Monday, January 11, 2010

MEDIA ORDER ARRIVALS FOR THE WEEK: (01.03.10 - 01.09.10)

TUES. 01.05.09
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What They'll Never Tell You about the Music Business reveals what most savvy music executives already know-and hope that readers never find out!

This insider guide discloses the hidden dynamics and often unfortunate consequences of what really happens when a deal is prepared, contracts are signed, and promises are made-and alerts musicians, attorneys, songwriters, and anyone else interested in the music business to the potent dangers lurking beneath the surface of this incredibly competitive industry. Twenty chapters cover virtually every aspect of the music industry, including recording agreements, record royalties, artistic management, music publishing, music marketing and promotion, merchandising, copyright infringement, and the international music business scene. What's more, the information in this invaluable reference is all explained clearly and concisely with no legal jargon. For anyone involved in the music business, here is your source of inside information.

WEDS. 01.06.10
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The theories expressed in The Prince describe methods that an aspiring prince can use to acquire the throne, or an existing prince can use to maintain his reign.

What he was doing was describing the rules of the game that have existed and always will exist for many situations involving selfish humans in competition. Machiavelli's rules are neither good nor bad in themselves -- they describe a process. What is good or bad is how those who master Machiavelli's rules use their power and position, in a society that tempers actions according to law and basic Judeo-Christian principals.

THURS. 01.07.10
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Every card in the Lord of the Rings Tarot shows a scene from Middle-earth, the setting of J. R. R. Tolkien's famous trilogy.

The text at the bottom of each card describes the scene chosen which corresponds to the meaning of the card. This deck follows the traditional tarot, but joins to it the spirit and mythological symbolism of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There is a companion book The Lord of The Rings Tarot Book, but it's now out of print.

FRI. 01.08.10
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PAN'S LABYRINTH REORDER

Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother.

Pan's Labyrinth takes us directly into the subconscious, and into the storyforms that infuse all of the great myths, fairy tales, and religions. It's a rich and satisfying stew of symbolism, mystery, and redemption. Multi-layered and inspiring, it's a film you'll want to see again. It's hard not to gush, but it's been so long since a movie this good has made it into the quasi-mainstream.

What makes Pan's Labyrinth most effective is it's juxtaposition of harsh "reality" and the mysterious world that lives side by side with it. The heroine, a young girl who may carry a magical seed of immortality (the soul of god's only child who once ventured into the world of men, suffered, and died long ago), is contacted by shapeshifting fairies who lead her to a faun (much like the mythological Pan) who says she may reclaim her throne and escape the mortal world by performing three tasks. The faun in Pan's Labyrinth is every bit as complex as the mythological Pan, a creature perhaps older than the gods themselves. There's something sly, and perhaps even sexual about this elegant and almost alien faun, as he represents the forces at play inside this sensitive young girl. In fact, like every good fairy tale, all of the strange, wondrous, and chilling creatures represent facets of the subconscious, including baby-eating ghouls, flitting fairies, and gluttonous toads.

Pan's Labyrinth is a commentary on the resiliency and power of the human imagination, and takes us to the place where dreams are spun and the great heroic tale of overcoming (of the self and the world) takes root. That spark of the divine in all of us -- or at least the hope of it -- powers the great story of our lives, and we need tales like this to remind of us of the magic and trans-formative power of story telling. In the flickering light of the theater, like some great hearth around which we've gathered, Pan's Labyrinth took me back to my childhood, and made me think of so many of the great stories I'd read over the years -- of demonic dogs with saucer-sized eyes, of child-stealing trolls, and evil stepmothers. And, finally, of the champions who venture down into those great cracks in the Earth, where the roots of mythic trees twist and wind and the greatest treasure of all can be found: the noble, heroic, and undying spirit that lies within us all.


"The writing of the first ten minutes of the film, 
were the hardest thing in the screen-writing process,
I was stalking this for months & months...and the moment 
I saw the image of the blood going back into her nose, 
I sort of understood it was not about a girl dying, 
but about a girl giving birth to herself 
--in the way she wanted to be." 

 - Guillermo del Toro

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