LDs Top Videos of '07!

For your New Year's Eve enjoyment, I proudly present a collection of the five top videos of '07. These are the bite size video bits that have been highly influential on the young minds of Labor Days Towers.

Indulge please:

1. Boney M's "Rasputin" - It's the perfect mixture of historical fantasy and disco craziness. Watch it at least twice and then find yourself singing it in public by accident. Furthermore, can we please make 2008 the year of the Mad Monk?



2. The Trailer for John Boorman's "Zardoz" - It has been asked of me, more than a few times, what the hell the appeal is in Zardoz. Maybe this trailer will help you all figure it out? Either that or I'd have to type out a lengthy, meandering, poorly planned essay on film sci-fi. How about you just watch the trailer and then maybe the movie and see if you can find any nugglettes of enjoyment in them?



3. "Plate or Shrimp... or Plate of Shrimp" - Let it seep in. Possibly, the most profound moment in film history. Possibly.



4. "Good Serve. Good Serve." - This one's for Rick. Hang in there, Maverick.



5. Kate Bush "Cloudbusting" - Because no list of videos is complete without one appearance by Donald Sutherland (or Alan Rickman or possibly Davide Thewlis or Jeremy Irons... but they're not in this video and Donald is). Also, it has mad science! So let Kate Bush ring in '08 for you.



If you play all of these at once and close your eyes the conditions might just be right to touch infinity. And who doesn't want to do that?

Behind the Scenes Conversations

Much of the work of Labor Days is done over instant messenger. It's what allows me to work without my pants on and what allows Rick to hide the fact that he's constantly drawing Hermione Granger without her pants on.

Below is a little sample of some IM text for you to nibble upon. It pertains to the details of two of our characters, Leon and Antonio, dedicated revolutionists.

RICK:
If anyone asks, the Marxists drive around
in a big, black 1971 Cadilac Sedan de Ville
which used to belong to the King of Rock
and Roll.

ME:
Elvis?

RICK:
Hell yeah!

ME:
That makes no damn sense. But okay.

RICK:
Right?

NARRATOR:
Moments later…

ME:
I can't wait to do panel-by-panel commentary on
this book. I'll say things like "the Marxists
should be driving a tiny east bloc hold over
from Soviet Poland. Like a Trabant or something."
And you'll say things like "Yeah but look at
this savage Fukk Mobile I have them in!"

RICK:
Ha!

ME:
"…it fits their souls, not their politics,"
you'll add. And then I'll have to agree
with much sadness.

... And yes, our IM-versations do have narrators, thanks for asking.

Mr. Bagswell

See!? Jordan could totally play the kick-backed kid.

Pushing the pals, part 2: Jordan Smith

Jordan Smith is the man we want to play Bags in the (probably never to be made) Labor Days feature (or at the very least in some street team events).

He's a talented young actor, a firm believer in the healing powers of fantastical fiction, and he's the man I go to when I want to talk about Cormac McCarthy.

He's also starring in a lovely new webisode series that has just premiered. It's entitled Five to Six.

Watch Jordan now. And then, somewhere down the line, you can say you were there when it started.