Laugh Riot

Want a reason to laugh?

Three reasons:

1. Alanis Morrisette singing My Humps: she adds a new comedic/serious spin on the Black Eyed Peas.

2. Justin Timberlake dancing in heels: just plain old, laugh out loud, wet your pants, funny.

3. Justin Timberlake singing 90s boy band crap on SNL: offensive but true, not to mention a hilarious take on "love/lust" songs of the 90s.

Yeah for Healthy Almond Butter!

This is the best Almond Butter I've found yet. I never really had any complaints about the brand I usually bought. But! This stuff tastes as though it has been whipped. It's fluffy and yummy unlike any I've tasted before.

Random, I know, but I wanted to "spread" the word.

I'm so excited!

I am very excited about a new film coming out in 2010 called Jennifer Government. It is based on a novel of the same name. A novel by Max Barry, it is one of the most innovative, sarcastic, interesting social commentaries I've read in a long time. It is about the 21st world; the twist is that everyone takes on the last name of the company for which they work. Thus, Jennifer Government. Government workers, however, are not wealthy. They are overworked and underpaid. There are two characters called John Nike and a couple of Exxon Mobile executives that make you want to scream. Every word is fresh and darn right hilarious. I highly recommend it!!

On My Bookshelf

This is one of the most bizarre books I've read in a long while. I'm only about a quarter of the way through but the subject matter is so potent. It's non-fiction, true crime, but it reads like literary fiction. The author's voice is barely present. The entire "story" is told by the various voices of friends, socialites, family members, police reports, hospital reports, newspaper articles, and letters. Everyone contradicts each other and the reader is constantly unsure what to believe. The family this book chronicles is... interesting, to say the least. Wealth, empire, high society, all that good stuff, collides to create a fantastical, but disturbing, portrait of insanity. I am very curious to see the film, which stars Julianne Moore. But, I want to wait until I have finished the book, so I have a point of reference from which to draw. Films never seem to capture their literary counterparts as well as they could. In some cases, though, they can often stand on their own, like The Constant Gardner. (For example, the film and novel are complimentary, not shadows of each other). Anyhoo, I highly recommend it. The atmosphere is very "Leave it to Beaver" because it takes place in the fifties and sixties. The writers have researched the family with a fine toothed comb, and provided every tid bit of relevant background information the reader could possibly need. At times it is contradictory, purposely so, just to prove to the reader how fallible "eye witness" accounts can be. These tactics, on their part, are what make this book so effective. So far, the most astoundingly bizarre moment in the text is that a short story, written by a member of the iconic, wealthy family, is included: "Milk". The reader will not know what conclusions to make; but first, he/she will have to scrape his/her jaw off the floor from sheer astonishment. I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read it so "mum" is the word. Even more is that I didn't expect the writers to include this part of the story. They often share seemingly irrelevant threads into other family member's pasts for, what seems like, random purposes. The reader later realizes the utter importance of every word.

Check it out.

Dean. James Dean.

Feelin' a little retro today.

Anyone out there a James Dean fan?

I absolutely love Rebel Without a Cause. Natalie Wood is also a favourite. If you're into biographies, she (and Marilyn Monroe) make for really fascinating reads. Wood had a particularly interesting career.

Vacation Wish List!

(flickr, Omar Omar)

I am reminded of a love story for some reason. Something about the shade of purple.

(flickr, Josh Sommers)

This angle is spectacular. I feel as if I could walk on this glorious blue sky.

(flickr, Woolfgang Staudt)

This shade of red (terracotta) is astounding. I wish I could touch this soil.

(flickr, by mandj98)

The glow of a sunset is always beautiful.

I want to see the South West. In particular, the desert. New Mexico looks like one of the most colourful places I've ever seen. There is something about the vibrant red and orange of the soil and rock that is beyond captivating. I found this beautiful photograph on flickr by Kevin Dooley. The shadows are incredible. I love the bleak yet breathtaking atmosphere of the clouds. I look forward to experiencing a sight light this in person. I am looking into doing a hiking trek through the Grand Canyon or another national park but the options are limitless.
(flikr, kevindooley)

Blog Francais Numero 1

I've been trying to keep up with my French. I'm afraid that I'll lose it if I don't practice. I've spent over twenty years learning the grammar, literature and history of the language/culture; if I get lazy now, that would mean several years of hard work down the drain. Although, it's kind of like riding a bike. You never really forget it, you just have to refresh your memory. Re-familiarize my mental muscles with a language into which I haven't invested any effort for quite some time. So, that is what I am doing so I started reading this novel a while ago, with my trusty dictionary at my side. It is called Robert des noms propres by Amelie Nothomb. Thankfully, I didn't need it as much as I thought I would. The story is very interesting and, to my knowledge, well written. French writing has a different feel; the sentence structure has a different rhythm. But I sit back and pretend I am in Paris. The plot line and character development is fun. I enjoy reading about their psychological hangups and difficulties. The thematic concept is a little strange but still pleasantly unexpected.

In the spirit of all things French, this is the only of the trilogy I have yet to see. I've already seen White and Red. Red is probably my favourite so far. Though, White is really well done; the cast includes Julie Delpy, one of my favourite actresses.

Okay, so I've got the literature and film covered; time for the music portion of the blog. This is a fun video. I think it's about five years old but this particular recording artist, Alizee, has also released an album in 2004 (or so, give or take a year) called Psychedelices. It's fun pop music but with a really interesting literary twist. The first video is a song called Moi Lolita. Nabokov is one of my favourite writers, and her use of the icon is really appropriate, I think. The airy, cinematic quality of the music video is quite haunting. The second video is a song called Mademoiselle Juliette, of Shakespearean fame. Also, the artistic nature of the video (despite the poppy sound) is intriguing.