a hop, skip, & a jump.

photo - itzhar shahnaz - 'leap of faith'
file mag

Just a pic to mark the end of March :) Here's to hoping April really isn't the cruellest month after all.

yo no lo puedo evitar.

Like woah - I'm getting super post-happy right now. Obviously. 3 posts in 2 days?

Currently studying at Mozart's...why not break to post? I have a case to prep for a Spanish class and a few internships to apply for. There's one in particular at the Austin Film Society which really piques my interest. It's beginning to look like I'll be staying in Austin this summer after all... which really isn't so bad. A trip to Mexico would be called for though, no worries.

'Chan Chan' by Buena Vista Social Club came up on my playlist. It's a beautiful, transporting song... it feels both tragic and magical. Lovely afternoon for Buena Vista.

just for fun.

1. Christine
A deity; the best person to be in your corner; unlimited power and potential; a muse; someone that can change your life. Someone that takes your side even when you're wrong; soulmate; kismet; fortuitous; serendipity
If I only had Christine, I could do anything!

My name as defined by Urban Dictionary.

Spot on, right? hehe

<3

don't know your name...

I neglected to post music last Sunday. Begging your nonexistent forgiveness. SXSW really took it out of me ;)

Above please find 'Heartbeart' by Annie as remixed by MSTRKRFT. Annie always transports me back in time to last summer. She's one of those cotton candy cute pop singers... but she has an edge. And I love it. Totally dig this remix.

While I'm at it, why not throw in a couple more...

Check this. Off 'It's Blitz!' the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album. I prefer the remixed version to the original. This album is good, but I feel like it lacks the raw, crazy sound of their previous stuff. Just me maybe?

And last, but not least!



Only because Shanna was out at Mozart's and mentioned that she heard 'Monster Hospital' and thought of me.

That rounds it out for tonight. MSTRKRFT remixes galore. Maybe not optimal studying music, eh?

mil besitos!

12th cine las americas international film festival.

I'm interning this semester with an AWESOME organization called Cine Las Americas. We're hosting our 12th annual international film festival in just a few short weeks.

Click here to visit the website. Festival passes are available online, but individual screening tickets can be purchased at the door for $7.00.
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Here's a short blurb about us:

"The Cine Las Americas International Film Festival showcases contemporary films from North, Central, South America the Caribbean and Spain. Works made by or about Latinos and native groups of the Americas are invited to participate. The festival screens narrative and documentary feature and short films, as well as experimental, animation and youth films in competitive and non-competitive sections. This event is complemented with repertoire and special screenings, currently bringing an average of 90 films and 40 visiting filmmakers from Texas, the United States, Latin America and the rest of the world.

Since 1998, the annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival has steadily grown to become an internationally recognized event. Each year the festival brings Latino and indigenous films and filmmakers to Austin, creates business opportunities for industry professionals and provides a rich cultural experience for statewide audiences. Four years after its inception in 1997, CLA became a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization."

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I really love being at CLA despite the fact that it's unpaid (although one day it might be). Recently I've been working on promotions/marketing... you've probably already received an invite to the festival from me on Facebook. CLA is really trying to ramp up its online presence. We've recently opened Twitter (oh god no!!), YouTube, and Flickr accounts as well.

I'm really excited about the festival and all the great films it will be bringing to Austin audiences. Hope you come out! Also note, the after parties are supposed to be FABULOUS.
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I'm not exactly head over heels about this year's graphic design (see above), but it's growing on me. LatinWorks (a company I would LOVE to work for one day) does all of our graphic design for free now. Check out these graphics & pics from past festivals below.

11th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Cine @ The Paramount

8th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

10th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

Eugenio Del Bosque (left) - Executive Director - CLA

CLA @ The Drafthouse

7th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

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Oh and check this! Press release from yesterday. CHILE is our spotlighted country this year. It was so meant to be.

AUSTIN, TX (March 23, 2009) - Cine Las Americas is honored to announce the participation of Chile as the invited country for the 12th annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, scheduled for April 22 to 30 in Austin, Texas.

Chile is the first invited nation to participate in a planned annual guest country program that Cine Las Americas started in 2009. The goal of this year's program is to create a space for the screening of films that represent the best and most successful of contemporary Chilean cinema, focusing on films produced in the post-dictatorship period from 1994 to 2004. In addition, the program will feature new titles made both by young directors and established filmmakers from the South American country. The series will also include a few prominent films from the annals of Chilean film history.

The festival will also be honored with the attendance of Chilean filmmakers, who will offer an opportunity for Central Texas audiences to share the best of contemporary Chilean cinema in the presence of some of its creators.

The retrospective titles included in this series are:

CHILEAN CINEMA OF THE POST-DICTATORSHIP ERA:
Amnesia, Dir: Gonzalo Justiniano, 1994.
Historias de fútbol (Soccer Stories), Dir: Andrés Wood, 1997.
Coronación (Coronation), Dir: Silvio Caiozzi, 2000.
Taxi para tres (A Cab For Three), Dir: Orlando Lübbert, 2001.
La fiebre de loco (Loco Fever), Dir: Andrés Wood, 2001.
Sangre eterna (Eternal Blood), Dir: Jorge Holguín, 2002.
Sexo con amor (Sex With Love), Dir: Boris Quercia, 2003.
Promedio Rojo (Below Average), Dir: Nicolás Lopez, 2004.

All Chilean new releases will be announced on April 1st with the rest of the festival program.

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Let's hit up some screenings together :)

un besote
c.

south by madness.

- Treasure Fingers @ Canvas -

- Hot Pink Delorean @ Canvas -

- The Hours @ Dirty Dog -

- Cursive @ Radio Room -

- Late of the Pier @ Cedar Street -

- Designer Drugs @ Beauty Bar -

- Little Boots @ ?? somewhere near 2nd & Guadalupe -

- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ 2nd & Guadalupe -

- Pains, cont'd -

- Kap Bambino @ Elysium -

So there you have it - some of my sucky pictures from SXSW 2009. These represent a smattering of the random shows I was able to see. The festival was, in a word, overwhelming. So much to see and do, and all of it going on at the same time! I loved it :) and the company I was with made it that much better. Designer Drugs was probably my favorite stop along the way. Sweet stuff.

Back to reality.

morning music.

I was reviewing the Levi's/Fader Fort SXSW lineup this morning and saw that Handsome Furs will be playing today. It's been forever since I last listened to them. Wolf Parade/Frog Eyes/Sunset Rubdown - I was digging that sound freshman year. I can't believe how much I've missed it.

To sum it up, Handsome Furs was pretty much the perfect wake-up band for me this morning.

Un beso.
c.

"they're my rock gods."

Click and be endlessly amused.
<3 you, Thom.
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I'll be back in Austin for SXSW possibly tonight, but at the latest tomorrow morning...
Show recaps to come next week!

i'm so lost for you.

Listen and enjoy a moment of nostalgia :)
Embedding is disabled wtf.

I was talking to Shanna via Facebook chat last night, and guess what popped up on my playlist?
I don't think I've heard this song since... middle school? At least sometime before I could really grasp exactly what he's singing about.

It's so innocently sexual. I love it.

i want to feel horizontal.

'Horizontal' is by Dinky (aka Alejandra Iglesias). Listen to/download it here. I first heard it in a compilation entitled, 'Get Lost,' and simply had to find out what it was. I love the way it builds - positively mesmerizing.

Dinky is a Chilean-born DJ and music producer currently residing in Berlin. Classically trained in ballet, she spent something like 7 years in New York at one point in her life. I'm a bit jealous of her life trajectory...

She played the other night with Matthew Styles at a club called La Feria in Santiago... ugh, I would have killed to have been there. Thomas and Pablo were able to meet her in person. 'Ella es una persona amorosa,' me dicen, meaning she's lovely.

q cool.

an infidel for commitments.

Let me introduce you to Matthew Dear.



I posted this clip on Facebook the other day. I sporadically tend to post something Matthew Dear related every few weeks... I can't help it. I love him as an artist and DJ. ANDDDD he's going to be here. Yes, here. In Austin. Next Friday. Check it and come with? Matthew has run with a variety of pseudonyms - each one a different manipulation of his talents, including Audion, False, and Jabberjaw. If you want to delve into him, I would recommend starting with 'Asa Breed' by Matthew Dear, one of my all time favorite albums. It would make great Sunday night, beginning of spring break listening :)



'Deserter' tops my Last.fm charts. Need I say more? An infidel for committments... this song provides a tagline for my blog. Oh the revelations! How they abound!

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From music we segway to film. Logical.



I rather like Almodovar, and I'm looking forward to seeing this. Within please find 7 'Exclusive!' scenes from'Abrazos Rotos,' or 'Broken Embraces' (the working title in English). It's film noir and Penelope Cruz!

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Last but not least ... I want this tunic. And why not?

It's Urban Outfitters & not terribly expensive. I need new clothes! It seems like I'm always rocking the standard v-neck/skinny jean combo. It's getting a little tiresome.

buenas noches <3

untitled.

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Loving 'Black Balloon' by The Kills.

just take one.

To open with a classic...



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'In the Morning' by Junior Boys, off their spectacular album 'So This Is Goodbye.'

Because it's Wednesday night, and I'm now liberated from all mundane activities pertaining to college, why not post about the new Junior Boys album?! Yes, I knew you were thinking exactly the same thing.

Junior Boys was yet another one of those defining groups of summer 2008 for me. I was beyond ready to move to Santiago and beyond over the drama/b-school/bullshit holding me back in Austin. Suffice it to say, both 'Last Exit' and 'So This Is Goodbye' hold dear places in my heart. Some of my favorite tracks being 'High Come Down', 'Teach Me How to Fight', 'Under the Sun', 'In the Morning', 'Like a Child', and 'The Equalizer' (not necessarily in that order).

I'm just breaking into their new release (which isn't actually out just yet) entitled 'Begone Dull Care.' Check out this stellar review off Obscure Sound, a music blog that I recently discovered. Also check this. It's an animation by Norman McLaren painted directly on film. Junior Boys was apparently inspired by his work.



'Parallel Lines' - first track off 'Begone Dull Sound.'

Enjoy :)

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side note-

Kim and I watched 'Naked' earlier this evening. See trailer below.



It was one of my 2 for 1 picks at Vulcan this week. I think we're making a habit of renting on a regular basis. Escapism, an American pastime. God knows we need it. Solid, bizarre, twisted little flick.

Signing off - c.
beso!

leave me paralyzed, love.

Earlier this evening I pulled up some of the music I was listening to in high school. The Notwist, needless to say, came up. 'Consequence' was always one of my favorite Notwist tracks; it has meant different things to me over the years. It was love once, something I put on a mix cd for someone. Then it was heartache, debilitating heartache. Now it's just poignant, something to hear and perhaps reminisce to for a few minutes. It suits my mood right now - a bit uncertain what to think about things, how to feel, or how to act...

And so, my music selection for the week is neither new nor cutting edge. It's just an unconscious, confused memory I wanted to share with you.

dulces sueños...

house ain't all that complicated.

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Everyone always asks me - what is house music? What's the difference between minimal, minimal techno, microhouse, and techno? I struggle to answer these questions. There are a great many shades of gray in the dissection of all these layers. I just run with what I like :) but to give you a brief run down on the genre of music that has captured my heart, I have pulled some info off Wikipedia and uploaded a piece entitled 'Feelin' House' by Brothers' Vibe. It fits the theme of this entry PERFECTLY.

Click here to listen and/or download. If you like it, support the artist and buy it!

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The Rundown

House Music is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was initially popularized in the mid-1980s discotheques catering to the African-American, Latino, and gay communities, first in Chicago, then in NYC, and Detroit. It eventually reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop & dance music worldwide.

House music is strongly influenced by elements of soul and funk infused varieties of disco. It generally mimics disco's percussion, especially the use of a prominent bass drum on every beat, but may feature a prominent synthesizer bass line, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk and pop samples, and reverb- or delay-enhanced vocals.

Techno and trance, which developed alongside house music, share this basic beat infrastructure, but they usually eschew house's live-music-influenced feel and Black or Latin music influences in favor of a more synthetic sound and approach.

Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, glitch (both developed in the early 90's), and house (developed in the mid-80's) genres of music.

Like many contemporary electronic genres, microhouse has many influences, most notably techno and the "click and pop" garage house. It is aptly described as 'housey minimal techno' - a marriage of the funky and groovy backroom house elements with glitch and the driving, repetitive sound of techno.

**Some microhouse artists I love include: Aphex Twin, Arik Brikha, Gui Boratto, Isolée, Luciano, Matthew Dear, Michael Mayer, Ricardo Villalobos, and Superpitcher.

Minimal Techno is a form of electronic music (EDM) that is considered a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to great effect, in architecture, design, visual art, and Western art music. The tradition of minimalist aesthetics in Western culture can be traced to the German Bauhaus movement (1919 to 1933). Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detroit based producers, Robert Hood and Daniel Bell.

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Running along these same crazy house lines, I highlighted Gui Boratto (mentioned above, microhouse artist) in a post a few weeks ago in my Sunday night music series. A new album is out now entitled, 'Take My Breath Away'. I haven't listened through the entire thing yet, but I like what I've heard so far. How could I not? Gui is phenomenal.

This review describes his style spot on. His songs tend to build at a leisurely pace, but soon metamorphose into incredibly lush, beautiful, and complex compositions.

Here's the title track from his new album -



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I also want to make mention of some entries I have planned for the near future. Despite looming business law and marketing tests, I'm sure I will find time to blog that would have been better spent studying. This blog has never been graced with a signature Kerouac entry. My livejournal (seriously, I had one?) and my previous blog, La Luz Roja, enjoyed frequent Kerouac side trips and quotes. In conjunction with this, I want to discuss interests in general. I feel, in a sense, overwhelmed by all that interests me and what there is to be had in terms of art, expression, and sound. There is one particular Kerouac quote that springs to mind.

I also want to broach silences and what it means to be completely comfortable with someone. I've brought up my perennial single-ness many a time, and I think my inability to let go and just give people a chance prevents me from realizing success at dating.

Lastly, I still want to revisit my travels in South America and would like to do an entry highlighting each country I visited, my experiences there, the people I met, etc.

So that's what you have to look forward to! Longest blog entry ever. Forgive me.

un besote!
thank god tomorrow's finally friday... CUT COPY. oh my.

if i see a light flashing...

Yesterday Pablo made me aware that a new Calvin Harris single is out! And of course, as soon as I logged into hypemachine, there it was. It's trance-ish, funky, and I'm kind of digging it. I went through a Calvin Harris hyper-love phase last summer. The Girls, Acceptable in the 80s, This is the Industry... mmm dance music.

Look at what happened to poor Calvin last year. Gah. Apparently he was able to recover his work later though :)

I was supposed to see him do a set at Kubix in Santiago last semester, but he backed out last minute because of throat problems. That was disappointing.

Anyway, happy Wednesday morning!

faced.

So I'm up at the internship right now, but the program director left to run a few errands... with no direction at the moment and time to waste on such things as pointless blog posts, I decided a pic of the day would be in short order.

A chance encounter with a random like soul would be rather nice right now. I'm always making eye contact with people on the street, and I'm endlessly curious about what lies behind their blank expressions.

photo cred - Brian Hagy
from File Magazine (a favorite of mine)

how it should be.

More Erlend Oye love.
'Ghost Trains' seems to fit tonight. Yet another Sunday evening, yet another school week. At least you have my weekly song selection to look forward to, right? Right.

Tomorrow night I'm planning to catch 'Death of a Cyclist' over at the Union with Giles. Should be an interesting flick. More on that after I see it.

CUT COPY will be here this Friday at Stubb's! mmm marvelous.

un abrazo.