WFC Seychelles: The Return of a King to Seychelles

(August 28, 2017)

This documentary starts with a very fast-paced infodump of the history of the Seychelles and being part of an African empire and… I’m not sure I got it all. It’s very dense and the voiceover guy talks fast. And then we’re in present time and … a king … from… Ghana? (again, he talks fast) … Continue reading WFC Seychelles: The Return of a King to Seychelles

Compact Video Data

(August 26, 2017)

I’m thinking about watching a buttload of older films… perhaps all from the 40s? I’m not sure. In any case, I’ve started poking around to see what’s available, and I stumbled onto a 50 musicals box set for $7 (used), which made me so curious I just had to get it. And it arrived today: … Continue reading Compact Video Data

WFC Sudan: Beats of the Antonov

(August 25, 2017)

I acquired this documentary via non-traditional means. You’d think this would be the kind of thing that Amazon Video or Netflix would carry, but no… Anyway, this is about the current Sudanese civil war, which is mainly between the northerners (who totally suck) and the Blue Nile (and Nuba) people in the south (who are … Continue reading WFC Sudan: Beats of the Antonov

WFC Madagascar: Tabataba

(August 25, 2017)

I just can’t figure out what the correct aspect ratio of this film is supposed to be. By default, it plays as a 4:3 film, and everybody looks too skinny and kinda squashed. If I go to 16:9, everybody looks a bit on the wide side. So probably somewhere in between is the right answer… … Continue reading WFC Madagascar: Tabataba

WFC Namibia: Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation

(August 21, 2017)

What they were aiming for with this film is crystal clear: A heaving, empathetic nation building film. And it has one thing going for it, and that’s the beautiful shots from the Savannah. But it’s intensely boring: Every scene a cliché of one kind or another. None of the actors are compelling, either. And while … Continue reading WFC Namibia: Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation

Blow Out 2017

(August 20, 2017)

Huh.  Where did that interference pattern/banding thing that’s on the first of the evening’s sets come from?  Is that from the camera?  Or was there a 50-ish Hz light source blinking that I didn’t see?  Weird.  And it disappeared on the last set, and I don’t think I changed any settings on the camera…

Blow Out 2017

(August 19, 2017)

 

Blow Out 2017

(August 17, 2017)

My New Concert Blog

(August 15, 2017)

Kongsberg Jazz 2017

(August 15, 2017)

Hey!  I recorded some stuff and forgot to edit and upload.

WFC Solomon Islands: A Passage to Anuta

(August 14, 2017)

Yeah, yeah, another Youtube short that isn’t very grounded in the ostensible subject country. Finding films from these Pacific islands states is really, really difficult, and I’d much prefer real movies, not matter how bad (and I’ve seen some very bad films in this series) than these documentary shorts, but… And does anybody know whether … Continue reading WFC Solomon Islands: A Passage to Anuta

New Music

(August 13, 2017)

Music I’ve bought this month.

WFC Costa Rica: Del amor y otros demonios

(August 7, 2017)

I was unable to find this on DVD or via any of the streaming services with English subtitles, so I had to resort to *ahem* crowd-sourcing. The aspect ratio is slightly off, but I couldn’t figure out how to de-squash-o-vision it, so everybody look kinda skinny. This is a very languid film. Which is something … Continue reading WFC Costa Rica: Del amor y otros demonios

Gosh

(August 6, 2017)

I added some further improvements to my Javascript-based “quick scan” Diamonds Previews catalogue site: Goshenite.The main tweaks is to make it a bit more responsive (with a spinner when the cover images haven’t been preloaded), as well as a way to “favourite” certain publishers. If you click a publisher name (up to the left), it’ll … Continue reading Gosh

WFC São Tomé og Príncipe: Mionga ki Ôbo: Mar e Selva

(August 5, 2017)

This is a Youtube find. It’s a very personal and intimate documentary about São Tomé (and Príncipe). I’m a sucker for Portuguese, but I don’t think that explains quite why I found this documentary so engrossing. It’s just seems so honest and real. All thumbs up. Mionga ki Ôbo: Mar e Selva. Ângelo Torres. 2005. … Continue reading WFC São Tomé og Príncipe: Mionga ki Ôbo: Mar e Selva

WFC Congo: The Man Who Mends Women

(August 5, 2017)

I had to join the Urban Movie Channel on Amazon to watch this film. It’s not a very urban film. Could there be a euphemism in play here!??!! And apparently that channel doesn’t offer downloading films before watching them, or something? As a result, bits of this film are completely artifact-o-rama. But most bits are … Continue reading WFC Congo: The Man Who Mends Women

WFC Niger: Cocorico! Monsieur Poulet

(August 5, 2017)

A rare French DVD that includes English subtitles. Which reminds me of this comment on imdb about a completely different film: Film. It’s just a shame that the French are killing the African film industry. Why is it so hard to get copies of these films???? What acan we do to help African filmmakers break … Continue reading WFC Niger: Cocorico! Monsieur Poulet

WFC Botswana: March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads

(August 4, 2017)

I bought this documentary from this site, which turns out to be a Vimeo thing: You pay some money and then you can stream the film or download it, DRM-free. I did the latter, and the video quality is more than adequate: Better than DVD quality, I’d say. Some banding and artifacting, but not too … Continue reading WFC Botswana: March of the Gods: Botswana Metalheads

WFC Comoros: جزر القمر

(August 4, 2017)

This is an episode of the Duroob documentary series found on Youtube. I don’t know what country the TV series is from, really. It could be Saudi Arabia, I guess. It starts off oddly, with the presenter giving a speech about Allah’s Infinite Earth; sort of coaxing the audience to care about the documentary. And … Continue reading WFC Comoros: جزر القمر

WFC Montenegro: Killer Mermaids

(August 2, 2017)

This film is probably more Serbian than Montenegran (that’s a word), but It’s one of those retro horror films, which is something I am totally in the mood for now. You’ve got all the usual slasher elements, and it’s fine. The cinematographer (and editor) sometimes go overboard in their enthusiasm: The fake shakycam is rather … Continue reading WFC Montenegro: Killer Mermaids

WFC Papua New Guinea: Mr. Pip

(August 1, 2017)

I guess this is more of an Australian and or New Zealandish (that’s a word) movie than a Papau New Guinean (that’s definitely a word) movie. “Isn’t that… isn’t that…” “Yes, it is.” Anyway, I found the scoring of this film to be really annoying. Hardly a moment of import goes by without them trucking … Continue reading WFC Papua New Guinea: Mr. Pip