Black Snake Moan

Ruth and I went out and caught Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan at the Somerville Theatre earlier this evening, in a gigantic decaying Art-Deco old-style movie-house with curtains and about three other people in it and almost no heating.

Wow.

The one-sheets for Black Snake Moan had led me to expect, well, pretty much a seventies-throwback blaxploitation raveup: I mean, Christina Ricci, basically unclothed, is chained to Samuel L. Jackson's leg.

And that's in there, and I don't know how else they could have marketed it, but that was one of the finest pieces of pure cinema I've seen in a very long time, as well as being a movie which raises and confronts things movies don't talk about, and also a serious and genuine exploration of the aesthetic, morals, and ethics associated with the blues.

( Plus Samuel L. Jackson can sing. Who knew? )

Black Snake Moan

Ruth and I went out and caught Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan at the Somerville Theatre earlier this evening, in a gigantic decaying Art-Deco old-style movie-house with curtains and about three other people in it and almost no heating.

Wow.

The one-sheets for Black Snake Moan had led me to expect, well, pretty much a seventies-throwback blaxploitation raveup: I mean, Christina Ricci, basically unclothed, is chained to Samuel L. Jackson's leg.

And that's in there, and I don't know how else they could have marketed it, but that was one of the finest pieces of pure cinema I've seen in a very long time, as well as being a movie which raises and confronts things movies don't talk about, and also a serious and genuine exploration of the aesthetic, morals, and ethics associated with the blues.

( Plus Samuel L. Jackson can sing. Who knew? )

today's exciting yet frightening science news

Human-sheep chimera!

Eighty-five percent genetically a sheep, fifteen percent human. Intended for organ harvesting for transplantation, eventually.

I foresee all kinds of problems, from the 'silent viruses' mentioned in the article (viruses that aren't actively bothering the animals but could be nasty in humans) to the ethical issues around raising animals for organ harvesting. But I have to say, the tech is impressive; I hadn't thought they'd be this far with this sort of thing for years yet.

I love living in the future. Time to break out the philosophical debates.

today's exciting yet frightening science news

Human-sheep chimera!

Eighty-five percent genetically a sheep, fifteen percent human. Intended for organ harvesting for transplantation, eventually.

I foresee all kinds of problems, from the 'silent viruses' mentioned in the article (viruses that aren't actively bothering the animals but could be nasty in humans) to the ethical issues around raising animals for organ harvesting. But I have to say, the tech is impressive; I hadn't thought they'd be this far with this sort of thing for years yet.

I love living in the future. Time to break out the philosophical debates.