Developments...

1. New Eric Coomer website in the works. Eventually it will be a central hub for all my goings on. For now, it will serve as a portfolio for the sites I've designed so I can get new sites to design.
2. KNAPSACKHEROES! has signed with dPulse Recordings, a label in the Universal Music Group family. We are finishing up the mix on a new single called "Pick It Up" and hope to release it soon.
3. I'm working on new Boolean Operators music (listen to older songs at that link). Boolean Operators is my ambient (mostly) electronic side project. Started a new Boolean Operators Facebook and Boolean Operators Twitter page. Stay tuned.
4. Still making silly t-shirts at several CafePress stores including www.cafepress.com/dumbtshirts.
5. Jackson is growing like a rather handsome weed.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Stay tuned to my Twitter for random updates and thoughts.

Movie Trailer of the Week - The Social Network

When I first heard there was going to be a movie about the creation of Facebook, I thought, "Why?" Then I heard that it was being made by one of my favorite directors, David Fincher. Fincher got his start with music videos, making some of the best, including George Michael's "Freedom 90", Billy Idol's "Rock the Cradle of Love", most of Paula Abdul's hit videos and several of Madonna's including "Vogue" and "Express Yourself".

His theatrical debut (Alien 3 ) notwithstanding, I would count his films as some of the finest of the past twenty years. Fincher directed (in this order) Se7en , The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Mouse over the links to watch the trailers.

So, I have high hopes for The Social Network. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. The film hits American theaters October 1.

Music Video of the Week: Brandon Flowers - "Crossfire"

I've long though Charlize Theron to be one of the most beautiful women on the planet. So, put her in a video with ninjas and The Killers' Brandon Flowers in his solo debut...well, it just doesn't get much better than this.

Movie Trailer of the Week - "Ready, Set, Bag!"

"Amateurs practice 'til they get it right. Pros practice 'til they can't get it wrong."

ahhhh....

So, it turned out the reason the sidebar was pushed to the bottom of the page was that one of the posts (the trailer for Inception) had some weird coding in it. So, I fixed that. But now the sidebar is too far to the right. So, the quest continues.

hmmm....

I have no idea why my blog looks the way it does right now. The sidebar has been pushed to the bottom. The footer is at the top of the page. I've gone over the code with a fine tooth comb and have not been able to figure it out. Anyway, I'm still working on it. Stay tuned.

Music Video of the Week: Stars - "Fixed"

I saw Stars perform this song on Jimmy Fallon the other night and absolutely fell in love with them. I particularly fell in love with this song. Turns out the video is pretty great too.

Movie Trailer of the Week - "Jack Goes Boating"

Music Video(s) of the Week - A Double Dose of Darwin Deez

I love this guy! Both of these videos are great, but the second one in particular is groundbreaking and excellent.

Movie Trailer of the Week - Red

Red stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Mary Louise Parker as retired CIA hitmen (well, hitpeople). This looks goooood. The stellar cast also includes Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox, and Ernest Borgnine.

Music Video of the Week: Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (w/Q-Tip & MNDR) – “Bang Bang Bang”

THIS IS PERFECT. I WANT TO HUG MARK RONSON.

Check him out with MNDR and Q-Tip in the grandiose "Bang Bang Bang".

Movie Trailer of the Week: Rob Reiner's "Flipped"

Movie Trailer of the Week - Inception

This is the third trailer for the Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) film Inception. I posted a teaser earlier this year. This trailer tells us more about the film. And I am still intrigued. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the trailer for This trailer does all the more.

Music Video of the Week: Sigur Rós - "Hoppípolla"

Before volcanic ash, Iceland was perhaps best known in pop culture for Bjork (from The Sugarcubes to her solo work) and Sigur Rós, both of whom have made some of the greatest videos of all time.

The video for "Hoppípolla" (Icelandic for "jumping into puddles"), from their 2005 album "Takk..." shows us that some people never grow up and that maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.



Watch this on your mobile device here.

As a Kentucky boy, I can not wait to see this. Diane Lane looks gorgeous as ever, and John Malkovich as quirky as ever. This looks like Oscar fodder to me. I'll be there either way.

Mourning the loss of Gary Coleman and Diff'rent Strokes

I've always felt a connection to Gary Coleman. I have been saddened over the past several years to see the troubles he went through. May he rest in peace.

Like many children of the eighties, I learned the word bigot from the show that made Gary Coleman (and his character Arnold Jackson) a household name, Diff'rent Strokes. The show also reinforced my parents' teaching that racism is unacceptable. It taught me to love "even the purple people" as Arnold put it.

Come to think of it, Diff'rent Strokes taught me many truly important lessons. I learned about:

• Eating disorders - Arnold suspected, and turned out to be correct, that his sister Kimberly had an eating disorder. I had never heard of bulimia before this episode.
  
• Taking care of the environment - washing with acid rain turned Kimberly's hair green
• The ills of drugs - First lady Nancy Reagan even appeared on an episode to thank Arnold for his work against drugs
  
• CPR and the importance of telling the truth - Arnold's brother Willis lied about knowing CPR to get a job. When Arnold electrocuted himself, his life was jeopardized because of Willis' seemingly harmless lie.
  
• Bullies - they never showed The Gooch and I'm still a little scared of him
• Child molestation - Gordon Jump played many memorable characters--from WKRP's Art Carlson, to Maggie's dad Ed Malone on Growing Pains, to the Maytag Man in his later life--but none were as memorable to me as his portrayal of Mr. Horton, the child molesting bicycle salesman from the two episode special

I could go on and tell you about Dudley and Robbie. I could talk about the guest appearances by Ed "Too Tall" Jones or Muhammad Ali. I could tell you about my crushes on the mean Lisa and Janet Jackson's character Charlene (and maybe Mrs. Garrett too). I could tell you the exact moment the show jumped the shark (it literally involved a red-headed stepchild).

I could talk about Diff'rent Strokes all day, but I'll just say this: I learned all of these lessons and gained all these memories from a truly funny 30 minute sitcom. Which leaves me with the question, what are prime time shows teaching children today?

Music Video of the Week: Francis and the Lights - "Darling It's Alright"

This video is elegant in its simplicity. Shot in one take and "edited with light", the dance at the end truly made me smile.

Blahhhhg

I just don't ever write real blog posts any more. I know I should. It was for the discipline that I started this thing in the first place. I'll try, but for now enjoy the weekly videos and follow me on Twitter. Oh, and you should be reading my friend Ashley Freeman's blog.

Go to the official Eric Coomer website instead.

Movie Trailer of the Week - The Adjustment Bureau

This looks great and reminds me of Dark City (read my thoughts on that film and watch the trailer here). Check out Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau.

Movie Trailer of the Week - Get Low