1.17.2004
little things
i don't have the energy for a thought-out post, so this will have to do... here's a few positive things keepin me going:
* feeling nostalgic about my good friends in the dropscience, a band that is calling it quits after four and a half years. many of my adventures while living in san diego involved its members. (and gabe-- if you're reading this-- start a new band... creative ennui only leads to narcissistic websites like the one you're reading now) they play their last show february 13th at the casbah in san diego. i will (unfortunately) be here in philly, freezing.
* thinking about graham greene. i'm on my second book of his since the new year. it's funny how all the things that plague him have little to no relation to the things that plague me (such as god, truth, love-- ok maybe love plagues me a little), and yet, i'm still entralled. terrific dialogue. if only everday conversation were so grand...
* freezing my ass off, and comforting myself by listening to summery music. jorge ben's africa brasil has been warming me up a bit. i'm on a brazilian/tropicalia kick, which i will probably have more to say about in the future.
* trying to invent new ways to walk around the city. sticking pretty well to my AVOID SEPTA new years resolution by taking digressive walks to various places. i'm trying to use mundane chores (returning videos, etc.) as a catalyst for some aimless meandering. there are so many weird buildings in philly, and they're even better when you find them by accident.
* playing quizo online, as if once a week in the flesh isn't enough.
* feeling nostalgic about my good friends in the dropscience, a band that is calling it quits after four and a half years. many of my adventures while living in san diego involved its members. (and gabe-- if you're reading this-- start a new band... creative ennui only leads to narcissistic websites like the one you're reading now) they play their last show february 13th at the casbah in san diego. i will (unfortunately) be here in philly, freezing.
* thinking about graham greene. i'm on my second book of his since the new year. it's funny how all the things that plague him have little to no relation to the things that plague me (such as god, truth, love-- ok maybe love plagues me a little), and yet, i'm still entralled. terrific dialogue. if only everday conversation were so grand...
* freezing my ass off, and comforting myself by listening to summery music. jorge ben's africa brasil has been warming me up a bit. i'm on a brazilian/tropicalia kick, which i will probably have more to say about in the future.
* trying to invent new ways to walk around the city. sticking pretty well to my AVOID SEPTA new years resolution by taking digressive walks to various places. i'm trying to use mundane chores (returning videos, etc.) as a catalyst for some aimless meandering. there are so many weird buildings in philly, and they're even better when you find them by accident.
* playing quizo online, as if once a week in the flesh isn't enough.
1.14.2004
the painted bird
well, only a few shorts posts following the one on violence and the miike film, i'm again debating the merits of something violent. this time it's jerzy kosinski's the painted bird-- a book i was recommended while playing quizzo two weeks ago with my friend jen (quizzo is increasingly my favorite thing in the world). i'm really disliking the book, and it's lead me to do a little research into the various accounts of its falsehood as a memoir (most notably the one by norman finkelstein). not that "authenticity" is any gauge as to whether a book is good or bad. i guess i'm just inclined to try to rationalize my dislike for things that have a reputation for being "critically acclaimed" or whatever.
the book describes the gruesome life of a young child who has been separated from his family during WWII-- resulting in various sado-masochistic misadventures as he wanders through several eastern european villages. i'm 80 pages into it, and finding it unenlightening as a document of nazi occupation (or any such thing). instead, it reads a bit like sade minus the philosophy. but i'm judging a bit early on here-- i have little stamina for books i'm not enjoying/learning from. i'm a SLOW reader, and i have a million books i'd like to get around to. so, uh, when blogspeak gets the comments section back in order, if anyone wants to try to persuade me to stick with this one, i'd be glad to hear the reasoning.
the book describes the gruesome life of a young child who has been separated from his family during WWII-- resulting in various sado-masochistic misadventures as he wanders through several eastern european villages. i'm 80 pages into it, and finding it unenlightening as a document of nazi occupation (or any such thing). instead, it reads a bit like sade minus the philosophy. but i'm judging a bit early on here-- i have little stamina for books i'm not enjoying/learning from. i'm a SLOW reader, and i have a million books i'd like to get around to. so, uh, when blogspeak gets the comments section back in order, if anyone wants to try to persuade me to stick with this one, i'd be glad to hear the reasoning.
