Tag: California

A Stolen Life [ A Memoir ] ( book ) … Jaycee Dugard

A Stolen Life [ A Memoir ] ( book ) ... Jaycee Dugard

Jaycee Dugard was abducted at 11 years old. She lived with her abductors, a pedophile and his wife, for 18 years, but she wasn’t held captive all that time. That’s the problem with her story. She was a victim in June of 1991 when Phillip Garrido zapped her with his stun gun, put her in his car, imprisoned her in his home and started using her as his personal sex slave, but by the time Jaycee, now living under the secret identity of Allissa; a 29-year-old mother of two; was discovered by the police and reunited with her real family, she’d become willing participant. That she attributes to being “conditioned” as she tries to play the victim role to the end, but she’s full of shit. She had countless chances to flee; at one point, she strolls thru a crowded shopping mall without Phillip; but chose not to.

Her story is nonetheless an intriguing one. Her style of writing is sometimes childish and redundant, especially at the beginning, but the personal journals she was thoughtful enough to write over the years, which she apparently saved, help her do a fine job of revisiting the past. That is assuming all the details she includes; the rape scenes, which are the most interesting parts, are surprisingly graphic; are true. This is just one side of a long story. My only major complaints are the Reflection bits, which take the reader from a factual account of the past to a present-day psychological analysis in a jolt, and the fact that it should’ve ended at the Discovery And Reunion chapter; the ending of which is genuinely poignant. The rest could’ve and should’ve been summed down to a short epilogue.

my rating : 3 of 5

2011

video review : Encino Man

Encino Man

I don’t get the title. A caveman, thawed back to life by two high school seniors; Dave and Stoney; awakes in California’s Encino, but there’s no real link between him and the city. It’s just the first place he happens to discover after thousands of years in hibernation. Forget the plot. There’s not much to see there. It’s his adaption to the modern world as the weird new “exchange” student from “Estonia” that, along with hippie Stoney’s quirky persona and lin… go, makes the movie, which is always stupid, at least fun to watch.

my rating : 3 of 5

1992

audio review : Chronic 2001 ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : Chronic 2001 ( album ) ... Dr Dre

Dr Dre begins this album, the much-anticipated Chronic sequel, as The Watcher. He’s an “OG” who’s grown tired of the gangster lifestyle, so now, instead of running the streets and causing mayhem, he just sits back and observes others. He also raps not only better than Dre ever could but almost to the point of lyrical flawlessness. That’s because it was Eminem, not Dre, who wrote the lyrics for the song.

As the most popular rapper on the album, Eminem is like the new and improved Snoop while old Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg continue to do their thing. It wouldn’t be a Chronic without them. That’s almost literally the case considering the fact that they’re the only guests to be featured on both albums. Everyone else is new to the set and Eminem is the obvious best, so the two best songs are the two he’s on.

Elsewhere it’s up to Dre and his beats, composed with co-producer Mel-Man, to keep the song quality levels high. That they do with ride-rattling precision. It’s modern-day, sometimes futuristic, “gangsta” music with deep basslines, dominant kicks, snazzy snares and not a whole lot else. Less seems to be more here in contrast to the abundance of familiar instrumentals laced with the Chronic of 1992.

That it is conceptually limiting, thus rather silly, to name the album after the year 2001, especially when it’s released for 2000 and Snoop Dogg can be heard saying it’s Still 1999, is the one major flaw on a sequel that otherwise manages to outdo its predecessor. This is the better Chronic. If rap’s easily-influenced fanbase agrees, that means another career high for Dr Dre in the new millennium.

my rating : 4 of 5

1999

audio review : The Chronic ( album ) … Dr Dre

audio review : The Chronic ( album ) ... Dr Dre

“Welcome to Death Row,” a voice says as you enter a room filled with weed smoke thick enough to make you choke. It’s The Chronic; a westcoast (Californian) celebration where all “niggas” want to do is get “fucked-up” and ride around blasting their own records. The bulk of that music features hardcore rap vocals over 1970s-style P-funk; soul samples by George Clinton and others interlaced with original hip-hop tracks; dubbed G-funk for the gangstas.

Despite this solo venture, it’s still NWA. It’s just that Dr Dre is no longer a member of the group, so verbal gunfire goes to former homies like Eazy E, along with casual shit-talkers like Luke Campbell and Tim Dog. Though Dr Dre is only alone on the album cover, he has his own Dogg; a smooth-flowing youngster who goes by the name of Snoop; among plenty of others. They have his back thru whatever, deadly drama and random song features included.

The beats bang, the synths blaze and the rhymes are decent enough for the genre. “I write a rhyme hard as concrete,” RBX declares, “Step to the heat and get burned like mesquite.” The best song is the one with the deepest hook; a politically driven street anthem dedicated to the Lil Ghetto Boy. It begins with heartfelt testimony about a poor African kid, presumably real audio from the LA riots, and features a magnificent jazz flute that is sure to enhance your high.

my rating : 4 of 5

1992