it'd been two years since i'd gone back to the states. i'd forgotten what a strange and odd place it can be. i'd forgotten how tv(and other things) are so set on selling you how your life should be. certain things i was once familiar with(even if i didn't desire those things) now seemed somehow odd but only mildly so.

one thing i was looking forward to was watching loads of british sitcoms on bbc america, only to discover that bbc america has turned into the redecorate your house channel. where's ab fab? french and saunders? i do like a lot of the redecoration shows they and tlc are showing, but how many shows like trading spaces do we really need? i'm sure we are only steps away from "pet trading spaces" where people redecorate each others' dog houses.

i finally got to see queer eye for the straight guy. i'd read about this and felt like it was just going to be gay stereotypcial men making over stupid straight men. the episode i saw was pretty much that(though the straight guy didn't seem nearly as stupid as the gay men). i would of disliked it just for that, but what i didn't expect was that the gay men would be such assholes. why is it that people that like to criticize and tell other people how they should dress, dress horribly themselves?

when i got back to taiwan i had a gift from my secret santa waiting for me(thanks santa!) - singles going steady by the buzzcocks. oh bliss. santa in the states quite spoiled me as well. got lots of nifty cds and dvds, and even a book or two. some highlights from stuff i was given or bought myself include:

• space is the place dvd
  
  
• legend of the sacred stone dvd
  
  
• cinevox the history of soundtrack(4 cd set)
  
  
• fiesta songs - senor coconut and his orchestra
  
  
• baked alaska - martin denny
  
  
• the sound of speed - bob thompson

space is the place is a wild film about sun ra. i had a dubbed copy on vhs years ago, so it'll be nice to revisit sun ra's world again.

legend of the sacred stone is a taiwanese film. think of a kung-fu puppet version of the dark crystal and you might get an idea of what this is like. it's based on the pili puppet show that is still rather popular here. when the film was in the theaters here it was in taiwanese with no english subs. i saw it then, and peter would translate certain things for me so i wasn't totally lost. the dvd that was released here had no english subs, so i was happy to find a used copy of what appeared to be a japanese region free version of the film with english subs. on closer inspection of the box, it appears to be a bootleg and not from japan at all. but i'm not complaining.

cinevox is a compilation of italian film music. each disc has a theme: comedy, horror, police movies, and westerns. there is some really amazing things on here. there are a lot of composers i'm unfamiliar with along with people that are quite famous such as ennio morricone, goblin, or piero piccioni. there is an amazing track by ennio morricone called il gatto. morricone has so much stuff i never really know where to start. i have one comp of his, but have felt a bit overwhelmed as to what to get next so really haven't bothered. sometimes i think wanting to get some morricone is like someone wanting to get into jazz. where do you begin?

the senor coconut disc is amazing. i really liked the latin versions of kraftwerk songs but this may even be more amazing than that. cha cha versions of smoke on the water, riders on the storm, smooth operartor, and beat it among others.

baked alaska is a live concert by martin denny from 1964 only being released on cd now. i've wanted to get this ever since i'd heard of it but the only place i could find it was collector's choice music who also put it out. i like some of the stuff they have put out, but their postage rates are through the roof. something like 10 bucks for a single disc to taiwan.

i've blogged about bob thomspons before. this disc was originally available for download for free to generate interest in it. i downloaded it then and loved it. i was both surprised and happy to find it has been officially re-issued by dionysus records. i hope this will lead to his other albums being re-issued as well. i'd gladly fork over more money for officially released material by him.

one thing i failed to find and really wanted while i was back was the comic book same difference and other stories by derek kirk kim. i guess i'm going to have to see if a shop here can special order it for me. i know i can order it directly from the author, but i just can't see paying 10 bucks in postage for something that costs around 12 bucks.