things I like more than people

Why you should read Nick Hornby's "Juliet, Naked"

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:55:00 -0500

I am not much of a reviewer. My reviews tend to entail saying “That was awesome” or “That was ok”. I’m pretty good at rating things, x out of 5 stars or whatever. Unless there’s some ambivalence or caveat, which there often is. I guess I’m not so good at rating things.

When I do come across something I loved and want to share, I tend to cite quotes and passages as a way to tell people why they need to read/watch the intended work. Because I prize comedy above all else, funny, stand-alone, microcosmic passages are often enough.

Not always, though. Like right now. I am faced with a dilemma. I have just read an amazing book by a writer who apparently only writes amazing things that I think everyone should read. And in this case, stand-alone passages won’t do, because it’s the intricacies of the text, all the things in it that interlace, that create its best moments.

On several occasions while reading Nick Hornby’s new novel, Juliet, Naked, I was compulsed to stop reading and laugh “with inappropriate volume and vigor, and at preposterous length” (as a character in the book once did). Sometimes I had to put the book down for fear of laughing it out of my grasp. Then I would pause, compose myself, read the bit again, and laugh again, slightly less vigorously. Then I would continue reading.

It was these moments, these moments of sheer beauty, that I wanted to share, that I want everyone to experience. But the thing is, they cannot be captured, explained outside of their context. These moments are developed upon and developed upon throughout the course of the story, so subtly you don’t notice until you’re dropping the book from laughing. These moments are so joyously experienced because of everything else that you read up to that point.

So you see, a mere passage would invariably fail in trying to convince you—yes YOU—why you need to read this book. There are passages that stand on their own just fine, of course; e.g.:

He put the hot dogs in the shopping cart and then took them out again. What percentage of smart girls were vegetarian? It couldn’t be as high as fifty, right? So the chances were that she ate meat. He put them back in the cart. The trouble was that even young female carnivores wouldn’t eat red meat. Well, hot dogs were pinky orange. Did pinky orange count as red? He was pretty sure the strange hue was chemical rather than sanguine. Vegetarians could eat chemicals, right?

I guess I should qualify, for those of you who don’t prize comedy above all else, that this was not your average mere laughing at a joke kind of laughter, nor was laughter my only physical/verbal/visceral response to the novel. It is the kind of laughter and response you are rewarded with when you let a writer take you down a path they made, and you follow them unquestioningly, and you might get lost, but you trust them, and they show you so many things about art and life and humanity that are funny and absurd and beautiful and obnoxious and real. And they pull you along, and you follow, and you listen to every word they say and look at every sight they point out, until they have you wrapped around their fingers and their brains and their pens. You lose your will you follow them so strong, and then it all pays off, because they show you the most artsy and alive and human thing you can imagine. And you laugh, you laugh a whole lot, and any nervousness about following them is gone, because you’ve been rewarded, and your soul pulses in a rush of ripe elan, and you love it, and you love it, and you keep following, because you know they’ll give you even more. And they do.

That is why you—yes, YOU—should read Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked. It’s Not A Book; It’s An Experience. 5 out of 5 stars.

Watch 'Fright Night'

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:02:00 -0400

Watch 'Fright Night':

Fright Night’s on Hulu!! Yes, that Fright Night. William Ragsdale is just lovely.

My comrade Michael says it well

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:43:00 -0400

“[Michael Gene Sullivan] believes that the major problems of the American political landscape stem from the fact that the Government does not fear the People. Politicians fear upsetting their corporate sponsors, fear that if they misstep they may endanger their post-government corporate career. They are afraid of losing money. They should fear losing more…”

“How many ‘Let them eat cake/trickle down/bank bailout/healthcare filibuster’ moments have to go by before even the most jaded football fan puts down the remote and thinks about picking up a rock?”

“Yes, to CNN using the tragic electoral injustice of the loss of the Presidency to a Socialist/Fascist Foreign-born Health Care Hitler, whipping up high-ratings hatred, and inciting people to a violent Reactionary uprising is simply leaning to the Right. This is because CNN is so far to the right itself that it couldn’t see moderate with a bloody telescope. Remember - the reason we all know who Glenn Beck is is because CNN gave him a show. Before FOX it was CNN that put this weak-minded blabberpuss in front of the national audience. Lou Dobbs, Beck, Van Sustern… this was CNN’s team. And until I hear that Amy Goodman or Noam Chomsky is going to get a show to balance out Wolf Blitzer and the rest, I will see CNN as simply a FOX in sheep’s clothing.”

—Michael Gene Sullivan’s recent Facebook msgs

loveconquersallthemovie: It’s finally done… LOVE CONQUERS ALL...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:35:52 -0400

loveconquersallthemovie:

It’s finally done… LOVE CONQUERS ALL (in 2 parts)

View the playlist for special features.

"There’s no such thing as adventure; there’s no such thing as romance. There’s only..."

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:47:32 -0400

“There’s no such thing as adventure; there’s no such thing as romance. There’s only trouble, and desire…. And when you desire something, you immediately get into trouble. And when you’re in trouble, you don’t desire anything at all.”

- Hal Hartley’s Simple Men

FANTASTIC interview on last night’s “Colbert...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:17:00 -0400

FANTASTIC interview on last night’s “Colbert Report”: Cornel West criticizes Barack Obama out of concern for poor and working class people.

“Indifference is the essence of inhumanity.”

Rare Disorders: a photo gallery

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Rare Disorders: a photo gallery

InterviewProject.com

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:05:00 -0400

InterviewProject.com:

David Lynch + Navajo County, AZ + queer = sweeeeeet.

Go Howard Dean

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:36:00 -0400

Rachel Maddow: You and I have talked in the past about the strategy for the final vote, and who's going to be put on the spot. If it's a very progressive bill, then conservative Democrats will be facing the choice of whether or not to vote 'no' on health reform in order to seem conservative. If it's a conservative bill, then liberal Democrats will have to decide whether or not they're going to vote 'no' on health reform in order to seem liberal. Which do you think is a better strategic bet for [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid?
Howard Dean: You know, I think we should just stop talking about liberal and conservative. What this is about is whether the American people get to make choices or whether politicians and bureaucrats and insurance companies are going to make the choices.
--The Rachel Maddow Show, 10/22/09

Love Conquers Hate: One Step Closer

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:22:00 -0400

Love Conquers Hate: One Step Closer:

Today, hate crimes legislation moved one step closer to becoming law when the U.S. Senate passed the Defense Authorization Conference Report which included the Hate Crimes Provision. Now, this legislation moves to President’s desk for signature. This vote was the 14th and final time there has been a floor vote on this historic legislation.

Upright Citizens Brigade Season 2 on DVD | | Comedy Central Pop...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:01:00 -0400

Upright Citizens Brigade Season 2 on DVD | | Comedy Central

Pop quiz: Find me in this DVD.

"Anything you do for the betterment of your community in which you live, in which you work, in which..."

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:52:00 -0400

“Anything you do for the betterment of your community in which you live, in which you work, in which you reside, in which you dance, in which you play and in which you walk, that is activism. And different people do different levels of it. And if everybody did a little bit, we wouldn’t need everyone to do a lot. Sometimes it’s recycling. Sometimes it’s sending your clothes to people who need it. Sometimes it’s helping kids with their homework at the local community center.”

- Staceyann Chin, Equality, Fall 2009

It’s been coming up a lot lately (around and in me), thoughts (arguments) on what constitutes “activism”—being a socially-conscious person, being someone who “makes a difference”. Whether it’s the dichotomy between “‘just’ theory” and “‘just’ action” or which types of action are “better” than others, most of the time it’s brought up is when a proponent of one particular method is espousing the virtues of said method as superior to others. Chin’s definition of activism—even if the examples smack a bit of prioritizing so-called “action” over “theory”—is a welcome attempt to acknowledge multiple ways of expressing and being socially-conscious, and the importance of all of them within a larger context. This acknowledgment—this way of thinking that is not dichotomous or competitive—is itself a progressive “act”.

For me, it’s also about what you’re CALLED to do—if you are passionate about something, and if you believe that what you are called to do will increase harmony and peace, even if “just” within yourself—THAT is where it’s at.

"We live so much in the rectangular world. We live in little rooms; we live in little steel boxes on..."

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:18:41 -0400

“We live so much in the rectangular world. We live in little rooms; we live in little steel boxes on wheels that drive around; we live in cubicles; and we look at square images on screens, hour after hour. But we get outside and we run, and we walk fast, and we ride bicycles, and we smell this gorgeous, gorgeous smell; we taste the oxygen around us, and you’re carried back to when you were a child, where all of your permanent memories are made.”

- Garrison Keillor, 10/3/09

"Listen pal, you can’t waltz in here, use my toaster, and start spouting universal truths,..."

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:42:48 -0400

“Listen pal, you can’t waltz in here, use my toaster, and start spouting universal truths, without qualification!”

- Jude, Hal Hartley’s Surviving Desire; I wanted to write down all the great quotes from this movie, honestly, but I would have written down half the bloody script.

Hulu - Jack of All Trades: Once You Go Jack - Watch the full...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:57:00 -0400

Hulu - Jack of All Trades: Once You Go Jack - Watch the full episode now.

Not only is this one of the hottest episodes of a TV show ever, it mentions my ancestor (Benedict Arnold).

Jack of All Trades Intro (via syops01) The theme song was...

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:19:00 -0400

Jack of All Trades Intro (via syops01)

The theme song was nominated for the “Outstanding Main Theme Title Song” Emmy in 2000.

This show rocks my world. Watch every episode at Hulu.

"Your alibi’s been roasted. They can establish motive. And your blood may have Laura’s..."

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:08:00 -0400

“Your alibi’s been roasted. They can establish motive. And your blood may have Laura’s fingerprints on it.”

- Jerry, “Twin Peaks”

From "Twin Peaks"

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:23:00 -0400

Gwen: How you must hate us white people after all we've done to you.
Hawk: Some of my best friends are white people.

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell - on Unrated Blu-ray, DVD...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:50:00 -0400

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell - on Unrated Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download - Available 10/13 | Watch The Drag Me To Hell DVD Trailer, bonus features & more

I KNEW it—I KNEW Drag Me To Hell was rated PG-13 so he could do some insane unrated director’s cut on the DVD. Oh yeah baby.

From "Psych" (guest-starring Jaleel White, oh yes)

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:03:00 -0400

Gus: He would always send us emails about getting the group back together, which would involve reconciling with these two jokers, and that was not going to happen.
Tony: Mm-mm, not happening.
June: Not even if Jesus was our manager.
Tony: Whoa. You're not serious about that June.
June: Nah, I ain't serious, I was just playing.
Gus: Great, then it's settled. There'll be no reunion unless Jesus agrees to manage the group.