Dear Obscenity Act, Shut Up
Yeah, I’m going on about the book again. Not the one I wrote recently that you can buy; I’m talking about the one whose notoriety means that it now gets given capital letters - The Book, if you will. It was called Hiatus: Volume One, and it was a sick collection of short stories and other crap that I co-wrote at the age of 15, sold about 7 copies of, and two years later narrowly escaped prosecution for.
Actually, though, I’m not talking about that at all. I’m talking about a book called Kiss & Die, and how the fact that it exists makes me want to take the still-beating heart of the British Institute Of Vice And Immoral Literature and stab it multiple times until the mouth that it gives life to finally shuts the fuck up. No offence.
Age, Lies and Camera Film
In the family home, there are five photo albums - that is, physical binders with photographs in, taken sometime between my birth and when I was around 9. I had a look through them today. It’s incredibly harrowing.
This Sunday, I’ll be turning 20. That’s scary. Although I’ll probably still try to be a child, and it’s going to be a while before I’m financially and emotionally independent of my parents, 20’s a big age for me. Probably bigger than 21. I’ll be honest - I’m not sure why 21’s meant to be the age you reach adulthood in the UK, given that it doesn’t have any significance. You’re legally an adult in all respects once you reach 18, and arguments like “well, you’re out in the big wide world when you hit 21” are crap; I’m going to be going into my third year of university a month after I get there. 22, I could understand, but still probably not.
Heil Beck
If you’re British, as over half the visitors to this site are, then there’s a good chance you don’t pay rabid attention to the phenomenon that is the American news media. And that’s fine - as someone who does, trust me, you don’t need it. Even the good guys - I’m looking at you, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann - are bonkers compared to the British news. They make Jeremy Paxman look like a mouse. A clever mouse, but a mouse nevertheless.
Of course, given that according to any decent narrative the villain has to be more bombastic and insane than the hero, Murdoch pulpit Fox News has characters like Bill O’Reilly (whose name I want to mispronounce as “oh, really?” because that’s exactly the reaction he provokes), The Voice At 20,000Hz himself Sean Hannity, and Glenn “Unicorn Tears” Beck, the latter of whom organised a massive rally recently that begs the question: America, why are your conservatives like our universally hated fascist bigots?
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Review)
I’m finding it very hard to come up with anything original to say about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, because most of it’s already been said. That it’s full of video game references; that Ramona Flowers, the object of Pilgrim’s affections in the movie, is every nerd’s wet dream; that people over the age of about 25 will struggle to enjoy it; that it’s funny; the downside of reviewing films ages after they’ve come out (though, granted, it’s only officially been out in the UK for, um, a day) is that there’s really no point in doing it unless a) it’s not pulling ticket sales or b) you have something really refreshing to say on the subject. Now, I’m going to try, but let me start off by saying you can take or leave this post. I have to write something about this fantastic film, because it is just that (fantastic), but as I go into it I’m not quite sure what. For those coming with me, let’s hope that I find some original perspective.
(via friendlyatheist, hatefulatheist)
Eat my flesh and drink my blood. Another interpretation.
Not quite as good as my Lebowski Last Supper poster, but it’s a close contender.
Another pointless milestone reached: sometime this morning, I hit 1,100 followers. It goes without saying, but thank you - every single one of you - for bothering to see what I snap, read what I write and dare to help create a little community spirit out here in the desert of the web. You make it worthwhile.
Computer’s going through a boot-time virus scan (something ugly’s got in) so I’m half-watching the end of Rachel Getting Married with my parents. I don’t think they’re too impressed with it; my Dad laughed at one of the most emotional scenes of the film.
Currently reading.
(RSS subscribers, tweeps and assorted bits and bobs: this originally had a TL;DR post about terrible people. I’ve since removed it, because it isn’t going to improve anyone’s quality of life.)
Things are looking up
By which I mean they really aren’t, but some strange part of my brain is forcing me to feel good. But I shouldn’t. Not really. I still haven’t started my essay on William Burroughs, I’ve not yet got out of the slump that means I’m still in my pyjamas at 3pm, and there’s the slow realisation dawning on me that I have tons of stuff to sort out before I go back to university. Also, Ulysses. Christ, I’m not looking forward to reading that monster.
But besides that, things feel good. I went on a four-hour walk with an old friend yesterday, and in addition to being outside with no concern for how heavy it rained (and it bucketed it down at times) our conversation seems to have struck some balance between serious discussion and the gleeful insanity that brought us together back in 2004. It’s incredibly strange - of all the friendships I’ve had with people, this is one that I never thought would be salvaged, while there were others that I had faith in that just dropped off the face of the earth, but things don’t always work out as expected. It’d be a lie to say that there wasn’t an element of caution there, but it’s slowly being eroded in a way that’s healthy rather than desperate.
Lindy West reviews The Expendables
On Sylvester Stallone: “The man cannot run. He runs like a big fucking yak shot with a tranquilizer dart. He runs a lot in The Expendables. It is a terrible sight to behold.” I cannot get enough of this woman.
lifeserial: Sheltered
“The days are all the same here: small town, one diner, a general store, a movie theatre now reduced to showing the same ancient reels of black and white night after night.” Wonderful piece by a very talented Tumblite writer, and worth the full read.
God Wars: The Faith School Menace
Geddit? EH? GET IT? IT’S A STAR WARS PUN. OH, FINE.
I have a love-hate relationship with Richard Dawkins (a one-sided one, of course - he doesn’t actually know who I am). He’s intelligent, and despite his TV appearance has a wonderful perspective on the natural world that encourages wonder and appreciation for beauty without attributing it to some bearded space daddy. On the other hand, he occasionally (haters, read: often) comes across as a self-aggrandising, pompous git. Depending on what he’s focusing on, this balance varies. In The Selfish Gene, there’s very little against religion, what with it essentially being a Darwinian manifesto for the late 20th century. In his documentary The Root Of All Evil, it had a habit of tipping in the other direction. I’m not saying he doesn’t attack religion well (he does); it’s just that sometimes you wonder what’s being achieved.
It’s with interest, then, that I turned to his latest endeavour, a 48-minute piece entitled Faith School Menace? that recently aired on Channel 4. While it certainly wasn’t eye-opening (to me, but bear in mind that I know the problems with faith schools back to front already), it did make me think - and it’s always a relief when television manages to do that.
