Saturday, April 26, 2008
A Thingy Followed Me Home
Reason #327 Why Eudora Welty Is Awesome
Here's a passage from One Writer's Beginnings that demonstrates Welty's ability to observe and remember:
Aaaaaah! Stabbed me in the gut! I love it!But one day I noticed in the same drawer a small white cardboard box such as her engraved calling cards came in from the printing house. It was tightly closed, but I opened it, to find to my puzzlement and covetousness two polished buffalo nickels, embedded in white cotton. I rushed with this opened box to my mother and asked if I could run out and spend the nickels.
"No!" she exclaimed in a most passionate way. She seized the box into her own hands. I begged her; somehow I had started to cry. Then she sat down, drew me to her, and told me that I had had a little brother who had come before I did, and who had died as a baby before I was born. And these two nickels that I'd wanted to claim as my find were his. They had lain on his eyelids, for a purpose untold and unimagineable.
Another Note of Note to be Noted
I posted to the Mr. Hyde blog. My mother will be interested in reading that post, as will many others.
Big Book Roundup
I've been reading a lot, but not posting. Here's my quick recap of my recent reading.
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
This was recently made into a movie, and it was directed by the Coen brothers. It was nominated for a number of awards and even won a few. I had no interest in seeing this film based on its description, but when we inherited the book I decided there was no reason not to read it--even if its subject didn't interest me at all.
This is the area in which literary novel and genre novel get confused with one another. This is a literary novel, but it relies on the conventions of crime novels, detective novels, and thrillers. The reason it's a literary novel is that while it makes use of those conventions it doesn't lapse into a lazy tracing of the stereotypes that most commonly result from that. And it's so well written--the language is careful, deliberate, and sharp as a scalpel--that even if it were merely genre work it would be worth reading. Both the protagonist and the antagonist defy expectation, and the story develops in such a way as to assure the reader that he doesn't know what's coming. A very enjoyable book, and it's a fast read, too. I may have to see the movie now.
Second Heaven by Judith Guest
I have to admit it: I love Judith Guest. As I was finishing my MFA thesis she visited Mankato, and I was able to schedule a manuscript conference with her. I didn't want to burden her with my whole screenplay, so I just submitted my first fifteen pages. When we met, she was kind and gracious--but she didn't think the story worked. We talked about it for a half hour anyway, and she was intrigued enough by some of the elements to offer to read the whole script. I mailed her the whole monster, and then about a month later we met in a coffee shop in Edina to talk it over.
She still had concerns about the story, but she really liked the characters I was working with. Since the characters were the core of the story I was really encouraged. We talked for about an hour and a half that day. Judy (that's how she signed her emails) took a place in my mind that was part aunt, part grandmother, and part sister. I really value the time she took for me.
As for this book--when I saw it in an antique store for a dollar I had to pick it up. Her characters and the novel's premise weren't really my thing, but I feel like I'm supporting her work in some small way by reading this. Like the McCarthy book, despite a disconnect between my usual interests and Guest's material, this is an enjoyable read. The psychological depth and the reality of the characters propelled me through the story. Now I need to read Ordinary People (I've seen parts of the Oscar-winning film adaptation, but haven't read the book yet).
Conan the Marauder by John Maddox Roberts
This is exactly what it should be. There's no reason to open a Conan novel expecting literary genius. What one should expect is a series of exciting conflicts during which Mr. Of Cimmeria will demonstrate his awesomeness. There are feats of strength in this novel. There are also feats of cunning, of skill, and of a general derring-do. Conan of Cimmeria always wins. I know that. You know that. But it's fun to read anyway.
In this case, Conan begins the story by being captured and forced into a Roman-gladiator-type slavery. But because Conan is awesome, he is soon a general in the army of the people who enslaved him.
Bottom line? Conan of Cimmeria is awesome. And this book, while not a great work of art, is fun to read.
The Young and Violent by Vin Packer
I found this in a box of old books at my mom's house, and since I'm incapable of ignoring a book in my possession, I hung onto it and figured I'd read it at some point. "Some point" came a week or so ago, and I finally consumed this hunk of cliche.
Here's the setup: gangs, New York City, drugs, 1950s. You have a picture in your head now, right? It's mostly general, and probably involves a lot of stereotypes, right? That's this book.
Based on the cover art and the contents of the story I had imagined Vin Packer to be some misogynist troll, a dense man with a heavy brow ridge who yells for his wife to get him a beer while he watches professional wrestling and NASCAR. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that "Vin Packer" is the pen-name of Marijane Meaker--a woman. Not only is she a woman, she's a lesbian. She is a woman and she loves women, but the female characters in this story are weak, simple, and amoral. Mostly they're furniture with dialogue and orifices for men to exploit.
If you're inclined to read this story, I'd advise you not to. Save time and hit yourself on the head with a cinder block instead. Same effect.
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
This was recently made into a movie, and it was directed by the Coen brothers. It was nominated for a number of awards and even won a few. I had no interest in seeing this film based on its description, but when we inherited the book I decided there was no reason not to read it--even if its subject didn't interest me at all.This is the area in which literary novel and genre novel get confused with one another. This is a literary novel, but it relies on the conventions of crime novels, detective novels, and thrillers. The reason it's a literary novel is that while it makes use of those conventions it doesn't lapse into a lazy tracing of the stereotypes that most commonly result from that. And it's so well written--the language is careful, deliberate, and sharp as a scalpel--that even if it were merely genre work it would be worth reading. Both the protagonist and the antagonist defy expectation, and the story develops in such a way as to assure the reader that he doesn't know what's coming. A very enjoyable book, and it's a fast read, too. I may have to see the movie now.
Second Heaven by Judith Guest
I have to admit it: I love Judith Guest. As I was finishing my MFA thesis she visited Mankato, and I was able to schedule a manuscript conference with her. I didn't want to burden her with my whole screenplay, so I just submitted my first fifteen pages. When we met, she was kind and gracious--but she didn't think the story worked. We talked about it for a half hour anyway, and she was intrigued enough by some of the elements to offer to read the whole script. I mailed her the whole monster, and then about a month later we met in a coffee shop in Edina to talk it over.She still had concerns about the story, but she really liked the characters I was working with. Since the characters were the core of the story I was really encouraged. We talked for about an hour and a half that day. Judy (that's how she signed her emails) took a place in my mind that was part aunt, part grandmother, and part sister. I really value the time she took for me.
As for this book--when I saw it in an antique store for a dollar I had to pick it up. Her characters and the novel's premise weren't really my thing, but I feel like I'm supporting her work in some small way by reading this. Like the McCarthy book, despite a disconnect between my usual interests and Guest's material, this is an enjoyable read. The psychological depth and the reality of the characters propelled me through the story. Now I need to read Ordinary People (I've seen parts of the Oscar-winning film adaptation, but haven't read the book yet).
Conan the Marauder by John Maddox Roberts
This is exactly what it should be. There's no reason to open a Conan novel expecting literary genius. What one should expect is a series of exciting conflicts during which Mr. Of Cimmeria will demonstrate his awesomeness. There are feats of strength in this novel. There are also feats of cunning, of skill, and of a general derring-do. Conan of Cimmeria always wins. I know that. You know that. But it's fun to read anyway.In this case, Conan begins the story by being captured and forced into a Roman-gladiator-type slavery. But because Conan is awesome, he is soon a general in the army of the people who enslaved him.
Bottom line? Conan of Cimmeria is awesome. And this book, while not a great work of art, is fun to read.
The Young and Violent by Vin Packer
I found this in a box of old books at my mom's house, and since I'm incapable of ignoring a book in my possession, I hung onto it and figured I'd read it at some point. "Some point" came a week or so ago, and I finally consumed this hunk of cliche.Here's the setup: gangs, New York City, drugs, 1950s. You have a picture in your head now, right? It's mostly general, and probably involves a lot of stereotypes, right? That's this book.
Based on the cover art and the contents of the story I had imagined Vin Packer to be some misogynist troll, a dense man with a heavy brow ridge who yells for his wife to get him a beer while he watches professional wrestling and NASCAR. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that "Vin Packer" is the pen-name of Marijane Meaker--a woman. Not only is she a woman, she's a lesbian. She is a woman and she loves women, but the female characters in this story are weak, simple, and amoral. Mostly they're furniture with dialogue and orifices for men to exploit.
If you're inclined to read this story, I'd advise you not to. Save time and hit yourself on the head with a cinder block instead. Same effect.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Another Funny Synthesis
The other day Mike posted a video melding Monty Python and Star Wars, and I saw that it was good. Today I offer you a combination of Monty Python and Star Trek. I see that this is also good.
Yea, verily.
Yea, verily.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Funny Video Time
Watch a religious satire here. I'm not sure what's funnier, the satire or the people who don't catch that this is satire. Hehe. Darwin = not intelligent. Bwahahaha.
And then watch a video by Beatallica here. They sing Beatles songs in the mode of old (read: non-sucky) Metallica. It's hysterical. To me. Which says just about nothing for its actual comedic value.
And then watch a video by Beatallica here. They sing Beatles songs in the mode of old (read: non-sucky) Metallica. It's hysterical. To me. Which says just about nothing for its actual comedic value.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
This is one of those books that everyone but me had read when I was in Mankato, and I had always intended to get to it, but there was always something else to read first. Then I found a copy of Birds of America at a thrift store for $1.20, and I could no longer make excuses.Everything I've heard about Lorrie Moore has been good news. I've never heard a negative opinion of her work, but what I had read in anthologies didn't really impress me. The good news is the stories in Birds of America do impress me. Moore's language, her use of the surprising metaphor, and her ability to tread near sentimentality without getting it all over her shoes all outweigh my reaction to her subjects: boring.
An example is the story "People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk." It's a story about a woman whose child is undergoing cancer treatments. What follows is the usual hand-wringing one would expect from such a subject, and that would normally trigger my gag reflex pretty quickly. But Moore's treatment of the events lends it a remoteness, an emotional numbness, that both feels perfectly appropriate and also saves the story from melodrama. Plus, it boasts passages like this one:
How can it be described? How can any of it be described? The trip and the story of the trip are always two different things. The narrator is the one who has stayed home, but then, afterward, presses her mouth upon the traveler's mouth, in order to make the mouth work, to make the mouth say, say, say. One cannot go to a place and speak of it; one cannot both see and say, not really. One can go, and upon returning make a lot of hand motions and indications with the arms. The mouth itself, working at the speed of light, at the eye's instructions, is necessarily struck still; so fast, so much to report, it hangs open and dumb as a gutted bell. All that unsayable life! That's where the narrator comes in. The narrator comes with her kisses and mimicry and tidying up. The narrator comes and makes a slow, fake song of the mouth's eager devastation.
Aaaaah! AAAAAAAGH! Perfect. I like it.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Scorpions are Pretty Amazing
When I was about thirteen years old I figured I'd start listening to the radio. I'd been corrupted years ago by George Goodfield's KISS albums, but I needed something contemporary (I'd been teased about my KISS record--it couldn't be danced to). So I latched onto the first few songs I heard on the radio when I finally got it working. Here are my first efforts:
The Cars - You Might Think
Huey Lewis and the News - I Want a New Drug
Styx - Mr. Roboto
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane
But this was about 1983, and the coolest song--the Scorpions-- wasn't matched for years. Eventually they became the soundtrack for the collapse of the Iron Curtain. And that's how I left them in my memory. A killer band who flattened out to become pop chaff.
Then I started hearing older Scorpions (they aren't "The Scorpions"--just "Scorpions"). Anyway--those songs kick ass. Where Klaus Meine's voice had always been great, and where their musical inventiveness was unexpected, all of a sudden they became elements of art--something more than elements of a commercial vehicle. This is most evident in the song "Sails of Charon," from the 1970s. Great stuff.
The Cars - You Might Think
Huey Lewis and the News - I Want a New Drug
Styx - Mr. Roboto
Scorpions - Rock You Like a Hurricane
But this was about 1983, and the coolest song--the Scorpions-- wasn't matched for years. Eventually they became the soundtrack for the collapse of the Iron Curtain. And that's how I left them in my memory. A killer band who flattened out to become pop chaff.
Then I started hearing older Scorpions (they aren't "The Scorpions"--just "Scorpions"). Anyway--those songs kick ass. Where Klaus Meine's voice had always been great, and where their musical inventiveness was unexpected, all of a sudden they became elements of art--something more than elements of a commercial vehicle. This is most evident in the song "Sails of Charon," from the 1970s. Great stuff.
Another Quiz (and moore)
You Are Animal |
 A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!" |
I know I'm slow on the book thingies. I still have to talk Lorrie Moore and Cormac McCarthy, but now I'm reading a Conan novel. It's complicated. Look! Is that the pope?
Friday, April 04, 2008
Check Out My Quizzitude!
Your Thinking is Abstract and Random |
 You are flexible, adaptable, and creative. There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them. You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups. You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths. You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial. You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals. |
You Are 82% Misanthropic |
 You are misanthropic to the point of being scary. In your view, people are a disease. You may want to lighten up a little - before you become a super villain! |
Your Rockstar Name Is... |
 |
You Are 32% Intuitive |
 You're definitely an intuitive person, but you never go on your gut alone. You tend to be more analytical than intuitive - possibly because your intuition has failed you in the past. When you don't have enough facts to make a decision, you don't mind listening to your gut to figure out what to do. |
There's a 67% Chance That You Need Therapy |
 You almost certainly need therapy. And there's nothing wrong with that. Lately life has not been easy for you. Why not let a therapist help you sort things out? |
Your Goth Name is: |
 |
You Passed the US Citizenship Test |
 Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct! |
Your Superpower Should Be Invisibility |
 You are stealth, complex, and creative. You never face problems head on. Instead, you rely on your craftiness to get your way. A mystery to others, you thrive on being a little misunderstood. You happily work behind the scenes... because there's nothing better than a sneak attack! Why you would be a good superhero: You're so sly, no one would notice... not even your best friends Your biggest problem as a superhero: Missing out on all of the glory that visible superheroes get |
You're a Little Stupid |
 You got 9/10 questions right! Or at least careless. Better go back and recheck your answers! |
You Are 40% Sociopath |
 From time to time, you may be a bit troubled and a bit too charming for your own good. It's likely that you're not a sociopath... just quite smart and a bit out of the mainstream! |
Your Greed Quotient: 16% |
 You're anything but greedy. You're eager to share and give to others. For you, collecting material possessions is more trouble than it's worth! |
You are Agnostic |
 You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care. For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine. You rather focus on what you can control - your own life. And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you. |
Your EQ is 87 |
 You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. You're quite moody, and sometimes you find yourself feeling upset without knowing what really caused it. Your emotions can overtake you at times, and you do tend to become preoccupied with your negative thoughts. Remember that your emotions don't have to rule your life, and take it easy when you deal with other people. The world is a difficult enough place - no need to make life any harder for yourself! |
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
This is a funny book. I like it a lot. The voice is perfect, the characters are engaging in spite of themselves, the anecdotes keep the action going in the absence of an overarching plot, and I think the comment it makes on America's professional world is damning and insightful.It also hits the reader with serious business from time to time. The narration (the point-of-view character throughout is an anonymous "we") is a stroke of genius.
I'm glad Diana praised this book, and that I could pick up a six-dollar copy of the hardcover. Yay!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
For All You Cold-Weather Persons
So. Yesterday, while you people up north were suffering in the cold, watching as the last of eight inches of snow was hitting the chilly asphalt, I was doing this.I'll interpret, for those of you who are overcome with rage at this image. I'm on a patio at a restaurant. It's almost eighty degrees and I'm getting a bit sunburned. I have in my left hand a locally-brewed IPA and I have in front of me the last five slices of seared Ahi tuna I might slather in a wasabi-mayonnaise mix and then garnish with black beans and corn and such.
Did I mention my sunburn?
Anyone want to come visit? Make your winter reservations now. Hehe.
Even More Videos
I posted a few more. I didn't mention the last time I did this, so I should at least introduce those:
Finntroll - Finnish polka metal. How do you lose?
Dokken - A brilliantly talented band who suffered from the hair-metal label. Too bad they hated each other.
Masi - This his the only song (that I've heard) that's worth a shit. It's great, but dated now.
Disturbed - I like some nu-metal, and this it probably among the best.
And for today's new links:
Metal Church - Badlands
This is a seriously cool song. And the guitarist, Jim Marshall (not the Viking defensive lineman) is about seven feet tall.
Fifth Angel - Time Will Tell
Sure, this isn't their most aggressive song and, sure, they're a Christian metal band, but damn. They kick ass. Or did, back in 1989, before Ken Mary joined House of Lords and the rest of them fell off the planet.
Lewis Black - Sacrilege
Since my current theme is Christian fluff, here's the master of snark to poke holes in it.
KISS - Heaven's on Fire
Let's face it--these guys have had little to brag about for about 30 years, but the Animalize album was one of them. Kicking ass!
Finntroll - Finnish polka metal. How do you lose?
Dokken - A brilliantly talented band who suffered from the hair-metal label. Too bad they hated each other.
Masi - This his the only song (that I've heard) that's worth a shit. It's great, but dated now.
Disturbed - I like some nu-metal, and this it probably among the best.
And for today's new links:
Metal Church - Badlands
This is a seriously cool song. And the guitarist, Jim Marshall (not the Viking defensive lineman) is about seven feet tall.
Fifth Angel - Time Will Tell
Sure, this isn't their most aggressive song and, sure, they're a Christian metal band, but damn. They kick ass. Or did, back in 1989, before Ken Mary joined House of Lords and the rest of them fell off the planet.
Lewis Black - Sacrilege
Since my current theme is Christian fluff, here's the master of snark to poke holes in it.
KISS - Heaven's on Fire
Let's face it--these guys have had little to brag about for about 30 years, but the Animalize album was one of them. Kicking ass!
Letting Go by Philip Roth
This is Roth's first novel and his second published book (the first was Goodbye, Columbus, a collection of short stories). What Letting Go has is Roth's trademark intensity, his examination of Jewishness, and a surprisingly tame depiction of marriage and romance. Roth has become so daring in his treatment of sexuality (see Sabbath's Theater, for instance) it's interesting to see how demure he was back in the old days. I almost wish this had been a terrible book. It's 600+ pages, and nobody makes a significant decision until about page 400. It was a strange kind of torture to get to that point, because on one hand there wasn't much driving the plot, but on the other hand the language and Roth's psychological insights were both compelling and enjoyable. If Roth had been even just an above-average writer I'd have tossed this on the heap before page 100. Instead, I don't regret having toughed it out.
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