Some updates

I've been listening to lots of music these days, trying to have at least one play count for each song I have uploaded onto iTunes. Lordy, I have over three thousand to go! I also earned an iTunes gift card, so I bought even more songs (and even an album, just for its exclusive track).

Ridiculous amount of reading going on right now. Done with Camus and off to Nabokov-land. I'm reading Lolita and Speak, Memory right now. One is for class discussion, the other is for an oral presentation I plan to give next week. I also have a stack of unfinished books that needs to get finished like whoa.

Like I mentioned in my last entry, to make up for my lacking presence, I would do a book review. I know I said that I had grand plans for a separate website just for reviews. It was silly for me to stop doing them here. Until I figure out a place for them to go, I'll continue posting them here. Anyway, back to the book review. I have chosen another J.G. Ballard book, ironically having to do with cars and crashes also: Concrete Island.

So, the reviews are back. This shall be their temporary home.

Mindy Smith did an amazing and gorgeous cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" that I can't. Stop. Listening. To. To say it's better than the original would be silly, since Christine McVie is classy awesome personified... instead, shall I say Smith's cover is in a class unto itself? Yeah, much better.

This is an update, signifying something

It's been a long game of playing catch-up. While I've been working on the second draft of a short story written a while back, I also have been establishing other habits, like:

-writing something every day
-journal at least every other day
-avoiding TV like it carries H1N1
-trying to play all the video games I own
-(possibly) getting lessons to learn how to play guitar
-read every day
-watch a movie at least twice a week

I'm also addicted to Tumblr and Twitter these days. It's easy to get trapped in the former. I follow a ton of writing/reading blogs. One inspired me to purchase Piccadilly notebooks. So far, digging those little Moleskine-lookalikes.

Really, there is nothing else to say. Maybe I'll give y'all a little book review. How
'bout that?

Okay, lemme find a book and I'll do a nice review of it... soon.

Links and other random things

My last post will probably remain one of the more well-written things on this blog (next to my open letter to WB and Youtube), and future posts will be a step down in terms of writing quality, until the mood strikes me.

I kid, I kid.

Sorta.

So anyway, I posted some new links. For one thing, I now have a tumblr. I may post randomness there, instead of here. Maybe it will help clear up this blog for more professional posts... like the last one I did.

Hark! A Vagrant is a hilarious webcomic by the mega-talented Kate Beaton. She makes a lot of history jokes, but trust me, you'll laugh and learn something. And isn't that the beauty of high comedy?

Spill.com is a movie review website. Its bread-and-butter is the video reviews, which are short animations starring a motley crew of movie critics. They aren't afraid to go for the jugular, but it brings the laughs.

The Misadventures of Hello Cthulhu is a webcomic that sticks one of Lovecraft's most frightening creations into the equally-WTF world of Hello Kitty. Hilarity ensues. Warning: webcomic may be only appealing to Lovecraft-aholics. Like me... *secret Lovecraft fan*

That reminds me of a time that once I had a customer that had a shirt for this. When I confirmed it, he said that I was the only person who got it. When I shared the story with my co-workers, they had no idea what I was talking about. Man, I am a geek.

Recommended short stories: "The Rats in the Walls", "The Haunter of the Dark", and "Nyarlathotep".

~

I have Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" stuck in my head. Damn. It.

ETA: BTW, if you check out my Tumblr, you get to see some of my tweets.

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'm getting published, y'all!

I just received an email this afternoon. One of my poems is getting published in my university's literary magazine! More details as they arrive.

This is truly an exciting moment. Very happy about it.

And yes, I did change my "about me" block to reflect this awesome event.

A sad time for the literary world...

As a budding writer, it only makes sense to take this time to acknowledge a few shining stars that have joined their predecessors in the heavens.

This month has seen the loss of:

J.D. Salinger, writer of The Catcher in the Rye.

Howard Zinn, author of The People's History of the United States.

Robert B. Parker, writer of the Spenser series.

Erich Segal, writer of Love Story.

R.I.P., gentlemen. Thank you for your contributions to the letters.

A "so far..." review of "Silent Hill: Shattered Memories"

*WARNING - HERE BE SOME SPOILERS*

Well, I knew I had to prepare myself for disappointment, given I already disagreed with it being a remake and the Otherworld turning into Icy Winter Wonderland. But, wow, y'all. So far, it's just bites.

The controls are wonky, especially the door opening buttons. Whose genius idea was it to have one press the X button repeatedly? I'm glad I could use the left control stick to push it open, otherwise I would have a sore right thumb! (Yes, the Silent Hill series, along with many survival horror titles, have a history of bad controls; but those are easier compared to the ones in this game, trust me...) But seriously, one button should do the trick.

The lack of combat is a joke. Oh, I apologize. Apparently throwing flares or pushing down random bookshelves is the best you can do. If I was put into a similar situation (what a world it would be if that were the case...) I would kick more ass than Harry did. And I'd do it with a 2x4 with a nail at the end of it.

Running around aimlessly (oh wait, your helpful GPS-capable iPhone rip-off leaves a blue trail just in case you get turned around) is your only option! Don't forget to zigzag. No need though, since when you explore the town, there are no monsters! And the monsters are ALL THE SAME when you get to the Otherworld in the Fridge.

Don't even get me started on the story. In all its madness, it is weird for the sake of weird. The scares are almost nonexistent, unless you're real jumpy by nature. Everybody is being thrown in there without explanation, connections made in seconds. I mean, most of the females end up calling Harry which leads me to ask "how in the world did they get his number?!" No scene establishes this.

The camera-detecting-random-spirits thing is a ripoff from Fatal Frame. Wow, y'all who made this game. Really? You had to plagiarize (no, they didn't borrow it) an awesome aspect of a lesser-known series in order to bring something new to the series? No other word for this than: FAIL.

~

Now, there are some good things. Calling the numbers and hearing the messages is the only good thing so far.

Making John Wyndham the founder of Midwich High was effing funny and appealed to the lit geek in me.

Yeah, pretty much it.

~

Y'all want to play the original Silent Hill? Just call me and borrow my copy. Or, if in the very likely chance that you don't know me and can't borrow it, ask your hardcore gamer friend or just buy it off of eBay. Do anything but buy this game. If you do, you're getting a neutered, borderline plagiarizing, sanitized, high-school-drama-havin', nonsensical, weird-for-the-sake-of-weird retelling of a classic horror video game.

*exhales* Now, if y'all excuse me... I have some things to do. Like schoolwork, internship stuff, and chilling the hell down.

Expect a final review soon...