Tartan USA, the North American branch of UK distributor Tartan Films, has ceased operations according to IGN. I’m fairly disappointed by this - Tartan USA’s Asia Extreme label was responsible for some really remarkable Stateside DVD releases, including Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Shinya Tsukamoto’s A Snake of June, A Tale of Two Sisters, Natural City, and a whole slew of other great flicks.

One assumes that most of these films will find new distribution, but it sure sucks to see a good company go the way of the dodo. If you’re looking for any of the films they had rights to, you might want to grab them while you can. At the very least, you’ll want to nab the excellent 3-disc Oldboy tin…it’s worth every penny.

Thanks for the good times, Tartan! You’ll be missed (sniffle)…

This is one of those moments that I regret not spending time in the land of my forebears, the Philippines. I hear tell that Dante David (aka Howlin’ Dave), a legendary punk rock/new wave DJ from Pasay City, died yesterday at the age of 52. I never heard him, but if half the stuff in his Wikipedia entry is true, I’m damn sorry for it…

Howlin’ Dave was also credited with introducing Filipino radio listeners to punk rock and new wave music beginning in the late 1970s, through his program New Wave Nights.His choice to promote punk music was controversial among his fellow deejays and with his station, but his program developed a following, with spikey-haired teens soon showing up at the radio station, drinking gin and breaking bottles.Between 1980 to 1985, Howlin’ Dave would host the annual Brave New World punk concert, which he would close himself with his take on Sid Vicious’s version of My Way.

Dude…My Way? In tagalog? I miss him already…

This (really) shitty YouTube clip purportedly features Dave at some point, but I’ll be damned if I can tell…

I just learned that fantasy author Robert Asprin died yesterday in New Orelans. I haven’t read much of his output for the last decade or so, but there was a time in my mid-teens to my late twenties that I devoured everything with his name on it, primarily the Thieves’ World books, which I felt were a wonderful counterpoint to all the bland Tolkien-template fantasy that perennially clogs the shelves of most bookstores. If you haven’t read them you really owe it to yourself to hunt down all 12 volumes (and of course, there are several relatively new volumes published under the stewardship of Mr. Asprin’s ex-wife Lynn Abbey…those are worth checking out too).

I understand Mr. Asprin ran into problems with the IRS and had some rough times later in his life, including dealing with Hurricaine Katrina, after which fans (myself included) sought every bit of news to see if he had come through okay. I also felt a remote kinship with Mr. Asprin, being the only person I knew of other than myself and my two brothers to share our Filipino / Irish ancestry.

So long, Robert - the next Guinness and balut will most assuredly be in your honor.