[insert poster-art for the 1981 Columbia Pictures movie]
Ok, well...my birthday passed by on the 20th of this month, I'm now 26 years into the grave (ah!). The good news is, with money my better-off-than-my-mother- gramma gave me, I bought a one month subscription to Napster (dot cooom!) at BestBuy (you don't have to go to BestBuy to do that, but if you're a Reward Zone member, you get 5 points for doing it that way - I think...(!)). So anyway, I got a truck load+ worth of music (a very large truck, I kid you not!) and, in addition to the usual suspects, I have actually found most, if not all, of '70's progressive rock band Gentle Giant's back catalog available for on-demand streaming(!!!!). I don't like all their albums, but I remember downloading IN A GLASS HOUSE off of some site I might be better off not mentioning in this forum, and then dragging my feet deciding when to buy the album and how much to pay for it...part of me was like "well, I DID listen to it quite repeatedly, without the artist's consent..." and then another part of me was like "but you only did that 'cause you had nothing better to do!" and then not too terribly long after that IN A GLASS HOUSE and several other GG albums became "discontinued by the manufacturer". Well, after finding IAGH on Napster, I looked it up on Amazon and there it is!!!! ---- $13.99, just like the good ol' days (where have returned, if you didn't pick up on that...). Huh...Barnes & Noble (dot coooom!) is actually having a holiday-season special offer for B/N "members" where you get free S&H if you get $10+ worth of stuff. I'm actually not technically a member, but my Mom is and maybe after I'm done babbling about this, I'll go check it out...
Anyway...I'm glad sites like Napster and Rhapsody are finally making essential music like Gentle Giant and The Grateful Dead available. Of course, Columbia Records is still holding onto their '70's Aerosmith back catalog with a very firm grip. I so would like to hear CLASSICS LIVE! any time I want. Heck, it'd be great just to buy "Train Kept A Rollin'" and "Kings and Queens" in their CL glory, with the big, sharp, wailing guitars and all...the version of "TKAR" from GET YOUR WINGS just doesn't compare. K&Q is good tho, do need to replace my long-parted copy of AEROSMITH'S GREATEST HITS. The studio version of that is good, but the live from CL version has a kind of ambiance not found on the original...I heard "Same Old Song And Dance" on the radio in my outpatient therapist's car and it brought back the feeling(s) of living in Monterey County (California) during 1995-1997, near the beach and numerous breathtaking nooks and crannies. The ocean being near really made a big impact on the air itself, and the way things felt in general. We didn't get big snows and leaves turning and all that countrified traditional b.s....I guess you have to go there sometime for an extended period of time perhaps to know what I mean. Sometimes in the spring here in Cape Girardeau, MO, it feels a little like that. But we go through maybe 1 or 2 springs without it...at least I don't have to go without as much living here...of course, about a year ago when I was seriously considering going back, I started having nightmares of getting lost...when I think about it in the waking hours, it doesn't seem so far fetched. I mean, without a car, getting lost is a real pain in the ass! I would think anyway...in California, they keep away from strangers, even if a stranger approaches them, they shy away, out of the idea that you shouldn't trust anyone.
But anyhoo...getting AEROSMITH'S GREATEST HITS probably wouldn't do any good...I hardly listen to AM or FM radio anymore. LastFM and Pandora are my two main choices for branching out...so; when I heard "SOS&D" it had been awhile since hearing it. I get something on CD, especially at this moment, since I have so few, I feel an obligation to listen to it. It all depends on so many things what effects me and when....next thing you know I'll hear a Stevie Ray Vaughn song and start reminiscing about junior high, even though at this particular moment I have no fond memories of Jr. High, except it was during that time when Christmas' were more easy to look forward to...being poor in California, Xmas (or New Years'; that was what we celebrated instead of Xmas until about 1996, since my mom adamantly refused to embrace Jesus and didn't want anything to do with it/him; she got less adamant as she got older, we moved to Missouri in mid-'97) was a hit and miss...
You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
NOOOOOOOOOOOO-TES!
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (SLIPCASE EDITION)
AMAZON: $26 (...) (no cashback)
BUY Mktplce: $25.38 (4.5% cashback)
DEEPDISCOUNT $25.50 (4.5% cashback)
BUY.COM MARKETPLACE is the way to go!!!
Hopefully these prices will be good in January (and maybe shortly thereafter...).
CARTEL - CYCLES
DEEPDISCOUNT: $8.38 until Nov 29th (4.5% cashback via Bing)
BUY/BUY MTKPLCE: $11+ ($4.5% cashback via BigCrumbs)
Hopefully I'll get some B-day $ from Gramma...(on or near my birthday...fingers crossed heavily!).
CD LIST:
DVD LIST
BOOK LIST
AMAZON: $26 (...) (no cashback)
BUY Mktplce: $25.38 (4.5% cashback)
DEEPDISCOUNT $25.50 (4.5% cashback)
BUY.COM MARKETPLACE is the way to go!!!
Hopefully these prices will be good in January (and maybe shortly thereafter...).
CARTEL - CYCLES
DEEPDISCOUNT: $8.38 until Nov 29th (4.5% cashback via Bing)
BUY/BUY MTKPLCE: $11+ ($4.5% cashback via BigCrumbs)
Hopefully I'll get some B-day $ from Gramma...(on or near my birthday...fingers crossed heavily!).
CD LIST:
- Cartel - Chroma
- Cartel - Cycles
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume Two: The Longs
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
- Toto - Toto IV
DVD LIST
- Ghostbusters
- Ghostbusters II
BOOK LIST
- Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
- Shirley Jackson - The Haunting of Hill House
- Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird
Friday, November 13, 2009
REAL
This is why I don't like films about films:
1) filmmaking, by definition, is a lie, is lying about the truth. It either simplifies the truth, ignores most of it, or flat out lies all together. For instance, where does a person's entire life ever get documented in a movie, in complete honesty? Films focus on one or two small aspects of life.
2) the ideas/facts that movies focus on should have significance. but even the small details should be either interesting or true, either in a metaphorical sense or a hardcore sense.
3) filmmaking is only interesting to people who want to be something they are not (which is a dishonest way to live), or other filmmakers. Film should not serve the filmmaker, unless the film is to be distributed internally, as opposed to the genera public.
4) to sum it, if you make a movie about filmmaking, you are either telling a tale that's already been told or telling a lie.
Examples:
BAD:
FINDING NEVERLAND - based on the life of someone who nobody would care about if he hadn't created "peter pan". So basically it's a drama-version of Peter Pan, since all the other details are rooted in details related to "peter pan".
THE AVIATOR - Glorifies old-school Hollywood, making it look appealing, drawing sentiments of "the good ol' days" and a bunch of other b.s.
Examples:
GOOD:
BATMAN BEGINS - A film about how crime effects people. How basic can you get? The details, every last one of them, is a visual wonder. It's not a ripoff, a tribute, or any other phony crap. It's real, but, be warned, it's also fake.
MYSTERIOUS SKIN - A tale of innocence lost. Another basic tale. Every detail is rooted in deep emotion(s), again, no tributes or phony crap. It's real, but, again, it's also fake.
~Jonathan
1) filmmaking, by definition, is a lie, is lying about the truth. It either simplifies the truth, ignores most of it, or flat out lies all together. For instance, where does a person's entire life ever get documented in a movie, in complete honesty? Films focus on one or two small aspects of life.
2) the ideas/facts that movies focus on should have significance. but even the small details should be either interesting or true, either in a metaphorical sense or a hardcore sense.
3) filmmaking is only interesting to people who want to be something they are not (which is a dishonest way to live), or other filmmakers. Film should not serve the filmmaker, unless the film is to be distributed internally, as opposed to the genera public.
4) to sum it, if you make a movie about filmmaking, you are either telling a tale that's already been told or telling a lie.
Examples:
BAD:
FINDING NEVERLAND - based on the life of someone who nobody would care about if he hadn't created "peter pan". So basically it's a drama-version of Peter Pan, since all the other details are rooted in details related to "peter pan".
THE AVIATOR - Glorifies old-school Hollywood, making it look appealing, drawing sentiments of "the good ol' days" and a bunch of other b.s.
Examples:
GOOD:
BATMAN BEGINS - A film about how crime effects people. How basic can you get? The details, every last one of them, is a visual wonder. It's not a ripoff, a tribute, or any other phony crap. It's real, but, be warned, it's also fake.
MYSTERIOUS SKIN - A tale of innocence lost. Another basic tale. Every detail is rooted in deep emotion(s), again, no tributes or phony crap. It's real, but, again, it's also fake.
~Jonathan
Saturday, October 31, 2009
so this is Xmas (what have I done?)
YEAR ONE - CUT
Unto my nose comes the scents of autumn
Winter is approaching, slowly
The crisp air makes its acquaintance with my nostrils
I feel no complaint as I stroll down the street on my way to the convenience store to acquire a morning latte
I make my way back home and enter the house
The sun has made its way through the skies at last and I feel like celebration
Melodies from the previous autumn enter my heart and flood my head
It’s all about yesteryear, since nothing has changed
I’m living here and now, but I might as well be living in the past
I guess I’m doing both
Strange how nothing goes as it should
Or maybe there really is something I could do
Something to make this year special?
Well, I guess there’s still time
Sunset is many hours away
I suppose life is a series of coincidences
Much of the previous year was aided by people I met
Nobody I planned on meeting
Some of it was aided by tools and services
None of which I planned on discovering
I guess this year will be memorable in its own way
I have my family
My sister’s leaving forever, but she spent nine months of it still here
I moved in with my mother since she can’t afford to not live with my sister, who bought a house that she can’t afford to keep making payments on unless she stays here, which she can’t do, because her husband forbids it
So I live with my mother, so to speak
It’s all good though
I probably will never marry, as sad as it sounds
But I feel OK with that.
I knew for many years that I’m weird
So damn weird
So it is
It took a little bit of time for me to accept it
But I’ve done that much
And Thanksgiving and Christmas have yet to arrive
Oh, and did I mention 2009 is the year of the arrival of the first post-1994 car I’ve ever ridden in on a long term basis?
My so-called friend in high school [we only hung out during school hours, and only saw each other once or twice after graduation, which after reading a passage or two in A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks, strikes me as not much of a friendship, although if it were still the way it was then I might beg to differ…] let me ride around the block in his car. I don’t remember what it was but it wasn’t the ratty old cars my mom’s been driving in the last 20 years give or take a couple…
So…the melodies and sentiments within me are at least partially rooted in the past
Maybe next year I’ll be reminiscing on Cartel’s newest CD (CYCLES)
Maybe I’ll love it more then than I do now
It’ll be awesome
And nostalgic
Wow
October 31st, 2009
Unto my nose comes the scents of autumn
Winter is approaching, slowly
The crisp air makes its acquaintance with my nostrils
I feel no complaint as I stroll down the street on my way to the convenience store to acquire a morning latte
I make my way back home and enter the house
The sun has made its way through the skies at last and I feel like celebration
Melodies from the previous autumn enter my heart and flood my head
It’s all about yesteryear, since nothing has changed
I’m living here and now, but I might as well be living in the past
I guess I’m doing both
Strange how nothing goes as it should
Or maybe there really is something I could do
Something to make this year special?
Well, I guess there’s still time
Sunset is many hours away
I suppose life is a series of coincidences
Much of the previous year was aided by people I met
Nobody I planned on meeting
Some of it was aided by tools and services
None of which I planned on discovering
I guess this year will be memorable in its own way
I have my family
My sister’s leaving forever, but she spent nine months of it still here
I moved in with my mother since she can’t afford to not live with my sister, who bought a house that she can’t afford to keep making payments on unless she stays here, which she can’t do, because her husband forbids it
So I live with my mother, so to speak
It’s all good though
I probably will never marry, as sad as it sounds
But I feel OK with that.
I knew for many years that I’m weird
So damn weird
So it is
It took a little bit of time for me to accept it
But I’ve done that much
And Thanksgiving and Christmas have yet to arrive
Oh, and did I mention 2009 is the year of the arrival of the first post-1994 car I’ve ever ridden in on a long term basis?
My so-called friend in high school [we only hung out during school hours, and only saw each other once or twice after graduation, which after reading a passage or two in A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks, strikes me as not much of a friendship, although if it were still the way it was then I might beg to differ…] let me ride around the block in his car. I don’t remember what it was but it wasn’t the ratty old cars my mom’s been driving in the last 20 years give or take a couple…
So…the melodies and sentiments within me are at least partially rooted in the past
Maybe next year I’ll be reminiscing on Cartel’s newest CD (CYCLES)
Maybe I’ll love it more then than I do now
It’ll be awesome
And nostalgic
Wow
October 31st, 2009
AGAIN!
(hoowh!)
STEREO
- Various - Ghostbusters Original Soundtrack Album
- Various - Nightmare Revisited
- The Academy Is… - Fast Times At Barrington High
- American Football - s/t
- Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
- Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
- Better Than Ezra - How Does Your Garden Grow?
- Jackson Browne - The Next Voice You Hear: The Best Of
- Cartel - Chroma
- Cartel - Cycles
- Cold - Year Of The Spider
- Phil Collins - Both Sides
- Counting Crows - Recovering The Satellites
- Counting Crows - This Desert Life
- Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- Genesis - s/t
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts
- Genesis - Live/The Way We Walk Volume Two: The Longs
- The Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo
- The Graham Colton Band - Drive
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol. III
- Avril Lavigne - Let Go
- Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
- Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear
- Oingo Boingo - Skeletons In The Closet: The Best Of
- Rush - Power Windows
- Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
- Semisonic- Feeling Strangely Fine
- Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
- Senses Fail - Life Is Not A Waiting Room
- Simon & Garfunkle - Bookends
- Paul Simon - Graceland
- The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Third Eye Blind - Blue
- Toto - Toto IV
- Trespassers William - Different Stars
- Trespassers William - Having
- Virginwool- Open Heart Surgery
- The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
STEREO
paper chase & more...
I had The Academy Is...'s "Paper Chase" stuck in my heart a few minutes or so ago so I thought "should I buy the MP3 or the whole album?"...I decided I should listen to it on Imeem and then decide. I'm doing that now. Album! Except I'm out of $ until January...so...stay tuned!
- Various - Nightmare Revisited
- The Academy Is… - Fast Times At Barrington High
- American Football - s/t
- Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
- Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
- Jackson Browne - The Next Voice You Hear: The Best Of
- Cartel - Chroma
- Cartel - Cycles
- Cold - Year Of The Spider
- Phil Collins - Both Sides
- Counting Crows - Recovering The Satellites
- Counting Crows - This Desert Life
- Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- Genesis - s/t
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- The Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo
- The Graham Colton Band - Drive
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Vol. III
- Avril Lavigne - Let Go
- Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
- Rush - Power Windows
- Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
- Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine
- Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
- Senses Fail - Life Is Not A Waiting Room
- Simon & Garfunkle - Bookends
- Paul Simon - Graceland
- The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Third Eye Blind - Blue
- Toto - Toto IV
- Trespassers William - Having
- Virginwool- Open Heart Surgery
- The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
[rolls eyes]
Yeah, music should be AMAZING, infused with life, infusing life unto said listener, and there are several CDs that have done that for me, but it all mostly depends on where I'm at in life and what mood I'm in. However stupid it is, nostalgia is probably the most commonly felt strong emotion I encounter. So I guess it's important, to me. So it'd be kinda dumb to throw away or discard music that has been pivotal at crucial points in my life...like the time I moved out from my mom's house in 2004, where Cold's YEAR OF THE SPIDER was a source of sympathy for that time. And the time I got my second cat, Harrison, and I felt sad that my First cat, Napoleon, wasn't getting the fulfillment I'd hoped he would because he was so angry at the situation. Aimee Mann's THE FORGOTTEN ARM was there for me then. And when I had recently graduated high school, Avril Lavigne's LET GO came out, and shortly before graduation her single "Complicated" was all over the radio. I've tried to remove any music that I have doubts about, music that I can't be sure of its emotional authenticity, such as Michael Jackson and The Grateful Dead etc., and have tried to remove any music that I've enjoyed purely for the "hype"/"cool" factor(s) and/or simply used it to pass the time away.
So here's the best I could think of;
So here's the best I could think of;
- Armor For Sleep - Dream To Make Believe
- Armor For Sleep - What To Do When You Are Dead
- Jackson Browne - The Next Voice You Hear: The Best Of
- Cartel - Chroma
- Cartel - Cycles
- Cold - Year Of The Spider
- Phil Collins - Both Sides
- Counting Crows - This Desert Life
- Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
- Genesis - s/t
- Genesis - Invisible Touch
- The Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo
- The Graham Colton Band - Drive
- Hidden In Plain View - Resolution
- Avril Lavigne - Let Go
- Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
- Rush - Power Windows
- Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
- Semisonic- Feeling Strangely Fine
- Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
- Simon & Garfunkle - Bookends
- The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
- Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
- Third Eye Blind - Blue
- Toto - Toto IV
- Trespassers William - Having
- Virginwool- Open Heart Surgery
- The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
Friday, October 30, 2009
JACK'S INFERNO
People say it - "I do", that is - all the time. Jack and Sue never understood it. Until they decided they couldn't live without each other, at least not without poor sleep and some serious illnesses deriving from poor dieting and exercise, not to mention constant sorrow...
It was true. They meant it. They really did.
Sue was a devout Christian. She didn't just read her Bible, she felt it, almost breathed it. She knew what most people would say about getting married on Halloween, that it was bad luck; many would wonder if she and her husband were secretly a part of a cult. She saw it as something to eclipse Halloween, something bigger, so big she'd forget Halloween existed. New acquaintances, some perhaps to become friends, would ask "What are you doing this Halloween?" and she'd say "celebrating my anniversary", and these acquaintances would hear the melt in her voice, the sound of something beautiful and special.
Less than two years after their anniversary, Sue had died in a car crash. She was dead before she was in the hospital. It was a busy street and half the people on it, including Sue, did not have their minds fully attendant to the road.
It was August 22nd, 2011 when she was taken from Jack. He spent most of his time indoors, in constant sorrow as he knew he would without Sue in his life. They were both rather young, mid-20's; it wasn't logical, but it was nonetheless. Jack tried to uplift himself with the thought that she was in a better place. But Jack knew she had everything she ever dreamed of in the life she already had, not to mention he couldn't envision what this place was like. Heaven. Where exactly had his wife been taken??!?! He didn't know. The Bible provided no hint.
Halloween was once again around the corner. To Jack it was more sinister than ever. He looked out his window and saw kids dressed as witches and cats and such; the costumes were designed to look colorful and happy. He watched them through his window. It seemed like they were headed somewhere...
He decided to remove himself from his indoor outhouse - the smell resulting from his lack of care towards cleaning after months of nothing to live for would suggest that much - and follow the dressed up kids.
It didn't take long before they suspected he was following them and they turned a corner. Jack followed them. this happened about 3 or 4 times before he found himself in a dungeon of some sort. He heard laughing. Then he heard horrified cries of someone unable to fathom their pain. He regained his eyesight and saw a kid, about 11, tied and chained to the ceiling. An apple was placed in his mouth with tape around it. He was bleeding.
The cells in Jack's body were suddenly confused, the fiber in his body turning warm with rage and terror. One of the kids approached the 11 year old with a shovel. Jack took it from his hands and with about one and a half seconds worth of consideration, smacked the child with it.
the child lay dead in his own blood, head severed but still partially connected. It was Jack who called 9-1-1 after realizing what a fool he'd been. Kids are innocent, of course; it takes a negative influence or many of them to bring about this level of savageness. Jack sobbed and apologized, but he'd done the deed and jail time he served, until he died of malnutrition, presumably now with his loved one, wherever that is...
The End
It was true. They meant it. They really did.
Sue was a devout Christian. She didn't just read her Bible, she felt it, almost breathed it. She knew what most people would say about getting married on Halloween, that it was bad luck; many would wonder if she and her husband were secretly a part of a cult. She saw it as something to eclipse Halloween, something bigger, so big she'd forget Halloween existed. New acquaintances, some perhaps to become friends, would ask "What are you doing this Halloween?" and she'd say "celebrating my anniversary", and these acquaintances would hear the melt in her voice, the sound of something beautiful and special.
Less than two years after their anniversary, Sue had died in a car crash. She was dead before she was in the hospital. It was a busy street and half the people on it, including Sue, did not have their minds fully attendant to the road.
It was August 22nd, 2011 when she was taken from Jack. He spent most of his time indoors, in constant sorrow as he knew he would without Sue in his life. They were both rather young, mid-20's; it wasn't logical, but it was nonetheless. Jack tried to uplift himself with the thought that she was in a better place. But Jack knew she had everything she ever dreamed of in the life she already had, not to mention he couldn't envision what this place was like. Heaven. Where exactly had his wife been taken??!?! He didn't know. The Bible provided no hint.
Halloween was once again around the corner. To Jack it was more sinister than ever. He looked out his window and saw kids dressed as witches and cats and such; the costumes were designed to look colorful and happy. He watched them through his window. It seemed like they were headed somewhere...
He decided to remove himself from his indoor outhouse - the smell resulting from his lack of care towards cleaning after months of nothing to live for would suggest that much - and follow the dressed up kids.
It didn't take long before they suspected he was following them and they turned a corner. Jack followed them. this happened about 3 or 4 times before he found himself in a dungeon of some sort. He heard laughing. Then he heard horrified cries of someone unable to fathom their pain. He regained his eyesight and saw a kid, about 11, tied and chained to the ceiling. An apple was placed in his mouth with tape around it. He was bleeding.
The cells in Jack's body were suddenly confused, the fiber in his body turning warm with rage and terror. One of the kids approached the 11 year old with a shovel. Jack took it from his hands and with about one and a half seconds worth of consideration, smacked the child with it.
the child lay dead in his own blood, head severed but still partially connected. It was Jack who called 9-1-1 after realizing what a fool he'd been. Kids are innocent, of course; it takes a negative influence or many of them to bring about this level of savageness. Jack sobbed and apologized, but he'd done the deed and jail time he served, until he died of malnutrition, presumably now with his loved one, wherever that is...
The End
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
morbid intrigue
Perhaps that should be considered a genre all its own? Of course not. Genres are either so broad they overlap QUITE frequently or they end up pointlessly specific. Who ever would have had the brains in the early 20th century, during the infancy of films/Hollywood, to coin genre-names based on what kind of appeal it has! A lot of things hadn't even been done, weren't ALLOWED to be done in those early days, and people didn't know jack about human motives, and people still don't, although less so than those days.
I'm reading Nobakav, oh, wait, just double checked, NABOKOV (how on earth does on pronounce that?!), 's classic novel LOLITA, after reading a small series of thoughts on the book by some author who had written a book that (gasp!) ISN'T chick-lit(!)...some whoknowswhat was interviewing this author who had written some book and asking her if it would be considered "chick lit" and she was saying how she was encouraged to take up the task of having a deeply repelling yet slightly sympathetic narrator out of having read books such as LOLITA and she was like "Is LOLITA chick-lit?" which I thought was kinda funny, but anyway. But that brought my attention to memories of what little of the original Stanley Kubrick-directed film I saw back in high school (I got bored with it and ejected the tape...) and I remembered there was some guy, like, getting ready to shoot somebody or something at the beginning of the film, which I thought and still think was intriguing b/c it has, at face value, nothing to do with the seedy elements of the book...and then I remembered being totally clueless to the fact that the title character of the 1997 remake was a prostitute, until some guy I knew pointed out that she was. I asked him if he knew anything about the book and he was like "well, I know it's about a prostitute." And I was like "no, it's about a old guy who falls for a 12 year old". And he was "yeah, the 12 year old was a prostitute". In the film at least, the "prostitute" seemed like the sort of person who was rather indifferent to weather or not she was or wasn't a prostitute, making everything out to be some kind of game or joke. All of these elements combined, when I threw them together, sounded like the kind of thing that would easily fill a 300+ page book. I mean, all these little details about the people, and sub-plots etc., and best of all (so far), in the Foreward of the book, which lasts about 7 pages or so, it is said to be a warning of where society is headed, with children going astray, mothers who don't mother, and, of course, sick men with ill will...looks like not very many people took those warnings seriously...darn sad if you ask me.
I'm 34 pages into it within less than 12 hours of having the book in my room. So far it's pretty much some sicko documenting his sick experiences and thoughts and providing some background info of where he was and what he was doing otherwise. It's intriguing, in a sick sort of way, but hopefully there'll be more of a story going on as the book goes on...
~Jonathan
I'm reading Nobakav, oh, wait, just double checked, NABOKOV (how on earth does on pronounce that?!), 's classic novel LOLITA, after reading a small series of thoughts on the book by some author who had written a book that (gasp!) ISN'T chick-lit(!)...some whoknowswhat was interviewing this author who had written some book and asking her if it would be considered "chick lit" and she was saying how she was encouraged to take up the task of having a deeply repelling yet slightly sympathetic narrator out of having read books such as LOLITA and she was like "Is LOLITA chick-lit?" which I thought was kinda funny, but anyway. But that brought my attention to memories of what little of the original Stanley Kubrick-directed film I saw back in high school (I got bored with it and ejected the tape...) and I remembered there was some guy, like, getting ready to shoot somebody or something at the beginning of the film, which I thought and still think was intriguing b/c it has, at face value, nothing to do with the seedy elements of the book...and then I remembered being totally clueless to the fact that the title character of the 1997 remake was a prostitute, until some guy I knew pointed out that she was. I asked him if he knew anything about the book and he was like "well, I know it's about a prostitute." And I was like "no, it's about a old guy who falls for a 12 year old". And he was "yeah, the 12 year old was a prostitute". In the film at least, the "prostitute" seemed like the sort of person who was rather indifferent to weather or not she was or wasn't a prostitute, making everything out to be some kind of game or joke. All of these elements combined, when I threw them together, sounded like the kind of thing that would easily fill a 300+ page book. I mean, all these little details about the people, and sub-plots etc., and best of all (so far), in the Foreward of the book, which lasts about 7 pages or so, it is said to be a warning of where society is headed, with children going astray, mothers who don't mother, and, of course, sick men with ill will...looks like not very many people took those warnings seriously...darn sad if you ask me.
I'm 34 pages into it within less than 12 hours of having the book in my room. So far it's pretty much some sicko documenting his sick experiences and thoughts and providing some background info of where he was and what he was doing otherwise. It's intriguing, in a sick sort of way, but hopefully there'll be more of a story going on as the book goes on...
~Jonathan
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
huh???
there's 12 CDs in my "to have and to buy" list, CDs I should either have or buy, aka have-in-the-future...two of them begin with the letter A (the artist names, not the titles), 1 begins with D, 2 begin with the letter G, one letter H, another letter O, another letter R, and the rest begin with T. Of course, those are just the beginning letters, quite a few other letters are used, but not all of them. Supposing my musical tastes are better than everyone else's, which just about everyone tells me is impossible, which i partially agree with, although it's usually tempting to imagine a scientific & political combo committee taking all things into account and based on logic/science and concepts of morality that are supported by science and aren't just silly things like "gay people suck" or whatever, deciding what kinds of music are good, and from that point onward, perhaps music experts, people who understand musical structure and how music effects the brain etc., weed out the crap and mankind could have nothing but whipped creme! IMAGINE!
But back to what I was saying; SUPPOSING (although this is kinda far fetched, 'cause I admit the CDs in my list aren't even A-MA-ZING, with the exception of Hidden In Plain View's RESOLUTION, which perhaps could have been better in some minor(?) ways) my CD collection is concrete, what else in this world is so important that the letters that aren't used up in my list are needed for? I mean, there's words that have "x" in them, but why? Seems like man kind could spell xylophone without the letter "x"; and don't tell me THE X-FILES wouldn't exist without the letter "X" because the whole reason that show was named THE X-FILES is because the FBI squad that housed the file folder the show was named after NAMED THE FOLDER what it was ("the x-files", duh) only because there weren't any other folders with the letter "X". If that stupid "X" didn't need to be recognized, they say the file folder would have been called "Unknown" or something like that...SO! -- anyway;
I mean, what are most words exactly, is what I started thinking about, not just WHY do "certain letters" need to exist, but why do the words themselves exist, I wonder? I mean, the brand names of cars, details about planets and little aspects of the world, people's body parts, clothing styles...I mean, what's the point of even talking about any of these things?
But then again...guess it'd also be pointless to talk about music...I mean, you listen to it, you don't have much reason to talk about it...what's to say? "Your opinion?" "Yes." Or "Why did I like that song?" "Who knows..."...
It's really all trivial. People criticize the 80's as being the "me" generation, and point towards the music of the time like "girls just want to have fun" and "material girl". But, if the materials of the world weren't so important, what would be the point of working 6-8 hours a day on average and sleeping 9 of the other hours? That only leaves 7 hours to really get anything done otherwise, and you still gotta clean, so you don't get sick and or die, consuming at least another hour, leaving six total, and for such a small chunk of time you got all this money collected meant specifically for that window of time, and what of it? Of course, you can use that money to pay for services instead of goods, like a concert or...idk...but still;
The point is, people (some;) talk about the "important" things in life, but what are they? If anything in life wasn't important, A LOT of jobs would be non existent, because at least a few dozen people out there in the world are gonna look at different areas of the economy (animal behavior and/or other kinds of sciences; fashion; literature and/or other forms of entertainment) and either say that their work isn't important enough to warrant "that kind" of income and other people, although probably not as many will say that/those job(s) shouldn't even exist.
I guess the world would be nicer if people were deeper in their mindset and could be comfortable giving to those who can't find a solid employment opportunity. Heck, maybe the number of hours people work could be cut by 1/4! but then where would the money come from? the treasurer, of course! I guess it'd be kinda like a socialist gov't, where people did their part and had just enough money to buy the basics and a little extra for concerts and what ever else...but anyone who was willing to work longer hours could make more money, just depending on how generous they are towards society. The way things are now, it seems like "doing your job" often requires TAKING FROM society.
But back to what I was saying; SUPPOSING (although this is kinda far fetched, 'cause I admit the CDs in my list aren't even A-MA-ZING, with the exception of Hidden In Plain View's RESOLUTION, which perhaps could have been better in some minor(?) ways) my CD collection is concrete, what else in this world is so important that the letters that aren't used up in my list are needed for? I mean, there's words that have "x" in them, but why? Seems like man kind could spell xylophone without the letter "x"; and don't tell me THE X-FILES wouldn't exist without the letter "X" because the whole reason that show was named THE X-FILES is because the FBI squad that housed the file folder the show was named after NAMED THE FOLDER what it was ("the x-files", duh) only because there weren't any other folders with the letter "X". If that stupid "X" didn't need to be recognized, they say the file folder would have been called "Unknown" or something like that...SO! -- anyway;
I mean, what are most words exactly, is what I started thinking about, not just WHY do "certain letters" need to exist, but why do the words themselves exist, I wonder? I mean, the brand names of cars, details about planets and little aspects of the world, people's body parts, clothing styles...I mean, what's the point of even talking about any of these things?
But then again...guess it'd also be pointless to talk about music...I mean, you listen to it, you don't have much reason to talk about it...what's to say? "Your opinion?" "Yes." Or "Why did I like that song?" "Who knows..."...
It's really all trivial. People criticize the 80's as being the "me" generation, and point towards the music of the time like "girls just want to have fun" and "material girl". But, if the materials of the world weren't so important, what would be the point of working 6-8 hours a day on average and sleeping 9 of the other hours? That only leaves 7 hours to really get anything done otherwise, and you still gotta clean, so you don't get sick and or die, consuming at least another hour, leaving six total, and for such a small chunk of time you got all this money collected meant specifically for that window of time, and what of it? Of course, you can use that money to pay for services instead of goods, like a concert or...idk...but still;
The point is, people (some;) talk about the "important" things in life, but what are they? If anything in life wasn't important, A LOT of jobs would be non existent, because at least a few dozen people out there in the world are gonna look at different areas of the economy (animal behavior and/or other kinds of sciences; fashion; literature and/or other forms of entertainment) and either say that their work isn't important enough to warrant "that kind" of income and other people, although probably not as many will say that/those job(s) shouldn't even exist.
I guess the world would be nicer if people were deeper in their mindset and could be comfortable giving to those who can't find a solid employment opportunity. Heck, maybe the number of hours people work could be cut by 1/4! but then where would the money come from? the treasurer, of course! I guess it'd be kinda like a socialist gov't, where people did their part and had just enough money to buy the basics and a little extra for concerts and what ever else...but anyone who was willing to work longer hours could make more money, just depending on how generous they are towards society. The way things are now, it seems like "doing your job" often requires TAKING FROM society.
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