Happy Valentine's Day (4 of 4): The Funny, Quirky and Dark Side of Romance......

Our apologies to our Republican friends, yes we know Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are not actually gay lovers.

Last Ten Films I've Seen- Garbo Laughs

Among the last ten films I've seen is a notorious "Jaws" rip-off, two films directed by playwrights ("Margaret" and "Seven Psychopaths") and a vintage British horror film ("Repulsion").

There are also two films with Johnny Depp in the lead ("The Libertine" and "Dead Man") and the film in which cinematic goddess Greta Garbo laughs ("Ninotchka").

In addition, there are two films which are still in cinemas ("R.I.P.D., which I actually saw at a drive-in, and "The Way, Way Back"). Movies I have seen previously are marked with an *.

Here is the list:

1. "Holy Smoke" (1999. dir-Jane Campion)

2. "The Last Shark" ("Great White") (Italy. 1981. dir-Enzo G. Castellari)

3. "Dead Man" (1995. dir-Jim Jarmusch) *

4. "Seven Psychopaths" (2012. dir- Martin McDonagh)

5. "Margaret" (2011. dir-Kenneth Lonengan)

6. "The Way, Way Back" (2013 dir-Nat Faxon and Jim Rush)

7. "R.I.P.D" (2013 dir-Robert Schwentke)

8. "The Libertine"   (2004. dir-Laurence Dunmore)

9. "Repulsion" (1965. dir-Roman Polanski) *

10. "Ninotchka" (1939. dir-Ernst Lubitsch)

http://thesacodrivein.com/now-showing/ (Drive-in theatre in Saco, Maine, (not where I saw R.I.P.D)

http://www.therialto.com (Cinema in Raleigh, NC, that is now screening "The Way, Way Back")

http://www.filmcomment.com (The magazine that started the 'last ten films I've seen series)

The 1,000th Entry and Remembering a Friend

On Oct. 19, 2008, I launched my second blog "The Daily Vampire" after much deliberation. And, as it turns out, it has become an even grander success than my original "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time," which originated with AOL and remains active.

Many of my fellow blogger friends, with the exception of Chris Knight from Reidsville, NC, who sort of became famous for his over-the-top "Star Wars" themed ad when he ran for county school board in 2006, have either decided to dedicate more time to their wives and families or atually get some office work done.

But, I image Chris and myself will be at this until we are old men in nursing homes who are playing checkers with the staff.

SIDEBAR: On a much more serious note, I want to take a moment to personally recognize my friend and mentor Dr. Klaus Phillips of Hollins University, a man I knew for 24 years since I was a 17-year-old high school student.

He died unexpectedly last week at the age of 64.

In 1987, when we first met, Klaus had orgazined a video and filmmaking program for area high school students in Roanoke, Va. When he showed us a Jim Jarmusch film called "Down By Law," featuring the singer/actor Tom Waits and a then-unknown Roberto Benigni (who later became an Oscar-winner), he opened a whole new world to me. From that day forward, I have taken film very seriously as an art form and as a way to learn how other people live, irregradless if they are coal miners in West Virginia or village dwellers in Mali.

In 2002, I became a student in the Hollins University film studies program, which Klaus founded. The school announced on its web site that a scholarship in Klaus Phillips' name has been established. For more details, one can log onto the school's web site at www.hollins.edu

Yet Another Quote of the Week?!- Joe Strummer

The liberal blogger Arianna Huffington maintains that bloggers are ones who suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. She may have a point as this is the fourth quote I've used this week?!

Today, we go with Joe Strummer, who was the subject of our last "Dead or Alive" entry. Alas, the frontman for the punk band The Clash is no longer with us as Strummer died on Dec. 22, 2002.

But, there are apparently efforts to recognize Dec. 22 of this year as "International Joe Strummer Day," which happens to be my mother's 70th birthday.

I'm not sure if she is familiar with The Clash, which "Rolling Stone" called the 30th best music artist of all time, but perhaps we can play "London Calling" at her birthday party though I'm not sure her friends from church would approve!

Here is the quip we selected from Strummer, who was also a great actor who appeared in the 1989 Jim Jarmusch film "Mystery Train," which was filmed in Memphis, Tenn.:

"What I like most about playing America is you be sure you're not going to get hit with a full can of beer when you're singing and I really enjoy that."

Dead or Alive (7 of 12) Joe Strummer

Today's 'Dead or Alive' segment focuses on Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the punk rock band The Clash which lasted for a surprisingly short time (1977-86), yet their impact is undeniable. "Rolling Stone" proclaimed that The Clash was the 30th greatest rock artist of all time.

Strummer was born in Ankara, Turkey- of all places on Aug. 21, 1952. He was the son of a British diplomat.

I first became familiar with the band when I was 13 in 1983 when their music video "Rock the Casbah" was in high rotation on MTV.

The band's great hits include "Rudie Can't Fail," "Lost in the Supermarket," "Train in Vain (Stand By Me), "Should I Stay or I Should I Go," and their political anthem "London Calling," the title track of their 1979 smash album.

"Train in Vain (Stand By Me)" was recently featured in the soundtrack of the summer's indie hit film "500 Days of Summer."

The Clash was known for being 'a bit left of center,' and the band is credited with making punk music more political. Though the band sold lots of records, they never quite managed to become a political band which merged well with the mainstream that U2 has turned into though they were played on the radio more often than the 1990s left-wing American band Rage Against the Machine.

Strummer was joined by the likes of Mick Jones, Keith Levene and Terry Chices in creating the band's unique sound which featured a range of musical influences, including reggae!

The album cover to "London Calling" is now going to be on a British postage stamp.

Strummer was also a good actor, though he has appeared in only a few films, including "The King of Comedy," "Straight to Hell" and "Mystery Train," which is my favorite Jim Jarmusch film.

The band has many admirers, including my friend Todd Ristau who oversees a stage company in Roanoke, Va., called Studio Roanoke.

And, The Clash has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Though it does not include The Clash (I believe), the documentary "Kill Your Idols" about the New York punk scene in the 1980s is airing on The Sundance Channel this month.

I will conclude this entry with a great quote from Strummer who perhaps saw where the future of rock and roll was headed long before he left the stage:

"I think we're going to have to forget radio and just go by word of mouth."

Celebrity Birthdays- Iggy Pop is 62

You know we are all getting older when punk/garage rock pioneer Iggy Pop is inching closer to qualifying for a senior citizen's discount at Denny's.

Pop who was born on this date in Muskegon, Mich., is 62 today. He is known as "The Godfather of Punk" and "The Rock Iguana."

The punk singer got his name because he was the lead singer of a band called The Iguanas when he was in high school. Pop later became the lead singer of The Stooges.

His hit songs include "Lust for Life" and "Real Wild Child." And, Pop recorded the original version of David Bowie's hit song "China Girl," a personal favorite of mine.

Pop's music was featured in the soundtrack for the film "Trainspotting."

A few years ago, Pop appeared in the Jim Jarmusch arthouse hit "Coffee and Cigarettes" where he appeared in a sequence with legendary singer Tom Waits.

I must profess that we had a hard time finding a suitable photo to go with Pop. There was actually one of him performing necade! We decided that might cause this blog to be banned in Provo, Utah, so we opted for this shot of him wearing a crown instead.