12.27.2011

down for the count but holding on




I've been feeling a bit like a punching bag as of late, and I'm doing everything in my power not too slip back into my dysthymia. 2011 ended just like 2010 with yet another failed relationship. This time on Christmas no less. Yep, dumped on Christmas. I have an uncanny ability of attracting girls who both adore me, and are repelled by the idea of me being their boyfriend. It fucking sucks. I've given so much and I lose every time. I know everyone suffers the woes of relationship failure. Two of my closest friends had their relationships come crashing down this year. One of which ended in divorce after less than two years of marriage. He's suffered. My other friend has been bending over backwards to make a relationship work with an unresolvable situation. Life is shit. I know I say that a lot, and most people probably think I'm being over dramatic, but it really does suck. Sustaining happiness for more than a few months at a time seems to be impossible. I haven't experienced a full year of happiness since I was 27. That was 7 years ago! Do you see what I'm saying.

This year wasn't a complete failure. I graduated from college. Despite still being completely unemployable I am pretty fucking proud of that accomplishment. Even at 34, holding my diploma brought a giddiness to my wrinkled face. No male in my family has ever graduated from college. I also wrote two full length plays that I'm quite proud of. Playwriting really reinvigorated my creativeness. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to create something. I'm a terribly lazy writer, it almost always feels like a chore to commit to doing it, but once I start I love it. I love writing dialogue. It probably sounds terribly vain to say that I crack myself up when I write dialogue. It's true though. I write some seriously funny and ridiculous shit. I really do plan on trying to get at least one of them staged.

I also made a new friend. We refer to each other as the enabler. He's 10 years younger than me, but let it be known love knows no age. Er... I mean friendship. I mean friendship. I said friendship! We have had some seriously good times this year. So many so that his girlfriend is actually quite jealous of our playtime. I think she believes I bring out bad behavior in him, when in actuality he's quite capable of doing that without me. I know I wouldn't of made it through this year without him. Props Alan.

So here we are at the start of another year, according to some the last year on earth. At this point I guess I should assume that I'll have my heart broken a few more times. That I'll continue to be broke, and that my health will completely deteriorate. But then the earth will either be on fire or underwater so I guess it really doesn't matter. Actually, I know I'll still be here, suffering...  but I would prefer that 2012 is awesome. Please. Pretty please with sugar on top.

12.09.2011

Under the SkinUnder the Skin by Michel Faber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There have only been two other books that have made me this uncomfortable day and night, The Road and The Shinning. Under the Skin is by far the most disturbing of the three and yet by contrast it is also strangely tender.



It's not lost on me that using the word disturbing will definitely turn off a lot of readers. Under the Skin is not for everyone, but it is a highly original piece of literature and in that way it's not to be missed. There are so many great first time novelists, but not many writers would be able to expertly blend the genres of fiction, science fiction and horror. I'm particularly excited because Under the Skin is currently being made into a movie (opens 2012) from the director of Sexy Beast and Birth. I'm thrilled and mystified on how they'll actually be able to pull it off. Things happen in this book that are beyond description. I found even in my own imagination straining to see exactly what Faber was describing. I know it will make for a very challenging translation from the written word to the screen.



Bottom line read it, but the less you know in advance the better.



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10.17.2011

West of HereWest of Here by Jonathan Evison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The two best books I read this year came from Northwest writers (the other being Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers). And the landscape plays such an important role in West of Here's success. The first one hundred pages of Evison's fantastic historical novel is like the beginning of There Will Be Blood. You are treated to a time in American history when life was hard earned, wild and mostly unknown. Get this one.



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9.23.2011

Await Your ReplyAwait Your Reply by Dan Chaon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Absorbing and very addictive. Every time I did read it I would generally devour 50-100pgs at a time. I liked the characters a lot, it seemed believable and well researched. Probably better to not read too many reviews before reading this... it would be very easy to drop a spoiler.



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9.13.2011

The Forever WarThe Forever War by Joe Haldeman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There is so much more to this outstanding sci-fi novel than what the synopsis lets on. While there is in fact a war being fought front and center, and a fair amount of technicality and military lingo to the writing, neither of these things really define this book. It's Haldeman concepts and his characters. The concepts are huge and even in the year 2011 seem really quite evolutionary in how they would change the life we know if applied. I thought the characters on a whole were fantastic. Most of them are soldiers but they all have distinctive voices and feelings. Without giving away to many secrets, the ending was absolutely perfect and was incredibly touching.



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9.03.2011

love sucks






















Mad Max falls in love... then shit hits the fan.  I saw Evan Glodell's ferocious debut Bellflower yesterday in a nearly deserted theater. I have a feeling I lucked out, cause this film is about to blowup! This is easily the coolest independent film in... forever. Maybe since the 90's. Bellflower was made for a mere $17,000 with non-professional actors, and featuring the baddest car since Batman's Tumbler. If you get the chance to see it big, see it big, cause there's never been anything like it before.

8.28.2011

The Dog of the SouthThe Dog of the South by Charles Portis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of the funniest books I've ever read. Did you hear me??? EVER!!!!!



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LolitaLolita by Vladimir Nabokov

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really didn't like it a first, it got under my skin often, and for good reason, it's dirrrty. But... the prose. My god the prose! The prose is in a world all it's own. Those pretty pretty complex words that confuse and entice and never let up. Never, not once. Nabokov can write. Lolita is two parts highbrow literature, too one part lurid pulp trash. Or is it the other way around?? It gracefully dances back and forth between a subtle but savage satire on high and low art, American vs European attitudes, the travel industry... and least we forget at it's creepy core, Humbert Humbert's story (in his own words) about his undying love/conquest of nymphet Lolita.



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8.24.2011

The Sisters BrothersThe Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Sisters Brothers expertly fuses the bleak and violent world of Cormac McCarthy with Jim Jarmusch's playfully offbeat and hilarious Dead Man. It makes you laugh, just as much as it breaks your heart. And even still, it is like nothing I've ever read before.


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Hard Rain FallingHard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A masterpiece. That word almost doesn't seem big enough to encapsulate the voices of Jack and Billy, and the believability that this book conveys in nearly ever single sentence. Carpenter's narrative is so engaging that at times I didn't feel like I was even reading a book, but rather sitting across a campfire listening to real men (and boys) talk and recount a time in America that can only be lived by a selective few. The poor yes, but also the hard knock hustlers who desire money the same way others search for love. Hard Rain Falling is gritty and rugged, but also has tremendous beauty and tenderness, and there were things that happened along the way that I could not of foreseen. I loved it like crazy even when it made me cry.



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7.25.2011

the world is a wacky/messed/fucked/beautiful/strange/scary place

























1. Paradise Lost: Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (and Paradise Lost 2:Revelations)

Most likely you've seen this by now, but if you haven't you're in for the treat/fright of your life. It's about a small town murder of three little boys and the three teenagers accused of committing the heinous act. The only thing is...  the ones who aren't locked up are more terrifying. Totally mesmerizing stuff here, and the soundtrack is by Metallica. See this.


















 2. Exit Through the Gift Shop

No real words come to mind on how to describe this other than AMAZING. I'll just throw some words out: graffiti, stardom, obsession, Banksy, midnight, secret, provocative, hilarious, unbelievable, oscar snub, LA, risky, Banksy. Again, amazing.



























 3. Billy the Kid

This doc is so rad. Epic. Hilarious. Insightful. Billy is a one of a kind discovery. Here's a quote by him, "I'm not black, I'm not white, not foreign... Just different in the mind-different brains that's all..."


























4. Encounters at the End of the World

I hate to keep using the word amazing, but this really is amazing. The photography is incredible. I pretty much want to run away from North America and go live down there. It just looks do damn inviting. Harsh yes, but inviting nonetheless. As per usual, Herzog finds the weirdest/socially awkward scientist/citizens to film and thank you for that. They are HI-larious. Take this trip from home.


























5. Hoop Dreams

You don't even have to like basketball to fall in love with this movie. It's one of the greatest documentaries ever made. I've seen it probably four times and I think it's nearly three hours long. If they could give Oscars for best real life performances, this film would clean house.

























6. American Movie

Need a pick-me-up? This shit is ridiculous in all the right ways. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. You will pretty much fall in love with these two guys.


























7. Dark Days

This documentary is phenomenal for some many different reasons. The biggest one is that director Marc Singer had never used a camera before and the cinematography is incredible. So beautiful and haunting. He also got DJ Shadow to provide the music and it just adds to the general coolness of the doc. But the number one reason this film is incredible, are the homeless people he interviews living in the underground tunnels in NYC. It's heartbreaking and inspiring, and there are stories in this film that I still reflect on today. Do not miss out!


to be continued...

6.17.2011

6.14.2011

the history of sadness

This movie made me happy and sad, and then happy again.

5.29.2011

fabulous prizes



















































Last night I went and saw Neil Ferron's new play Fabulous Prizes. Hilarious. Fucking hilarious! I took a class with Neil maybe a year and half ago and I remember being really impressed with his writing.  The acting is phenomenal. The story is two parts bizarre, one part provocative, one and half parts psychotic, and half of a quarter parts tender. If you live in Seattle go see it by June 5th or you will get the tape.

5.26.2011

bibio





Get Mind Bokeh.

5.15.2011

evil






































First there was A Bittersweet Life. Then there was Old Boy, and Lady Vengeance. If you thought those films were messed up, prepare to be shocked. I Saw The Devil is without a doubt the craziest, most fucked up, bloodbath of a revenge film of all-time. I could neither watch nor look away. Amazing.