I am a part-time resident in Canon City, Colorado.   Most of the people I interact with are retirees and rafters.  I was anxious to see Prison Valley, as I rarely have interaction with prison employees and was hoping for an in-depth viewpoint on how the prison system works in it’s day-to-day operation.  Instead, I am shaking my head in disbelief at the atrocious inaccuracies of the film.

To document every non-truth in the film would take too much time away from my week, so let’s dig into the first three minutes.

Let’s start with the title of the film, Prison Valley.  It is stated emphatically in the film that the area is known as Prison Valley.  I have hundreds of clients in the Canon City area and spend most days talking with them and local residents.   Never — and I mean NEVER — have I heard Canon City referred to as “Prison Valley.” A quick Google search of “Prison Valley” results in links to the film, not the city.  Billions of web pages, yet not one page refers to Canon City as “Prison Valley.”

The woman who coins the term “Prison Valley” in the film is a prisoner’s wife from out of state.  She also declares in the first three minutes of the film, “if the prison was not here there would be nothing, and nobody, because they have nothing else to offer.” Scathing?  Yes.  Accurate?  No.

Canon City is a historic town along the Arkansas River that happens to be one of the most popular white water rafting destination in the world!  This is a tourist town that is also home to the Royal Gorge.  Rock climbers from around the world travel to Canon City to climb the legendary walls along Shelf Road.  Tremendous hiking abounds in Red Canyon Park, Garden Park Fossil Area, Phantom Canyon, Tunnel Drive, Temple Canyon, and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.  You can go horse back riding, soak in hot springs, golf at one of the best courses in Colorado, camp in the breathtaking Rocky Mountains…  Nothing to offer?

OK, still in the first three minutes… The narrator says “we are in some god forsaken place in the middle of Colorado… Canon City.”  And yes, he really does say this.  It implies that God truly forsakes Canon City, or Canon City is in the middle-of-nowhere.   I’ll assume the filmmakers meant the latter.  Canon City is 46 miles from Colorado Springs, 41 miles from Pueblo, 59 miles from Salida, and right smack dab in the middle of the Royal Gorge Region, one of the top tourist destinations in Colorado.

Still in the first three minutes… This next statement from the film is absolute misleading, erroneous journalism.  Narrator: “Canon City is the clean version of hell.”  And once again, yes, he really does say this.

The narrator is misquoting from a CBS report in which the former warden of Supermax, Robert Hood, refers to the prison as
“a clean version of hell.”  Supermax, located in Florence, Colorado, is a federal prison holding the most notorious prisoners in the country.  The filmmakers, however, erroneously mislead viewers by misquoting the CBS story by stating “Canon City is the clean version of hell,” not the prison in Florence.

Still in the first 3 minutes… The filmmakers introduce us to the Riviera Motel in Florence, Colorado.  The narrator states the motel “is two blocks from Canon City.”  As you can see from the Google Map embedded below, the Riviera Motel is 8.6 miles from Canon City, not two blocks.  But again, we’re just in the first three minutes of the film.

View Larger Map

And the inaccuracies continue throughout the film…

The French filmmakers had an agenda to paint small town America as despicable, white trash.  They succeeded.   Their footage of alleyways, liquor stores, thunder clouds, prairies, trashcans, trailers, and a prisoner’s wife at a run down motel in Florence, Colorado in a hoodie and flip-flops was well executed. If I had no reference to Canon City or the people, I could blindly believe this “god forsaken” American small town is a “clean version of hell” that “offers nothing.”   Fortunately, I know the truth.

Unfortunately, this is the only aspect they succeed at — throwing an entire community under a bus.  Nothing of relevance was brought to light about the prison system.   They  briefly touch on Private Prisons, which Canon City does NOT have, and the problems associated with them.  They give some statistics about minorities and their likelihood of going to jail.  They also show pictures from a prison riot in Crowley County, Colorado.   Ultimately, though, the filmmakers drop the ball on what could have been an informative film about the prison industry, and instead find it easier to attack a tourist town and it’s residence.  Bravo.

Here’s my question to the filmmakers:  If you are not truthful in every aspect of your journalism, how does one believe anything you report?

The radio site has been gone for nearly a decade and has since been taken over by Korean spammers, but that’s another story.

I recently moved into new office/studio space and began opening boxes that have been sealed for many years.  In the process I unearthed hundreds of radio shows that were recorded and produced during that time. It’s like finding gold.

One of my favorite programs was Hicks, Hillbillies, and Honky Tonks. This particular radio show was done remotely from Appleton, Wisconsin, by our good buddies Todd St. Marie and Troy Nichols.   I remember when I received their first show…

I was in a time-crunch and listened to the first 10 minutes or so and posted it on the site.  I would later learn Todd and Troy left their mics on for about 6 minutes during the music.  At 20:28 it all goes bad.  Ah, the memories.

Here it is, the first Hicks, Hillbillies and Honky Tonks in all it’s glory. Enjoy!

Hicks, Hillbillies, and Honky Tonks

Play the LOSTcast
LOSTcast

So who’s going to die in the series finale?  Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Locke… all of them?  We get into it with our LOST finale predictions.

Scott Stafford

John Reidy

As you can see, our LOST debate was heated and vibrant.  We played lots of fun LOST music, as well.  Nirvana, The Pixies, Perry Como, Mama Cass, Patsy Cline, Iggy and the Stooges, and The Kinks all make musical appearances.  We discuss the scenes and how the music was used in LOST.

Good Stuff.  Enjoy the LOSTcast and the series finale tonight!

I’m still not sure what to make of last night’s episode.

Irony:  (i·ro·ny) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., esp. as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.

Last night Sawyer led a mission off the island, much like Jack did at the end of season four.  Jack jumps into the ocean to stay on the island, much like Sawyer did at the end of season four.   This time around Sun and Jin reunite, instead of being torn apart.  Claire is on board, instead of Aaron.  Their escape is impeded by Charles Widmore, instead of facilitated by Penny Widmore.  Why was Lepidus not steering the boat?

Sayid and Desmond, who both were conspicuously absent from the planned escape, now seem to be working together against Locke (Smokey, Mib, Flocke, etc.).   After Jack determines he needs to stop Locke, he is saved by him.  Where are Richard, Ben, and Miles?

In the flash sideways

Desmond continues to be the constant, pulling the strings to reunite the timelines.  Jack learns of his sister, Claire.   Kate and Sayid have now both been arrested by Sawyer.  Sun knows Locke is evil.  Jack is about to make Locke walk again.  And we have yet to see Juliet in the flash sideways, which makes me believe she will reappear as Jack’s ex-wife.

I’m more confused now then when I started writing.

Melo’s People of Utah

Anyone catch this commercial at the end of the 3rd quarter in last night’s game against the Utah Jazz?  I’m going out on a limb and thinking The Fans of Carmelo Anthony in Utah did not pay for this ad, nor do they exist.  This video stinks of Nike.   But I like it.

Saturday is Record Store Day!!

Every year independent record stores around the country come together to offer exclusive records in limited quantities to the masses.  Get there early and bring money.  It’s better than Christmas.

Here are the Denver area record stores participating:

• Black & Read
• Cheapo Discs
• Independent Record & Video
• LPHound’s Vinyl House
• Twist & Shout
• Wax Trax Records
  

Here are some records I have my eye on for Saturday:

• Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs – Dark Side of the Moon LP
• Rolling Stones – 7″ single featuring unreleased track from Exile on Main St sessions. First time available.
• Sonic Youth – EVOL LP
• John Lennon – 7″ box set, Mother, Why & Imagine, It’s So Hard & Watching The Wheels & I’m Your Angel
• Beastie Boys – white label 12″ super surprise!
• Tom Waits – Mule Variations with exclusive Jim Jarmush photo
• Joy Division – Box Set 4 LP, 180 gram, set
• Velvet Underground – Live 1969 Vol 1 and Vol 2 LP
• Wilco – Kicking Television, 4 LP box set, 8 extra tracks, deluxe package
• of Montreal – 7″ Back To School is a Royal Trux cover, Subtext Read is a new Of Montreal track
• Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica LP reissue

You can get a full list here:  Record Store Day Releases.  I hope to see some of you out-and-about for Record Store Day.  Support your local record store.

The Wall Tour Dates Announced

I will be at the Pepsi Center in Denver on November 23, 2010.  There’s not a chance I’m going to miss it.

I am completely obsessed with collecting lossless audio copies of live concerts and bootlegs.  In fact, in the very near future I will launch a website dedicated to the audio gems I have found and collected over the past few years.  One of my favorite bootlegs is the Roger Waters demos of The Wall.  The audio quality isn’t perfect, but I prefer it to the official release.  Roger plays all instruments and vocals.  It’s rawer and grittier and awesomer.

So here it comes… The Wall in concert.  Here are the official 2010 North American tour dates:

Sept. 15: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Sept. 20: Chicago (United Center)
Sept. 21: Chicago (United Center)
Sept. 26: Pittsburgh (Consol Energy Center)
Sept. 28: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
Sept. 30: Boston (TD Garden)
Oct. 5: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Oct. 8: Buffalo (HSBC Arena)
Oct. 10: Washington DC (Verizon Center)
Oct. 12: Uniondale (Nassau Coliseum)
Oct. 15: Hartford (XL Center)
Oct. 17: Ottawa (ScotiaBank Place)
Oct. 19: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Oct. 22: Columbus (Schottenstein Center)
Oct. 24: Detroit (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Oct. 26: Omaha (Qwest Center)
Oct. 27: St Paul (Xcel Energy Center)
Oct. 29: St. Louis (ScotTrade Center)
Oct. 30: Kansas City (Sprint Center)
Nov. 3: New York (Izod Center)
Nov. 8: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Nov. 9: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Nov. 13: Fort Lauderdale (Bank Atlantic Center)
Nov. 16: Tampa (St. Pete Times Forum)
Nov. 18: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Nov. 20: Houston (Toyota Center)
Nov. 21: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Nov. 23: Denver (Pepsi Center Arena)
Nov. 26: Las Vegas (MGM Grand Garden Arena)
Nov. 27: Phoenix (US Airways Center)
Nov. 29: Los Angeles (The Forum)
Dec. 1: Los Angeles (The Forum)
Dec. 6: San Jose (HP Pavilion)
Dec. 10: Vancouver (General Motors Place)
Dec. 11: Tacoma (Tacoma Dome)
Dec. 13: Anaheim (Honda Center)

A big thank you is going out to Laura Bond and Flobots dot org for putting together Denver Kids Create yesterday!  Good times were had by all.  I spun sweet jams at the event until The Velvet Elvis entered the building.  Besides the kids, The Velvet Elvis performance was my favorite part of the day.  Incredible!

Photos by Lucia De Giovanni

I always knew that Jacob looked familiar, but could not quite figure out where I saw him before.  A quick IMDB search produced lots of places, mostly TV shows.  The actor who plays Jacob is named Mark Pellegrino.  He’s also been in some featured films.  Most notably, the Coen Brother’s Big Lebowski.

I have seen this video making the rounds around the interweb.  For those who have not seen it…

And for the LOST version.  Where’s the money, Ricardo?