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    A public mental health struggle

    Making bipolar disorder work: Blue October rocks home on Preakness Saturday

    Michael D. Clark
    May 15, 2010 | 7:48 am

    It doesn't seems fair that the more Blue October lead singer Justin Furstenfeld broods, the more penetrating his songs get and the more rich and famous he gets for writing and performing them.
     
    How can you ask a man to stay torturously angst-ridden in the name of success?
     
    More than a decade ago Justin, along with his brother/drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye (he's the one that adds all those dramatic violin runs in past hits like "Ugly Side" and "Balance Beam") formed Blue October right here in Houston while attending Houston School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Together they had an obvious ability to string hooky string loops and arena-worthy song arcs together.

    And tonight, they return home to Houston — to play at Sam Houston Race Park of all places (the track is doing summer concerts and the organizers wanted a big one for Preakness Saturday).
     
    It was, however, Furstenfeld's battles within his own head — his often public struggle with bipolar disorder — that provided the gnawing, self-punishing, melodic screams that elevated Blue October from a local Houston club act to a national sensation that sold over million copies of 2006 release "Foiled," and toured with rock superstars like the Rolling Stones.
     
    Furstenfeld is now a father and has proclaimed he is much healthier and "... no longer a danger to self." Then again, when he tours solo (between Blue October albums) he often plays under the name 5591 — a reference to the number he was admitted with during a stay at a mental institution.
     
    Clearly, he still has issues weighing on his mind which — while not something to make light of — have helped generate a new sonically mesmerizing set of songs on the group's latest disc "Approaching Normal."
     
    (The title says everything you need to know about where Furstenfeld feels he stands right now.)
     
    Singles like "Dirt Room" and "Say It" helped the album reach No. 13 on the Billboard 200 album charts and continue their national rise.
     
    Furstenfeld's demons have provided a lot of entertainment. The least you can do now is come on out to the racetrack and welcome Blue October home in style.
     

     Blue October, 8:45 p.m at Sam Houston Race Park

    Tickets: $15 in advance; $20 at the door

     

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    Movie review

    New movie Eddington confronts the chaos of early pandemic life

    Alex Bentley
    Jul 18, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Eddington
    Photo courtesy of A24
    Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in Eddington.

    The coronavirus pandemic had a profound impact on the entire world, one that has been shown in various ways by movies and TV shows. However, even though a number of productions have attempted to show what life was like during the early days of the pandemic, few have tried to truly reckon with the way lockdowns and restrictions changed people.

    Filmmaker provocateur Ari Aster does just that in Eddington, set in a fictional small town in New Mexico in early 2020 that proves to be a microcosm of the debates taking place worldwide at that time. Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is not a fan of mask mandates or other restrictions imposed by the government, while mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) tries to lead by example in an effort to keep his community safe.

    The men butt heads not just on how to deal with the pandemic, but also over a personal history involving Joe’s wife, Louise (Emma Stone). When news of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota makes its way to town, it starts a slow simmer among the town’s youth population, putting even more stress on Joe and his small department. Conspiracy theories, white guilt, partisan politics, cults, and more combine to make the community into a powder keg that threatens to explode at the slightest provocation.

    Aster (Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) takes aim at all sides in a film that’s part satire and part thriller. No matter how each viewer reacted to the pandemic, the film offers at least a character or two that will come close to representing their viewpoint. Although opinions may differ, it seems clear that Aster is not portraying one side as “right” or more righteous than the other. What he is doing is demonstrating just how much was happening in a short period of time, and how those things could negatively affect anyone.

    On the flip side, the film also challenges viewers with viewpoints that may not match their own, which can make for an uncomfortable experience at times. The reactions various characters have to certain events range from rational to wholly unexpected, and Aster seems to delight in keeping the audience on their toes the entire time. This is especially true when violence rears its ugly head, resulting in some intense and upsetting scenes.

    Not everything in the film lands, though. A subplot involving Louise and Vernon (Austin Butler), a cult leader who preys on her fears, feels tacked on, with no relation to the film as a whole. In fact, the character of Louise is a misfire in general, one whose purpose makes little sense. Aster also lets (asks?) some actors speak in almost inaudible tones at various points in the film, a frustrating experience in a film as dialogue-heavy as this one.

    Phoenix loves to dig into off-kilter characters, and this one ranks high on that scale. Even if you don’t enjoy what his character does, it’s hard to fault the performance that brings him to life. Most of Pascal’s scenes are with Phoenix, and while he matches Phoenix’s energy, the lower key nature of his character leaves him overshadowed. The nature of the film means few others make an impact, although Deidre O’Connell as Joe’s passive-aggressive mother-in-law and William Belleau as Officer Jiminiz Butterfly stand out in their scenes.

    Few of us would volunteer to go back to the baffling days of early 2020, but Eddington does a great job of examining what was happening at the time and how events united some and divided others. It’s not a feel-good film, but it is one that will make viewers re-examine their reactions at the time and how those influenced the current reality.

    ---

    Eddington is now playing in theaters.

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