There are two kinds of people in this world: People who are fun at parties and People who don't observe the laws of gravity.
NTWON: The Beaver
Mick sat down and watched the 2011 dramedy The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster and starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and Jennifer Lawrence.
One thing that is particularly impressive about this movie is how realistically clinical depression is portrayed. Mel Gibson does a great job of showing the heavy weight that depressed people bear and how they are unaffected by every outside attempt to help them. Jodie Foster and the rest of the cast do an equally phenomenal job of showing how family members of people suffering from depression are put into a painful position caught between trying to help their loved ones while also trying not to be dragged down as well.
Once the titular Beaver makes the scene, things take a turn from horribly depressing to wacky and surreal. Foster strikes a balance between absurdity and reality, as the people that meet Walter and his puppet are first taken aback and then quickly accept it for what it is.
The only weak point of this movie was the arc involving Jennifer Lawrence's character, which wasn't due to her acting so much as poor characterization that left the character too flat and too much of a Mary Sue.
On the whole, The Beaver is a whirlwind of emotion that ends on a bittersweet note and does a great job of spotlighting the struggles that people with clinical depression must face.
Give this one a watch if you're feeling thoughtful and reflective.
The Language of Color -Fior Rodriguez
ALSO THAT is proud to share the work of Fior Rodriguez with the world.
A Connecticut-based artist, Fior blends the fantastic with the realistic in a visceral style all her own. Her use of color and stylization of the human form are particularly unique and interesting elements of her work.
“My work rarely has an intended message to convey, although sometimes I secretly throw in something embarrassingly emotional for my own personal satisfaction. I subconsciously transfer thoughts and feelings I often don’t realize I am even experiencing into shapes and colors. I would much rather the viewer interpret my work as they please. To me, my paintings are a language; the colors have meaning and express ideas I am incapable of putting into words. Sometimes I try to be funny, sometimes I draw inspiration from other works, but most of the time I’m just dark and weird. I try not to be too pretentious about it; they speak for themselves”
SOTW: Master-Piece of Meat
Be careful what you wish for because all your dreams might just come true.
Women's March NYC
On Saturday, January 21, 2017 people all over the world marched to show their support for Women's Rights and to stick it to President Donald Trump.
Mick went to New York City with his camera to march and see everything first hand. In addition to a gallery of Mick's favorite photos, he also put together an extended slideshow of his experiences on that mild Saturday afternoon.
Check it out!
SOTW: Bukowski Episode 1
In memory of Hank Bukowski.
Brought to you by the creator of Rugrats.
Mick Goes to the Blanton Museum of Art
Mick went all the way to the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX to check out some art by Andy Warhol and Xu Bing. Even though the museum's upper galleries were under construction, Mick had a wonderful time taking photos of some truly magnificent art. See for yourself in the photo gallery below.
SOTW: El Empleo
You load sixteen tons and what do you get?
Don't Watch This Shit Episode 3: The Chase
This month Mick Theebs, Jesse Roy, and special guest Amy Jay sat down and watched a forgotten jewel of the early 90's called The Chase, starring Charlie "The Sheenster" Sheen and Kristy Swanson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.
Tit Count: 0
Felony Count: 7
Car Crash Count: 10
Mick
- At least 10 felonies will be committed
- Girl has controlling father
- Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie
- Sex while driving
- They won't have to stop for gas.
- Charlie Sheen gets arrested
- Girl stands up to her father.
- Girl also gets arrested
- Dated 90's references
- Trash soundtrack
Final Rating:
There are worse movies, I guess.
Jesse
- Charlie's Crime = Murder of someone close to the Sheenster
- Charlie Sheen gets off scot-free
- Kristy stands up to workaholic daddy
- Highway to Hell
- Lots of car explosions and crashes
- Ramp Truck Ramp
- Tractor-trailer with logs, steel, cars, whatever tips over.
- If he doesn't get off (hehehe), prison phone conversation through glass.
- Hardass police guy who HATES Sheeneroni
- Police shootout
Final Rating:
Just Watch the Trailer
Amy Jay
- Roadhead (PG-13 version)
- Girl has Dad issues
- Charlie Sheen had a rough childhood
- The TV News is always at the right part of the story when someone turns on a TV
- They get to Mexico
- She gets him out of legal trouble because love.
- No breasts
- The whole movie takes place in <48 hours
- No one gets shot
- Car phone will get destroyed.
Final Rating:
Will Put on While Cleaning House
SOTW: Awake
And you thought you woke up on the wrong side of the bed...
Thanks to Jake N. for sharing this video with ALSO THAT.
Too Young
Mick decided to ring in the new year right by sharing a new poem. Listen to it/ Read it below!
I've been on this earth for a little more
than two decades
and have only been awake
for a couple of years
yet I feel like I've gone
eighty rounds with The Champ,
(Rest in Peace)
and had my head pounded in
and my face beaten to a pulp
by the red gloves they buried him in.
You'd never know it by looking
but behind this smile
and braying guffaw
is a bundle of frayed nerves
and fried circuits.
I haven't even lived
until I've tried diving from cliffs in Mexico
or have visited the country of Africa
to take photos with dark-skinned natives
shirtless and starved
to post on my Facebook
so everyone knows that I'm a globally-minded
forward thinking
loving, caring, empathetic
bleeding heart
neoliberal cocksucker.
I'm too young to be
this late-stage Mark Twain,
waiting for Haley's Comet
to make another pass
and take me off this rock
that God forgot.
I'm too young to be
this dying Vonnegut
recounting his mistakes
as the very fabric of time
quakes around him.
I'm too young to be
Papa drinking himself to death.
I'm too young to be...
I'm too young...
I'm too...
I'm...
Be Weird- Nox
We're excited to share the work of up and coming hip-hop artist, Nox.
Nox blends modern production with a old-school edge. He raps about typical gangsta shit like toting guns and hitting blunts in addition to more thoughtful and politically charged stuff like the imminent collapse of civilization. Listen to his tracks below!
Check out his Soundcloud here.
Follow him on Twitter here.
Be weird. Be as weird as you can be, because life is short and too often boring. Find something you really care about and go for it. Don’t let people discourage you because you want to do something different or something they might not understand.
I’ve been writing for a couple years. Started performing about a year ago, hitting up the open mics, finding some like-minded people, and I only regret not doing it sooner. If you’ve got art inside of you, let it out. You’ll find the people it resonates with.
-Nox
SOTW: Obituary
Even death can't stop these assorted ghosts from a solid hangout session.
NTWON: St. Vincent
This month, Mick watched the 2014 comedy St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Naomi Watts.
To summarize this movie, it's basically a less depressing, less racially-charged Gran Torino. Instead of a curmudgeonly Clint Eastwood watching his neighborhood turn into a cesspool of crime and poverty, Bill Murray plays an old, curmudgeonly man named Vincent who is slowly turning his neighborhood into a cesspool of crime and poverty.
In spite of Vincent's many, many shortcomings, his new neighbor, a young boy named Oliver, sees Vincent's heart of gold. Vincent, in turn, teaches Oliver how to be a man by fighting bullies and gambling at the race track. While Vincent is without a doubt a piece of shit, Bill Murray toes the line wonderfully, making Vincent a complicated, but generally likable character.
The supporting cast does a great job to make Melissa McCarthy plays the straight woman perfectly, giving a believable performance of a put-upon mother at her wit's end. Naomi Watts adopts a Russian accent to play Vincent's "Lady of the Evening" companion. Chris O'Dowd (from the IT crowd) also plays a bit part as an Irish-Catholic priest to bring a bit of religious levity to the screen.
Not to downplay the great performances given by the players, the script is also fantastic. It's a blend of drama and comedy that will bring tears to your eyes in parts and make you laugh through the pain in others. St. Vincent isn't a goofball laugh a minute comedy that's gonna make you forget about all your troubles, but it will help you see the lighter side of things no matter how bad they get.
Give this movie a watch if you're in the mood for something light, but thoughtful.
SOTW: Work
All in a day's work.
Being the Music- Danny Henry
Danny Henry is real.
We are thrilled to share this interview between Mick Theebs and his dear friend Danny Henry. Danny is a musician based out of Milford, CT and has played music all over the country.
Become a fan of him on ReverbNation
Like him on Facebook here.
MT: How did you get your start playing music?
DH: When I was young, around 4 years old, I remember my parents had put me and my siblings to bed and I was still awake. So I went out into the living room where my parents were watching TV and I told them “I just wrote a song” and they didn’t know what to make of it. I had wrote them a lullaby and called it “Good Night, Sleep Tight”. Ever since then, I’ve always been able to write songs and sing. When I was 15, I decided I didn’t want to be a lead singer that didn’t play an instrument because I’ve always found it lazy when lead singers don’t play instruments. So I went to guitar center with a little money I earned from umpiring girls’ softball and I was all set to buy a guitar. Then I saw that keyboards were ten bucks cheaper than a guitar, so I went with that instead. From there, I would work nonstop to learn how to play piano and kept going and going until I was playing concerts and releasing albums and I’m still going.
MT: How would you describe your style of music?
DH: I describe myself as the last bastion of rock and roll. I’d call it rock and roll or piano rock. Kind of like Elton John or Billy Joel. Call it baroque pop. Every once in a while, you’ll get a synth song out of nowhere and that’s just me wanting to rock or have a pop song. It’s hard to say what I fall into. I’d say it’s more like pop or rock and roll, but not really like today’s pop.
MT: Where do you find inspiration?
DH: Lots of times I’ll come up with a melody while I’m doing something. If I’m in the shower or at work cleaning something. If I’m driving, I’ll come up with something in my head. Taking a bubble bath- I’ve written a lot of songs in there. The best place for me to write a song is after midnight when everyone’s gone to bed. Just me at the piano taking in the silence of the night. There’s something so peaceful about that and so inspiring. I just think about everything that goes on in life. I think about the good things, I think about the bad things. I think about love and life and why we’re here. I think about everything. Eventually, these chords will turn into a song. And the ones that turn out to be something substantial, those are the ones I play.
MT: Can you talk about some influences as well?
DH: The biggest by far are the Beach Boys. Ever since I was really little. When I was two years old, I had this Fischer-Price microphone/cassette player. I found a cassette of “Best Love Songs” and on it was the song “Surfer Girl” by the Beach Boys and I would pretend to have a radio show and I would play that song over and over again. Every birthday I would get Beach Boy cassettes and CDs and I was listening to them more and more. Their music means everything to me. Their songs means as much to me as mine do to me. It just touches me that much.
MT: Clearly, you are a showman. How important would you say showmanship is to music as an art form?
DH: It’s very important, depending on what you’re doing. Even if it’s not that important. I think that everyone needs to have their own way to do things. People who don’t stand out and do their own thing and they don’t be themselves with their music, I just don’t see the point in that. There’s something wonderful in being the music. Not just writing the music, being the music. You can have these songs, but you can’t wear jean shorts and a t-shirt on stage, you’re not being the music. If you want to be someone who plays at Madison Square Garden you need to act like you belong there. You need to act like your music is worthy of that. And if you think your music is worthy of that, you have to be. And to do that, you need to be a showman. You have to make yourself more than what you can be alone. You have to make yourself what you can be with your music.
MT: What would you say your biggest achievement as an artist is?
DH: I’ve had a few big moments. I played piano with Brian Wilson in Atlantic City. I played Barbara Ann with him. That’s something nobody’s parents will tell them they can do because that’s too big of a dream, it’s impossible. A few months later after that, I was award New England’s Artist of the Year by the Deli Magazine due in part to a stunt I pulled drinking root beer in a snow bank wearing a thong. Later that month, I was performing a concert in California on my Show Me Your Cities tour. I was playing a show in Hollywood and one of the people that showed up happened to be someone who was running a benefit concert the weekend of the Grammy’s. It was a Beach Boys tribute show and I was asked to be a part of it. So they put out the bill and it’s people from The Monkees, REM, it’s actual Beach Boys. Wilson Phillips, The Muffs, The Bengals. Then me. And so I flew out there and performed to a sold out theater the weekend of the Grammy’s. It was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life.
MT: Do you have words of advice for other aspiring artists?
DH: Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Just keep going. If people tell you that you can’t do something, don’t even give them a response. Just keep going. My sister was told by 100 doctors after having a stroke that she would never walk again. She doesn’t care. She works 4 days a week at physical therapy and is walking with the help of a walker after all these doctors told her she would never do it again. She doesn’t care, she said fuck ‘em and she’s walking. Anything can happen in this life. Never doubt yourself. Keep going. Please keep making art. That’s what makes life beautiful and that makes change and that makes progress. So please keep doing it and thank you for doing it.
SOTW: Pool Party
Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all.
(This is an awesome new webseries and you should subscribe to Pool Party's channel here.)
Don't Watch This Shit Ep. 2: Racing Stripes
Tit Count: 0
Felony Count: 2
Fart Count: 4
Pun Count: 30
Mick
1. I am going to hate the flies
2. Corrupt rich person
3. Last minute come-around from authority
4. Impossible assistance from animals
5. Fart Jokes
6. Animals are smarter than people
7. Stripe puns, oh god
8. Snoop Dogg weed reference
9. Single dad, dead mom
10. The power of friendship saves day
Final Rating:
Pretty Shitty
Jesse
1. No mother- probably dead
2. Zebra has easily corrected identity crisis
3. Flies/animals do rendition of song a la Shrek
4. Romance subplot for zebra
5. Excessive number of zebra jokes/animal puns
6. Snotty rich people rival
7. Slow-mo race finish/ camera finish
8. Zebra gets injured/sick/sabotaged before the big race
9. Fart jokes from animals
10. Barn animals get payback on snooty rich people
Final Rating:
Pretty Shitty
TAYLOR
1. No less than 2 farts for comedy
2. One Smash Mouth song
3. The mom is dead
4. Dad’s failure as racer will be flashed back to
5. Win by technicality (not final win)
6. “There’s no rule saying zebras can’t race”
7. Edgy use of the c-word (crap)
8. Female foil, super rich with horse, wears all white
9. Derpy doting boy friend friend
10. Colonel Sanders dressed in all white, cliche accent
Final Rating:
Not that bad, I guess
SOTW: Kanye Westworld
It may just be the greatest show on television right now.
Stupid Rocks
Recently there was a bit of a hubbub as diamond distributors put out a new set of advertisements targeting millennials to pressure them into buying diamonds.
Thinking that this was tone-deaf and ignorant of the socio-economic realities that millennials face, Mick wrote a poem challenging the diamond industry.
Then, he got around to viewing the advertisements and realized that the poem and the imagery in the commercials actually matched up.
So he re-cut the commercials and recorded himself reciting his poem, Stupid Rocks. You can watch it right here, right now:
We don't want your stupid rocks.
We don't need those baubles to show our love.
We don't want you to pry them from the guts of the earth with slave labor-
to wipe them clean of the dirt and blood until they shine like stars ripped from the night sky,
like rotten teeth yanked from a diseased mouth.
We don't need your stupid rocks because
they don't make our love any more real.
Their cold kiss does nothing to remind us of
warm lip meeting lip, of skin touching skin,
of one uniting with one and becoming one.
We can't have your stupid rocks because
choice has been stripped from us
because if dollars were vocal chords
we'd be mute and
we're saddled with the burden of
mortgaged futures and white picket dreams
becoming nightmares, so our hands
are too full to take on any more dead weight anyways.
Scoop them in your arms until
they are spilling onto the ground
to lie among the pebbles where they belong.
Do us all a favor and fill your pockets
with your stupid rocks and
go for a nice long swim.