A few days ago I found my flannel shirt underneath the cushion of this nice little couch here. I was a bit distraught, since I couldn't remember what I had done with the shirt and had looked in every conceivable place, but lo and behold, it was right beneath me the entire time.
Unfortunately, this is not my couch; I sleep on it often enough (sometimes I sleep on the other couch, sometimes on the floor), but I cannot call the couch my own. As a matter of fact, I don't have any space of my own anymore. It's been almost two months since I slept in a bed, which is to say it's been almost two months since I was evicted from my house. I've taken up residence... well, somewhere else, I suppose there's no need to explicitly divulge where I am right now. Everyone from around here knows, and it doesn't really matter to everyone who isn't from around here.
Don't let the posting date fool you, I know it says February 15th, but that's just because I saved a draft on that date and vowed to come back later and actually post something. Why February 15th? Because that was exactly two years from the day that I started this fine blog, and I like to commemorate occasions like that. As I write this, it's actually the wee hours of March 2nd, and I should have begun Mustache March by now, but I haven't yet shaved off the scruff that's been growing on my face for about the last two weeks. I should get on that.
But yeah. It's pretty late (4:09 AM at the moment) and Diana is sleeping on the other couch. "OH MY GOSH WHO IS DIANA?!" Relax kids, Diana is my Asian friend who happens to be one of the other orphans taking refuge in this fine establishment. She's a girl, but I can overlook that particular flaw; we get along pretty well when she isn't eating all the ziti. She assured me last night that she couldn't hear the music through my headphones and that my computer wasn't otherwise keeping her awake, but I'm never sure about those kinds of things, especially with the way I tend to KLACKA-LACKA-LACKA on the keyboard, as Danny Latin could undoubtedly attest. Usually there's a lot going on in this house considering its fairly dense population, but the last two nights have been particularly quiet, and I rather enjoy the respite. It gives me a bit of time to sit and listen to my music and think and... well, work on this blog that I promised Andrew Timm.
Someday soon I'm gonna post something with real substance. Right now though, I have to take the time that's available here and post what I can, since I never know what's gonna be happening in the upcoming days and when I'll get another chance to just sit down without any distractions. I'm probably gonna have to spend most of Thursday and Friday night prepping my standard deck for Gameday on Saturday (the priorities in my life are absolutely in perfect order... I want a full art Black Sun's Zenith, dangit). I know I make pretty much the same excuse at the end of every lame placeholder blog I post, but this is legit. I've got an idea or two cooking, I just need to sit down and get them exactly right. They're nothing revolutionary, but maybe you guys will find them interesting (and Andrew Timm, the writing I was doing in that status I aimed at you is not part of this post, but one of the ideas that I'm kinda-sorta working on, just so you know).
I know you're all comforted by my triumphant return to the blogging scene, if only because now you're reassured that I haven't given up the ship just yet. Aye maties, there are plenty of uncharted waters to traverse, and plenty of other stupid metaphors to abuse along the way. And with that, dear readers, rather than try to artificially cram anything into this post, I'll just leave you be for the night and rest my weary head.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
Top 10 Thoughts (Minus Three) of the Last Few Days
My my my. It really has been over two months since I've posted anything here. To all my loyal followers (I understand there actually are a couple of you), I sincerely apologize. Inspiration has been in short supply lately, but I've got a few things I want to say, so I'm gonna adapt an old Andrew Clark format and just post the thoughts I have in list form. That way I don't have to worry about continuity or transitions in between items, I can just bounce forth to the next topic once I run out of stuff to say about the current one.
GET READY
HERE WE GO
1. In my estimation, the Christmas season begins on Black Friday, but culturally, we've been entrenched in holiday trappings for almost a month now. I call this "Christmas creep," and I actually wrote a post for this very subject for the blog Danny Latin and I started last year (you can find said post here, if you're so inclined). Last year I noted that Christmas music began its 24/7 rotation on the local radio stations on Veterans' Day... this year it started November 1st. I swear, within a few years we'll be getting it just after Labor Day.
2. The deluge of Facebook status updates I got about people going on Thanksgiving break made me realize how much I miss that feeling of relief that accompanies being able to leave school behind for a week or a month. Sure, it's nice to not be in school at all, but there's something about coming back from your last class before break and knowing you won't have to go through that wretched ordeal at all for a little while that you can't quite capture outside of that environment. I always particularly liked it when I my last assignment was due or my last final took place several days before I actually had to leave. That way I had a few days to just chill and hang out with my friends before break, and those were always the best times.
3. On the same token, I DO NOT miss the work that went with the territory. I'll never again have to write another research paper, and that is just fine and dandy with me. The first week back after Thanksgiving break in my singular year of grad school (and really the only week before finals that year) was one of the most unpleasant stretches of time I have ever known. Of course, by the time that Friday rolled around, the hell of trying to complete an entire semester's worth of papers and projects was behind me, and I had nothing but Coffeehouse, Starcraft, and a couple easy finals to look forward to.
4. I am sick of all the blasted rain. I went outside this morning around 6:30 and it was raining... and it was also about 50 degrees out. THIS IS UPSTATE NEW YORK, FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD. GIMME SOME SNOW ALREADY. Granted, snow actually makes my job more difficult, because I then have to vacuum up all the pieces of rock salt that people track in, but I'd rather deal with that than dodging lake-sized puddles and having to put my hood up just to go outside. Man I hate rain.
5. I was taking a nap earlier, and I had this dream that I was interning for some kind of record company, and because of that, Ray Toro and Frank Iero were staying at my house and crashing in my living room. That was pretty cool, except I discovered that Ray Toro was actually pushing 60 years old, and then Kesha was wandering around putting up fliers for her next show. Initially I was like "ewwwwwww get away from me," but she started talking to me and she turned out to be really nice, and I developed an interest in her, which left me with one of those imaginary post-dream crushes on Kesha, and that made me want to vomit.
6. Speaking of Ray and Frank, the latest effort by My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, is a very good album. Not phenomenal, like The Black Parade, but very good. If you've never watched the videos for "Na Na Na" and "SING," you should do so, in that order. They tell a cool story.
7. I stumbled upon a striking truth recently: Women are not evil; evil is simply a universal condition of the human heart. I wish I had realized that a couple years ago... I think I screwed some things up. Whoops. This is not to say that they're not emotional and irrational and crazy; all of the above still apply. They're just not malicious creatures, or at least not any more malicious than the rest of us normal people.
I think those are enough thoughts for now, especially because I've essentially run out of things to say. I could use some feedback though; if you are one of those few people who actually follows my blog, or if you're just a random traveler who happened to stumble upon it for the first time and you'd like to compare this to my earlier work, let me know whether you like this list form or my typical essay style better, and I'll see what I can do about that in the future.
GET READY
HERE WE GO
1. In my estimation, the Christmas season begins on Black Friday, but culturally, we've been entrenched in holiday trappings for almost a month now. I call this "Christmas creep," and I actually wrote a post for this very subject for the blog Danny Latin and I started last year (you can find said post here, if you're so inclined). Last year I noted that Christmas music began its 24/7 rotation on the local radio stations on Veterans' Day... this year it started November 1st. I swear, within a few years we'll be getting it just after Labor Day.
2. The deluge of Facebook status updates I got about people going on Thanksgiving break made me realize how much I miss that feeling of relief that accompanies being able to leave school behind for a week or a month. Sure, it's nice to not be in school at all, but there's something about coming back from your last class before break and knowing you won't have to go through that wretched ordeal at all for a little while that you can't quite capture outside of that environment. I always particularly liked it when I my last assignment was due or my last final took place several days before I actually had to leave. That way I had a few days to just chill and hang out with my friends before break, and those were always the best times.
3. On the same token, I DO NOT miss the work that went with the territory. I'll never again have to write another research paper, and that is just fine and dandy with me. The first week back after Thanksgiving break in my singular year of grad school (and really the only week before finals that year) was one of the most unpleasant stretches of time I have ever known. Of course, by the time that Friday rolled around, the hell of trying to complete an entire semester's worth of papers and projects was behind me, and I had nothing but Coffeehouse, Starcraft, and a couple easy finals to look forward to.
4. I am sick of all the blasted rain. I went outside this morning around 6:30 and it was raining... and it was also about 50 degrees out. THIS IS UPSTATE NEW YORK, FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD. GIMME SOME SNOW ALREADY. Granted, snow actually makes my job more difficult, because I then have to vacuum up all the pieces of rock salt that people track in, but I'd rather deal with that than dodging lake-sized puddles and having to put my hood up just to go outside. Man I hate rain.
5. I was taking a nap earlier, and I had this dream that I was interning for some kind of record company, and because of that, Ray Toro and Frank Iero were staying at my house and crashing in my living room. That was pretty cool, except I discovered that Ray Toro was actually pushing 60 years old, and then Kesha was wandering around putting up fliers for her next show. Initially I was like "ewwwwwww get away from me," but she started talking to me and she turned out to be really nice, and I developed an interest in her, which left me with one of those imaginary post-dream crushes on Kesha, and that made me want to vomit.
6. Speaking of Ray and Frank, the latest effort by My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, is a very good album. Not phenomenal, like The Black Parade, but very good. If you've never watched the videos for "Na Na Na" and "SING," you should do so, in that order. They tell a cool story.
7. I stumbled upon a striking truth recently: Women are not evil; evil is simply a universal condition of the human heart. I wish I had realized that a couple years ago... I think I screwed some things up. Whoops. This is not to say that they're not emotional and irrational and crazy; all of the above still apply. They're just not malicious creatures, or at least not any more malicious than the rest of us normal people.
I think those are enough thoughts for now, especially because I've essentially run out of things to say. I could use some feedback though; if you are one of those few people who actually follows my blog, or if you're just a random traveler who happened to stumble upon it for the first time and you'd like to compare this to my earlier work, let me know whether you like this list form or my typical essay style better, and I'll see what I can do about that in the future.
Monday, September 20, 2010
A Blog For Two Andrews
Alright kids, it's time to plunge headlong into the blogging world. I don't know exactly where we're going, but the only way to get anywhere is to go, so let's do just that.
About a month ago, Andrew Timm informed me that I had not posted a blog in quite some time. I was quite aware of this little fact, but I also figured no one really cared either, so I would just get around to it when I felt like it. Truth be told, it was encouraging to know that someone out there actually wanted to hear more of what I have to say, whatever that may be, so I vowed to write a new blog as soon as I got the inspiration.
Well, inspiration is in short supply these days, so since then I haven't actually posted anything. I mulled a few possibilities, but nothing ever seemed to really amount to all that much, so I never made any formal attempts at blogging. And then, after several terrible games of Starcraft 2 with Andrew Clark, I suddenly felt almost inspired. It was then that I realized that my inspiration, as I've said before, does not actually come from dealing with girls, it comes from being pissed off (I just usually happen to get pissed off as a by-product of dealing with girls). Andrew informed me following those games that he was going to post a blog, and encouraged me to do so as well. Thus, the smoldering ashes of Starcraft defeat have been reignited by the coals of indignance and have burst forth into the glorious flame of bloggery.
If you recall, last year I posted a Deleted Scenes blog; a collection of drafts that, for whatever reason, I didn't feel were good enough to actually be posted as or in a blog. I did enjoy reflecting on what I had written in those drafts, and I plan to do that again this year for all the drafts I saved over the last year. Funny thing is, while I didn't actually post that often, I saved a bunch of drafts (16, for the record, though a few of them are just titles without any body), and a lot of them are pretty well developed. I'm not gonna get into that now, but I promise you, dear readers, I will post them sometime in the future.
You know, I've encountered some reasonably good fortune lately. Nothing huge, just little things that make me happy... which makes me a little uneasy, frankly. I get the feeling that I'm on the precipice of some Great Disaster. Maybe it's just the season... we are in that nebulous early September void of not-quite-summer-but-not-quite-fall, and I've never been a fan of this time of year. Still, when things go reasonably well for long enough, you start to wonder when everything is gonna explode. I just hope it waits till after the Scars of Mirrodin prerelease this weekend.
I'm getting a little sick of OK Go and their gimmicky music videos. The treadmill thing was cool and innovative, and then they one-upped themselves with that Rube Goldberg machine video, but the song for that video wasn't even particularly good. Now they've got some thing with buckets and dogs doing tricks or something... the novelty of your novelty music videos is starting to wear off, guys. I feel like you're grasping at straws here. Just make a normal music video for once. You can do something cool, creative, and funny without making it look like a talent show audition. Maybe, I dunno, try and tell a story. That's the beauty of the music video format; you can use the song to provide the backdrop for a visual story, or use the video to illustrate the story of the song. I feel like doing stupid human (or pet) tricks with a song playing in the background is almost a waste of space. So there's my two cents on that.
This may be nothing more than a placeholder blog until I can get something real going, but I said I was gonna let this blog write itself, and that's exactly what I did. I hear that's what professional authors do too, and now you know exactly why I'm not a professional author. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little nugget, and just remember: if you want me to post something here, just pester me about it. I'll get it done eventually.
About a month ago, Andrew Timm informed me that I had not posted a blog in quite some time. I was quite aware of this little fact, but I also figured no one really cared either, so I would just get around to it when I felt like it. Truth be told, it was encouraging to know that someone out there actually wanted to hear more of what I have to say, whatever that may be, so I vowed to write a new blog as soon as I got the inspiration.
Well, inspiration is in short supply these days, so since then I haven't actually posted anything. I mulled a few possibilities, but nothing ever seemed to really amount to all that much, so I never made any formal attempts at blogging. And then, after several terrible games of Starcraft 2 with Andrew Clark, I suddenly felt almost inspired. It was then that I realized that my inspiration, as I've said before, does not actually come from dealing with girls, it comes from being pissed off (I just usually happen to get pissed off as a by-product of dealing with girls). Andrew informed me following those games that he was going to post a blog, and encouraged me to do so as well. Thus, the smoldering ashes of Starcraft defeat have been reignited by the coals of indignance and have burst forth into the glorious flame of bloggery.
If you recall, last year I posted a Deleted Scenes blog; a collection of drafts that, for whatever reason, I didn't feel were good enough to actually be posted as or in a blog. I did enjoy reflecting on what I had written in those drafts, and I plan to do that again this year for all the drafts I saved over the last year. Funny thing is, while I didn't actually post that often, I saved a bunch of drafts (16, for the record, though a few of them are just titles without any body), and a lot of them are pretty well developed. I'm not gonna get into that now, but I promise you, dear readers, I will post them sometime in the future.
You know, I've encountered some reasonably good fortune lately. Nothing huge, just little things that make me happy... which makes me a little uneasy, frankly. I get the feeling that I'm on the precipice of some Great Disaster. Maybe it's just the season... we are in that nebulous early September void of not-quite-summer-but-not-quite-fall, and I've never been a fan of this time of year. Still, when things go reasonably well for long enough, you start to wonder when everything is gonna explode. I just hope it waits till after the Scars of Mirrodin prerelease this weekend.
I'm getting a little sick of OK Go and their gimmicky music videos. The treadmill thing was cool and innovative, and then they one-upped themselves with that Rube Goldberg machine video, but the song for that video wasn't even particularly good. Now they've got some thing with buckets and dogs doing tricks or something... the novelty of your novelty music videos is starting to wear off, guys. I feel like you're grasping at straws here. Just make a normal music video for once. You can do something cool, creative, and funny without making it look like a talent show audition. Maybe, I dunno, try and tell a story. That's the beauty of the music video format; you can use the song to provide the backdrop for a visual story, or use the video to illustrate the story of the song. I feel like doing stupid human (or pet) tricks with a song playing in the background is almost a waste of space. So there's my two cents on that.
This may be nothing more than a placeholder blog until I can get something real going, but I said I was gonna let this blog write itself, and that's exactly what I did. I hear that's what professional authors do too, and now you know exactly why I'm not a professional author. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this little nugget, and just remember: if you want me to post something here, just pester me about it. I'll get it done eventually.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Late Night Drivel
Tonight feels like a night for blogging. I don't have much to say, exactly, but since no one else is saying anything at all, I might as well throw my voice out into the void. I guess it's better than sitting here and watching How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days by myself. I hear it's one of those chick flicks that guys like too (hopefully it's like 27 Dresses, I quite enjoyed that movie)... whatever the case, Dr. Jess recommended it to me on the long and perilous drive back from Smith Mountain Lake back in May (or maybe it was on the way there, I don't remember), so I'll check it out sooner or later. Just not tonight.
It is bloody hot outside and we don't have air conditioning, which makes our house a veritable incinerator. Even at night when it's reasonably cool outside, our house for some reason holds the heat in like a champ. It's like the inferno factor on steroids.
I briefly considered going on a rant about some of the things that bother me, but I don't have the heart. I'd say it's probably the heat, but this has been an ongoing problem, so I don't think I can blame it entirely on the heat. Ranting is just so ineffectual, especially these days.
I almost decided not to post this, just to save it as a draft and maybe come back to it later. Then I realized that's what I do almost every time I come to this page. My blog has mutated from a place where I post my thoughts into a crypt full of half-finished ideas and things I'm just afraid to say to the general public. I've got probably four or five drafts that I spent a good amount of time working on, only to abandon because I couldn't quite figure out how to get across what I was trying to say, or because I realized what I was saying was too personal, or just because whatever I was talking about was ultimately inconsequential. But not tonight. Tonight, this post gets published, inconsequential or otherwise.
I guess I haven't really said much of anything here, but at least stopping by gave me something to do for a little while. I won't bother notifying the Facebook world of this post, since the people who follow this blog will probably find it regardless, and the people who don't probably wouldn't read it anyway. Nevertheless, here it is, a hearty reward ("ha," he said, indicating sarcasm) for those of you dilligent enough to seek it out. It does feel a little cooler in here now. And you know what? I think I will watch that movie tonight.
It is bloody hot outside and we don't have air conditioning, which makes our house a veritable incinerator. Even at night when it's reasonably cool outside, our house for some reason holds the heat in like a champ. It's like the inferno factor on steroids.
I briefly considered going on a rant about some of the things that bother me, but I don't have the heart. I'd say it's probably the heat, but this has been an ongoing problem, so I don't think I can blame it entirely on the heat. Ranting is just so ineffectual, especially these days.
I almost decided not to post this, just to save it as a draft and maybe come back to it later. Then I realized that's what I do almost every time I come to this page. My blog has mutated from a place where I post my thoughts into a crypt full of half-finished ideas and things I'm just afraid to say to the general public. I've got probably four or five drafts that I spent a good amount of time working on, only to abandon because I couldn't quite figure out how to get across what I was trying to say, or because I realized what I was saying was too personal, or just because whatever I was talking about was ultimately inconsequential. But not tonight. Tonight, this post gets published, inconsequential or otherwise.
I guess I haven't really said much of anything here, but at least stopping by gave me something to do for a little while. I won't bother notifying the Facebook world of this post, since the people who follow this blog will probably find it regardless, and the people who don't probably wouldn't read it anyway. Nevertheless, here it is, a hearty reward ("ha," he said, indicating sarcasm) for those of you dilligent enough to seek it out. It does feel a little cooler in here now. And you know what? I think I will watch that movie tonight.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A NOVEL Idea
I guess I could start a lot of these posts with "I was talking to Andrew..." and this one right here is no exception. I was looking for something novel to do, and he suggested writing a blog, so I told him to think of a topic and I would write about it. His suggestion was to write about the top 5 best books I've ever read. Novel indeed.
GET IT?!
So here we go. Enjoy the irony of a post about books being the first one to feature pictures.
6. The Firm by John Grisham
Okay, I said it would be top 5, but I couldn't leave this one off the list. John Grisham's books are somewhat formulaic (most of them are about lawyers, and a good portion of those are about lawyers who live in the deep south), which I suppose keeps them from being literary classics, but hey, he's good at what he does. The Firm was great fun to read, full of intrigue, suspense, and even action. Who knew a book about a lawyer could be so intense? A favorite of mine since high school, it's John Grisham at his finest.
Oh and I know the movie is never as good as the book, but seriously, the movie was utter garbage. They took a spectacular story, notched the pacing down by about 500%, removed most of the exciting parts, and then took a huge dump all over the ending. Never ever watch it.
5. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson is a master of creepy sci-fi stories, and his vision of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampire zombies is chilling. I'd say I couldn't put it down, but I read it entirely as an e-book (and I can't stand e-books, so there you have it), so I'll just say I couldn't tear my eyes off the computer screen until the wee hours of the morning. As Robert Neville wanders the earth alone, slowly eliminating the vampire scourge while they rest, you see not only the story of his current exploits, but also a look into his past. What's really haunting about the book is Neville's emotional vulnerability, revealed through memories triggered by formerly familiar things and people. I'm gonna touch on the movie again here; the Will Smith version wasn't bad, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the book, and it was almost completely different. If you've seen that movie (and I'd wager you probably have), I would highly recommend reading the book so you can experience the overall difference in tone between the two.
4. Interstellar Pig by William Sleator
Yeah yeah, it's a kids' book. Whatever. A kid named Barney goes on a boring vacation with his parents, but when he meets three strangers from the beach house next door, they introduce him to a surreal space-themed board game called Interstellar Pig, which takes quite a few unexpected turns. It's a great mystery with a fantastic conclusion. The outlandish characters come to life thanks to the vivid description of the imaginative William Sleator. I wish they'd make a movie out of it, or better yet, a board game inspired by the one in the book. If you ever read this book, I'd also recommend the sequel, Parasite Pig, which was published 18 years after Interstellar Pig. It answers some of the questions left at the end of the first book without sacrificing the integrity of the storyline as a whole, while introducing new characters, locations, and layers to the story.
3. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
This is a great story about a space marine fighting in a war against evil alien bugs, but that's not even the best thing about Starship Troopers. The best thing is way the book's settings and characters serve to illustrate points about the nature of war, military forces, personal honor and integrity, and various political themes, virtually all of which are spot-on. Much of the novel is spent on Johnnie Rico's backstory and his training as a member of the Mobile Infantry, and you witness his transition from enlisted man to commanding officer as his character progresses and develops. Similar to I Am Legend, the book is so much deeper and thematically and tonally different than the movie, and I figure the ratio of people who saw the movie to people who read the book is about the same. If you haven't read this book, go do so.
2. Watchmen by Alan Moore
The chief reason this isn't #1 is because it's technically not a book (for those of you who live under a rock, it's a graphic novel). There's so much I could say about Watchmen that to try to describe it in any amount of detail without analyzing it fully would feel like an injustice, but I will say this: the story is phenomenal; the mystery is compelling; the characters personify human thought processes, emotions, and struggles; and the themes are incredibly thought-provoking. There are many interpretations as to what the true meaning behind the tale is, and that's part of the beauty of it; it can mean any number of things to any number of people. It's almost like a worldview litmus test, depending on which characters you thought were right and which characters you thought were wrong. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent discussing the different themes of the story and picking apart the motivations of different characters. Not all of it may be completely edifying, but there is a lot of truth to be found in this book (and I do believe it warrants that title) and its presentation of how things are, how things could be, and how things should be.
1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
It was tough for me to pick one book that stands out among all the rest as the best, but when I thought about it, I couldn't give that title to any other book. I was introduced to The Outsiders as required reading in 8th grade, and it was one of those transcendent experiences in English class where you actually really like the book that you're being forced to read. I liked it so much, in fact, that on a weekend in 12th grade when I was supposed to be reading through Heart of Darkness, I read The Outsiders instead. I've loved it for so long now that giving any other book the top honor would feel like stabbing an old friend in the back.
The Outsiders, set in the 1960s, is, in the broad sense, a commentary on social stratification (upper class vs. lower class, or Socs vs. Greasers, respectively). Specifically, it's a story about a young Greaser named Ponyboy who, after facing a series of trials, learns a few things about the nature of life. The book demonstrates that, Greaser or Soc (pronounced "so-sh," as in "social"), we're all human and we all deal with similar struggles. My favorite thing about it, though, is how it shows that the most unlikely candidates can become heroes, and that appearances and personas can and do effectively hide a person's true character. It exemplifies courage, camaraderie, sacrifice, and instructs us that no matter how much or how little we have, we shouldn't take any of it for granted. Ultimately, it's a very encouraging and powerful book.
So there you have it: my 5* favorite books. I hope you've enjoyed this foray into my literary tastes. And if nothing else, at least it gives me a post so the month of June won't go entirely bare.
GET IT?!
So here we go. Enjoy the irony of a post about books being the first one to feature pictures.
6. The Firm by John Grisham
Okay, I said it would be top 5, but I couldn't leave this one off the list. John Grisham's books are somewhat formulaic (most of them are about lawyers, and a good portion of those are about lawyers who live in the deep south), which I suppose keeps them from being literary classics, but hey, he's good at what he does. The Firm was great fun to read, full of intrigue, suspense, and even action. Who knew a book about a lawyer could be so intense? A favorite of mine since high school, it's John Grisham at his finest.
Oh and I know the movie is never as good as the book, but seriously, the movie was utter garbage. They took a spectacular story, notched the pacing down by about 500%, removed most of the exciting parts, and then took a huge dump all over the ending. Never ever watch it.
5. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson is a master of creepy sci-fi stories, and his vision of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampire zombies is chilling. I'd say I couldn't put it down, but I read it entirely as an e-book (and I can't stand e-books, so there you have it), so I'll just say I couldn't tear my eyes off the computer screen until the wee hours of the morning. As Robert Neville wanders the earth alone, slowly eliminating the vampire scourge while they rest, you see not only the story of his current exploits, but also a look into his past. What's really haunting about the book is Neville's emotional vulnerability, revealed through memories triggered by formerly familiar things and people. I'm gonna touch on the movie again here; the Will Smith version wasn't bad, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the book, and it was almost completely different. If you've seen that movie (and I'd wager you probably have), I would highly recommend reading the book so you can experience the overall difference in tone between the two.
4. Interstellar Pig by William Sleator
Yeah yeah, it's a kids' book. Whatever. A kid named Barney goes on a boring vacation with his parents, but when he meets three strangers from the beach house next door, they introduce him to a surreal space-themed board game called Interstellar Pig, which takes quite a few unexpected turns. It's a great mystery with a fantastic conclusion. The outlandish characters come to life thanks to the vivid description of the imaginative William Sleator. I wish they'd make a movie out of it, or better yet, a board game inspired by the one in the book. If you ever read this book, I'd also recommend the sequel, Parasite Pig, which was published 18 years after Interstellar Pig. It answers some of the questions left at the end of the first book without sacrificing the integrity of the storyline as a whole, while introducing new characters, locations, and layers to the story.
3. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
This is a great story about a space marine fighting in a war against evil alien bugs, but that's not even the best thing about Starship Troopers. The best thing is way the book's settings and characters serve to illustrate points about the nature of war, military forces, personal honor and integrity, and various political themes, virtually all of which are spot-on. Much of the novel is spent on Johnnie Rico's backstory and his training as a member of the Mobile Infantry, and you witness his transition from enlisted man to commanding officer as his character progresses and develops. Similar to I Am Legend, the book is so much deeper and thematically and tonally different than the movie, and I figure the ratio of people who saw the movie to people who read the book is about the same. If you haven't read this book, go do so.
2. Watchmen by Alan Moore
The chief reason this isn't #1 is because it's technically not a book (for those of you who live under a rock, it's a graphic novel). There's so much I could say about Watchmen that to try to describe it in any amount of detail without analyzing it fully would feel like an injustice, but I will say this: the story is phenomenal; the mystery is compelling; the characters personify human thought processes, emotions, and struggles; and the themes are incredibly thought-provoking. There are many interpretations as to what the true meaning behind the tale is, and that's part of the beauty of it; it can mean any number of things to any number of people. It's almost like a worldview litmus test, depending on which characters you thought were right and which characters you thought were wrong. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent discussing the different themes of the story and picking apart the motivations of different characters. Not all of it may be completely edifying, but there is a lot of truth to be found in this book (and I do believe it warrants that title) and its presentation of how things are, how things could be, and how things should be.
1. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
It was tough for me to pick one book that stands out among all the rest as the best, but when I thought about it, I couldn't give that title to any other book. I was introduced to The Outsiders as required reading in 8th grade, and it was one of those transcendent experiences in English class where you actually really like the book that you're being forced to read. I liked it so much, in fact, that on a weekend in 12th grade when I was supposed to be reading through Heart of Darkness, I read The Outsiders instead. I've loved it for so long now that giving any other book the top honor would feel like stabbing an old friend in the back.
The Outsiders, set in the 1960s, is, in the broad sense, a commentary on social stratification (upper class vs. lower class, or Socs vs. Greasers, respectively). Specifically, it's a story about a young Greaser named Ponyboy who, after facing a series of trials, learns a few things about the nature of life. The book demonstrates that, Greaser or Soc (pronounced "so-sh," as in "social"), we're all human and we all deal with similar struggles. My favorite thing about it, though, is how it shows that the most unlikely candidates can become heroes, and that appearances and personas can and do effectively hide a person's true character. It exemplifies courage, camaraderie, sacrifice, and instructs us that no matter how much or how little we have, we shouldn't take any of it for granted. Ultimately, it's a very encouraging and powerful book.
So there you have it: my 5* favorite books. I hope you've enjoyed this foray into my literary tastes. And if nothing else, at least it gives me a post so the month of June won't go entirely bare.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Holy MacLaren's
Tonight, as I do a few times every week, I sat unraveling the secrets of the universe with Andrew Clark. A thought popped into my head that I thought could work in a blog, and since the blog has been rather dry lately, I decided I might expound upon that thought right here for all of you wonderful ladies and gentlemen to read. I started writing, and I didn't like what came out, so I was about ready to call it quits (I'll have you know that I've started about three different posts in the last couple weeks, only to have them all crash and burn in a similar fashion). I expressed my frustration to Master Clark, at which time he welcomed me to the wonderful world of writing and told me to just beat myself into submission. Thus, here I am, pounding this out, for better or worse.
305. Now that was a room. I can't even count the number of hours I spent there during the first three years of my college experience, playing video games, watching movies, having nigh-meaningless discussions or earth-rending arguments, and launching into rants that would ignite the mellowest hearts in a virulent frenzy of irritated fervor. Actually, concerning the latter, 305 was where the Billcast was dubbed as such, due to my tendency to burst into the room and start griping vigorously about whatever happened to be bothering me at the moment. Sometimes we'd sit there long after we should have all gone to bed, with all the lights off (since all the residents of the room had actually been planning on going to bed), discussing the real stuff of life, which usually revolved around two central things: God and women. Sometimes we'd argue about the most extravagant absurdities, like whether Darth Vader or Sephiroth was more bad-a (this is an obvious choice, and anyone who goes for the namby-pamby, I-wish-I-was-a-girl, anime style villain from Final Fantasy VII has clearly taken a tumble from his rocker). There were times when something funny would be said or done, and we would all explode into laughter that wouldn't cease for a good fifteen minutes (HA HA HA). We had rock-offs in Guitar Hero, I one day miraculously became unbeatable at Puzzle Fighter, and we sat through many an episode of Friends. We even once watched an episode of Pokemon that gave several hundred Japanese kids seizures, and filmed ourselves doing so in case any of us fell victim.
Well that was a nice stroll down memory lane, and I'm sure I could come up with many more things to add to that list if I tried, but what of it? Well friends, what Andrew and I realized earlier was that 305 was like the MacLaren's of 22-3. It was a place where our group of friends could congregate every day and, if nothing else, just enjoy each other's company, just like Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin do at MacLaren's on How I Met Your Mother (great show, by the way. If you don't watch it, you are wrong). Unfortunately, now that college is over and we've all moved off 22-3, we don't have that luxury anymore. We're all split up in different parts of the continent (although we're all still on the east coast, for now, aside from that crazy Canadian who forced me to say "continent" instead of "country"), and we can't get together even on a semi-regular basis. The reunions thus far have been few and far between, and I know it will only get worse as time drags on and our lives get more and more complicated. After mulling this over for a bit, Andrew said "I wonder if life will ever be that way again."
Nope.
That sucks, doesn't it? I mean, maybe we'll develop a new routine with new friends, where we get together regularly to hang out after work and gripe about the "real world" and all its struggles, but the sad truth is that we'll rarely, if ever, have that same group of friends all together at one time, and we won't be able to just stop into 305 on a whim ever again. From here until the end of life as we know it, I won't be seeing much of my best friends anymore.
And then a thought struck me. "Until the end of life as we know it..." Well, the good news is, after life as we know it, we all get to chill in Heaven for the rest of eternity. And maybe there will be a 305 in Heaven, where we can all go when we get tired of singing hymns, as Kevin Dail would have us believe. And that, good people of earth, is an encouraging thought. I don't even need a mansion, just give me a recreation of 22-3, and I'd be all set. I, for one, wouldn't mind spending eternity in 305.
305. Now that was a room. I can't even count the number of hours I spent there during the first three years of my college experience, playing video games, watching movies, having nigh-meaningless discussions or earth-rending arguments, and launching into rants that would ignite the mellowest hearts in a virulent frenzy of irritated fervor. Actually, concerning the latter, 305 was where the Billcast was dubbed as such, due to my tendency to burst into the room and start griping vigorously about whatever happened to be bothering me at the moment. Sometimes we'd sit there long after we should have all gone to bed, with all the lights off (since all the residents of the room had actually been planning on going to bed), discussing the real stuff of life, which usually revolved around two central things: God and women. Sometimes we'd argue about the most extravagant absurdities, like whether Darth Vader or Sephiroth was more bad-a (this is an obvious choice, and anyone who goes for the namby-pamby, I-wish-I-was-a-girl, anime style villain from Final Fantasy VII has clearly taken a tumble from his rocker). There were times when something funny would be said or done, and we would all explode into laughter that wouldn't cease for a good fifteen minutes (HA HA HA). We had rock-offs in Guitar Hero, I one day miraculously became unbeatable at Puzzle Fighter, and we sat through many an episode of Friends. We even once watched an episode of Pokemon that gave several hundred Japanese kids seizures, and filmed ourselves doing so in case any of us fell victim.
Well that was a nice stroll down memory lane, and I'm sure I could come up with many more things to add to that list if I tried, but what of it? Well friends, what Andrew and I realized earlier was that 305 was like the MacLaren's of 22-3. It was a place where our group of friends could congregate every day and, if nothing else, just enjoy each other's company, just like Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin do at MacLaren's on How I Met Your Mother (great show, by the way. If you don't watch it, you are wrong). Unfortunately, now that college is over and we've all moved off 22-3, we don't have that luxury anymore. We're all split up in different parts of the continent (although we're all still on the east coast, for now, aside from that crazy Canadian who forced me to say "continent" instead of "country"), and we can't get together even on a semi-regular basis. The reunions thus far have been few and far between, and I know it will only get worse as time drags on and our lives get more and more complicated. After mulling this over for a bit, Andrew said "I wonder if life will ever be that way again."
Nope.
That sucks, doesn't it? I mean, maybe we'll develop a new routine with new friends, where we get together regularly to hang out after work and gripe about the "real world" and all its struggles, but the sad truth is that we'll rarely, if ever, have that same group of friends all together at one time, and we won't be able to just stop into 305 on a whim ever again. From here until the end of life as we know it, I won't be seeing much of my best friends anymore.
And then a thought struck me. "Until the end of life as we know it..." Well, the good news is, after life as we know it, we all get to chill in Heaven for the rest of eternity. And maybe there will be a 305 in Heaven, where we can all go when we get tired of singing hymns, as Kevin Dail would have us believe. And that, good people of earth, is an encouraging thought. I don't even need a mansion, just give me a recreation of 22-3, and I'd be all set. I, for one, wouldn't mind spending eternity in 305.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A Confession, A Confirmation, And A Consideration
What you are about to read may shock you. It's not easy for me to say this, especially in light of the convictions I've espoused over the last few years, and everything I've done to uphold them. But, in the interest of diversity and experimentation, and a deep-seated yearning to explore every aspect of the human experience, I feel my actions were justified. All I ask is that you read this with an open mind, and don't judge me for what I'm about to say.
I watched Batman Begins the other day, and I didn't hate it. Okay, that wasn't hard to say at all. In all honesty, I think it was a pretty friggin cool movie. This was my first viewing of that motion picture since the first time I saw it on DVD in the fall of 2005. I've come to the conclusion that the reason I hated it so much when I first saw it was because I was under the faulty impression that it was boring, due to the fact that I was falling asleep the entire time I watched it. I have, several times since then in fact, suspected that the movie was not actually boring, but that I was simply too tired to stay awake for the duration. When my 5 year old brother, who has been on a Batman kick recently, requested to watch it, I, wide awake, decided to give the movie another chance and sit down and watch it with him. Frankly, I was riveted. Granted, it's no Spider-Man 2, but it was a cool movie in its own right, and definitely worthy of being a setup to the masterpiece that was The Dark Knight. I suppose my biggest gripe with it (aside from the ninja training, which I don't think I'll ever accept) was the fact that it was a little too drawn out, and the villains lacked substance. On its own, it's okay, but I think it's best viewed as a feature-length introduction to The Dark Knight, and honestly, I'm fine with that.
On to the next item of business: I can confirm that that rumors you may have heard are true. I will be in Virginia from May 6th to May 16th. Sean and Becca are getting married on May 8th in Fairfax, and naturally there's no way I would miss that. Of course, I could always just skip town after the wedding and head back up to New York, but you all know that's not how I roll. Thus, I'll be in Lynchburg for the last remaining days of the semester, and I'll be leaving the day after graduation. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited, both at the prospect of seeing two good friends receive their license to get it on, and at the opportunity to spend another week in Lynchburg before I more than likely never go back.
It does weird me out a little bit though. For one thing, I was supposed to be getting my Masters Degree at this upcoming commencement ceremony, but, with things the way they are, I'll just be watching from the stands. In truth, I'm not all that disappointed; I never really did see myself getting that degree anyway. The thing that really freaks me out though is that the kids who were freshmen when I was a junior are now graduating seniors. All those weird guys that descended on 22-3 while my mind was clouded with other things are about to be college graduates. This makes me feel old. And what's worse, time is not slowing down. Quite the contrary, in fact; it goes by more quickly now than ever. I'm 23 years old and I'm afraid the best days of my life are over. Nay, afraid is not quite the right term; "fairly certain" is a much better way of putting it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not grumbling about my current circumstances (I'll save that for another post when I'm in a bad mood), I'm just acknowledging that my life has reached a stage with which I am not all that pleased, and there's nothing I can do about it because you can't rewind time. I'm not sure that I'd want to rewind time even if I could though. I'd probably screw more things up than anything else.
I guess that's the best I can do with what's rattling around in my head right now. I find lately that it's getting harder and harder to nail down exactly what it is I want to say. Usually I've got one or two overarching themes that branch out into numerous subthemes with their own motifs and nuances, but it's hard to wrangle them all into one cohesive post without venturing into ramble territory. Maybe I'm just getting senile.
I watched Batman Begins the other day, and I didn't hate it. Okay, that wasn't hard to say at all. In all honesty, I think it was a pretty friggin cool movie. This was my first viewing of that motion picture since the first time I saw it on DVD in the fall of 2005. I've come to the conclusion that the reason I hated it so much when I first saw it was because I was under the faulty impression that it was boring, due to the fact that I was falling asleep the entire time I watched it. I have, several times since then in fact, suspected that the movie was not actually boring, but that I was simply too tired to stay awake for the duration. When my 5 year old brother, who has been on a Batman kick recently, requested to watch it, I, wide awake, decided to give the movie another chance and sit down and watch it with him. Frankly, I was riveted. Granted, it's no Spider-Man 2, but it was a cool movie in its own right, and definitely worthy of being a setup to the masterpiece that was The Dark Knight. I suppose my biggest gripe with it (aside from the ninja training, which I don't think I'll ever accept) was the fact that it was a little too drawn out, and the villains lacked substance. On its own, it's okay, but I think it's best viewed as a feature-length introduction to The Dark Knight, and honestly, I'm fine with that.
On to the next item of business: I can confirm that that rumors you may have heard are true. I will be in Virginia from May 6th to May 16th. Sean and Becca are getting married on May 8th in Fairfax, and naturally there's no way I would miss that. Of course, I could always just skip town after the wedding and head back up to New York, but you all know that's not how I roll. Thus, I'll be in Lynchburg for the last remaining days of the semester, and I'll be leaving the day after graduation. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited, both at the prospect of seeing two good friends receive their license to get it on, and at the opportunity to spend another week in Lynchburg before I more than likely never go back.
It does weird me out a little bit though. For one thing, I was supposed to be getting my Masters Degree at this upcoming commencement ceremony, but, with things the way they are, I'll just be watching from the stands. In truth, I'm not all that disappointed; I never really did see myself getting that degree anyway. The thing that really freaks me out though is that the kids who were freshmen when I was a junior are now graduating seniors. All those weird guys that descended on 22-3 while my mind was clouded with other things are about to be college graduates. This makes me feel old. And what's worse, time is not slowing down. Quite the contrary, in fact; it goes by more quickly now than ever. I'm 23 years old and I'm afraid the best days of my life are over. Nay, afraid is not quite the right term; "fairly certain" is a much better way of putting it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not grumbling about my current circumstances (I'll save that for another post when I'm in a bad mood), I'm just acknowledging that my life has reached a stage with which I am not all that pleased, and there's nothing I can do about it because you can't rewind time. I'm not sure that I'd want to rewind time even if I could though. I'd probably screw more things up than anything else.
I guess that's the best I can do with what's rattling around in my head right now. I find lately that it's getting harder and harder to nail down exactly what it is I want to say. Usually I've got one or two overarching themes that branch out into numerous subthemes with their own motifs and nuances, but it's hard to wrangle them all into one cohesive post without venturing into ramble territory. Maybe I'm just getting senile.
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