It’s that time again, dear readers. Time for another episode of the internet’s most popular movie segment. (Editor’s Note: That is a lie. You, sir, are a liar.) Today, for your navel-gazing pleasure, we present Korean director Kim Ki Duk’s 2003 meditation, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring.

Taking place in and around a small temple, floating upon a remote mountain lake, it tells the story of a Buddhist monk and his young protege, neither of whom are ever named. Told in five vignettes, each corresponding to a season, we watch the cycle of these two lives, one enveloped in spiritual discipline, the other consumed by selfishness. The actors here give wonderfully understated performances, though the real star is no doubt the scenery in which they perform. Kim had the set built on Jusan Pond, a 200 year-old artificial pond in Cheongsong County, North Kyungsang Province in South Korea and it makes for a striking backdrop.

Critics have suggested that Kim made Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring to distance himself from a body of work that features extreme violence, animal cruelty, and heaping helpings of misogyny. In all fairness, his preoccupation with sex and violence are still present, though mostly off-screen. The arc of the boy’s life, beginning with his torture of animals and continuing through the murder of his adulterous wife, are tried and true territory for Kim, but here they enjoy a degree of subtlety. The cruelty to animals is still in full view, however, and while it serves a central purpose it may upset some viewers, so please be warned.

I’m a very big fan of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring, however I know people who absolutely despise it, mostly for it’s snail-like pace and a feeling that the film is aware that it is Important Art. The former is most certainly true. It is a slow movie. The camera seems to linger, perhaps a little too long, on every scene but, of course, that is the point. That leads directly to the accusation of being too self-aware, and on that count I disagree. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring has big, sweeping things to say about life, but it arrives at those ideas as simplistically as possible, gilding itself in plainness. What emerges is a story honed imperceptibly by degrees, a sum of surprising and seemingly incongruous parts. It may be in that way that it best embodies the Buddhist traditions it so beautifully portrays.

Thank you, all, for your feedback about our upcoming PDF Download Launch Sale. It was great to hear that there’s a lot of interest, and we look forward to sharing the back issues of Coilhouse with all of you. We’re putting the finishing touches on the download site and the PDFs, and we can’t wait to unveil the new shop this coming Monday. Get ready!

Meanwhile, we noticed that our mailing list was broken. Yikes. It has now been fixed. So please, join our mailing list. The main purpose of this list is to distribute REALLY HUGE NEWS – like this upcoming release of downloadable PDFs, new issues of Coilhouse coming out, crucial new developments, etc. Who knows – you might even get a sneak peek of some upcoming Coilhouse articles before they’re posted on the blog! We may very occasionally email you with other announcements, such as limited-edition new merch releases and Coilhouse events. But it’s not going to be annoying or spammy, we promise. It goes without saying that we will never share your email, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Artist Molly Crabapple, songstress Kim Boekbinder, and animator Jim Batt have teamed up to create an animated film based on Kim’s song, “The Organ Donor’s March.” This morning, the three launched a Kickstarter page to raise funds for the project. The final result will be an animated stop-motion story featuring original characters and sets. Crabapple, Boekbinder and Batt are looking to raise $7K to fund studio rent, 2-3 months of full time animating, printing, lights, hard drives, animation software, specialized camera equipment, and the manufacturing of the DVDs.

Supporters of the project receive goodies such as puppets from the production and pieces of the set. You can also follow the project at ihaveyourheart.com. There, you can find delicious tidbits such as character sketches, set design snapshots, and test animations… such as this:

At this point I’m probably in danger of turning Coilhouse into a Graham Annable repository, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take, lest any of our faithful readers forget or, perhaps, for new readers who may not have had a chance to delve into the archives. His newest is The Smartest Dog in the World which, as the title suggests, is the tale of the world’s most intelligent canine, told with Annable’s Gorey-esque flair for dark humor. If you dig this, you can see more at the links provided earlier and, of course, the Grickle Channel on YouTube. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to resist the urge to post everything he has produced here.

Moki has been producing paintings since 2006 and her work ranges between portraits, landscapes, and juxtapositions of the two. My favorites, however, are undoubtedly the images like those shown here, which proudly tout Hiyao Miyazaki’s influence. Completely in love with this stuff.

TV on the Radio’s new song “Will Do” has a tenderhearted, lovely new video… replete with VR cybergoggles. Their next album, Nine Types of Light, drops April 12th. Best wishes to bassist Gerard Smith for a speedy recovery.

Director: Dugan O’Neal / Executive Producer: Danielle Hinde / Director of Photography: David Myrick / Visual Effects: BEMO / Art Director: Ashley Fenton and Megan Fenton / Editor: Dugan O’Neal and Isaiah Seret / Virtual Reality Goggles by Nikolai Hass and Simon Hass / Commissioner: Michelle An / Production CO: Doomsday Ent.

Many of you have asked: “will back issues of Coilhouse ever be available again?” We’re well aware (and gratified) that there’s a lot of interest in the now sold-out Issues 01-05. Since we printed Issue 01 in the summer of 2008, thousands more readers have joined us, and we’ve been eager to find a way to share the old content in a way that’s affordable for everyone. While our printing budget remains solely devoted to new issues at this time, we’re delighted to announce that as of next week, we will be offering DRM-free, high-quality PDFs of our back issues for sale on this site.

This coming Monday, March 28th, we’ll begin a special sale offering all of our previous issues of Coilhouse Magazine, available for purchase as separate issues, or at a discount on all five. This post is just a heads-up to let you know it’s happening soon. If you’re potentially interested in buying one or more PDF back issues, now would be a great time to join the mailing list so that you get a reminder when the issues go on sale. The other great reason to join our mailing list right now is to stay informed about the release of print Issue 06, which is coming along nicely.

As always, we’re incredibly curious to get some feedback from our readers! Any opinions or advice for us about about PDFs, e-readers, phone apps, iPad editions, and whether or not we should offer something like this perennially in our online store? Please, by all means, fire away in comments. As always, the Coilbiz’s learning process is greatly enhanced by direct communication with our community.

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Artist Paul Komoda – whose Elephant Man sculpture, Syphilis lady bust, and ‘Blind Love’ illustration were previously featured on Coilhouse – recently sculpted King Thalidomidas, a new model resin kit available from Artist Proof Studio. King Thalidomidas is available for purchase, or you can enter in a contest to win this sculpture, or one of their many other gorgeously grotesque pieces, simply by commenting on the the Artist Proof blog. Details here.

Hey, late-risers. Filling in for Mer, who was kidnapped by the Ambien Walrus last night, to bring you this week’s installment of Better than Coffee. This song, recorded in 1972 and sung in “fake English” by Italian singer Adriano Celentano, will wake you right up. According to Celentano, the song is about incommunicability in the modern age, and prisencolinensinainciusol decodes to “universal love.” OL RAIT!

For the past six years, Hazey Fairless and Silky Shoemaker have been opening up their own backyard to Austin’s fierce and vibrant queer community for Gay Bi Gay Gay, an all-day, backyard, totally free mini-festival with an always incredible line-up of queer and queer friendly acts. It has become the favorite event of many – marking the end of South By Southwest, (and at least this year) the true beginning of spring, as it falls right on the vernal equinox, and is doubly blessed by the cool rays of the waning supermoon! How to possibly begin explain the infectious joy and energy this party is filled with? I think Andy Campbell from The Austin Chronicle’s own Gay Place Blog encapsulates it best as:

“a slew of queer folks and bands soaking up the sun and playing for free in an East Austin backyard. The show is all ages (and did we say free? Oh yah, we did.) and includes national and local acts in musical conversation with one another. Gay Bi Gay Gay is a blissful, sweaty, lezbotronic, faggy, lovely, mind-expanding, rump-shaking, heart-breaking, social, special, groovy (in the 1960s sense of the word), excellent (in the 1990s sense of the word), trans-positive, safe, holy, iconoclastic, warped, ripped, blitzed, bodacious, make-out instigating, heat-seeking love missile of a day. It’s the anchor of my year. Gay Bi Gay Gay, I love you.”

Amen to that! Starting at 1pm, patchwork blankets begin to cover the yard and picnics are laid out. Dancing happens on the patches of grass in-between, and the mood is loving and convivial. More than anything else, it feels like a big family reunion – and in a lot of ways, it is.

Shunda K. and Tedra

After the cut are some of my favorite images from last year’s fiesta, which was extra special for featuring a spicy dose of New Orleans queer bounce love from Katey Red, Vockah Redu, Rusty Lazer, Altercation, Ellery and a bevy of talented dancers. With last year’s line-up sporting everyone from Kid Congo Powers to Shunda K. of Yo Majesty, we can only wait with baited breath to see what this year will bring. Happily, Big Freedia will most definitely be performing – she was slated to play last year, but sadly was not able to make it, due to a dislocated shoulder. Expect surprise guests, neon face-paint, giant grins, and loads of magic if you happen to be here in Austin for it.

New Orleans Bounce legend Katey Red with emcee of the evening Rebecca Havemeyer