Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Book: South of the Border West of the Sun

By Haruki Murakami. A good read, outstanding in many respects, but ultimately it felt a little unfulfilling. The relationship we get is like your typical Murakami relationship, except that he doesn't pursue what lies behind the terrible secret. And that terrible secret is usually what forms the quintessential foundation of what makes a Murakami book Murakami.

Also, the translation is a bit spotty - Alfred Birbuam (or whatever his name is) is much smoother than Phillip Gabriel.

Recommend: Well, it is a Murakami book, thus making it better than most other books out there, but it is also not the best Murakami book by any stretch. Perhaps better than Sputnik Sweetheart though.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Movie: Slither

Michael was right: zombies, aliens, giant slugs, mutants. Everything a growing boy needs. And Mal. Totally sweet. Also - if you like this you MUST see "Undead."

Recommend: STAAAARRRRLLLAAAA!

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Candy : Pina Colada Cream Savers

I have discovered the worst flavored candy in all the history of candy-kind. It was so bad that I had to try it twice, just to make sure I wasn't imagining such an awful tastebud experience. I tried one yesterday, and it was horrid. I tried one again today, twenty-four hours later, and yes, my original judgement stands strong.

Now my mouth has that new-car taste in it.

Recommend? Not unless you are a car, or an old, smokey apartment.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Music: At War with the Mystics

Another Flaming Lips album. I've been listening it to a bunch this weekend, and I think it's pretty sweet. I particularly recommend "The sound of failure," "Mr. Ambulance Driver" the weird German titled song, the little instrumental in the middle, the Go on song, hell, pretty much the whole thing.

Recommend: Goes without saying, but I must say that it is not quite Pink Robots par, but I mean, really, how does one top the pink robots?

Defences: Thesis

It's over. I passed. I kicked its ass. Seriously. I totally rocked it.

Recommend: If you like an hour straight of pure terror where you drank way too much coffee before hand so you couldn't stop jittering in your seat while your enormously sprawling answers both focus in on a single piece of literature while incorporating references to five or six others all the while watching the faces of your committee members to make sure that they weren't wincing and when they were furrowing their brows making sure you made extra careful to explain exactly what it is you were trying to see by using more and more specific examples and quoting lines of text and title after title by author after author until their brows stopped furrowing and you are trying desperately not to look at your watch or the sweet freedom outside the window blinds while you hope you aren't sweating and won't stutter or you won't just stare blankly at the person who asked you THE ONE DAMN QUESTION you couldn't answer as you rack your brains trying to trace back the essential characteristic of the speaker of a sonnet by recalling all the little things Shakespeare made fun of sonnets about in his sonnets and wondering why you hadn't spent more time reading sonnets and hoping that you'd quickly be able to segue to John Donne because his sonnets particularly the HOLY sonnets are the only ones you remember well enough to talk about in detail in fact you can quote five our six of them almost in their entirely but your answers keep leading you more towards Phillip Syndney's Defence of Poesy which you hated but were able to find one redeemable statement in them which segued you into talking about modernist poets while trying to avoid any further questioning into works before 1600 ACH! MEIN LEIBER!

Book: Dance Dance Dance

You know, for a sequel, this really isn't much of a sequel. Which is why it kicks so much totally sweet ass over and over until its raw and purple. This book was great. It had everything that rocked from Wild Sheep Chase (except a sheep with a star on its back) AND Wind Up Bird Chronicle (except Boris the Man Skinner) except that it was longer and better told than Wild Sheep Chase and shorter and better told than Wind Up Bird Chronicle.

Recommend: oh yeah, unless you want to see lots of The Sheep Man.

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Movie : Slither

Said by practically an entire town of alien/hive-minded/zombie southerners: "Staaarlaa! When you said for better or for worse, you liiied to me! Staaarrrllaaaa!"

Recommend? Yes. This is by far the best and most entertaining alien/zombie/sci-fi/horror movie I have seen in a while. You should go see it right away. Also, Captain Mal from "Firefly" is the star. He rules.