1974 was a Golden Year for Film [film, 1970's]

Wow. 1974 sure was a golden year for film; it was also quite a year at the Academy Awards!

I’m currently watching The Conversation, which was filmed here in San Francisco and directed by one of my all-time favorite directors, Francis Ford Coppola. I have a slight obsession with movies filmed here in the Bay Area.

I also adore The Towering Inferno, which came out the same year and was also filmed in San Francisco. It was up against The Conversation for Best Picture (they both lost to another Coppola film, The Godfather III). It did end up taking home the award for Best Cinematography, and it truly is a visual treat.

My all-time favorite film, John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” also came out that year, and Gena Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress but ended up losing to Ellen Burstyn for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Ben Quayle is Not Funny [video, politics]

Ben Quayle, Dan Quayle's son and Republican Representative from Arizona, is not funny. At all. His speech at the annual Congressional Correspondents' Dinner last week is cringe-worthy.



So is his infamous campaign video, in which he says "somebody needs to knock the hell out of Washington" andcalls Obama "the worst president in history" while staring into the camera with his famous deer-in-headlights expression.

Ben also admitted to being a frequent poster on TheDirty.com, using the pseudonym "Brock Landers" from the film "Boogie Nights" and posting his intentions to find a "hot chick" and other fratboy-ish things.

To satisfy my nostalgic pang for the decade of my birth, here is dear old dad Dan Quayle's 1980 senate bid campaign ad.

The Killing [tv].

I am catching the pilot for AMC's The Killing right now on OnDemand. The show premiered last night to very positive reviews and looks like another win for AMC, adding to the phenomenal success of Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and a recent favorite of mine, Breaking Bad.

IMDb

Reviews:

New York Times

The Hollywood Reporter

Variety

Blast Magazine

Much-anticipated and controversial mini-series "The Kennedys" also premiered over the weekend to stellar reviews as well. "The Kennedys" stars Katie Holmes as Jackie and was pulled from the History Channel schedule and passed up by Showtime before Reelz decided to air it.

Masturbation "New," Effective Treatment for Restless Leg Syndrome [news, medicine, sex]

Great news for those of you with Restless Leg Syndrome - experts are now saying that masturbation is a "new, effective treatment for RLS."

I don't know about "new," but now you have a legit excuse to get down with yourself whenever you want to as often as you please; it's for the restless legs!

Japan Nuclear Radiation Reaches NYC; Workers Fail to Repair Leak [news, earthquake]

Uh oh. It looks like "minute amounts of radiation" from the nuclear power plant in Japan has reached New York City.

Also, engineers have failed to repair a leak in a concrete shaft that is leaking "highly radioactive water into the ocean off Japan".

Great!

Multi-Media "Bomb Shelter" Art Exhibit in NYC [street art, film]

A "Bomb Shelter" multi-media art exhibit has been erected in NYC's Washington Square Park district in "attempts to recreate the fear the Israelis face during rocket attacks."

The "Bomb Shelter" after being (legally) tagged by graffiti artists.

Below is the director's cut of the 1986 New York Subway film.

Interesting note: the film features trains with graffiti; these trains were phased out in 1989 with the "clean train" policy.

Meet Tom Hanks' Son the Rapper.

Meet Chet Haze, aspiring rapper, and more notably, son of Tom Hanks.

He's on Twitter, too!