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Steven Spielberg, Shaik Nasir (Malegaon ka Superman) or for that matter Damon Packard. But if his Ghost is any indication, Bedi is not in league with any of them — certainly not even Damon Packard, whose ability to rework plundered material into something completely distinct and intriguing is beyond question (Reflections of Evil makes that perfectly clear, but so do Space Disco–One and Tales from the Valley of the Wind).
Of course, Bharat Shah is welcome to discover this for himself. May I suggest that he invite Mr. Packard to make his next film in India — and then fund the whole project from script to simultaneous theatrical / home video / IPTV release?
He would certainly learn something.
January 15, 2012
We interrupt this broadcast...
… to bring you a General. Internet. Strike.
We wish this was just a joke. But on Wednesday 18 January, it won’t be.
On that day, many of your fave Internet sites and portals — including (but not limited to) Reddit, Mozilla, Tucows, Free Press, all of the Cheezburger Network, and even Rosegarden Television — will be inaccessible due to a general strike in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), on which the United States Congress has scheduled a vote for Tuesday 24 January.
We at Rosegarden are against this proposed legislation (and its companion bill in the U.S. Senate, the Protect IP Act, or PIPA), which would have devastating consequences not only for the Internet as a whole, but also for those who are its many users (like you) and those who rely on an open Net for creativity and communication.
It is bad enough that a Great Firewall of (Mainland) China exists. We do not want one on North American soil.
You can join in the strike by 1) accessing the official Strike Against SOPA site and asking your fave site or portal to black out on 18 January and 2) adding your own site to the list.
And please plan accordingly for the rest of the day. Maybe get out of doors, visit with loved ones face to face if you can… you get the idea.
Are you in?
On that day, many of your fave Internet sites and portals — including (but not limited to) Reddit, Mozilla, Tucows, Free Press, all of the Cheezburger Network, and even Rosegarden Television — will be inaccessible due to a general strike in protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), on which the United States Congress has scheduled a vote for Tuesday 24 January.
We at Rosegarden are against this proposed legislation (and its companion bill in the U.S. Senate, the Protect IP Act, or PIPA), which would have devastating consequences not only for the Internet as a whole, but also for those who are its many users (like you) and those who rely on an open Net for creativity and communication.
It is bad enough that a Great Firewall of (Mainland) China exists. We do not want one on North American soil.
You can join in the strike by 1) accessing the official Strike Against SOPA site and asking your fave site or portal to black out on 18 January and 2) adding your own site to the list.
And please plan accordingly for the rest of the day. Maybe get out of doors, visit with loved ones face to face if you can… you get the idea.
Are you in?
December 31, 2011
Music Time: Robin's Egg Blue
Our gift to you for 2012… two sweet songs from Atsumi Ishibashi and her band, Robin's Egg Blue:
©2011–2012 Atsumi Ishibashi / Masashi Ishiura / Robin's Egg Blue /
Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
Please remember to support the band by purchasing their Songbird mini–album. Atsumi and Masashi will thank you from their hearts. And so do we.
あけましておめでとございます！！ Happy New Year!
©2011–2012 Atsumi Ishibashi / Masashi Ishiura / Robin's Egg Blue /
Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
Please remember to support the band by purchasing their Songbird mini–album. Atsumi and Masashi will thank you from their hearts. And so do we.
あけましておめでとございます！！ Happy New Year!
December 30, 2011
Finally, music for Mr. Dickens
Many apologies for the delay (created by a crazy–inducing combination of the holidays and an industrial–strength head cold that refused to leave until a few days ago), but now while we are still in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas, here at last are the best of the 2011 Dickens Festival Sessions from Port Jefferson (Long Island, New York, weekend of 2nd and 3rd December).
First up are Cecila Kirtland and Robin Greenstein with a pair of evergreen German Christmas carols (and a little trivia on how the English and the Yanks got the Yule tree habit):
Next are the Unicorn Singers of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook with two well–known carols in English (and a little history behind one of them):
Both videograms ©2011 Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
And, yes, we are asking you to support the artistes we feature by buying their albums (none for the Unicorn Singers yet, but I am certain the Fellowship will welcome your PayPal donation).
Finally, due to frustrations with YouTube, it looks like we will be a Vimeo exclusive for quite a while. This is not what I had wanted, and I apologize to those whose Internet TV (IPTV) sets or devices cannot access material on Vimeo just yet. Please contact your IPTV device provider or the manufacturer of your Internet ready TV or other device and ask that they produce a firmware update that will support Vimeo.
First up are Cecila Kirtland and Robin Greenstein with a pair of evergreen German Christmas carols (and a little trivia on how the English and the Yanks got the Yule tree habit):
Next are the Unicorn Singers of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook with two well–known carols in English (and a little history behind one of them):
Both videograms ©2011 Rosegarden Media & Entertainment.
And, yes, we are asking you to support the artistes we feature by buying their albums (none for the Unicorn Singers yet, but I am certain the Fellowship will welcome your PayPal donation).
Finally, due to frustrations with YouTube, it looks like we will be a Vimeo exclusive for quite a while. This is not what I had wanted, and I apologize to those whose Internet TV (IPTV) sets or devices cannot access material on Vimeo just yet. Please contact your IPTV device provider or the manufacturer of your Internet ready TV or other device and ask that they produce a firmware update that will support Vimeo.
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