Didn't I post a picture of the White Donkey's last day with me? Is that even possible? Here's it getting taken away by Victory Auto Wreckers. El Burro Blanco, on its last trip (this was last month). And, yes, it really was the coolest thing to come from Naperville.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The White Donkey
Didn't I post a picture of the White Donkey's last day with me? Is that even possible? Here's it getting taken away by Victory Auto Wreckers. El Burro Blanco, on its last trip (this was last month). And, yes, it really was the coolest thing to come from Naperville.
Napervillainous
Rich Horton from Naperville didn't like my story...
I remember a coworker of mine (a native of the western suburbs) grousing about Naperville (because of Lysacek in the Vancouver Olympics) and saying how he is perfectly Napervillian (e.g., incredibly lame) and when I told her that I'd bought the White Donkey in Naperville, she said "The Donkey is the coolest thing to have ever come out of Naperville, believe me." Having been there, I can't exactly argue it. There's a whole lot of nothing out there.
Oooh, I'm so vindictive.
*holds hand out for a slap*
And "Aegis," by D.T. Neal, goes on rather too long in telling of a young artist's fascination with a much -- much! -- older sculptor named, significantly, Renee Euryale. It's obvious where this is going from the first, and the young artist -- nor a model he encounters -- just doesn't come to life.Whatever! Some people really dug it, and others really didn't. I think the ones who didn't like it are more genre-hounds, and miss the nuances of the story, but oh, well. All the more reason to get some more credits, so there's even more stuff of mine out there to offend their delicate sensibilities. I really need to work on that, get people even more peevish.
I remember a coworker of mine (a native of the western suburbs) grousing about Naperville (because of Lysacek in the Vancouver Olympics) and saying how he is perfectly Napervillian (e.g., incredibly lame) and when I told her that I'd bought the White Donkey in Naperville, she said "The Donkey is the coolest thing to have ever come out of Naperville, believe me." Having been there, I can't exactly argue it. There's a whole lot of nothing out there.
Oooh, I'm so vindictive.
*holds hand out for a slap*
Movie: The Thin Red Line (1998)
So, I watched "The Thin Red Line" again, after, what, 10 years? Got it on DVD. And, once again, I'm both struck by and off-put by the movie. It remains a 170-minute war movie-as-art film. It remains distinctive in many ways -- Terence Malick's marvelous use of silence, slow montage, tracking shots, scenery, color -- all of that. Very much in evidence, and very much using film as a storytelling medium in and of itself.
And yet, the battalion of cameos in it, like every goddamned male actor of that era in that movie...
So, that distracts me a bit (and Clooney's patriarchal little scene is particularly noisome, above and beyond Clooney even showing up in the movie at all), and I think Sean Penn's vastly overrated acting chops are particularly ill-used in the movie (First Sergeant? Says who? He doesn't look that part at all, just offers Method grimaces and his usual expressions throughout it).
The voiceovers, which comprise nearly all of the dialogue in the movie, are also overused, to the point that you can lampoon it pretty easily...
So, as ever, I'm of two minds with this movie -- on one hand, it manages a masterful visual style, an expansive kind of ebb and flow between action sequences, the humanity and brutality of war, the nuances of violence and victory -- and yet, it also feels incredibly self-indulgent and too full of itself (originally five hours, it was trimmed to 170 minutes -- and you feel every last fucking minute of it, believe me).
And, in the end, what's the moral lesson? What, that war is a terrible thing? No shit. No fucking shit. That Miranda Otto is hot? I dunno, I dunno. It's like with "Schindler's List" -- before that movie, I didn't realize that the Holocaust was a terrible thing (sarcasm, here).
And yet, the battalion of cameos in it, like every goddamned male actor of that era in that movie...
I mean, WTF? It gets distracting -- Oh! There's John Travolta! Hey, there's John Cusack. Oh, shit, there's George Clooney. WTF, is that Jared Leto? Huh, there's John C. Reilly. On and on and on (and on and on). Way, way too many cameos. And it's likely because of Malick's stature (including as a producer), these actors all wanting a piece of that action. Throw in the ones who didn't make the cut, and it's like every fucking actor of that era onscreen.In addition to the cast seen in the final cut of the film, Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Sheen, Gary Oldman, Bill Pullman, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen and Mickey Rourke also performed, but their scenes were eventually cut.
- James Caviezel as Pvt. Witt
- Sean Penn as 1st Sgt. Welsh
- Adrien Brody as Cpl. Fife
- Ben Chaplin as Pvt. Bell
- George Clooney as Capt. Bosche
- John Cusack as Capt. Gaff
- Woody Harrelson as Sgt. Keck
- Elias Koteas as Capt. Staros
- Nick Nolte as Lt. Col. Tall
- John C. Reilly as Sgt. Storm
- John Travolta as Brig. Gen. Quintard
- Thomas Jane as Pvt. Ash
- Jared Leto as 2nd. Lt. Whyte
- Dash Mihok as Pfc. Doll
- Tim Blake Nelson as Pvt. Tills
- John Savage as Sgt. McCron
- Nick Stahl as Pfc. Beade
- Miranda Otto as Marty Bell
So, that distracts me a bit (and Clooney's patriarchal little scene is particularly noisome, above and beyond Clooney even showing up in the movie at all), and I think Sean Penn's vastly overrated acting chops are particularly ill-used in the movie (First Sergeant? Says who? He doesn't look that part at all, just offers Method grimaces and his usual expressions throughout it).
The voiceovers, which comprise nearly all of the dialogue in the movie, are also overused, to the point that you can lampoon it pretty easily...
Show scene of waves washing gently on the shore. A lizard scurries between some rocks. There's a coconut being tumbled by the waves.You run into it over, and over, and over, and over again, and it begins to call attention to itself, and it begins to irritate me. I remember being irritated by it before, and I find it irritates me again.
Till: What is life?
The waves keep tumbling the coconut.
Witt: Who made this ineffable dream?
CUT TO wind softly blowing through palm tree fronds, a slightly cloudy sky.
So, as ever, I'm of two minds with this movie -- on one hand, it manages a masterful visual style, an expansive kind of ebb and flow between action sequences, the humanity and brutality of war, the nuances of violence and victory -- and yet, it also feels incredibly self-indulgent and too full of itself (originally five hours, it was trimmed to 170 minutes -- and you feel every last fucking minute of it, believe me).
And, in the end, what's the moral lesson? What, that war is a terrible thing? No shit. No fucking shit. That Miranda Otto is hot? I dunno, I dunno. It's like with "Schindler's List" -- before that movie, I didn't realize that the Holocaust was a terrible thing (sarcasm, here).
Whyte: What is true? Who is true? How can we know what is what or who is what or what is when when we're here?
CUT TO a monkey climbing a tree. It pauses while eating a piece of fruit to look at something.
CUT TO a tank, broken, rusting, half-buried in the beach.
Witt: Where are you?
Thumbnails
One game I like to play (particularly on the FB), is to post an article with a willfully wrong thumbnail photo accompanying it. There's something about that which appeals to me -- it kind of takes basic information of the article and adds a little wrinkle to it.
For example, I posted this article, and cycled through the thumbnail options until I saw this picture, and thought "That's funny." Obviously, the art of conversation has fuck-all to do with shirtless Robert Mitchum wielding a Luger, but that's exactly the point of it. The incongruity of it makes me snicker. It's a little game I play -- I'll post and cycle through the thumbnail options until I find something that fits my perverse sense of humor.
For example, I posted this article, and cycled through the thumbnail options until I saw this picture, and thought "That's funny." Obviously, the art of conversation has fuck-all to do with shirtless Robert Mitchum wielding a Luger, but that's exactly the point of it. The incongruity of it makes me snicker. It's a little game I play -- I'll post and cycle through the thumbnail options until I find something that fits my perverse sense of humor.
Chili Fest?
This article makes me snicker. What can I say? A chili grenade would probably kill me (asthma and all), but I still find weaponized chili peppers funny.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Today is a good day
I look like a roadie for Interpol today. It just seemed like a day to wear a tie to work, what can I say? I'm in a pretty good mood -- got the taxes done (yesterday), got my writing done, made a kickass lasagna, just enjoyed life in general (or at least being alive). I felt a keen sense of where I was going, what I am doing this year, and it made me feel good, like clouds that have haunted me for time time finally parting, letting warm sunlight in.
I just need to find a good job downtown. That would make everything fucking ducky.
I'm going to work on that. I think I just like having a rough plan in place -- there is satisfaction in being "on purpose" that I sometimes lose sight of, since I am not a strategic thinker, I am the consummate tactician. But every now and then, I will plan things out and will work to make that plan bear fruit for me, and I feel that I have enough of a plan in place (with enough flexibility -- I always need that) that it reassures me. It really is going to be alright.
What a far cry from the dark days of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Lordy, lordy. But truly, I am happier than I've been in years, and getting happier still. I made the right decision. I was unsure of that in 2008, really did soul-searching back then, but I realized that it was the right thing. Even with the incredible frustrations of the logistics of it (especially in 2009), I was happier than I'd been for years before. It was telling.
2010 is going to be marvelous; 2011, better still. Onward, upward! Woo hoo!
I just need to find a good job downtown. That would make everything fucking ducky.
I'm going to work on that. I think I just like having a rough plan in place -- there is satisfaction in being "on purpose" that I sometimes lose sight of, since I am not a strategic thinker, I am the consummate tactician. But every now and then, I will plan things out and will work to make that plan bear fruit for me, and I feel that I have enough of a plan in place (with enough flexibility -- I always need that) that it reassures me. It really is going to be alright.
What a far cry from the dark days of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Lordy, lordy. But truly, I am happier than I've been in years, and getting happier still. I made the right decision. I was unsure of that in 2008, really did soul-searching back then, but I realized that it was the right thing. Even with the incredible frustrations of the logistics of it (especially in 2009), I was happier than I'd been for years before. It was telling.
2010 is going to be marvelous; 2011, better still. Onward, upward! Woo hoo!
Oooh, yes
Stand and be counted!
I'm partial to Fauxhemians, Ironoclasts, Sigh-Borgs, Try-Hards, Doucheoisie, Trendsluts, and Trendizens, myself.
I'm partial to Fauxhemians, Ironoclasts, Sigh-Borgs, Try-Hards, Doucheoisie, Trendsluts, and Trendizens, myself.
Wow.
I'm pleased that Obama and company got the health care bill passed. Even though it's not nearly strong enough for what our country needs, it is an unqualified reform, and the politics of compassion, hope, and progress beat out the politics of fear, despair, and hate. The Republicans (and their assorted running dogs) have to be eating their hats right now -- they gambled politically on denying the Democrats (and most particularly, Obama) any kind of legislative success, but they lost. Now they're really going to be in a jam. Good. They deserve to be, the douchebags.
2300 words yesterday.
2300 words yesterday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)