[You are so Nashville if...]
You get immunized before visiting Memphis. —Mike O'Brien
You think selling Shelby County to Mississippi would solve the state's budget problems. —Zack Bennett
Ouch! There's more here. Incidentally, I love that cover graphic!
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I am so tired of hearing about Hustle&Flow. Not only have we given it major play in the paper just about every day for three weeks, but I've seen ads for it around the clock on TV, billboards, bus stops, etc., here in town. I'm curious how much Time Warner is being paid to pimp (heh) this movie in the Memphis/Mid-South market. Because the film is being distributed by MTV/Paramount, which are both owned by Viacom, which is a competitor with Time Warner. I think. Someone stop me if I missed a major media acquisition that made Paramount/Viacom part of Time Warner (or vice versa). (I figure it's coming, but not for at least three years.)
Anyway, what I'm getting at is this: I want to know how much this movie is being hyped in Nashville and Murfreesboro especially, and in the various other places where my friends are scattered. I'm wallowing in the epicenter of this movie's ethos, so when I constantly see these ads, I think, "Man, this movie is going to be huge!" But then I realize that's the hegemony talking, and that that's part of Viacom's plan -- to hype it to death so we all eventually feel obligated to see this movie that's finally about Memphians, Tennesseans, Southerners, etc.
Note: Just now when I opened up Rotten Tomatoes to get the link for H&F, it played a Flash ad for H&F. Is this the ad that everyone sees right now? Or can they tell from my IP that I'm in the target area for this ad blitz?
Anyway, I'm thinking about this way too much, I know. There's a new Supreme Court nominee and Karl Rove is still a blabbermouth and some more assholes tried to blow up London. These things matter more than a movie. But I'm obsessed with culture and media and perception and all that crap and ... do I really have to explain why I'm not parroting some liberal blogger's opinion on Valerie Plame? Nah, you guys know me too well.
[UPDATE 7/22 11:28 a.m.] I thought about this so hard that it didn't really occur to me that I probably only saw the TV ads on VH1, MTV, MTV2, Comedy Central, etc., which are all Viacom-owned. So I don't think it has anything to do with Time Warner, our cable provider. This would also explain why MTV2 did a special on Memphis and the movie. Synergy at its finest! So watch out. My money is on Terrence Howard being on the Daily Show by next Friday.
+++
We'll have lots of company in the next few days. Phil's brother is spending the night through Saturday. Kristin might swing by on her way to Louisiana Sunday or Monday. And my sister and nephews are still on for Monday's zoo trip. I always enjoy having visitors. And I pretty much extend that invitation to anyone who wants to come visit. Just call ahead so I can wash the spare bed's sheets. Amber's the last person to sleep on it and, well, she can't be trusted to not soil things with crumbs and KY Jelly.
+++
I've been commissioned as a guest artist over at Tamara's Business Office Ladies comic site. Today I received detailed character sketch instructions along with story boards for the two strips I'll illustrate that will post near the end of September. That Tamara is entrusting the comic to me -- even briefly -- is truly flattering, because I don't think she realizes just how shitty my drawing has become thanks to being out of practice. My hands are, shall we say, retarded. But I'm whipping them back into shape, I promise. I doodled all day during meetings.
+++
I had a very brief, very incomplete lucid dream again the other night. In it, I was standing in the old Sidelines office, next to the partition between the couch and the news desk. Some familar woman was standing to my left (I can't remember who). We were sort of standing around, watching the giant TV, when I realized I was dreaming. Instantly, I had to prove to myself that I could do anything in my dreams. So I thought, "Quick! Do something outrageous!" And all I could think to do was stand on my head. So I tried lurching forward but I couldn't make myself move at all. Spooked, I forced myself to wake up. Much like my first transition from a lucid dream to wakefulness, it felt like rising up out of deep water.
You get immunized before visiting Memphis. —Mike O'Brien
You think selling Shelby County to Mississippi would solve the state's budget problems. —Zack Bennett
Ouch! There's more here. Incidentally, I love that cover graphic!
+++
I am so tired of hearing about Hustle&Flow. Not only have we given it major play in the paper just about every day for three weeks, but I've seen ads for it around the clock on TV, billboards, bus stops, etc., here in town. I'm curious how much Time Warner is being paid to pimp (heh) this movie in the Memphis/Mid-South market. Because the film is being distributed by MTV/Paramount, which are both owned by Viacom, which is a competitor with Time Warner. I think. Someone stop me if I missed a major media acquisition that made Paramount/Viacom part of Time Warner (or vice versa). (I figure it's coming, but not for at least three years.)
Anyway, what I'm getting at is this: I want to know how much this movie is being hyped in Nashville and Murfreesboro especially, and in the various other places where my friends are scattered. I'm wallowing in the epicenter of this movie's ethos, so when I constantly see these ads, I think, "Man, this movie is going to be huge!" But then I realize that's the hegemony talking, and that that's part of Viacom's plan -- to hype it to death so we all eventually feel obligated to see this movie that's finally about Memphians, Tennesseans, Southerners, etc.
Note: Just now when I opened up Rotten Tomatoes to get the link for H&F, it played a Flash ad for H&F. Is this the ad that everyone sees right now? Or can they tell from my IP that I'm in the target area for this ad blitz?
Anyway, I'm thinking about this way too much, I know. There's a new Supreme Court nominee and Karl Rove is still a blabbermouth and some more assholes tried to blow up London. These things matter more than a movie. But I'm obsessed with culture and media and perception and all that crap and ... do I really have to explain why I'm not parroting some liberal blogger's opinion on Valerie Plame? Nah, you guys know me too well.
[UPDATE 7/22 11:28 a.m.] I thought about this so hard that it didn't really occur to me that I probably only saw the TV ads on VH1, MTV, MTV2, Comedy Central, etc., which are all Viacom-owned. So I don't think it has anything to do with Time Warner, our cable provider. This would also explain why MTV2 did a special on Memphis and the movie. Synergy at its finest! So watch out. My money is on Terrence Howard being on the Daily Show by next Friday.
+++
We'll have lots of company in the next few days. Phil's brother is spending the night through Saturday. Kristin might swing by on her way to Louisiana Sunday or Monday. And my sister and nephews are still on for Monday's zoo trip. I always enjoy having visitors. And I pretty much extend that invitation to anyone who wants to come visit. Just call ahead so I can wash the spare bed's sheets. Amber's the last person to sleep on it and, well, she can't be trusted to not soil things with crumbs and KY Jelly.
+++
I've been commissioned as a guest artist over at Tamara's Business Office Ladies comic site. Today I received detailed character sketch instructions along with story boards for the two strips I'll illustrate that will post near the end of September. That Tamara is entrusting the comic to me -- even briefly -- is truly flattering, because I don't think she realizes just how shitty my drawing has become thanks to being out of practice. My hands are, shall we say, retarded. But I'm whipping them back into shape, I promise. I doodled all day during meetings.
+++
I had a very brief, very incomplete lucid dream again the other night. In it, I was standing in the old Sidelines office, next to the partition between the couch and the news desk. Some familar woman was standing to my left (I can't remember who). We were sort of standing around, watching the giant TV, when I realized I was dreaming. Instantly, I had to prove to myself that I could do anything in my dreams. So I thought, "Quick! Do something outrageous!" And all I could think to do was stand on my head. So I tried lurching forward but I couldn't make myself move at all. Spooked, I forced myself to wake up. Much like my first transition from a lucid dream to wakefulness, it felt like rising up out of deep water.
posted by theogeo | 7/21/2005 10:34:00 PM
5 Comments:
Not much going on here that I've noticed in the 'Boro, but then I may be too old to notice. My little po-dunk town and Nashville is all atwiter because the big Hollywood movie that shot totally on location in Shelbyville is about to premiere. It got REALLY good reviews at the LA Film Festival. Check out some scenes from my town at http://www.ourveryownmovie.com/
Sometimes I find crumbs in my KY Jelly.
I haven't heard anything about it at all in Savannah or Adamsville, and I haven't seen anything on TV.
That's exactly what I figured. And Cheryl, I have heard nothing about Our Very Own here, but I remember it getting quite a buzz when I was in Murfreesboro and they were doing the casting calls. I checked out the site, and it looks awesome! It's got that lady from Curb Your Enthusiasm!
You watch too much MTV and other Viacom-prone programming. Damn corporate whore.
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