Best of 2015: The Everything Edition

Oh look, I decided to do one of these after all. I still stand by that I don't do this out of a sense of need, I am doing it purely for the fun. And the LOLs. Never forget the LOLs.

The Best of 2014: The Everything Edition

I know I said I will not do these anymore, and I still stand by that. However, I feel like I should go ahead and talk about the 2014 media experiences I loved. And thus, this will be the last one I’ll ever do on here. The end of an era! And thank Heavens, I was getting tired of this s***.

~~

VIDEO GAMES

Let's kick this off by giving a shout-out to one of the best games I've ever played, bar none, last year. While it wasn't a 2014 release, I want to give it a ton of love: The Cat Lady. It's a point-and-click adventure game that is nothing that you think it is. When I bought it during the Steam sale back in December last year, I was raring for a fun adventure with a cat-loving lady. But whoa, when I started the game up, I was in a complete shock. I finished it in less than two days, it was that engrossing. Not only did this game have a very intense and excellent story, but a solid cast of wonderful characters. It is also *one of the best representations of depression and suicide and how it affects a human being. I wanted to high-five the entire crew for doing such a touchy topic the justice it rightfully deserves. Not once is it romanticized, it's brought to earth and also very metaphorical.

(*I attempted to play Depression Quest long ago and felt it was inadequate in presenting the experience of having depression. However, what happened to the game's creator was pretty awful.)

~~

MOVIES

Okay, y'all know I rarely watch movies. But when I do, I gorge myself in film until I can barely move from my recliner. The only major release I saw last year of note was The LEGO Movie. No, no "awesome" jokes. It was a genuinely good movie that, next to Pacific Rim, is one I look forward to its sequel.

Other films of note:
A Band Called Death (y'all, this was awesome! Too bad they never got big, stupid record industry...)
Blood & Black Lace (I went on a giallo binge late last year and this was my favorite of the bunch)
Tiny: A Story About Living Small (watch to see one of my favorite people talk about her house!)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (oh, if only it was made! *shakes fist to sky*)

~~

TV SHOWS

The only one that matters in 2014: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. End of story. Next topic.

~~

BOOKS

Alrighty, we'll split by two lists: one for 2014 releases and the other is for older books.

Top 11 Books of 2014:

1. Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay
2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo
3. Nochita by Dia Felix
4. Green Girl by Kate Zambreno
5. The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte
6. Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than
7. Shoplifter by Michael Cho
8. The Big Tiny: A Built-It-Myself Memoir by Dee Williams
9. Promise Land by Jessica Lamb-Shapiro
10. MFA vs. NYC: The Two Cultures of American Fiction edited by Chad Harbach
11. Writing Wild by Tina Welling


Top 10 Books Not from 2014:

1. Thunder and Lightning by Natalie Goldberg
2. The Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig
3. Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
4. Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
5. You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap) by Tammy Strobel
6. Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
7. The Case for God by Karen Armstrong
8. Twilight of the Elites by Christopher Hayes
9. Women Food and God by Geneen Roth
10. Amsterdam by Russell Shorto

~~

MUSIC

To make this easier, here are my Top 12 Albums I Absolutely Loved and Want You to Buy:

1. (Tie) In Cold Blood by White Sea and Brill Bruisers by The New Pornographers
2. Taiga by Zola Jesus
3. Run River North by Run River North
4. Too True by Dum Dum Girls
5. Last War by Haley Bonar
6. The Future’s Void by EMA
7. St. Vincent by St. Vincent (hell yeah, get that Grammy, girlfriend!)
8. LP1 by FKA twigs
9. Nabuma Rubberband by Little Dragon
10. Comet, Come to Me by Meshell Ndegeocello
11. Cry is for the Flies by Le Butcherettes
12. Stay Gold by First Aid Kit

~~

So there ya go, two months late, but here it is. And that's the end of these kinda lists from this point out. It's been not fun, so that's why this is the last one. Now, onto other things I rather do instead!

Best of 2012: Movie Edition

Well, looks like I saw enough films to make a list. Here it is!

A Letter to the Silent Hill Fandom

Dear Silent Hill fans,

Yesterday, I saw Silent Hill: Revelation.

Let me get it out of the way: yes, the story was disjointed at times, some of the dialogue over-explained things (but then again, that is a trait in most low-grade horror films), the pacing was very off, the jump-scares weren't necessary, the special effects were abysmal, and it could've gone on longer (like another fifteen minutes).

But also... yes, the dialogue was funky at times (but it is Shakespearean compared to the first film), the acting is MILES better (with the exception of Radha Mitchell, WTF girl?), the sets were gorgeous and well-done, the music was great as usual, the monsters were neat (especially the mannequin spider), and the atmosphere was spot-on.

In the end, I really liked it. It was a decent film that fixed the flaws of the first movie, but ran into other problems. I love it for its flaws, but I love for what it did right. Hell, I may even see it again.

But I know I am in a humble-sized group with this opinion.

Everyone hates this movie, calls it a travesty and all sorts of other descriptive phrases to sum up that it was an atrocity upon celluloid. But I have to refute some of that.

Does the film have its flaws? Yes, it does. Is it faithful to the third game? Not really. Then again, the first movie wasn't faithful to the first game and for some strange reason, y'all are starting to rally around the first movie even when you tore it to pieces! You don't get to do that. My God, pick an opinion and stand by it!

For those who say that the director didn't play the games: yes, he did. He paid homage to several scenes in the third game, along with others (look out for them for fun Easter eggs!) But also, he was working with a film with its own canon (well, sort of, but you get the idea)! He had to stick close to it or else y'all would whine about that. Good Lord, Catch-22 much?

And my God, shut the f*** up about the cult. The cult was there from the very beginning. Don't whine that it takes away anything. The cult is scary! You all want the series to be something that it never was: this over-intellectual series about psychological f***-ups. Can we have that and a dash of the supernatural? What the hell is wrong with that? It doesn't make your precious games look philistine or anything. In fact, I love the corresponding forces here. We can explore all possibilities! For the love of all things holy and made unto the Lord, Silent Hill is a smart game, but it's not the Mensa member of the video game world. Chill, y'all. Your game is still smarter than the average one, and it's not stupid for having a cult in it. Fatal Frame is amazing with its cult, too, and I don't see y'all railing on it.

I hate fandom so much. The fans I've encountered act like their opinions are superior and that anyone outside the group (like film directors) will get called into question when the films don't match their impossible expectations.

No, don't tell me you deserve a good film and that Hollywood owes you one. I heard it before, from Resident Evil fans and Super Mario fans. So shut up and move on. Hollywood will never make a decent adaptation. Why start now? Your special game isn't the exception. There are better things to get angry at.

Yes, I am angry at something that essentially means nothing in the end. Yes, I have better things to get upset about. But you know what? If y'all can rant about how Pyramid Head is James' monster and cannot appear anywhere else (when he wasn't, I cannot STRESS that enough), then you know what? I can rant how y'all are arrogant gits who need to take a freaking break.

Come at me, bros.

Sincerely,
Lindsey, a disgruntled Silent Hill fan

P.S.: Shattered Memories is still an unnecessary existence, the first game is the superior one, and 0rigins is the Mirage of the Silent Hill series. /trollcomment

Yeaaaa!

The long-awaited trailer to the new Silent Hill movie is now here!

Minor complaint: the effects look a little off, but other than that, it looks great! Can't wait 'til October! Hell yeah, midnight showing (if there is one)!

I've been having a blah week (full of no-fun anxiety), but this has made up for it.

*goes to look at various Silent Hill message boards*

Nothing will ever please the hardcore fans. Reason #153 Why I'm No Longer A Member of A Silent Hill Message Board.

On The Hunger Games movie...

The Hunger Games was an underwhelming film. It lacked the urgency, the horror, and pathos of the book. To me, this is the most grievous thing a book-to-film adaptation can do. I know the violence would've given it an R rating, but at this time, that might've been better.

It also relies heavily on the fact that its audience has read the book already. Don't believe me? Take a step back and pretend you've never read the book. Story seems a little rushed and simplistic? Characters underdeveloped? Yep. I can't believe the film did that to its viewers. I feel bad for those who've never read the books and wanted more nuance from the film. They were not the intended audience. So yeah, if you realized all that too, don't worry, you're not the only one.

"The movie is heavily faithful to the source material?" HA! And I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

The movie was already plagued with casting problems (e.g. only white actresses were allowed to try out for Katinss, though the book describes her as having a dark skin tone), so without even trying, I found two more strikes against the film. And it's out.

If you've enjoyed the film, that's wonderful. Really, it is. Just please, do not tell me I'm being a spoilsport and ruining everyone's fun. That says more about you than it does me.

/rant

Nooooo... tes!!

You probably got a gander of my page recently and saw something about a Haruki Murakami challenge of sorts. Since I want to challenge myself to do more stuff, I decided to sign up for it, a first for me. I'm very excited to be part of a community. I plan on reading everything that I have (which amounts to 10 books), plus whatever I don't have and of course, the upcoming English translation of 1Q84 (whoo).

~

I also decided to tally up how many books, movies and albums I've experieced last year. The answers:

82 books read
82 albums listened to
63 movies watched

That is a lot of media. No wonder I have frequent headaches now...

~

So much to look forward to. Lots of movies, music... but not so much on the book front. Other than the Murakami, I can't think of another book to look forward to. Oh well, maybe I'll find some to look forward to.

~

As for blog-related matters, I will continue as I always have. Since I like the schedule, postings here will remain on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until I get tired of it. I will conclude the "24 Reviews in 24 Years" by the eve of my 25th birthday, and also decide once and for all... the "Best 25 Songs (That I Have) of All Time" list. I will post reviews (even some for the Haruki Murakami thingy) and random writing posts. Expect more writing stuff.

Hell yes.

Some numbers to throw at ya!

So far, this year... as of today, I've read sixty-two books. Finished another about fifteen minutes ago (review on Wednesday). Out of that, only twenty I really enjoyed and would highly recommend.

I've also listened to fifty new albums in total. Out of those, only ten I really enjoyed and would recommend. Ouch!

And finally, I've watched forty-six movies. Out of those, fourteen I enjoyed and would recommend.

On a side note, this all doesn't count the ones I've listened to/read/seen before. These are new or newish.

Much like last year, I will list my favorites of the year, along with wrapping up "24 Reviews for 24 Years" and deciding my "Top 25 Favorite Songs".

~

Expect a review on Wednesday on my latest read. Until then, nuclear porcupines.

Movie time

Writing is going well, so there's that. Also... I'm in a movie mood. Watching The Big Lebowski right now, just finished Fargo. It's a Coen Brothers kinda night.

See y'all Friday...

Quick Hits (or I'm Lazy, Here's A Short Entry)

Currently, I'm reading The Alchemist. I have no idea how to react to this book, so I plan on finishing it tonight and making a final decision. Before that, I finished Steve Martin's memoir, which I enjoyed very much.

~

As for music, I finished Arcade Fire's latest. I wasn't overtly impressed with it (I still prefer Funeral and Neon Bible on odd days), but there were some great songs, especially the title track and this one:



This was my favorite off the entire album.

Oh yeah, and Guster's new song is great:



~

As for movies, I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Repo! The Genetic Opera. I loved the former, it was entertaining and very funny. In fact, I make plans to either borrow or buy the comics and read them. The latter was a poor man's Rocky Horror, most of the singing was horrible. It says a lot about a musical when only two of its songs are really good. But it is better than Grease. Then again, anything is better than Grease.

I'm probably gonna get attacked for not liking Repo. Ah, who cares? When Repo's purported sequel makes an unforgettable scene like this



I'll retract my opinion.

P.S.: Speaking of retracting opinions... after giving it considerable thought: Fear of Music by Talking Heads is not my all-time favorite album. It's actually Remain In Light. Whoops.

Top Ten Lists ('cause I was bored, okay?!)

"Invisible" is coming along, currently on Part 1 with over 6,000+ words. I'm trying to crank in about 1,000-2,000 words a day. Most of it is retyping scenes from older drafts. Whee, split screens! But it's fun to resurrect scenes with new ideas, seeing them coming to a new life.

~

While faffing about instead of working on "Invisible", I came up with a definitive list of my top ten favorite books, albums, and movies. The books list is a reworking of an older list I posted eons ago.

Here you go, for your reading pleasure!

My Top Ten Books:

1. A House Like A Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
2. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
5. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
6. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
7. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
8. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
9. after the quake by Haruki Murakami
10. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
(Bonus! 11. What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson)

My Top Ten Albums:

1. Fear of Music by Talking Heads
2. Out of the Cradle by Lindsey Buckingham
3. Hounds of Love by Kate Bush
4. The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
5. Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka
6. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne
7. Warm Strangers by Vienna Teng
8. Security by Peter Gabriel
9. Little Love Affairs by Nanci Griffith
10. The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel
(Bonus! 11. The Red and the Black by Jerry Harrison)

My Top Ten Movies:

1. Casablanca
2. The Agony and the Ecstasy
3. The Shining
4. Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
5. The Silence of the Lambs
6. Brazil
7. Jacob’s Ladder
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
9. Vertigo
10. Empire Records
(No bonus, but I can't decide between Suspiria, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Misery)

~

There you go. Feel free to share your favorites, very interested to see what y'all have to say. I'll keep updating about my writing as before. Until then, good night.

Counting down while reading

*5 more until 200*

As it gets closer to the 200th entry, I decided to take the time today to instead of being a sack of sad panda that I'll be a little more optimistic.

Last night, I finally finished reading Lolita. Never have I ever been so happy to finish a book. I respect it as a work of literature... but Good Lord. I hated every character in the book. I hated the story. Honestly, who cares about this man who had the fucking gall to justify what he's done?! If he felt so bad for his actions, then why did he even do them?! AUUUGHH.

I learned in my class that this book is full of clever puns and wordplay. Well yippie. That doesn't make up for its flaws.

But, do you know what's hilarious? I forgive Nabokov for all this because of one thing:

Speak, Memory was fantastic.

Blog post... on spaaaaccceee!

For the last week, my mind's been in space. No, really, it has been. All I've been thinking about is the skies and the mysterious beyond above us. It all started when my sister brought up watching the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (she had seen it and loved it). I had wanted to see it for a long time, but didn't have the drive until she started talking about it. It also helps that she owns it on DVD.

The first thing I did was dig up the trailer and watch it. Looked interesting. And, if you've been aware of pop culture since, well 1968, you would be shocked to see all the references to this film in surprising places. So, it made more sense to see it and not just to "get" the references.

Before I watched the film, I found myself faffing about the Internet (wow, what a shock) and looked up photos on space, mainly on Jupiter (since 2001 has a subplot about an exploration trip to the planet). More faffing about led me to other pictures of space. Upon seeing this image, tears welled into my eyes. What beauty! These clouds of stars looked like solid rock formations! The colors looked like something from the more pleasant of acid dreams. And to think this all is somewhere beyond the familiar skies...

This photo nearly struck me dead. In all that alienating darkness, in the great distance, therein lies the home we all call Earth (the speck in the middle of the right beam). I felt small suddenly, but humbled. This world just seems so big, and here we all 6 billion are, all contained in that wee speck.

This looks like something out of a dream I could have. Imagine floating below all that. It would be tempting to touch. What would it feel like? Sea foam? What about watching it, all of it swirling and twinkling like living glitter paint?

Watching a sunset, especially in a nice town, is always a treat. One on Mars would be no different. Just gorgeous.

~

After all that, my sister and I sat down with refreshments and watched the movie. It was her second time seeing it. While the same amazement that struck me when viewing those photos did not happen, the movie affected me in its own way. Sure, the story is fairly straightforward, but again it does remind us that "damn, the universe is big".

Besides the philosophical business, it reminded me that films with special effects can have some substance (unlike certain films that are popular with the kids these days). For its time (remember, this film was done in 1968), the film managed to do some amazing things: portray how light and sound operate in space and show zero gravity pretty convincingly. The darkness of space has always been haunting, how the stars we know and love are insignificant specks of light in the vastness. This film didn't shy away from that, adding to the eeriness of isolation and hopelessness when the rising action takes place. Not much talking takes place and music is also a rare treat. With such minimalism, aside with the stunning visual effects and design, it may amaze some of this generation that such a film could still stand the test of time. The great thing is, even with over forty years under its belt, 2001's effects have aged spectacularly well. The acting was wonderful, even when faced with silence.

~

After a few days passed, I did some research to understand more about the movie and its development. I then came across two videos that made me appreciate the visual effects all over again.

Needless to say, I fell in love with the movie. Definitely on my top twenty for sure.

~

I don't know what this all is supposed to be for, or what my point is. I guess it's nice to be reminded once in a while of the amazement of the whole scheme of things. And how a good film can inspire the sense of wonder we should never lose.

And, just because y'all knew it was coming: the Discovery Channel song. You know you want to sing along to it.

~

The tl;dr version: sci-fi masterpiece inspires repeated views of space photos and realizations of humankind's place in big-ol' universe. Said person writes post to see if people would actually read it.

I emerge from the depths of... something

Take the silence from my side of things as a sign that things are going okay. I've been ill for the last three days and it has hampered me from handling various tasks, from the internship to even fun things. I've been playing catch-up, but thankfully, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I've been busy emailing with the magazine's editor, a professor, a fellow classmate, and others. It's the most I've spent on my email account in a long while.

Very little reading, but the big one is of course Camus' The Stranger (for my Senior Seminar). Now, I already know I'm going to English Major hell for not enjoying Austen's Pride and Prejudice... but I'm gonna go to the ninth circle for this: I'm not completely digging Stranger that much. I appreciate it for what it's doing, or at least what I perceive it's doing, but I cannot say I really like it. Perhaps discussion in the class will help me respect it more, but by itself... it has yet to impress me.

For movies, I watched The Holy Mountain a couple of nights ago. I'm not much into surrealist films, but hey, at least I started off with a prime choice. At least, that's what I heard about this film. I got most of it, but had to read up a little more to get it. I caught some of the tarot symbols and understood most of the Christian allegory. It was an interesting film and recommend it to those who like surrealist films. Personally, I wouldn't watch it again. I can barely handle my own imagination sometimes.

Not much writing, but I need to get to working on my COLFA conference submission. I plan to work on it later on today.

Otherwise, not much else.

Have yourself a safe and happy Martin Luther King Day, y'all. Honor the man of the hour by learning more about him. He's a fascinating guy. Plus, his wife Coretta is an awesome lady in her own right.

Yeah, no.

More news about the second Silent Hill movie.

This just proves that this isn't going to work. Make it accessible? They already did that with the first film!

***SPOILER***

I mean, hello! That scene with Alessa explaining the whole damn thing. If that isn't accessible and being the total opposite to the games, I don't know what.

***END SPOILER***

*calms down* Look, I honestly believe that some Silent Hill fans (not all, but some) are in serious denial with the movie. I'll be the first (no the second, but anyway) person to say that visually... It. Was. Spot. Freakin'. On.

However, the story was about as convoluted as a labyrinth designed by a bunch of drunk monkeys. And the dialogue there makes my own look amazing (i.e. it's pretty bad).


All I wanted from the movie was an original story. All I got was a neutered take to the first game. And there's another one coming in game form, mind you.

I love all the Silent Hill games (even Homecoming), but it's getting real hard for me to remain calm about all this for much longer. Honestly, Shattered Memories (it is a remake, I don't care what the game developers claim) is not even necessary. Like another unnecessary remake of a classic first game. It's turning into Resident Evil (a series that was actually good... until the movies and the cash-in games came along).

I'm not asking for the series to go back to being a niche thing, something hipsters could latch themselves onto. I'm only asking for the initial spirit of the games to remain, something that seems to be missing since Homecoming. I ask for originality, necessary changes to gameplay that still retain the helplessness of being a "regular Joe" stuck in a haunted town. To quit explaining every damn thing, after all, the Golden Rule of horror is to "never explain or show everything". To quit using Pyramid Head and try out new villains, because creative thinkers don't rehash. To be subtle, make references to cool things (see Jacob's Ladder and Phantoms).

Is it too much to ask?

Maybe it is.

ETA: Oh, yeah. Which reminds me... there's a remake of Jacob's Ladder planned.

...

FFFUUUU... /rageguy

Oh, here we go now...

There's going to be a second Silent Hill movie.



Well, all I hope is that they write an original story and have some decent dialogue in there.

But, I'm not expecting it.

Sad day for the entertainment world...

R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Y'all will be missed, by loved ones and fans alike.

Stories here and here.

No, Hollywood. *hits them with newspaper* No.

No movie in existence has angered me... until this came along.

The trailer is horrifying, and not in the way you would think. It is ridiculous and disgusting that they're profiting off of something that is pretty serious business.

Lemme just say this: this s*** ain't funny, y'all. Don't go around and make movies about this stuff. I bet you that people will spaz out after this film's out. People will be going to my bookstore and buying all those 2012 books that are just gathering dust right now. It'll be the Y2K thing all over again. There's being cautious, and then there's blind paranoia. Guess what I think it would be?

Side note: I honestly do not think anything world-ending will happen on 12/21/2012. There has been proof that this date isn't the end of the world. Yet, I do think something will happen. Dunno what, but I'm not totally cynical about this date.

Well, I need sleep. Good night...

P.S.: Blues is 20,000+ words in. Whoo!

And a good evening...

Well, today was quite an eventful day. My sister and I went looking for bookshelves, then stopped by a local indie bookstore. I found hardcover copies of Brightness Falls and Veronica, and this interesting Margaret Atwood short story collection.

~

We also saw Angels & Demons. Honestly, this thing was as histrionic as a My Super Sweet Sixteen brat.

They rewrote the book quite a bit. But after reading Wikipedia's summary of the book, no wonder they did. A lot of it, frankly, sounds quite silly. Sadly, I don't recall enough of it to make a good book-vs.-movie judgment.

A while back, before it was considered the cool thing to do :P, I read the book after The Da Vinci Code. I remember preferring Angels over Code. And that's it.

~

OMG, my avatar has Kate Bush! Squee!

~

I have some ideas to liven up this blog. Expect test runs in the future...

Bye for now, listening to my Australian pop song...

My "Watchmen" review

Just got back from seeing it. Overall, it was a pretty good film. The gang had their work cut out for them, but they managed to pull it off.

Though, without spoiling the movie, some scenes were pretty silly (when I didn't notice it in the graphic novel).

And the lady playing Laurie/Silk Spectre could've done a better job. Emote, girl, emote!

Patrick Wilson (aka Nite Owl) rocked the house. :D Hell, loved the character to begin with. He's so bookish and awkward.

tl;dr: it's good, go see the film. Then later, if you feel like it, buy the graphic novel.