Friday, November 30, 2001
Notes on the movies I've seen lately:
Waking Life (** out of 5)
Watching this movie felt like listening to a friend you only marginally like read you her high-school poetry in the middle of a field, on a beautiful day when you could be off doing something else. Make no mistake, it looks incomparably beautiful, but it's just a string of metaphysical exercises strung together, lectures on various concepts of existence repeated ad nauseum. None of them are particularly insightful to anyone who's spent even a fraction of a second considering life. Some of them are just downright stupid. Like any film that attempts greatness, it has its moments, but really, it didn't bring anything to my life that wasn't there already. Your results may vary, depending on your pretentious fucking prick quotient. (Oh, I jest. Mainly.)
In The Mouth Of Madness (** 1/2)
Great spooky concept derailed by an ineffectual script, somewhat hammy performance by Sam Neill, and "I have a hard-on for Jim Henson's Creature Shop" directing by John Carpenter. It's too balls-to-the-wall for psychological horror and there's too much posturing to make it an all-out shockfest; it just doesn't quite work out. Which is a shame, because it could've been a truly terrifying, unsettling, beautifully crafted horror film. But you can't win 'em all.
The Man Who Wasn't There (****)
Oh good, something I liked. It resembles pretty much every other Coen Brothers movie in its sensibilities (mind you, that's a statement I couldn't have made six months ago, since I'd barely seen any of their movies), so it's not breaking much new ground at all, but it breezes right by very pleasantly despite its predictability. I remember reading in the VILLAGE VOICE review about the particular effect of Billy Bob Thornton's immensely understated deadpan performance -- something about how his facial features create a perfect mask of tragedy or something like that -- and I thought it was wank until I saw the movie, and then I realized that they'd nailed it. He's a weird-looking fella in a weird part in a weirder movie; it works out well. I can actually recommend this one.
11:44 PM | e-mail |
Waking Life (** out of 5)
Watching this movie felt like listening to a friend you only marginally like read you her high-school poetry in the middle of a field, on a beautiful day when you could be off doing something else. Make no mistake, it looks incomparably beautiful, but it's just a string of metaphysical exercises strung together, lectures on various concepts of existence repeated ad nauseum. None of them are particularly insightful to anyone who's spent even a fraction of a second considering life. Some of them are just downright stupid. Like any film that attempts greatness, it has its moments, but really, it didn't bring anything to my life that wasn't there already. Your results may vary, depending on your pretentious fucking prick quotient. (Oh, I jest. Mainly.)
In The Mouth Of Madness (** 1/2)
Great spooky concept derailed by an ineffectual script, somewhat hammy performance by Sam Neill, and "I have a hard-on for Jim Henson's Creature Shop" directing by John Carpenter. It's too balls-to-the-wall for psychological horror and there's too much posturing to make it an all-out shockfest; it just doesn't quite work out. Which is a shame, because it could've been a truly terrifying, unsettling, beautifully crafted horror film. But you can't win 'em all.
The Man Who Wasn't There (****)
Oh good, something I liked. It resembles pretty much every other Coen Brothers movie in its sensibilities (mind you, that's a statement I couldn't have made six months ago, since I'd barely seen any of their movies), so it's not breaking much new ground at all, but it breezes right by very pleasantly despite its predictability. I remember reading in the VILLAGE VOICE review about the particular effect of Billy Bob Thornton's immensely understated deadpan performance -- something about how his facial features create a perfect mask of tragedy or something like that -- and I thought it was wank until I saw the movie, and then I realized that they'd nailed it. He's a weird-looking fella in a weird part in a weirder movie; it works out well. I can actually recommend this one.
11:44 PM | e-mail |
So. George Harrison, eh?
Len and I were just talking last night about how he was almost certainly going to die soon. I do this: I kill celebrities by discussing their deaths. Nobody will ever be able to convince me I did not kill Frank Sinatra: Mere hours before he died, I shouted to a roomful of people "When is Frank Sinatra going to just give up and die anyway?!?" He was three time zones away but I think he heard me. I think I broke his will.
In any event, Harrison kind of always struck me as a nasty little bastard. He said some things about U2 that I'm not terribly fond of. But that's no reason to wish death on him; it's a sad thing no matter what the circumstances. Obviously his art had a very great impact on the world, so I'm sorry for all the people who've been hurt by this news. At least he knew it was coming and had a chance to "make his peace," whatever that means... and my God, 58 is far too young to die.
2:51 PM | e-mail |
Len and I were just talking last night about how he was almost certainly going to die soon. I do this: I kill celebrities by discussing their deaths. Nobody will ever be able to convince me I did not kill Frank Sinatra: Mere hours before he died, I shouted to a roomful of people "When is Frank Sinatra going to just give up and die anyway?!?" He was three time zones away but I think he heard me. I think I broke his will.
In any event, Harrison kind of always struck me as a nasty little bastard. He said some things about U2 that I'm not terribly fond of. But that's no reason to wish death on him; it's a sad thing no matter what the circumstances. Obviously his art had a very great impact on the world, so I'm sorry for all the people who've been hurt by this news. At least he knew it was coming and had a chance to "make his peace," whatever that means... and my God, 58 is far too young to die.
2:51 PM | e-mail |
I blog, and therefore live forever.
Peace,
Len Aslanian
(Editor's Note: Due to the shitty NYU ethernet, Len Aslanian was not able to bring you this message when the muse struck him at 9:52 PM last night in my room. So I am obliged to post it for him.)
2:47 PM | e-mail |
Peace,
Len Aslanian
(Editor's Note: Due to the shitty NYU ethernet, Len Aslanian was not able to bring you this message when the muse struck him at 9:52 PM last night in my room. So I am obliged to post it for him.)
2:47 PM | e-mail |
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
And just to remind you that the world is still functioning as per normal: I am putting off writing a paper by blogging about putting off writing a paper. See? Some things never change.
The paper's about this book. Well, theoretically, it's about "group membership and conformity in Japanese culture," but since all we have to go on is a reading of this book, all our papers will be horribly generalized mishmashes of requoted ideas from the book and lecture. Which, sadly enough, is what our professor wants -- I've turned in some seriously crap papers this semester and gotten A's on them. Sometimes I wonder why I should even try to learn.
Mind you, there've been four papers assigned so far this semester -- 10% of our grade each -- and I've only done two of them. So I'd better stop fucking around about this one and hammer out the 'A'-destined hackjob I know is in my future... that said, watch my ass fail.
The book's relatively decent, by the way. It's often a bit too "Oh, those wacky Japanese!" for my tastes, but at least it doesn't suffer from the fawning "Look how much BETTER they are!" mindset that's dominated most American writing about Japan for the past twenty years (ever since they started kicking our economic ass).
11:05 PM | e-mail |
The paper's about this book. Well, theoretically, it's about "group membership and conformity in Japanese culture," but since all we have to go on is a reading of this book, all our papers will be horribly generalized mishmashes of requoted ideas from the book and lecture. Which, sadly enough, is what our professor wants -- I've turned in some seriously crap papers this semester and gotten A's on them. Sometimes I wonder why I should even try to learn.
Mind you, there've been four papers assigned so far this semester -- 10% of our grade each -- and I've only done two of them. So I'd better stop fucking around about this one and hammer out the 'A'-destined hackjob I know is in my future... that said, watch my ass fail.
The book's relatively decent, by the way. It's often a bit too "Oh, those wacky Japanese!" for my tastes, but at least it doesn't suffer from the fawning "Look how much BETTER they are!" mindset that's dominated most American writing about Japan for the past twenty years (ever since they started kicking our economic ass).
11:05 PM | e-mail |
Last night I went and saw Neil LaBute's new play The Shape Of Things with Erin. It was fucking great. Paul Rudd plays a college student who embarks on a relationship -- only his third -- with Rachel Weisz, a crazy art student who he meets at the museum while she's spraypainting a cock on a Renaissance statue. I'm not going to tell you anything else, and I'm not even linking to anything about it online because I could not find a single page that doesn't blow some aspect of the story for you. It's better to go in cold, like I did. But I really did enjoy it -- it's one of those plays that Has A Big Point, which normally I can't even begin to tolerate, but the writing's enjoyable enough to allow it to go off smoothly. And the actors -- Rudd, Weisz, Gretchen Mol and Frederick Weller -- are all great.
LaBute blasts the Smashing Pumpkins between every scene to prevent you from talking amonst yourselves, which I consider to be a kind of hilariously great idea. And it's got me listening to Siamese Dream for the first time in like a year. I just read an article in which LaBute claims Harold Pinter left before the play even started just because the pre-show music was too loud... what a fucking dumbass.
It's playing at the Promenade Theatre on the Upper West Side -- 76th and Broadway. Tickets are absurdly expensive, I think, but if you're a student the $20 rush tickets (onsale at 7:30) are completely and utterly worth it.
4:45 PM | e-mail |
LaBute blasts the Smashing Pumpkins between every scene to prevent you from talking amonst yourselves, which I consider to be a kind of hilariously great idea. And it's got me listening to Siamese Dream for the first time in like a year. I just read an article in which LaBute claims Harold Pinter left before the play even started just because the pre-show music was too loud... what a fucking dumbass.
It's playing at the Promenade Theatre on the Upper West Side -- 76th and Broadway. Tickets are absurdly expensive, I think, but if you're a student the $20 rush tickets (onsale at 7:30) are completely and utterly worth it.
4:45 PM | e-mail |
You know, I completely forgot what I intended to blog about.
Oh right... OK, gimme a few minutes to dig up the links.
(I honestly didn't stage this entry in any way. I was going to just blog about how I forgot what I was going to blog, then I remembered it, and decided I'd blog about that as long as I had the window open. And now I'll blog about what I originally intended to blog about. Blog blog blog, blog blog blog blog blog. Blog. Stupid word, that.)
4:26 PM | e-mail |
Oh right... OK, gimme a few minutes to dig up the links.
(I honestly didn't stage this entry in any way. I was going to just blog about how I forgot what I was going to blog, then I remembered it, and decided I'd blog about that as long as I had the window open. And now I'll blog about what I originally intended to blog about. Blog blog blog, blog blog blog blog blog. Blog. Stupid word, that.)
4:26 PM | e-mail |
Monday, November 26, 2001
I like it here.
Jeremy ended up not being available to hit the town, but Len and I went out and ate at a cafe on Seventh Avenue with cool chairs. I then proceeded on to Virgin where I bought myself Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip, because I love me. Thanks again to Mena for starting me down the path to Gainsbourg worship. Smooooooth.
Now I believe I should go to bed, since my classes are at 9:30 and I'm fucking exhausted and need sleep, and can't afford to miss these again.
11:40 PM | e-mail |
Jeremy ended up not being available to hit the town, but Len and I went out and ate at a cafe on Seventh Avenue with cool chairs. I then proceeded on to Virgin where I bought myself Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip, because I love me. Thanks again to Mena for starting me down the path to Gainsbourg worship. Smooooooth.
Now I believe I should go to bed, since my classes are at 9:30 and I'm fucking exhausted and need sleep, and can't afford to miss these again.
11:40 PM | e-mail |
Happy belated birthday greetings to Jerwin, the big horn-dog.
I'm back in New York and I'm sitting on my ass waiting for Jeremy to call. This sucks.
6:08 PM | e-mail |
I'm back in New York and I'm sitting on my ass waiting for Jeremy to call. This sucks.
6:08 PM | e-mail |
Sunday, November 25, 2001
Two tales from the drive to Disney.
First: I think I saw Wes Borland in a Mercedes on I-4. He had his haircut and profile, anyway. And he was driving a Mercedes. So it's possible. However, we passed him, which clearly means he wasn't driving like a rock star. If it was him, then shame. Shame. And not just for your former band's entire recorded (and unrecorded) oeuvre.
Second: I rode over in my brother's van with my brother (Brian), sister (Cathy), sister-in-law (Kim), and niece (McKenna). After working our way through Dumb But Happy Volume 4 (yyyeeeaaaah), we needed a new CD. My sister-in-law chose WAR. And thusly the conversation about U2 started. They asked me various questions, since of course they knew I would know. And now, you see, I reveal that I'm an idiot.
Kim: Where does 'Bono' come from?
Chris: From Ireland.
Kim: (Momentary silence.)
Chris: His father was a Protestant and his mother was a Catholic.
Kim: I meant his name, stupid.
Chris: Ah.
(Everyone laughs at me)
Chris: Well, you see, Kim, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they have a special kind of hug...
9:29 PM | e-mail |
First: I think I saw Wes Borland in a Mercedes on I-4. He had his haircut and profile, anyway. And he was driving a Mercedes. So it's possible. However, we passed him, which clearly means he wasn't driving like a rock star. If it was him, then shame. Shame. And not just for your former band's entire recorded (and unrecorded) oeuvre.
Second: I rode over in my brother's van with my brother (Brian), sister (Cathy), sister-in-law (Kim), and niece (McKenna). After working our way through Dumb But Happy Volume 4 (yyyeeeaaaah), we needed a new CD. My sister-in-law chose WAR. And thusly the conversation about U2 started. They asked me various questions, since of course they knew I would know. And now, you see, I reveal that I'm an idiot.
Kim: Where does 'Bono' come from?
Chris: From Ireland.
Kim: (Momentary silence.)
Chris: His father was a Protestant and his mother was a Catholic.
Kim: I meant his name, stupid.
Chris: Ah.
(Everyone laughs at me)
Chris: Well, you see, Kim, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they have a special kind of hug...
9:29 PM | e-mail |
Well now.
God, what to say, what to say. To be honest, I'm really quite happy that this happened. I'll piss off any number of people by saying this, but this embryo wasn't a human being. It just wasn't. It was tissue -- useful tissue that could ultimately save lives. This is the sort of shit I figured we'd be doing in my lifetime; I'm glad to see someone's got the balls to go for it. I want to see a stem-cell-derived kidney on my desk by Thursday.
Plus, it's nice to have news to talk about that isn't related to blowing shit up in Afghanistan. Which is continuing to trouble me.
4:45 PM | e-mail |
God, what to say, what to say. To be honest, I'm really quite happy that this happened. I'll piss off any number of people by saying this, but this embryo wasn't a human being. It just wasn't. It was tissue -- useful tissue that could ultimately save lives. This is the sort of shit I figured we'd be doing in my lifetime; I'm glad to see someone's got the balls to go for it. I want to see a stem-cell-derived kidney on my desk by Thursday.
Plus, it's nice to have news to talk about that isn't related to blowing shit up in Afghanistan. Which is continuing to trouble me.
4:45 PM | e-mail |
I forgot to tell you I was running off to Disney World, didn't I?
Well, I was. And now I'm back.
4:25 PM | e-mail |
Well, I was. And now I'm back.
4:25 PM | e-mail |
Friday, November 23, 2001
So what do I do with myself at home in Florida? I make U2 bootlegs with my parents' cable modem and CD burner, that's what I do. So far I've got Elevation Turin, one of the longest shows of the tour, and Elevation Providence Night 2, one of the weirdest...
And yes, I have gone out with my friends and spent time with my family and had dinner at Outback and all that good stuff. I just really like making bootlegs. Shut up.
And I have to share this story before it slips my mind. I ran into Len in the dining hall on Monday, and we were talking about the Dylan show that night and realizing that we didn't know who the opening act was. (There wasn't one, as it turned out). So of course we were joking around and saying "Opening for Bob Dylan tonight: The Beatles! The Velvet Underground! And U2! Together! On each other's shoulders! On unicycles! Playing the kazoo!" We then said our goodbyes, and I walked down 8th Street to Fifth Avenue.
And there, on the corner, was a man on a unicycle playing the kazoo.
I love New York.
12:35 PM | e-mail |
And yes, I have gone out with my friends and spent time with my family and had dinner at Outback and all that good stuff. I just really like making bootlegs. Shut up.
And I have to share this story before it slips my mind. I ran into Len in the dining hall on Monday, and we were talking about the Dylan show that night and realizing that we didn't know who the opening act was. (There wasn't one, as it turned out). So of course we were joking around and saying "Opening for Bob Dylan tonight: The Beatles! The Velvet Underground! And U2! Together! On each other's shoulders! On unicycles! Playing the kazoo!" We then said our goodbyes, and I walked down 8th Street to Fifth Avenue.
And there, on the corner, was a man on a unicycle playing the kazoo.
I love New York.
12:35 PM | e-mail |
Thursday, November 22, 2001
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm bloated on crescent rolls so I'll not be blogging so much. I hope you're enjoying yourselves.
And no: thank you.
2:29 PM | e-mail |
And no: thank you.
2:29 PM | e-mail |
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
Blogging from Kennedy Airport again; it's a Thanksgiving tradition. There are free Get2Net terminals here at the JetBlue gates, so I figure I'll babble for a little while until the crummy little breakfast place opens. This keyboard sucks horrid ass, however, so typos will probably be commonplace.
So in the past few days that I haven't blogged, the most interesting development would be Len and I seeing Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden. It was quite enjoyable. (By the way, I wish I would've realized sooner that you would of course be there; I'd have made an effort to say hi). I'm really only passingly familiar with Dylan's oeuvre -- I've got BLONDE ON BLONDE and CD-Rs of TIME OUT OF MIND, HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, and BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, the latter two I've barely listened to -- but he surprised me (and Len, who knows and loves him far more deeply than I) by playing for three hours, and by playing lots of the hits, too -- "Just Like A Woman," "Tangled Up In Blue," "Rainy Day Women #s 12 and 35," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Forever Young," "Blowin' In The Wind," "All Along The Watchtower," etc. Also "Things Have Changed," which is a great mofoin' song, and a couple of mighty fine songs from the new album which I need to acquire. That's all the setlist you're gonna get from me, I'm too damn ig'nant to tell you what else he played. But boy, he played a lot.
I'm gonna go surf around for a little while... my plane doesn't leave until 8:15 and it's only 5:30 now. Good thing the Super Shuttle picked me up so goddamn early. I might not have made my flight. :::dripping with sarcasm::: I'd be lying if I said I'm not just a little bit more nervous than usual about flying; but I've never really been nervous about it before so this is at a tolerably low level. Let's just hope I don't make the headlines, eh?
5:34 AM | e-mail |
So in the past few days that I haven't blogged, the most interesting development would be Len and I seeing Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden. It was quite enjoyable. (By the way, I wish I would've realized sooner that you would of course be there; I'd have made an effort to say hi). I'm really only passingly familiar with Dylan's oeuvre -- I've got BLONDE ON BLONDE and CD-Rs of TIME OUT OF MIND, HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, and BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, the latter two I've barely listened to -- but he surprised me (and Len, who knows and loves him far more deeply than I) by playing for three hours, and by playing lots of the hits, too -- "Just Like A Woman," "Tangled Up In Blue," "Rainy Day Women #s 12 and 35," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Forever Young," "Blowin' In The Wind," "All Along The Watchtower," etc. Also "Things Have Changed," which is a great mofoin' song, and a couple of mighty fine songs from the new album which I need to acquire. That's all the setlist you're gonna get from me, I'm too damn ig'nant to tell you what else he played. But boy, he played a lot.
I'm gonna go surf around for a little while... my plane doesn't leave until 8:15 and it's only 5:30 now. Good thing the Super Shuttle picked me up so goddamn early. I might not have made my flight. :::dripping with sarcasm::: I'd be lying if I said I'm not just a little bit more nervous than usual about flying; but I've never really been nervous about it before so this is at a tolerably low level. Let's just hope I don't make the headlines, eh?
5:34 AM | e-mail |
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Much to say; no energy to say it with.
I wonder if I'm going to go to class today. Tomorrow. Today. Whatever. There's arguments for and against, and much to do before going home Wednesday morning (at 8:15 AM -- the Super Shuttle picks me up at 4:15. Jaysus), such as this for Human Genetics...
1:48 AM | e-mail |
I wonder if I'm going to go to class today. Tomorrow. Today. Whatever. There's arguments for and against, and much to do before going home Wednesday morning (at 8:15 AM -- the Super Shuttle picks me up at 4:15. Jaysus), such as this for Human Genetics...
1:48 AM | e-mail |
Monday, November 19, 2001
Just made my schedule for next semester in one simple swoop. I love putting off planning my schedule until the night before I register; that way, I don't have to depend on any classes that'll fill up later, because I can use that night's Course Status check to know exactly where I stand.
Here's what I'm taking:
Monday/Wednesday:
9:30 - 10:45: British Literature I - Lecture
11:00 - 12:15 : Crisis Of The Modern City
2:00 - 3:15: Creative Writing
Tuesday/Thursday:
11:00-12:15: Major Texts In Critical Theory
Thursday:
12:30-1:45: British Literature I - Recitation
Finally, a creative writing course. Let's see how THAT bitch turns out.
11:25 AM | e-mail |
Here's what I'm taking:
Monday/Wednesday:
9:30 - 10:45: British Literature I - Lecture
11:00 - 12:15 : Crisis Of The Modern City
2:00 - 3:15: Creative Writing
Tuesday/Thursday:
11:00-12:15: Major Texts In Critical Theory
Thursday:
12:30-1:45: British Literature I - Recitation
Finally, a creative writing course. Let's see how THAT bitch turns out.
11:25 AM | e-mail |
Sunday, November 18, 2001
I rather like the look of MickJagger.com, actually. And by the way, they've got the full clip of "Joy," the song he performs with Bono. It might grow on me. I can't tell.
2:33 PM | e-mail |
2:33 PM | e-mail |
We got two new suits -- well, OK, just one, but it's the first U2 quote related to clothing that I could think of. U2log has redesigned, incorporating Movable Type and some spiff new features. Once again, The Big C rules all.
1:40 PM | e-mail |
1:40 PM | e-mail |
Saturday, November 17, 2001
This is the funniest, yet most strangely tragic, blog entry I've read in months.
10:31 PM | e-mail |
10:31 PM | e-mail |
Yes, I actually did go and see Harry Potter today, with my 31-year-old sister who has read and loved the books multiple times over. I've never finished one (read the first twenty pages of the first one this summer; moved on to rereading The Ground Beneath Her Feet instead).
So I'm sure you'll expect me to be all cynical and hate the movie. But y'know what? I didn't. It was cute and entertaining and had a fair number of really neat bits to cover for its occasional forays into massive cheesiness. And it certainly seems to make people happy. So huzzah, I say. If I saw it again I dunno what I'd think, and I'm willing to bet that a lot of people I know would in fact dislike it. But it definitely didn't irritate me the way I figured it would. In fact, it was downright pleasing.
And Alan Rickman rules the fucking world.
By the way, I have now heard the entirety of Britney. More on THAT shit later.
9:42 PM | e-mail |
So I'm sure you'll expect me to be all cynical and hate the movie. But y'know what? I didn't. It was cute and entertaining and had a fair number of really neat bits to cover for its occasional forays into massive cheesiness. And it certainly seems to make people happy. So huzzah, I say. If I saw it again I dunno what I'd think, and I'm willing to bet that a lot of people I know would in fact dislike it. But it definitely didn't irritate me the way I figured it would. In fact, it was downright pleasing.
And Alan Rickman rules the fucking world.
By the way, I have now heard the entirety of Britney. More on THAT shit later.
9:42 PM | e-mail |
So what'd I do today?
12:28 AM | e-mail |
- Len's birthday dinner.
- Failed attempt at concert, so we (Len and I) settled for building.
- Songs. (Len's.)
- Ice cream.
- Walk down Second Avenue.
- Home.
12:28 AM | e-mail |
Friday, November 16, 2001
The Doyoufeelloved.com Britney Watch For November 16th, 2001:
"What It's Like To Be Me" -- Justin Timberlake produced this and it sounds exactly like BT's production on "Pop." Which means one of two things: (1) Justin's got a fuck of a lot more talent than we initially figured, or (2) "dirty pop" requires a shitload less skill than I'd thought. I really don't know which one it is. Anyway, this one's actually roughly listenable. If you liked "Pop," that is. If you didn't, then you're a moron, but this is going to severely piss you off and you should avoid it. Yes, Justin does do the annoying human-beatbox thing. It was a little cute the first time, but come on, man. You're not Rahzel. Even if you are cuter.
"Anticipating" -- This one nearly made me snort milk out my nose, and I wasn't even drinking milk at the time. It's SO silly. SOOOOOO silly. It really is pure disco cheese, in the very specific disco sense -- synthy space keyboards, bouncy back-mixed guitar line... it's absurd. The lyrics are painful treacle with a bunch of anachronistic modernisms -- "check this," "feelin' on me," "set it off," etc. -- but it almost doesn't matter. It takes balls to make a piece of music this ridiculous. I doff my cap to you, Brit.
"Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" -- and speaking of pieces of ridiculous treacle... THIS one doesn't work. At all. It's got all the standard big-ballad production cliches, an uninspired vocal performance from Britney, sub-standard lyrics... nope. Nope nope nope. The sooner teen-pop lets go of the outdated 50s-crooner ballad form, the better. Let's hope this single sinks without a trace so we can get on to the good stuff.
More later...
1:40 PM | e-mail |
"What It's Like To Be Me" -- Justin Timberlake produced this and it sounds exactly like BT's production on "Pop." Which means one of two things: (1) Justin's got a fuck of a lot more talent than we initially figured, or (2) "dirty pop" requires a shitload less skill than I'd thought. I really don't know which one it is. Anyway, this one's actually roughly listenable. If you liked "Pop," that is. If you didn't, then you're a moron, but this is going to severely piss you off and you should avoid it. Yes, Justin does do the annoying human-beatbox thing. It was a little cute the first time, but come on, man. You're not Rahzel. Even if you are cuter.
"Anticipating" -- This one nearly made me snort milk out my nose, and I wasn't even drinking milk at the time. It's SO silly. SOOOOOO silly. It really is pure disco cheese, in the very specific disco sense -- synthy space keyboards, bouncy back-mixed guitar line... it's absurd. The lyrics are painful treacle with a bunch of anachronistic modernisms -- "check this," "feelin' on me," "set it off," etc. -- but it almost doesn't matter. It takes balls to make a piece of music this ridiculous. I doff my cap to you, Brit.
"Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" -- and speaking of pieces of ridiculous treacle... THIS one doesn't work. At all. It's got all the standard big-ballad production cliches, an uninspired vocal performance from Britney, sub-standard lyrics... nope. Nope nope nope. The sooner teen-pop lets go of the outdated 50s-crooner ballad form, the better. Let's hope this single sinks without a trace so we can get on to the good stuff.
More later...
1:40 PM | e-mail |
Hey! Happy barely-belated second blogday to Ghost In The Machine. Screw that graduate nonsense and blog more often, man. ;-D
1:48 AM | e-mail |
1:48 AM | e-mail |
So tonight was going to be my big novel-writing night. And instead, I cleaned my room. An admirable task, but probably not as good for me in the long run. Tomorrow, I shall write. This I swear.
Took my second of three major science tests today. And I think I only did minutely better than on the first, which I got a not-so-impressive 73 on. I am beginning to worry.
And in one final note... now that advertisers have run out of Moby songs to license, they've reverted to making their own. It's really quite depressing. Just wait for May of next year, Madison Avenue. You'll get a fresh batch of car jingles, piping hot from the Moby-oven.
And in one final-final note... I just used a lot of terse, repetitively rhythmic sentences. I apologize.
1:11 AM | e-mail |
Took my second of three major science tests today. And I think I only did minutely better than on the first, which I got a not-so-impressive 73 on. I am beginning to worry.
And in one final note... now that advertisers have run out of Moby songs to license, they've reverted to making their own. It's really quite depressing. Just wait for May of next year, Madison Avenue. You'll get a fresh batch of car jingles, piping hot from the Moby-oven.
And in one final-final note... I just used a lot of terse, repetitively rhythmic sentences. I apologize.
1:11 AM | e-mail |
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Bastard. Don't go. Though if it's not fun for you anymore, then I suppose it's for the best...
8:21 PM | e-mail |
8:21 PM | e-mail |
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
My sister made linguini with clam sauce tonight. It was excellent. I'd share the recipe, but I don't have it; being kitchenless, it made no sense to ask her for it...
Still thinking about my redesign. I don't know what to do to fix my preferred design, but I unearthed a rejected oldie that could be easily reworked... I'm definitely in a minimalist mode, too. Don't expect fancy-schmanciness.
12:27 AM | e-mail |
Still thinking about my redesign. I don't know what to do to fix my preferred design, but I unearthed a rejected oldie that could be easily reworked... I'm definitely in a minimalist mode, too. Don't expect fancy-schmanciness.
12:27 AM | e-mail |
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
So I'm downloading tracks from Britney right now. "I'm A Slave 4 U" grew on me in a big way, so I figured I owed it to the poor little girl. The jury is very decidedly still out, so don't look for a proclamation yet -- at the moment the only other song I've heard in full is her cover of "I Love Rock And Roll," which is actually a bit too similar to the original, with the exception of some superficial hip-hop scratching. Jett's rock howl is still better than Brit's long slut moan, too. She doesn't do the song any damage, but she doesn't do it any favors, really. I expected more.
Currently downloading: Her dreamy boyfriend's track ("What It's Like To Be Me") and the song I keep hearing the word "disco" attached to ("Anticipating.") After that I might subject myself to the Dido ballad with the world's stupidest title ("I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman"). Or I may give up this fool's errand altogether.
And finally, the cover is exceedingly ugly and I hate the font more than anything. It looks like an Amish restaurant menu.
5:18 PM | e-mail |
Currently downloading: Her dreamy boyfriend's track ("What It's Like To Be Me") and the song I keep hearing the word "disco" attached to ("Anticipating.") After that I might subject myself to the Dido ballad with the world's stupidest title ("I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman"). Or I may give up this fool's errand altogether.
And finally, the cover is exceedingly ugly and I hate the font more than anything. It looks like an Amish restaurant menu.
5:18 PM | e-mail |
Make no mistake, this is a shitty review by the NME of a Garbage concert. It doesn't actually tell you a damn thing about the show. But hoo boy, it's funny.
With Garbage, you either adore their wonderfully blasphemous and utterly cynical mish-mashing of Spector-esque garage-rock, gay-euro-pop and over-produced grunge-slick or you are a total moron who wouldn't recognise unadulterated pop genius if it walked up to you in the street and caved your bigoted skull in with a huge box of top notch Belgian marzipan and cherry-liqueur chocolates. You deaf scum.
This is, of course, the same magazine that brutally trashed BEAUTIFULGARBAGE upon its release. I'm so lost.
3:00 PM | e-mail |
With Garbage, you either adore their wonderfully blasphemous and utterly cynical mish-mashing of Spector-esque garage-rock, gay-euro-pop and over-produced grunge-slick or you are a total moron who wouldn't recognise unadulterated pop genius if it walked up to you in the street and caved your bigoted skull in with a huge box of top notch Belgian marzipan and cherry-liqueur chocolates. You deaf scum.
This is, of course, the same magazine that brutally trashed BEAUTIFULGARBAGE upon its release. I'm so lost.
3:00 PM | e-mail |
Monday, November 12, 2001
FUCK MTV!: There! The crevasse! FILL IT!
Oh, by the way:
Do you hate life? Want to take it out on pop culture? Then FUCK MTV! wants you. I'm looking for intelligent, talented writers to join The F-Crew. And since you read this blog, I already know you must be quite intelligent. ;-D
Seriously, if any of you kick-ass folks are even remotely interested, then please, hook us up with a test-submission. We can use all the help we can get. More information is available by clicking that high-quality (and extraordinarily tasteful) graphic above.
5:02 PM | e-mail |
Oh, by the way:
Do you hate life? Want to take it out on pop culture? Then FUCK MTV! wants you. I'm looking for intelligent, talented writers to join The F-Crew. And since you read this blog, I already know you must be quite intelligent. ;-D
Seriously, if any of you kick-ass folks are even remotely interested, then please, hook us up with a test-submission. We can use all the help we can get. More information is available by clicking that high-quality (and extraordinarily tasteful) graphic above.
5:02 PM | e-mail |
So is it rude to just continue blogging after this plane crash? I live in New York, after all. I'm several miles from the crash site but most people don't really ever seem to understand that. Of course it's awful. Of course I choke up just hearing about it. But what would blogging about it do? I don't need to be the three hundredth person you've read today moaning "this is a tragedy." Of course it fucking is. And honestly, blogging about it wouldn't help me at all. In the case of something like 09/11, talking it into sense sort of helped; it was so far above and beyond anything I'd ever seen that I often didn't know what I was thinking until I wrote it down. But this; this is, sad to say, just another one of those everyday tragedies. Sometimes, it all goes wrong.
Life goes on. It's depressing how frequently we've been forced to assert that lately, but there's nothing to be done.
4:12 PM | e-mail |
Life goes on. It's depressing how frequently we've been forced to assert that lately, but there's nothing to be done.
4:12 PM | e-mail |
Cameron reminded me of someone who should've been on the "Who Do You Admire?" list; a writer whose works I've obsessed over, and whose physical appearance I seem to have aped. Ladies and gentlemen, how could I forget Mr. Grant Morrison.
By the way, don't be so surprised. The way I see it, you've published a book, befriended amazing people, and carved out a spectacular niche in the world's greatest community. That is nothing to sneeze at.
The filming of Jeremy's project is complete. I think it turned out pretty damn OK. Our first take was probably better-performed than the second one, but a couple of technical / blocking flubs prevented it from being the one he used. Ah well, life goes on. I had fun, and got drafted to play a "Robot In Love" in one of his classmate's projects on Wednesday... we'll see how THAT turns out.
2:26 PM | e-mail |
By the way, don't be so surprised. The way I see it, you've published a book, befriended amazing people, and carved out a spectacular niche in the world's greatest community. That is nothing to sneeze at.
The filming of Jeremy's project is complete. I think it turned out pretty damn OK. Our first take was probably better-performed than the second one, but a couple of technical / blocking flubs prevented it from being the one he used. Ah well, life goes on. I had fun, and got drafted to play a "Robot In Love" in one of his classmate's projects on Wednesday... we'll see how THAT turns out.
2:26 PM | e-mail |
Sunday, November 11, 2001
Another fine day. Erin and I did the yuppie thing and bought things we wanted at overpriced New York retail establishments -- she at Sephora and I at Forbidden Planet, and the both of us at Virgin. I picked up Depeche Mode's 101, and the new X-FORCE TPB at Forbidden Planet. It was a hoot and a half and was a good reintroduction to the concept of reading comics for fun... this is a good, good sign. Also at Virgin, I spotted one of the guys from Mr. Show with Bob and Dave, and I think one of the guys from Flickerstick. He was looking at the comics. I could be wrong. It's a good thing I didn't say "your band sucks" to him, in any event.
Rehearsal for Jeremy's film project went pretty well. We film tomorrow afternoon from 1 to 2. He's got to edit the whole thing live, so we're just gonna hammer through as many takes as we can in an hour. Unfortunately, he also has to use that hour to set the lights, adjust the cameras, put up the sets... yikes. Wish him luck, he'll need it more than I will.
11:15 PM | e-mail |
Rehearsal for Jeremy's film project went pretty well. We film tomorrow afternoon from 1 to 2. He's got to edit the whole thing live, so we're just gonna hammer through as many takes as we can in an hour. Unfortunately, he also has to use that hour to set the lights, adjust the cameras, put up the sets... yikes. Wish him luck, he'll need it more than I will.
11:15 PM | e-mail |
Saturday, November 10, 2001
Who do you admire? We're not supposed to include celebrities but fuck that noise.
4:46 PM | e-mail |
- Bono.
- Prol.
- Dave Gahan. Post-heroin.
- Erin.
- All my friends who play music. (Len, Tori, Cameron, etc.)
- Doc Blackwood.
- Gavin Friday.
- Ben & Jerry (shush.)
4:46 PM | e-mail |
I love lazy dorm Saturdays. I'm gorged on waffle and cheese omelette and now everyone's hanging out in my room playing Super Mario Brothers 3... this is beautiful.
I have to memorize a short script this afternoon -- I'm playing a smarmy upper-class British teenager in a film project of Jeremy's. We rehearse tonight and film Monday afternoon. Wish me luck, I haven't actually acted in almost a year and a half...
2:53 PM | e-mail |
I have to memorize a short script this afternoon -- I'm playing a smarmy upper-class British teenager in a film project of Jeremy's. We rehearse tonight and film Monday afternoon. Wish me luck, I haven't actually acted in almost a year and a half...
2:53 PM | e-mail |
I've carved my name on the face of the moon, baby. FUCK MTV! shows up on the first page of a Google search for "fuck" -- which probably explains why we get so many damn hits, despite not posting anything for three weeks. A thousand blessings upon the Internet.
3:19 AM | e-mail |
3:19 AM | e-mail |
Friday, November 09, 2001
They Fight Crime!, the TV series premise generator. I wouldn't link this if not for the fact that it is exhaustively programmed with thousands of different options. And they're all fucking hysterical. He's a suicidal voodoo cop with a passion for fast cars. She's a supernatural antique-collecting queen of the dead with only herself to blame. They fight crime!
This one could honestly be a series: He's a fast talking umbrella-wielding Green Beret from the 'hood. She's a cosmopolitan hip-hop widow with her own daytime radio talk show. They fight crime!
(via Lukelog)
10:55 PM | e-mail |
This one could honestly be a series: He's a fast talking umbrella-wielding Green Beret from the 'hood. She's a cosmopolitan hip-hop widow with her own daytime radio talk show. They fight crime!
(via Lukelog)
10:55 PM | e-mail |
Spotted tonight at Kim's Video: Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill / Le Tigre and Ad-Rock of The Beastie Boys, rentin' movies together. Didn't see what they were renting, unfortunately. We were getting the new two-disc MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL DVD. Spiff.
10:18 PM | e-mail |
10:18 PM | e-mail |
Fear my wrath, all ye who travel abroad to kneel at the foot of the King Of Trash. ;-D
5:27 PM | e-mail |
5:27 PM | e-mail |
You can't necessarily trust their conclusions, but it's nice to see the numbers every so often. MTV News: Bangin' The Charts, weekly albums-chart sales analysis. I'm such a junkie for stupid news.
2:24 PM | e-mail |
2:24 PM | e-mail |
Mental wrapup for the day. I've avoided doing a paper that was due already, I've listened to The Best Of New Order a lot ("World" playing right now), I've had midnight candy, I sat around and talked about boys (it was stupid), I've played Super Mario Bros. 2, which I fear I'm becoming addicted to, saw the movie FAT GIRL which I should speak a bit more about later... and that's that.
I shaved my head, too. No more blonde stripe. I may redo it once it grows back in, actually. It amused me. But I think I'll wait until after Thanksgiving, for minimized parental bitching. ;-D
By the way, I posted eleven times today / yesterday. New DYFL.com record.
1:47 AM | e-mail |
I shaved my head, too. No more blonde stripe. I may redo it once it grows back in, actually. It amused me. But I think I'll wait until after Thanksgiving, for minimized parental bitching. ;-D
By the way, I posted eleven times today / yesterday. New DYFL.com record.
1:47 AM | e-mail |
Thursday, November 08, 2001
By the way, you may've noticed that I've been messing around with the post count here on the frontpage. I used to set it to display the 15 latest posts; for the past couple days it's been displaying a week's worth; now it's displaying the 25 most recent posts. If anyone's got any input, or if one setting or another is making the page too hard to load, I'd like to know about it. I've just been posting a lot more than usual lately, and a lot of them are short posts, so I'd like to make sure they don't get lost in the fray.
Speaking of post counts... Michele, you display too many. The NYU ethernet is torturously slow right now and it's almost impossible to get your site in. Have mercy, milady. ;-D
7:18 PM | e-mail |
Speaking of post counts... Michele, you display too many. The NYU ethernet is torturously slow right now and it's almost impossible to get your site in. Have mercy, milady. ;-D
7:18 PM | e-mail |
The corner of East 2nd Street and The Bowery may be renamed "Joey Ramone Place." I'm all about it. And yes, they should extend it for the full block.
Also, from Jerwin comes the news that Ryan Adams, James Iha, Melissa Auf Der Mar, and Evan Dando are forming a supergroup called "The Virgins." Wonder how that'll turn out.
7:12 PM | e-mail |
Also, from Jerwin comes the news that Ryan Adams, James Iha, Melissa Auf Der Mar, and Evan Dando are forming a supergroup called "The Virgins." Wonder how that'll turn out.
7:12 PM | e-mail |
I do the vast majority of my web-surfing by just typing the URLs of the sites I visit into the browser window; I don't do bookmarks, I don't follow a links list, etc. It's all very random, bouncing back and forth, whatever's in my head at that precise moment in time. But for some reason lately, I feel this magnetic attraction to the concept of typing "harrumph.com." Which is odd, since it's not one of those weblogs I read faithfully. Y'know, sometimes a site clicks for us, sometimes it doesn't. But it strikes me as a REALLY satisfying site name to type. And to say, too. HARRUMPH. Yeeeaaah.
The link she had up today about comfort foods was pretty cool, though.
6:50 PM | e-mail |
The link she had up today about comfort foods was pretty cool, though.
6:50 PM | e-mail |
U2 lose to Blink-182 for Best Rock Act. And just like that, my respect for the European MTV awards dissolves. Depeche Mode are playing "Never Let Me Down Again," though, so that at least is interesting... scratch that, it's fucking amazing. Wow. I can't believe I passed up the chance to see them this summer. I just can't believe it.
5:40 PM | e-mail |
5:40 PM | e-mail |
Wow. Many interesting stories at NME today -- New Doves album on the way, Bjork's gonna tour again, and Perry Farrell will sing on a track for the new Prodigy album. Yum yum. Oh yeah, and apparently The Gorillaz are making a movie. Their next album will be the soundtrack. Curious.
5:24 PM | e-mail |
5:24 PM | e-mail |
I'm watching the MTV Europe Music Awards right now on MTV2. They're stunningly better than the VMAs over here. The direction's more dynamic and the performers are phenomenal -- Depeche Mode, R.E.M., Jay-Z, Basement Jaxx, Craig David, Mary J. Blige, Rammstein, and more. The host is Ali G (guy from Madonna's "Music" video -- you should know that by now), who I could do without, and the presenters are just as awkward as usual -- Kelis and Gavin Rossdale just awkwardly mugged for the teleprompter and looked hideously unnatural, unsurprisingly -- but on the whole it's a much better package than America's. And Robbie Williams' acceptance speech was hilarious.
...Pedro Almodovar and Pink? What the hell kind of presenter combo is THAT? It has a twisted appeal, though...
4:06 PM | e-mail |
...Pedro Almodovar and Pink? What the hell kind of presenter combo is THAT? It has a twisted appeal, though...
4:06 PM | e-mail |
Found in my referrer logs: Neon Disease, with an extraordinarily exhaustive sidebar of links to excellent music and comics shit. And hey, a Gavin Friday fan too! Rawkus.
1:22 AM | e-mail |
1:22 AM | e-mail |
The Doyoufeelloved.com Delayed Meme for November 8th, 2001:
The Blogaholic Quiz. 64/100. You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!
Hear that? I'm the best! TAKE IT, BITCHES! Only 23 other people got my score. Now, I must set out to systematically eliminate them.
1:00 AM | e-mail |
The Blogaholic Quiz. 64/100. You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!
Hear that? I'm the best! TAKE IT, BITCHES! Only 23 other people got my score. Now, I must set out to systematically eliminate them.
1:00 AM | e-mail |
My two obsessions right now:
Depeche Mode - "Enjoy The Silence (Live)" from the Singles Tour in Cologne, 1998.
New Order - "True Faith (1994)". What a great choral melody.
I know I haven't done a DYFL Top Ten in a couple of weeks. This'll tide you over until the new media-sharing gestalt hits with my redesign. Which, of course, I'm not making any progress with. Ahem.
12:41 AM | e-mail |
Depeche Mode - "Enjoy The Silence (Live)" from the Singles Tour in Cologne, 1998.
New Order - "True Faith (1994)". What a great choral melody.
I know I haven't done a DYFL Top Ten in a couple of weeks. This'll tide you over until the new media-sharing gestalt hits with my redesign. Which, of course, I'm not making any progress with. Ahem.
12:41 AM | e-mail |
Tonight I saw John Barth speak at Columbia University. I've never read one of his novels but Len's a big fan, so I went with him. 'Twas interesting. Originally Dave Eggers was going to be the host of the discussion, but he cancelled and was replaced by the host of the public radio show BOOKWORM, who created a very different dynamic but who stood up to the task admirably. They had many funny and perceptive things to say. As usual, the audience was a bunch of fucking nimrods desperate to make themselves in on the joke, but I enjoyed hearing both of those men speak about writing, reading, etc. It was inspiring, to a degree, in that it made me think about my novel and want to start writing it again. Mmmm. Of course, I am going to transfer out of my English major. But that doesn't mean I can't still be a writer.
Of course, I just learned that while I was at this thing, one of the girls on my floor was offering a free Elvis Costello ticket. If I could go back in time...
12:01 AM | e-mail |
Of course, I just learned that while I was at this thing, one of the girls on my floor was offering a free Elvis Costello ticket. If I could go back in time...
12:01 AM | e-mail |
Wednesday, November 07, 2001
Nick Cave will cover "Let It Be" on the soundtrack to the new Sean Penn film I AM SAM. The whole soundtrack is Beatles covers, by outstanding artists -- Eddie Vedder, Aimee Mann, Rufus Wainwright & Sean Lennon, Paul Westerberg... this could well be very nifty. (The movie sounds a bit crap though.)
4:08 PM | e-mail |
4:08 PM | e-mail |
I really want to link to the flaming truck speeding through Dallas, Texas, but nobody on CNN.com has bothered to post a story about it. Why in the name of God are we covering this live. My theory is that they typed all the narration for this story into a speech-simulation program and everyone at CNN went out to lunch. There's a really good bakery down the street from them, actually. Maybe they're having cheesecake.
4:02 PM | e-mail |
4:02 PM | e-mail |
And even after yesterday's angstfest about comics, I still provide you with Mark (AUTHORITY, ULTIMATE X-MEN) Millar's picks of Marvel and DC's best books. Because I love you. And yes, this was shamelessly lifted from the font of all knowledge, LinkMachineGo.
Transmetropolitan: I love the storytelling in this book. Just from a sheer technical point of view, I love Warren's stuff because there's so many new things I can always steal.
3:49 PM | e-mail |
Transmetropolitan: I love the storytelling in this book. Just from a sheer technical point of view, I love Warren's stuff because there's so many new things I can always steal.
3:49 PM | e-mail |
At the Reuters website trying to find the original version of this article, I stumble across the news that deals are being inked for the next X-FILES movie. Keen, I say. Be nice to see Duchovny and Anderson perform in a situation they're not profoundly digusted by.
1:13 PM | e-mail |
1:13 PM | e-mail |
So between Gavin and the news that U2 will play the last two dates of their tour just a stone's throw from my hometown, I am bemoaning, for the very first time, the fact that I live in New York.
By the way, that link speaks of eight new dates added to the end of the Elevation tour, some of which go on sale this weekend. If you haven't seen them yet, you have a few last chances. Act fast.
I would do ANYTHING to see that final show. ANYTHING. This could be, and it depresses me to even say it but it's potentially true, The Last Great U2 Tour. And you know the kind of effect they've had on me. Yow.
12:55 PM | e-mail |
By the way, that link speaks of eight new dates added to the end of the Elevation tour, some of which go on sale this weekend. If you haven't seen them yet, you have a few last chances. Act fast.
I would do ANYTHING to see that final show. ANYTHING. This could be, and it depresses me to even say it but it's potentially true, The Last Great U2 Tour. And you know the kind of effect they've had on me. Yow.
12:55 PM | e-mail |
Tuesday, November 06, 2001
I'd resisted linking to it for quite some time because I know you're all sick of hearing me complain about how I don't live in Ireland and therefore can't open my cupboard and find Gavin Friday sitting there rocking out. But now it's got a name. Gavin and Maurice are playing a full-on concert of their own material on November 29th, now entitled IS THAT ALL THERE IS? Somebody wants to put me in a box and ship me to Dublin. I know that they do.
12:35 PM | e-mail |
12:35 PM | e-mail |
I beg you, please: Spank the monkey.
(via Plasticbag)
My record is 425 miles per hour, due to some kind of bizarre trackpad screwup. The hand started wiggling uncontrollably, I clicked, and suddenly I'd wailed his rhes-ass up and down the block. It played a snippet of the bassline to "Rapper's Paradise" when I did so, too.
1:41 AM | e-mail |
(via Plasticbag)
My record is 425 miles per hour, due to some kind of bizarre trackpad screwup. The hand started wiggling uncontrollably, I clicked, and suddenly I'd wailed his rhes-ass up and down the block. It played a snippet of the bassline to "Rapper's Paradise" when I did so, too.
1:41 AM | e-mail |
Monday, November 05, 2001
I'm immensely disappointed in myself.
I tried to write my 9A essay this afternoon. I got nowhere, after two complete restarts and countless instances of backtracing and revising. I just don't know what I think about comics anymore. There was a time when I was positive they were what I wanted to do with my life. I still feel like they could be. Yet I don't fucking READ them. I spend all of my money on albums and shit and I've bought about six comics in the last seven months. I don't read any of the comics community sites, with the occasional exception of 9A, and I check the news services only sporadically. I enjoy comics greatly when I do buy them but I just haven't been doing them. A part of me really does want them to become an active part of my life again, but at the same time, I just don't have the energy, the resources, that being a good comics fan requires. My piece on 9A was going to be about "deserter's guilt" -- how if I read comics, I feel obligated to be a full-on activist for them, constantly proselytizing and working for reform and supporting only the best work. But that's all bullshit. I don't even know if I feel that way. I don't know what I think of the radical activist community, because I haven't heard a word they've said for seven months. I just know I'm not happy with my relationship to comics right now, and I don't know how to change that.
Well, some fucking money to buy comics with would help. Jesus.
And that, of course, opens a whole other can of worms about my own fucking laziness and inability to shut the fuck up and do what has to be done. It's National Novel Writing Month and everyone I know's writing their novel. I'm not. I'm fucking around with my thumb up my ass. I'm not writing, I'm not working, I don't even go to class half the time. What am I doing with my god-damn life?
I think part of the reason I'm so unwilling to condemn the nasty attitudes of the radical comics community is because at least they're trying to accomplish something while I'm sitting on my fat, complacent ass. I feel like a hypocrite.
The self-loathing I am feeling at this moment is profound. But the worst part of it is, I'll bet you it doesn't motivate me to change a single god-damn thing.
6:35 PM | e-mail |
I tried to write my 9A essay this afternoon. I got nowhere, after two complete restarts and countless instances of backtracing and revising. I just don't know what I think about comics anymore. There was a time when I was positive they were what I wanted to do with my life. I still feel like they could be. Yet I don't fucking READ them. I spend all of my money on albums and shit and I've bought about six comics in the last seven months. I don't read any of the comics community sites, with the occasional exception of 9A, and I check the news services only sporadically. I enjoy comics greatly when I do buy them but I just haven't been doing them. A part of me really does want them to become an active part of my life again, but at the same time, I just don't have the energy, the resources, that being a good comics fan requires. My piece on 9A was going to be about "deserter's guilt" -- how if I read comics, I feel obligated to be a full-on activist for them, constantly proselytizing and working for reform and supporting only the best work. But that's all bullshit. I don't even know if I feel that way. I don't know what I think of the radical activist community, because I haven't heard a word they've said for seven months. I just know I'm not happy with my relationship to comics right now, and I don't know how to change that.
Well, some fucking money to buy comics with would help. Jesus.
And that, of course, opens a whole other can of worms about my own fucking laziness and inability to shut the fuck up and do what has to be done. It's National Novel Writing Month and everyone I know's writing their novel. I'm not. I'm fucking around with my thumb up my ass. I'm not writing, I'm not working, I don't even go to class half the time. What am I doing with my god-damn life?
I think part of the reason I'm so unwilling to condemn the nasty attitudes of the radical comics community is because at least they're trying to accomplish something while I'm sitting on my fat, complacent ass. I feel like a hypocrite.
The self-loathing I am feeling at this moment is profound. But the worst part of it is, I'll bet you it doesn't motivate me to change a single god-damn thing.
6:35 PM | e-mail |
There are immense masses of purple clouds racing across the sky right now; it's a windy, windy day. The entire dome of the atmosphere is plastered with these things, and their outlines are glowing orange in the setting sun. It's like watching a river flow...
4:33 PM | e-mail |
4:33 PM | e-mail |
His grammar sucks, but his aim is true: Cameron offers an impassioned defense of U2's repeatedly-bumfucked Pop.
Remind you of anybody?
4:01 PM | e-mail |
Remind you of anybody?
4:01 PM | e-mail |
In that last entry, I actually went back and deleted a profanity.
*sniffle* I'm growing up.
3:45 PM | e-mail |
*sniffle* I'm growing up.
3:45 PM | e-mail |
I told Ninth Art that I would write an essay for them on why I've fallen out of reading comics and participating in the comics community. They asked me to have it in by November 5th. Today is November 5th -- though in England, where 9A is based, it'll only be so for another three hours and fifteen minutes. I'd better write this thing.
3:44 PM | e-mail |
3:44 PM | e-mail |
Sunday, November 04, 2001
This is a great fucking picture of me, taken by cool chick Erin Williams, who I've been hanging out with a lot. She probably doesn't read this, but here's a shout-out anyway. On Halloween night at Fifth Ave. and 13th Street.
I got 50 blank CD-Rs today for $10, due to a snafu at Office Depot. RAWK. Burning Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind from Len right now...
6:25 PM | e-mail |
I got 50 blank CD-Rs today for $10, due to a snafu at Office Depot. RAWK. Burning Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind from Len right now...
6:25 PM | e-mail |
And you know that on November 23rd at 9:00 PM, you will be watching VH1 to see an hour and a half of U2's Elevation Live From Boston concert. Yes. The same concert is released (roughly) in full on a two-disc DVD right around then, too. Yeeeeaaaaahhh.
2:29 PM | e-mail |
2:29 PM | e-mail |
So I saw Mulholland Drive tonight.
Simply that line, and the implied tone of voice, should set up this whole blog entry for you.
I don't really have an opinion on it. On the one hand, it was beautifully shot, (essentially) well-acted, and tautly scripted. On the other hand, it was so fucking weird as to become cliched and self-parodic. As far as I can tell, it's a movie about reality in the movies and how there is none and how a movie can fuck up reality. Or something. Perhaps it's about David Lynch masturbating to lesbian starlets and fetish websites. I really couldn't tell you. I suppose it's worth seeing, but don't expect much. When it works, it works. When it doesn't, it doesn't. In that sense it is much like any remotely worthwhile film. And that's where the comparisons end.
I don't want to dignify Lynch's "I'M THE WEIRDEST PERSON ALIVE!!! WHEEEEEE!!!" ego-trip any more by being hung up on the film's sheer strangeness the way he hopes you will be. So I'll stop talking except to say that it's probably best viewed in the right mood on video, when you didn't have to pay $10 to fall in love with it, be nonplussed, or feel fucked in the anus. That is all.
Oh yeah, and Cameron, you'd probably hate it.
2:37 AM | e-mail |
Simply that line, and the implied tone of voice, should set up this whole blog entry for you.
I don't really have an opinion on it. On the one hand, it was beautifully shot, (essentially) well-acted, and tautly scripted. On the other hand, it was so fucking weird as to become cliched and self-parodic. As far as I can tell, it's a movie about reality in the movies and how there is none and how a movie can fuck up reality. Or something. Perhaps it's about David Lynch masturbating to lesbian starlets and fetish websites. I really couldn't tell you. I suppose it's worth seeing, but don't expect much. When it works, it works. When it doesn't, it doesn't. In that sense it is much like any remotely worthwhile film. And that's where the comparisons end.
I don't want to dignify Lynch's "I'M THE WEIRDEST PERSON ALIVE!!! WHEEEEEE!!!" ego-trip any more by being hung up on the film's sheer strangeness the way he hopes you will be. So I'll stop talking except to say that it's probably best viewed in the right mood on video, when you didn't have to pay $10 to fall in love with it, be nonplussed, or feel fucked in the anus. That is all.
Oh yeah, and Cameron, you'd probably hate it.
2:37 AM | e-mail |
Saturday, November 03, 2001
Is there something to do?
Is there something to do?
Is there something to do?
Is there something to do?
-Depeche Mode, "Something To Do" (Some Great Reward)
That's songwriting, ladies and gentlemen.
Seriously, though, as overtly silly as so much of this album is, it's SO effective. What great fucking pop musicians Depeche Mode are. I mean, if you pay any attention to the lyrics to "People Are People" you'll want to hit Martin Gore (or punch and kick and shout at him, to use his own words), but listen to that accompaniment! It's genius!
Or maybe I'm just too gay for my own good.
9:21 PM | e-mail |
Is there something to do?
Is there something to do?
Is there something to do?
-Depeche Mode, "Something To Do" (Some Great Reward)
That's songwriting, ladies and gentlemen.
Seriously, though, as overtly silly as so much of this album is, it's SO effective. What great fucking pop musicians Depeche Mode are. I mean, if you pay any attention to the lyrics to "People Are People" you'll want to hit Martin Gore (or punch and kick and shout at him, to use his own words), but listen to that accompaniment! It's genius!
Or maybe I'm just too gay for my own good.
9:21 PM | e-mail |
All right, I've never read the Harry Potter books, but I am told they are delightful and quite entertaining and a rather good thing for kids to read. So it makes me sick to hear someone say this about them, especially after reading NO LOGO:
"J.K. Rowling's great successes in terms of writing Harry Potter was she tapped into mainstream thinking and mainstream culture," says Chris Nurko, managing director of FutureBrand in London.
"If you look at the book, she's actually integrated branding and marketing into her characters and her story line. For example, the Nimbus 2000, it's not just an everyday ordinary flying broom, it's a Nimbus 2000." And organisations are willing to spend a small fortune to be part of the Potter phenomenon.
BULLSHIT.
7:01 PM | e-mail |
"J.K. Rowling's great successes in terms of writing Harry Potter was she tapped into mainstream thinking and mainstream culture," says Chris Nurko, managing director of FutureBrand in London.
"If you look at the book, she's actually integrated branding and marketing into her characters and her story line. For example, the Nimbus 2000, it's not just an everyday ordinary flying broom, it's a Nimbus 2000." And organisations are willing to spend a small fortune to be part of the Potter phenomenon.
BULLSHIT.
7:01 PM | e-mail |
What I would've bought at Virgin today if I wasn't so broke:
I get the feeling my Christmas present from my parents this year will just be a payoff to my credit card.
6:41 PM | e-mail |
6:41 PM | e-mail |
What have I done? Why, I've unleashed another of my horrid friends on the world. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Cameron Stuart, otherwise known as Guberkov -- a close friend and my new hostee. With any luck he'll post more often than Paul (yeah, you heard me, buddy). Cameron's a fine young lad who is full of wit. And chocolate. I expect him to go far, so you'd better read the blog now and say you knew him when.
4:53 PM | e-mail |
4:53 PM | e-mail |
'Twas a nice afternoon with Len -- breakfast, Virgin, failed jaunt to the Empire State Building, Jim Hanley's Universe, and some fruitless boot-shopping in between -- but it was a dire reminder of how just how fucked my financial situation is. I need a job. Big-time. I should fire up the NYU career net...
4:41 PM | e-mail |
4:41 PM | e-mail |
This is what R.E.M. will look like on THE SIMPSONS November 18th. Oh dear. Buck & Mills look OK, but Stipe looks like Ed Kowalczyk from Live... and that's a bad thing, boys and girls. Although I'm sure the episode will make me piss my pants laughing.
(via My Blunt Instrument)
1:00 AM | e-mail |
(via My Blunt Instrument)
1:00 AM | e-mail |
Farewell Tuvalu -- the 11,000-member population of a Pacific archipelago nation is being evacuated, because due to global warming their country WON'T BE THERE SOON.
How the FUCK does this happen? And how the hell do I miss hearing about it until now?!?
(via Cheesedip)
12:38 AM | e-mail |
How the FUCK does this happen? And how the hell do I miss hearing about it until now?!?
(via Cheesedip)
12:38 AM | e-mail |
Friday, November 02, 2001
All right. I'm finally free of the devil-taint of ZELDA -- I found the last piece of heart in a blindingly obvious place. Now I can go cure world hunger or something. Or just bang my head against this stupid fucking redesign.
5:10 PM | e-mail |
5:10 PM | e-mail |
Would anybody like to explain to me why Netscape 6 hates putting DIVs inside a nested table cell? If you know anything about CSS and Netscape and how they play together (or don't), then *please* e-mail me. I'm THIS CLOSE to having a new, and very satisfying, design for this site, and this nonsense is holding me back...
Mind you, it works perfectly in MSIE, which is what the majority of my readers use, so I *should* cut you Netscape shits loose. But that's rude.
3:56 PM | e-mail |
Mind you, it works perfectly in MSIE, which is what the majority of my readers use, so I *should* cut you Netscape shits loose. But that's rude.
3:56 PM | e-mail |
God, I love life.
What an odd thing to say after that last bit of news. But really, it's true. I feel bad about not being crippled with grief, but what can I do? Immediately after posting that message I went out and bought Pop-Tarts. The collision of the profound and the absurd can do a man good sometimes. And even if it is November 2nd, it's absolutely gorgeous in New York City today, warm and sunny despite slight haze. Sometimes, just looking at this city makes me want to shout with glee. Being able to look down the street and see the skyscrapers shooting up in layers... it has the same effect on me as mountains or forests do for nature-lovers. This is an amazing, spectacular place, and despite all the craziness it's still an amazing, spectacular time to be a human being -- for example, Tom Waits is putting out two new albums and Billy Corgan has a new band with Jimmy Chamberlain and a stupid name, and that's not even TOUCHING on the fact that we can decode the genome, fly into space, and get porn for free. I'm having a grand old time, and while it pains me to think that others aren't, there's only so long you can let it kill you. Am I insensitive, or am I just happy to be alive? I'm going with the latter. You can think whatever you want.
2:33 PM | e-mail |
What an odd thing to say after that last bit of news. But really, it's true. I feel bad about not being crippled with grief, but what can I do? Immediately after posting that message I went out and bought Pop-Tarts. The collision of the profound and the absurd can do a man good sometimes. And even if it is November 2nd, it's absolutely gorgeous in New York City today, warm and sunny despite slight haze. Sometimes, just looking at this city makes me want to shout with glee. Being able to look down the street and see the skyscrapers shooting up in layers... it has the same effect on me as mountains or forests do for nature-lovers. This is an amazing, spectacular place, and despite all the craziness it's still an amazing, spectacular time to be a human being -- for example, Tom Waits is putting out two new albums and Billy Corgan has a new band with Jimmy Chamberlain and a stupid name, and that's not even TOUCHING on the fact that we can decode the genome, fly into space, and get porn for free. I'm having a grand old time, and while it pains me to think that others aren't, there's only so long you can let it kill you. Am I insensitive, or am I just happy to be alive? I'm going with the latter. You can think whatever you want.
2:33 PM | e-mail |
In awful, fucked-up news, I just learned that two kids I went to high school with -- Jose Joseph and Simon Eagar -- killed themselves last weekend, completely independent of one another. They went to different schools in different states, etc. I barely knew either of them but it's still horrifying. My condolences to their families and to everyone I know who knew them better than I...
1:48 PM | e-mail |
1:48 PM | e-mail |
Hear what I did -- selected songs from U2's 10/24 NYC concert at U2tours.com. I haven't been able to check 'em out yet, so I dunno if the quality's any good... (via U2log, natch)
1:25 PM | e-mail |
1:25 PM | e-mail |
Thursday, November 01, 2001
I've had a blonde stripe bleached into the middle of my head, I've had a chunk of broken glass in my right foot, I've beaten LINK TO THE PAST but didn't find all of the pieces of heart and thusly I feel empty inside. I've seen the best band in the world twice, I've seen a good friend and had a good time, I've seen ROSEMARY'S BABY and found myself bored. I've had approximately five pounds of candy. I've made it to all of my classes this week except one, which is the fault of the new alarm clock I bought this morning, and I've gotten a B+ on a piece of shit paper that "would have been an A if it had been on time." I've had the teacher who gave me that 'A' single me out for shame in the middle of class, I've run a DNA test, I've wasted my time in the back of the room during useless lectures, and now I've made plans to see V.S. Naipaul speak tonight.
In short, I've had a week. How about you?
1:07 PM | e-mail |
In short, I've had a week. How about you?
1:07 PM | e-mail |