Thursday, February 09, 2006

Seeking advice, etc.

- So I've had some trouble lately with a guy who keeps calling about his job application. While I normally might think it a welcome change that anyone actually WANTS to work at my theatre, the truth is that this guy has been calling roughly every other day for the past couple of weeks, and I'm getting really sick of it. If a prospective employee calls once to follow up, it's fine- he's interested in the job, nothing wrong with that. If someone calls twice, no sweat- he's just following up. If he calls more than half a dozen times, then it's crossed the line from tenacity to outright badgering. So here's my question- how do I make him go away? How do I say, "because you won't leave us the hell alone you've made every single manager here sick of you and there's no way in hell we'll ever hire you now" in a way that lets him down easy while still conveying the point? He's a high school kid, and doesn't seem terribly bright (to wit: in the "county" space on his application he wrote "USA"), so I don't think he means to be annoying, but if I never speak to him again I will be happier for it. So? Thoughts?

- Random observation: why do radio station use deejays' faces in their advertising? Makes no sense to me. This is radio, guys- what does it matter what they look like? Do you think people actually pass billboards advertising their programs and say, "wow, that guy looks pretty cool- I should listen to him." I doubt it, since the two have absolutely nothing in common. I know, they're supposed to be "personalities," but it still seems pretty stupid to me.

- I'm looking for a second job to supplement my income. I still plan on working my five shifts a week at the theatre, but another twenty hours of work on top of that could only help my financially.

- Spelling follies: a local bar advertising karaoke night spelled it "kaerokee". It's been that way for months now. Has nobody mentioned it to them, or would that be construed as intellectual elitism?

- Captain Obvious, Rock'n'Roll Critic: "Bringing It All Back Home" might be on my as-yet-undetermined Desert Island Album List. Much as I love all Dylan's classics, I think this one might be the best in a listen-through sense (as opposed to a skip-around-to-the-classic-tracks sense). It's impossible to listen to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" without picturing Dylan holding cue cards, and other greats such as "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" still work their magic. I desperately want to use "Gates of Eden" in a movie, and I think I found a project of mine where it fits. Finally, "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" may very well be the funniest song ever written. Even Bob himself found it hilarious (I love that they kept his laughing on the album), and who am I to say it isn't?

- A second viewing of THE NEW WORLD confirmed its transcendental fawsomeness in my mind. When I write my addendum to my top 100, expect it to be present.

- OR [MY TREASURE] (2004, Keren Yedaya, seen on DVD)- I mostly tuned out of this when I noticed that it was in the by-now-clichéd static-camera master-shot style that has become so prevalent in world cinema today. Sure, the film makes some valid points about the limited roles for women in Israeli society, but Yedaya's style (anti-style?) felt uninspired to me- planting a camera and saying "action" isn't always the right way to go in my opinion, and if you do choose to go that way, do something interesting instead of simply having the actors walk in and out of the frame (almost as much of a cliché as the static camera itself). Also becomes a bit of a wallow after a while- mother Ruthie (2002 Coveted Opal Award winner Ronit Elkabetz, Late Marriage) is sick and frankly looks like crap but she still wears miniskirts and walks the streets, and Or (Dana Ivgy) ends up quitting school and becoming a prostitute like her mom. By the time the film ended on Or's "won't you please help" pleading look directly into the camera, I was ready to shrug this movie off, which I don't think was Yedaya's intention. Rating: *1/2.

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