Monday Morning Whimsy

For your consideration and to give you three more minutes to not be productive, I give you the new Wes Anderson AT&T commercials:







Anderson's new comedic road drama, "The Darjeeling Limited," lands in theaters Oct. 5.

Wes Anderson's New Movie

Wes Anderson's new movie, The Darjeeling Limited, a comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds, is due in theaters on Sept. 29. The eldest, played by Wilson, hopes to reconnect with his two younger siblings (Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) by taking them on a train trip across the vibrant and sensual landscape of India. The film's script has been bouncing around on online bulletin board for months and according to one web description, the three brothers are on a trek through India to find an albino tiger that’s actually their reincarnated father. Sez Anderson, don't believe everything you read on teh internets. I agree. View the the trailer here and see for yourself.

The Return of Max Fischer

Jason Schwartzman -- better known as Max Fischer in the greatest movie of all time, Rushmore has a new solo project called Coconut Records. Sez Blogs are for Dogs:

Schwartzman’s latest musical venture immediately recalls his previous percussion duties in Phantom Planet, crafting delicate pop melodies in his own unquely winsome way. In a sense, Schwartzman imbues his music with the same sensibility as his various onscreen personas, a melancholy mix of Max Fischer and Albert Markovski.

Follow the linky to get the rest and a free download of Coconut Records - West Coast.

Am I An AlternaDad?

Am I an an alternadad? Preliminary testing indicates maybe not. However, I’m still anxious.

Consider the evidence. I have worked to cultivate my daughter’s taste in:

Godzilla movies

Speed Racer cartoons

Lost in Space reruns

The Ramones and other “suitable” types of music. She loves “Bonzo Goes To Bitburg.”

I have bought my daughter a Waterloo Records t-shirt. We watched Bottle Rocket together so she can begin to have an appreciation of Wes Anderson movies. And, of course, I have “nurtured” her love of Texas Longhorns football has been described as “brainwashing.” While I think it doesn’t reach Manchurian Candidate levels, she knows beyond a doubt, that Vince Young is the greatest football player ever and OU does, indeed, suck.

So, what does this say about me?

The anger surrounding alternadad and hipster parenting derives from the idea that these new parents don't want to "grow up" and act like parents.

Um, guilty. But I've always thought that growing up is overrated anyway.

Instead, they give their kids fauxhawks and inculcate them with a precious taste in music and "film." I agree that this can be irritating, but find me the set of parents who haven't, consciously or not, indoctrinated their kids into a little family cult. And who's more annoying: the 3-year-old who knows Mandarin or the one who loves Devo?

I've always though an appreciation of 80s music is a greater priority than a second language. Guess that let's me off the hook. I think I’ll go pick up a Wilco t-shirt for my daughter to celebrate.

Francois!

The new Wes Anderson American Express Ad I guess qualifies as the first new Wes Anderson movie in a while. It's pretty funny. Plus, there's another essay about why it takes so long for him and his contemporaries to roll out movies.