So, I don’t think entertainment in 2012 was particularly great. Or at least not the stuff I was exposed to, which was mostly the mainstream stuff everyone else was exposed to. Not being a book, film, or music critic, I didn’t get to read, see, or listen to every book, film, and album/song put out this year. Also, because I’m not a critic, these are “favorites” not “bests.” Bold titles are my most favorite.
MOVIES
My film list includes two 2011 releases that I didn’t see until 2012.
Your Sister’s Sister by Lynn Shelton
Hugo by Martin Scorsese
Young Adult by Jason Reitman
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson
Safety Not Guaranteed by Colin Trevorrow
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Skyfall by Sam Mendes
Lincoln by Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell
Possible 10th Place (aka films still playing that I want to see)
Looper
Argo
Les Miserables
Anna Karenina
Thanks to Brewvies Film Buff Night and Tower Through Time I saw plenty of old(er) movies on the big screen. Here are five favorites:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell
Harold and Maude by Hal Ashby
When Harry Met Sally by Rob Reiner
True Romance by Tony Scott
The Apartment by Billy Wilder
BOOKS
I read just over 30 books this year, slightly lower than my yearly average, but I still had a hard time scrounging up 10 of them to fill out this list. Mostly NOT from 2012.
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
In One Person by John Irving
A Gay and Melancholy Sound (currently reading) by Merle Miller
American Fascists by Chris Hedges
Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
MUSIC
Favorite Ten Nine Songs of 2012
Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men
It’s Time by Imagine Dragons
Andrew in Drag by The Magnetic Fields
I Love It by Icona Pop
All the Rowboats by Regina Spektor
Miss Atomic Bomb by The Killers
Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson
Lights by Ellie Goulding (so, yeah, it was released in 2010—whatever)
I'm totally obsessed with the new P!nk single "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)." In my car I pretty much scan all the radio stations until I can find it. (However, I'm not loving her black dress at the end.)
I'm also kind of liking (surprisingly) Taylor Swift's latest, less country all pop, though at the end it gets a bit repetitive and annoying. Love the line "some indie record that's much cooler than mine." I read that in-depth story on her in Vogue or Vanity Fair a while back and she seems like a real cool person, I've just never loooooved her music.
My hella janky computer seems to have gasped its last breath. I'm trying to briefly resuscitate it to grab some files, but then I want to take a sledgehammer to it--but only if they'll still be able to recycle it properly.
The days are getting darker and cooler. It's nearly Labor Day and fall is on the horizon. It is my favorite season. Here's a bunch of autumnal things:
School started at the U this week, so everything's a total mess. It's difficult to find parking, the lines for coffee are way too long (I didn't get my daily jolt today!), and we're slammed at work with requests--which should only get busier as more universities open in the next few weeks. Then maybe a brief lull before midterms...
I was at Ross and found an adorable hoodie for $12! It just needs to get a few degrees cooler to wear it. (I, however, cannot find any of my scarves since I moved from Seattle. Tear.)
I have returned to drinking hot coffee. The U switched vendors over the summer and the new iced coffee was terrible--but it was summer dammit! and hot coffee is not thirst quenching while iced coffee is quite quaffable. I'm happy to report their hot coffee is much better.
I'm starting to think about my annual fall playlist. Suggestions welcome. I've also been listening to From the Choirgirl Hotel, my go-to fall album. The dark, clanging hallways of the record are perfect for the season. By the way, it's Tori's birthday today. Happy birthday, T!
It has been decided that I will be going as the Penguin this year for Halloween. One group of friends is going as Batman characters while the other is going as sea creatures. I'm wondering if I can get away with just one penguin suit... Anyway, I'm looking up Batman comics featuring the Penguin (to get into character) and cheap accessories: monocle, top hat, umbrella, cigarette holder. Renting a tailcoat is going to set me back a little, but oh well, right?
I'm taking a free online course through Coursera. The class is Fantasy & Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. So far we've read the Brothers Grimm, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. (Side note: I never read the Alice books as a kid. My first exposure was the Care Bears version, which was the best movie ever when I was 6. Later I would see the iconic Disney version which was deeply upsetting.) Then it was Dracula and Frankenstein--only I didn't finish Frankenstein. After the insufferable Victorian Goodness of Dracula (shut up Van Helsing!), I couldn't stand the insufferable Romantic Feeling of Frank. Also, I think Stoker is a better writer than Shelley. Also, I was busy (and lazy). Next up is stories by Hawthorne and Poe. Poor Poe, he's such a dreadful writer, and now he has to be compared to Hawthorne. Hasn't he suffered enough already?
As you might imagine, this has prematurely ended my summer reading list. Here's a brief recap:
I finished my friend Val's The Tale of Telsharu, an Asian martial arts fantasy. It reminded me a bit of Kay's Under Heaven. I made no new progress in A Clash of Kings or The Iliad. I'm still working on friend Elise's Albus Unus. Leaving the Saints was a fascinating looking into Mormonism, especially the controversy surrounding Mormon intellectualism in the late 80s/early 90s. The Night Circus was an engaging and whimsical, if not completely satisfying, fairy tale. In One Person is vintage
Irving, a wonderful novel about identity, sex, and literature with a fantastic cast of characters. Highly suggested! I'm midway through Merle Miller's A Gay and Melancholy Sound which is quite good, very bleak and funny. And the rest of the list . . . yeah, not so much. (Side note: So The Hobbit was on my list, and can I just tell you how upset I am that one Peter Jackson decided it needs to be three films. WTF? The Hobbit is not a gd trilogy! It's a wonderful and fairly short book that deserves much better treatment. This trend of cutting up books into multiple films needs to end. I am boycotting the film, and by boycotting I mean I will probably still end up seeing it opening week with friends. But seriously!)
So, that's around 10ish things... Let's do this again real soon.
Last year I read this book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges. It was fascinating. Anyway, I was going to go through the book, chapter by chapter, here on my blog. But I was busy (or something) and the book was overdue. But two things today reminded me of what I had written. 1) Fresh Air's interview with Sister Pat Farrell head of the Leadership Conference of the Women Religious which was condemned by the Vatican for "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic Faith." Sister Farrell became a nun around the Second Vatican Council but has since seen a spirit of regression in the church and an unwillingness to engage in dialogue. 2) This article in the Washington Post, "Texas GOP rejects 'critical thinking' skills. Really." This anti-intellectual rejection of critical thinking skills which also emphasizes "Judeo-Christian principles" (nevermind that the term "Judeo-Christian" is an oxymoron) is par the course. See Chapter Seven: The War on Truth. So here's what I wrote about four chapters in the book.
Chapter One: Faith
In the first and longest chapter, Hedges examines his own faith and contrasts it with the radical Christian right’s. Hedges learned from his father who was a Presbyterian minister and who fought for social justice supporting the civil-rights movement, opposing the Vietnam War, and calling for the ordination of gays. He spends some time discussing the Bible which he does not read literally: “we took the Bible seriously and therefore could not take it literally.” He notes, for instance, that the writers of Genesis knew nothing of the actual process of creation, what they were struggling with was the purpose of creation. He notes that mainstream Christians who use the Bible to depict a loving a merciful God and Jesus are ignoring, and failing to challenge or repudiate, the more hateful passages. He writes, “There is enough hatred, bigotry, and lust for violence in the Bible to satisfy anyone bent on justifying cruelty and violence.” Some of these people include the fundamentalists, evangelicals, and (especially) dominionists who make up the radical Christian Right. Dominionists are a small though increasingly influential sect of Christian reconstructionists rooted in a radical Calvinism who seek to politicize faith. Their major guiding document, R. J. Rushdoony’s The Institutes of Biblical Law—which is inimical to democracy, pluralism, and tolerance—seeks to impose Biblical law on the nation. Those who read the Bible literally and who act without doubt believe they have a divine mandate to silence the reality-based world, dismantle the institutions of democracy (born out of the rational Enlightenment), and establish an American Christian Empire.
Chapter Two: Culture of Despair
Hedges notes that “stories of rage are first stories of despair.” He attends two separate religious conventions and focuses on the stories of two women whose personal lives where in chaos before they found Jesus and lives of moral absolutes. However, embracing the Christian community means the destruction of the non-Christian communities that failed them. Their faith vindicates their rage. It allows them to set up a dichotomous world of good vs. evil, us vs. them, the blessed vs. the infidels. There is an ecstatic expectation of the Rapture, an ecstasy born out of despair. Hedges writes that the manufacturing and industrial world of America’s heartland has already seen its apocalypse. “The world has crashed and burned for them. Another apocalypse, one that will lift Christians out of this morass, seems a welcome relief.” Those who are living in despair begin to seek miracles and a form of magical thinking which allows the opening for the utopian visionaries of the Christian Right.
Chapter Three: Conversion
In this chapter, Hedges attends a training seminar in Evangelism Explosion led by Dr. D. James Kennedy who believes “our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost.” The seminar is about winning converts to Christ by becoming a friend, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. However, Hedges notes that the lectures are saturated with metaphors of war and sex: “Conversion is a form of sexual warfare, a form of seduction and finally a form of physical conquest.” They are told that the most susceptible people to target are those going through a crisis. During an interactive workshop, the attendees’ personal testimonies are scripted, rehearsed, and critiqued. And the friendships they proffer are often false, a form a “love-bombing” which is a technique also employed by cults. Rules are slowly and deliberately incorporated into the convert’s belief system to establish obedience where backsliding is a sin, doubt is a sin, and questioning is a sin. They are told to adopt more Christian lifestyles. “This control, while destructive to personal initiative and independence, does keep believers from wandering back into the messy situations they fled. The new ideology gives the believers a cause.” Finally, Hedges notes that the movement is actually the great divider of families, friends, and communities who are now split into groups of the saved and the damned. The movement seeks to replace the family with a new church family. In Letting Go of God, Julia Sweeney notes that the Old Testament family values seem mostly to be about “incest and mass slaughter and protecting your own specific genetic line at all costs” which were replaced by the new and improved New Testament family values where Jesus does not have a family of his own, he tells his followers not to have families and if they do to abandon them, and he puts his mother off cruelly and basically says to his disciples, Send her away, you are my family now.
Chapter Seven: The War on Truth
Here Hedges tours a Creation Museum in Kentucky and attends creationist seminars where audiences are largely made up of school teachers along with students and parents. The danger, as Hedges sees it, is that creationism not only allows Christian followers to retreat into a world of certainty and magic, but it also “allows all facts to be accepted or discarded according to the dictates of a preordained ideology.” When the facts don’t support the literal reading of the Bible they are discarded. When facts are treated as opinions, then we no longer have a universal standard by which to determine truth. In a process called nihilistic relativism, lies become true while a totalitarian machinery ruthlessly manipulates facts to support the lies. In the 19th century two books where published which rocked the scientific world and shattered the biblical account of creation. They were Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology and Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Faced with such game changers, fundamentalists have responded by creating these “museums” and writing books such as The Genesis Flood and Biology: God’s Living Creation to discredit the theory of evolution with unsubstantiated claims dressed up as “science” which often points out gaps in scientific knowledge or the way science keeps changing. In Letting Go of God, Julia Sweeney says when she was young she always thought science was an immutable set of facts and that when a planet was no longer categorized as a planet or when our understanding of gravity changed, these were failings of science, signs of how unsure science can be. Now she realizes that this is the strength of science—the empirical method is working—allowing new and better information in to further our understanding. It's science, not religion, that is good at dealing with the uncertainties of life. When the Bible is regarded as immutable and creationism is dressed up in pseudoscience and there is no uncertainty, no doubt, then our open society is in danger. Earlier this year the Fordham Institute released their annual evaluation of state science standards. Only California got an “A” rating with nine states receiving “F” grades. Texas received a “C” with which creationist Don McLeroy was very pleased. One blogger, PZ Myers remarks, “That is so completely backwards. The weaknesses in the standards are the direct result of the meddling corruption of science pushed by the religious conservatives on the board; everything the Fordham Institute said was bad about their standards were the points the creationists pushed. The strengths are the product of the motivated, hard-working scientists and educators who fought against the religious conservatives.” Here we can see that the frontlines of the culture wars are being waged in the classroom, one that Hedges says “reality-based educators are slowly losing.” He finishes the chapter remarking, “When only one “truth” is allowed, empirical data becomes irrelevant. Intellectual, scientific and moral inquiry becomes unnecessary. . . . The lies, however enormous and absurd, defy criticism and unmasking because the rational world is discredited and finally silenced.”
In each chapter, Hedges points out the Fascist elements at play in certain elements of the Christian Right, based on Umberto Eco's essay on Ur-Fascism. American Fascists is a pretty interesting read, especially at a time when our nation is deeply polarized and where the culture wars are a newly prominent and contentious subject. Check it out, and let me know what you think.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
I haven't posted in forever! So here's quick rundown of my life via pop culture.
What I'm Reading:
I just finished John Irving's latest novel: In One Person, which was fabulous! I pretty much devoured it whole--whilst camping. (I've found that vacations and road trips are my best friend when it comes to my summer reading list. Must go on more.) It's a novel of adolescence, sexual identity, and the people who change our lives for ever, chockablock full of literary references. I am now reading A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller. The narrator Joshua Bland, who has decided to kill himself, is dictating his life's story which is fascinating. He is quite funny and darkly observational.
What I'm Watching--TV:
I've been rewatching a lot of TV lately. I just finished season six of Buffy, and I finished all three seasons of Arrested Development. I'm excited for the 4th season and movie next year. As far as new(ish) TV goes, I finally finished this last season of Parks & Rec and Smash. I'm also getting to the last five episodes of Revenge. When Happy Endings wrapped their season and Revenge went on a month hiatus in March, I kind of forgot to start watching it when it came back on.
What I'm Watching--Movies:
I saw the classic Greta Garbo version of Camille, and it was lovely (but Moulin Rouge! will always be nearer to my heart). I've been working on my best of film list. I saw Singin' in the Rain--that quintessential Hollywood musical--for the 3rd(?) time, and it just gets better and better! Schindler's List is a masterful Spielberg epic in beautiful black & white cinematography. It's a Holocaust film that's not exactly about the Holocaust. It's more about two men: Commandant Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), a Nazi psycophath who kills arbitrarily and represents the evil of the Third Reich; and Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a con man and war profiteer who ends up saving 1,100 Jews from Auschwitz. Roger Ebert writes, "Religion and race are markers that we use to hate one another, and unless we can get beyond them, we must concede we are potential executioners. The power of Spielberg's film is not that it explains evil, but that it insists that men can be good in the face of it, and that good can prevail." I saw Fellini's experimental, surreal, avant-garde masterpiece 8½ for the second time, and I'm not sure if I liked it as much as the first time I saw it... Battleship Potemkin, a Russian propagandist film about the anti-tsarist mutiny on the Potemkin, is a silent film and a treasure of cinema history. While I can recognize some of the film's qualities, I was bored stiff. I currently have Sunrise, 1927 silent film which won an Oscar for Unique and Artistic Production at the first Academy Awards (while Wings won Best Picture), and The Graduate to watch this weekend.
I recently saw two Wes Anderson movies in the theater. Moonrise Kingdom, which is getting universal acclaim as one of his very best films, though it didn't quite enchant me in the same way that my first viewings of The Royal Tennenbaums or The Darjeeling Limited did. However, I may very likely see Moonrise Kingdom again while it's still in theaters. I also got to see Tennenbaums on the big screen as part of SLFS's Summer of 35mm. Delightful. This weekend's feature is Chinatown, which I would love to see but have no one to go with. Films I'm looking forward to seeing include Brave, Magic Mike, Your Sister's Sister, The Dark Knight Rises, Take This Waltz, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Farewell My Queen, Hope Springs, and Cosmopolis.
What I'm Listening To--Music:
Regina Spektor's album What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, is s l o w l y growing on me. My favorite song is "All the Rowboats." Some of my favorite summer songs this year include "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men, "I Love It" by Icona Pop, and even Fun.'s "We Are Young" while I'm getting tired of "Call Me Maybe."
What I'm Listening To--Podcasts:
My tried and true favorites include Seattle-based TBTL, food podcast Spilled Milk (also Seattle-based), This American Life, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Fresh Air, and Utah's RadioWest. Since that is not quite enough to keep me listening at work, I've been trying out some new ones such as Radiolab, Here's the Thing with Alec Baldwin, The Dinner Party, and On Being.
1. Last month for Mother's Day, I bought my mom the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Buying books for her is always tricky, and I know that through the years there have been several she has not read. But she loved Rebecca, devouring it whole. Vindication! (Also, it's a really good book, so you should read it already.)
2. Lemonade Iced Tea. Sometimes called an Arnold Palmer. It's delicious and refreshing and perfect for summer. I like to use the Lipton cold brew tea bags with a can of lemonade concentrate. It's the perfect alchemy of iced tea and lemonade. Sometimes, when I'm feeling naughty, I like to add a little bourbon.
3. Speaking of whiskey. My favorite moment of the Parks & Rec finale was when Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) drinks Lagavulin neat after Ron tells him that clear alcohols are for rich women on diets. His reaction is comedy gold.
This is pretty much what happens when I drink whiskey neat.
4. Speaking of Ben Wyatt: socks! At GQ's behest I purchased some colorful socks for summer from the French company Archiduchesse. I bought several pairs in a rainbow of colors! I can't wait for them to arrive in one to two weeks. Yes, I get excited about socks.
5. But back to alcohol. Now that it's summer, I have broken out the Campari, the bitter Italian herbal liqueur. It's used in two of my favorite summer drinks: the Negroni and the Americano. Refreshing. The last time I was at the liquor store, I finally broke down and bought St-Germain, which I've wanted forever, a wildly expensive herbaceous liqueur made (in France!) from elderflowers. It's sweet and slightly bitter and tastes like heaven. I'm in love. At Elise's we used it to make Kir Blancs. It's 1/2 part St-Germain topped with a dry Sauvignon Blanc. (My favorite Sauv Blanc comes from the Marlborough region of New Zealand.)
6. At Elise's we had a movie moments night, and Bryce showed the love scene from Cruel Intentions. Oh, Reese and Ryan, you were so impossibly young. The song that plays is "Colorblind" by Counting Crows. I am now obsessed with Natalie Walker's cover:
(In other music news, I am sadly underwhelmed by Regina Spektor's latest album.)
7. I hardly ever play video games, but my all-time favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the N64. So a few weeks ago, I played it again for like the 5th or 6th time. Trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to avoid using a guide; damn you Water Temple. Now I'm playing Majora's Mask, the dark and strange sequel, for like the 3rd time although I've never beaten this game. I am determined to beat it this time, walkthrough in hand.
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower Trailer:
You can now find my frequently cheering: Be aggressive! Passive aggressive!
9. A Crash Course in Film
As a lover of film and lists, the other day I was looking at AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies list (from 1998) and Sight & Sound magazine's Top 10 list (redone every 10 years. the last is from 2002, so a new list should be coming out sometime this year). Curiously enough Singin' in the Rain comes in 10th on both lists and Citizen Kane places 1st on both. The only other film on both lists is The Godfather (I & II). Naturally enough, the American Film Institute focuses solely on American films, while the British Sight & Sound takes a more international perspective. I have combined both lists, added them all to my queue, and will be watching 18 films in descending order starting with Singin' in the Rain (celebrating its 60th anniversary this year) and ending with Citizen Kane.
10. Summer Reading List Update
I breathlessly read Leaving the Saints, a memoir by Martha Beck who claims she was molested by her father, a famous Mormon apologist. Obviously the book was controversial and the factuality of memoirs can always be challenged (though not disproven in this case), but it was a fascinating read. I finished The Night Circus which was an engaging, if not entirely satisfying, dark fairytale about two dueling, lovestruck illusionists. I finished friend Valerie Mechling's novel The Tale of Telsharu, a martial arts fantasy set in a fictional Asian empire. Very interesting and rather good. It reminded me in some ways of Guy Gavriel Kay's excellent historical fantasy Under Heaven. I am just starting friend Elise's manuscript Albus Unus, an informal treatise (oxymoron) on mythology focusing on the Snow White story. (By the by I saw Snow White & The Huntsman, which was quite good visually, but quite bad otherwise.) I also have In One Person and A Gay and Melancholy Sound in my hot little hands, so I'll be starting those soon.
And now I must go and make Key Lime pie and homemade chocolate ice cream for Father's Day.
Last weekend I visited Las Vegas for really the first time. Now, I've driven through Las Vegas a few times on my ways to & from California looking at the Strip from the freeway. Once, my family & I even stayed overnight at a hotel in Vegas--a normal, business-class, non-casino type of hotel far, far away from the Boulevard. When I flew to London back in '07, we flew out of the Las Vegas McCarron International Airport. But this was my first time staying on the Strip & enjoying Sin City, our "Cultural Capital" of excess & illusion.
The night before, we gathered to watch The Hangover, which I didn't particularly care for the first time I saw it. It was supposed to pump us up, but mostly I felt like it was a cautionary tale warning us away from Vegas. Anyway, early Friday morning we got up, got coffee, & got McDonald's. Then we drove, & drove, & drove. We took two cars--our car got a slightly late start, & Elise drove at the speed limit or thereabouts. The other car was driven by a speed-demon, who did get pulled over, but they still arrived long before us. We also stopped in Mesquite to get some "discount" liquor which seemed to basically be the same price as non-discount Utah liquor. It's just in Nevada they don't ID you (unless you use a credit card). & to get some smokes. We finally arrived in Fabulous Las Vegas in the afternoon & made our way to the Luxor which is where we were staying. The Luxor, for those who don't know, is the Egyptian-themed hotel in the shape of a giant pyramid at the southern-end of the Strip between Mandalay Bay (which I called Manderley) and the Excalibur. The first group to arrive was already fairly drunk by the time we arrived half-an-hour or so later. We were soon upgraded to a suite (sweet!) which was very nice since it gave the six of us a little more room to spread out, especially when tensions flared.
After showering & getting semi-fancy, which takes some time for five gay men (& lone woman), we went to Fat Tuesday to get yard glasses of boozy slushies & then wandered down the Boulevard. It's kind of awesome to be able to walk around in the open carrying a drink. We stopped at Miracle Mile to get something to eat. By this point, almost all of our group was completely drunk. Good times. =/ We made it to the Bellagio & watched the fountains which did not disappoint. It was a real highlight of the trip. (But then I'm the kind of guy who has been known to occasionally get emotional at firework displays.) At this point we decided to return back to our hotel.
The first half of Saturday was spent by most of the group sleeping. After I woke up, I spent a few hours reading until the rest of the group woke up around noon. & then it took a couple more hours for everyone to get ready. When my family goes on vacation & stays at hotels, there is no sleeping till noon or dilly-dallying. So while I enjoyed the leisurely pace to a certain extent, I was also impatient to get going. The group decided they wanted to go shopping at the Outlets. This being the Premium Outlets on the Boulevard (not the Fashion Outlets 30 minutes south of Vegas), so it was basically just a mall; I tend to think of "outlets" as special stores with amahzing discounts. We spent most of the time at H&M where nothing comes in my size. Sad. When we got back in the late afternoon, after refilling our Fat Tuesdays, Bryce, Elise, & I went to the pool to catch some sun--which did not last for long. The rest of the group went to get tickets to a show. They ended up seeing Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity which sounds like it was really good. I didn't quite have enough money to see a show this time. Instead we had a leisurely dinner at the hotel. After the rest of the group got back from the show, everyone decided to hit the Strip again & maybe go to a club. Because I hate clubs & didn't sleep in all day, I decided to stay at the hotel & go to bed early. Which didn't quite work out so well when everyone came back quite late (or early) very loud & drunk. When my sleep is disturbed during general sleeping hours, I can get quite pissy, though I generally forget all about it the next day.
Sunday morning we woke up & packed, & then decided to go to a Champagne Brunch at Cravings at the Mirage with endless mimosas! Sometime between driving the three blocks to the Mirage, the other car ditched us and headed to the Forum Shops at Caesars. So we had a lovely, leisurely brunch & the mimosas were very delicious. Here I gambled one whole dollar at the slot machines--& won 5 cents. Wahoo! Only, my "winnings" were printed on a receipt which I would have to cash in to claim, & I had no desire to claim my nickel. So that's on me, Mirage. You're welcome. & then we drove home, stopping only in Fillmore for food & fuel, & in Nephi to look at the solar eclipse (which we did through our regular sunglasses, so we may soon go blind).
All in all, it was a fun little trip focused more on relaxing than doing a whole lot. I do want to go back with a lot more money & a game plan to see & do more.
It's the middle of May! Which means it's kinda like summer now. If you attend most universities, classes are over & it's now summer break. If you attend a certain university in the Pacific Northwest, classes won't be out till the middle of June. (Of course, summer doesn't actually start in Seattle until July 5th.) Those in the K-12 system won't enjoy summer vacation until a week or so after Memorial Day which traditionally marks the beginning of summer for most working adults who receive no seasonal break. Memorial Day used to begin the summer blockbuster movie season. But as The Avengers & The Hunger Games busterblocking releases show, that marker seems less & less tenable. Soon there will only be two film seasons: the Oscars season from December to February & Blockbuster "Summer" season from March until November. The summer solstice will occur on June 20th which marks both the "first" day of summer as well as "midsummer." Which all means that summer is very confusing. What's not confusing is that with the warming seasonal temperatures (not to mention the warming climate) & the longer, bright sun-shiny days, I will be spending more time lounging poolside, reading books, & (hopefully) quenching my thirst with iced tea lemonade. *happy sigh*
A few years ago, one of my college professors started the 16 Books in 16 Weeks summer reading challenge. It just so happens that, including this week, there are 16 weeks until Labor Day, traditionally regarded as the end of the summer season. My list has 18 books, two of which may be considered alternates. or something. With my well-documented failure at actually ever completing a reading list (summer '09 being an historic exception), this list is to be regarded merely as aspirational.
The Tale of Telsharu by Valerie Mechling & Samuel Stubbs (currently reading)
I bought & started this book almost a year ago. I decided it was time to finish it as they are gettting ready to publish the sequel.
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin (currently reading)
After I finish this second volume of the Song of Ice & Fire series, I plan on taking a nice, long break.
The Iliad by Homer
I started reading reading this epic in the summer of 2010. I got a little more than halfway through. I have about 10 books/chapters left. I am resolved to finish it this year. I may have to use Sparknotes to refresh my memory of what already happened.
Albus Unus by Elise Hanson
My high school friend Elise finally finished this book that she's been working on for 10 years. It hasn't been published (yet), but I have a copy of the manuscript.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book was a bit of a sensation last year & there are a million holds (or 19) at the public library. But the university library where I work has an available copy. Yay for access to multiple libraries & for college students who don't read for pleasure.
In One Person by John Irving.
Lillian got an advanced copy at PLA in March & told me I must read it. It was just published last week, but shockingly my public library has not purchased a copy. A public library not buying an Irving novel!? Could it be because the narrator is bisexual? I guess I will have to actually buy my own hardback copy.
Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck
The subtitle is "How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith." Kristyn O. recommended I check it out.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
I've always preferred The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. & now is a good time to reread it before the movie comes out this Christmas. On a side note, I am horribly distressed that the film is being split into two parts. Harry Potter 7 Part 2, what hast thou wrought?
Engine Summer by John Crowley
Crowley's Little, Big is one of the best things I have ever read. ever. This short novel has been on my radar for a while.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
This is a YA book that Lillian told me about. I believe one of the characters is gay, so naturally it has been shelved in the adult section of my public library. Oh, Davis County, you'd be so cute if you weren't so terrifying. See also: In One Person.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
This is a relatively recent fantasy book that's made some waves. Lev Grossman (The Magicians) placed it on his list of 10 Must-Read Fantasy Novels.
Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard
...who went on a weekend vacation to Paris & never came back. I realize that sounds kind of sinister like she was killed or kidnapped & Liam Neeson has save her. But really, she just fell in love--with a French man & French cuisine. This memoir sounds like a travelogue-cum-food-writing & thus perfect for summer.
The Stand by Stephen King
As a (hopefully soon-to-be) librarian, I feel it's important to have read at least one King novel. I've heard a bit about The Stand, so that's the one I'm choosing.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
You should all know that I LOVE Wharton: The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, The Custom of the Country.
Batman: Knightfall by Doug Moenich & Chuck Dixon
I felt I should have a graphic novel on my summer list, & I like Batman, & I'm excited for the The Dark Knight Rises, & this one looked good. I'm slightly confused though because there's Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat (1563891425) which is 272 pages & there's also Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1 (1401233791) which is 640 pages. I may have to do some information sleuthing to get down to the bottom of this.
The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn
This is another Paris memoir this time about an American corporate dropout studying at Le Cordon Bleu.
Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
This is the medium-length title which I've always loved. I also felt my list was lacking in satire & postmodernism. So, problem solved.
So in the new Blogger makeover, I think my preferred font size has gone the way of the dodo. Tear. I haven't blogged about my life for a while, so ... word vomit!
So you all know that I got a job. Yay!Not like a real, professional, grown-up job that can pay for shit & stuff, but it will at least pay my bills like my credit cards & the occasional fun stuff. It's the job I had at the U before I left for Seattle & it has let me get back in touch with my podcast listening. Reunited & it feels so good. I'm listening to things like TBTL, Spilled Milk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, This American Life, RadioWest, Fresh Air, & more. Aside from listening to my iPod, my job is mostly about looking up articles & scanning books. But I like it, & I like the people, & I like doing something, but I don't really care for the waking up early every morning part. I've taken a hiatus from looking for a real job, but I need to start looking again. Ugh.
My "n" key still doesn't work. My typing behavior has been altered so that even when I use a functional keyboard, I find myself using CTRL+V to paste an "n." But instead it just pastes the latest thing I copied which is usually not an "n." I'm also using ampersands to avoid typing "and" all of the time.
It's May so it's season finale time, & I really need to catch up on my TV watching. I'm behind on all my stories including Smash, Modern Family, Happy Endings, Revenge, Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, & The Daily Show. Thank goodness for the Internet. I blame most of this on Buffy. A month or so ago there was a Pajiba article 115 Reasons Why We Love Buffy. Because I done love Buffy. a lot. So less than a year after I watched all 7 seasons, I am rewatching it all. I'm halfway through season 5. See, I just went back and watched the pilot & the next episode & the episode after that, & I got carried away. Damn you Netflix Instant Watch!
I've been going to a lot of movies this year. Yay movies! Every week Brewvies shows a free older movie, usually something of a cult classic. & they still make money because most people still buy beer &/or food. Kristen Marie & I go most weeks. Last time it was V for Vendetta. The end gets me every time when Parliament is exploding & everyone takes off their masks & it's all the people who have died. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.
Last week I went to the midnight showing of The Avengers with Valerie, Miss Liss, Joseph & others. I mostly went for Joss Whedon because I'm not super into the Marvel universe, esp. The Avengers (but I am into the Whedonverse). I haven't even seen all the previous films. I saw Iron Man & Captain America, & I liked them & all, but I wasn't like OMG! SQUEEE!!! So I thought this film was alright. It was fun & funny. Lots of action. It was 2 1/2 hours of the Avengers assembling, beating each other up & exchanging wisecracks, & then destroying an alien invasion. Pretty standard stuff. It some ways it was the anti-Nolan--colorful, fantastic, & fun. Maybe Nolan ruined me, but I like my superhero movies dark, gritty, brooding, & deconstructed. Or maybe I just like Batman. My biggest problem with The Avengers is that it's pretty shallow. I felt it lacked depth, that none of the characters had much of an arc (I understand that's hard to do with six avengers & that character journey can be done better in their solo films), that the unifying event lacked the emotional depth for me to really believe it brought these characters together, & finally the story wasn't entirely coherent. There was a lot of floating on that giant ship thing & if you asked me to retell you plot, I could only give you the broad strokes.& maybe I'm not the target audience, but I was left wanting. But if you loved The Avengers, you can tell me how I got it all wrong in the comments. I did like the men. Downey Jr. does amazing line readings, but Stark's snark got a bit over obnoxious. Chris Evans did a lovely, subtle job as the earnest, lost-in-time Cap but was sadly clothed for the entire film. Mark Ruffalo was excellent as Bruce Banner doing that unshowy, regular shmoe playing it cool with a well of anxiety (and here anger) under the surface that he always does so well. I also think Joss handled the Hulk really well. I didn't see the last two Hulk films, but I heard they were terrible.
So maybe I'm not very nerdy. I geek out about some things (like making cocktails! & cooking!), & I consume a lot of cool (& sometimes less-cool) pop culture. But I guess I'm not a nerd. Still nerds are awesome, & I wanted to share these quotes by John Green, one of which was recently reposted by Wil Wheaton: "Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that
you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be
thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that
matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan.'" & "Because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about
stuff. We don't have to be like, 'Oh yeah that purse is okay' or like,
'Yeah, I like that band's early stuff.' Nerds are allowed to love
stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself-love
it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they are saying is,
'You like stuff', which is just not a good insult at all, like 'You are
too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness'."
So (back to movies) yesterday I went to the Broadway & saw The Deep Blue Sea with Rachel Weisz because I looove her! The film is a period love story set in London just after WWII. It's kind of a mess. She's in a somewhat passionless marriage to an older man but carrying on an affair with the lovely Tom Hiddleston. The story is maddeningly fragmented & jumps around. We don't see Hester (Weisz) & Freddie (Hiddleston) fall in love, so I had a hard time caring about them. & I never fully understood why Hester attempts suicide (spoiler! not really--it's the central event & happens early in the film). However, I seem to be in the minority. of critics. Two people walked out of the showing I was at. It wasn't offensive; I think they were just bored.
There are several films playing now or coming soon that I am looking forward to: Damsels in Distress, The Five Year Engagement, Corialanus, Moonrise Kingdom,Snow White & the Huntsman, Prometheus, Your Sister's Sister (again!), To Rome with Love, Magic Mike, & Cosmopolis to name a few.
So I finally finished Great Expectations & Berlin Stories. I'm now really into The Tale of Telsharu. & I'm working on my summer reading list. Here are a few titles I'm feeling: The Night Circus, Engine Summer, A Gay & Melancholy Sound, In One Person, Will Grayson Will Grayson, & The House of Mirth. I also think this is the time to finally read a Stephen King novel. Any suggestions? I'm also thinking I need at least one graphic novel/comic on my list. Maybe a Batman one to get pumped up for The Dark Knight Rises.
Speaking of summer (how's that for a segue?), TBTL is all over its annual Song of the Summer competition, & it's time to start thinking of a summer playlist. Right now I'm all over Carly Rae Jepsen's Internet sensation hit "Call Me Maybe." It's a tween pop song & catchy as hell. What are listening to?
A couple of weeks ago I got a package from Maggie! She sent me a teapot from Germany. It's so cute! It was my Christmas/Valentine's/Easter present. I was all out of tea though, so I finally visited the Tea Grotto, one of SLC's tea houses. I had a delicious pot of black dragon pearl tea and bought a package of Assam and another of Ceylon to take home. Yay for tea!
So today my mom finally got the baby grand piano she's always wanted. It kind of makes me want to take up the piano again--maybe learn a few relatively easy/intermediate songs that are still impressive. Other than Fur Elise.
So North Carolina voted to approve the gay marriage ban today. One of my friend's linked to this on Facebook earlier this week. It's a blog post from a North Carolinian named Milton. It's a short post (unlike this one), & here's most of it: "But fear is not an ultimate force. Love is.
"You l should know we will not allow you to devalue marriage by acting as
though it has a mere legal definition, or determines who gets tax
breaks. We will use it as a relational word and a theological word and
we will gather to watch our friends get married and dance at their
weddings until the walls of your fortresses crumble down around you.
"We will have the audacity to include everyone and love one another and
bust through whatever ridiculous divisions you try to foster. We will
march in the streets and sing on your steps, but more than that we will
wear you down with the courage of our convictions and tenacity of our
determination to include every last one -- including you.
"I pray we defeat the amendment because I don’t want any more damage done
to my friends and to others in this state who already feel
marginalized. I hope it goes down because it is immoral and wrong. But
if it passes, don’t smile for long. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Love
lives in North Carolina. Big-hearted, big-tent,
all-ye-all-ye-oxen-free-you-can’t-keep-us-from-being-together,
world-changing love.
"And it’s coming for you."
I love that so much! So that's a pretty good place to end. & I think I've shared a lot for one post. Congrats if you read it all---there was a lot of babbling. Till I write again! Peace.
This morning I was listening to Morning Edition on NPR and Mona Eltahawy was discussing her provocative piece in the current issue of Foreign Policy, "Why Do They Hate Us?" "They" being the Arab world and "Us" being women. Go read it. On the Morning Edition segment she answers her question with the fact that women are the vectors of culture and religion. "Our wombs are the future. And if you don't control the future by controlling women's bodies, you've lost control generally." Many of these countries are U.S. allies. C.J. Cregg, press secretary extraordinaire (played by the fabulous Allison Janney) exemplifies the anger we should all be feeling in these two clips from The West Wing.
The first clip is from the episode "Enemies Foreign and Domestic" and references a real event that occurred on March 11, 2002.
And this clip is from the episode "The Women of Qumar." Qumar is a fictional oil-rich Middle East state and U.S. ally. The United States has just renewed its air base in the country by selling them an arms package.
What's happening to women in the Arab world is horrific, but even in America, as the latest in the culture wars shows, women--vis-a-vis their bodies--are under attack. Margaret Sanger stated, "No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body." It should also be obvious as Steven Conn says that "Free societies allow their citizens to make their own reproductive decisions; repressive ones restrict them."
"Women hold up half the sky" is a Chinese proverb behind the title of Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book Half the Sky. This book explores how educating and empowering women, especially in the developing world, is not only a moral issue but an economic and political issue for our global good. I am placing this book on hold at my library to better learn about the oppression women face worldwide and what can be done about it.
And because I just saw V for Vendetta last night at Brewvies, I will part with this quote by Gloria Steinem:
"This is no simple reform. It really is a revolution. Sex and race because they are easy and visible differences have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labor on which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen or those earned. We are really talking about humanism."
So a couple of weeks ago, I watched a filmed version of actress and comedienne Julia Sweeney's one-woman show Letting Go of God. I had heard an excerpt from the play on the "Godless America" episode of This American Life. It's a very funny and poignant show as Julia asks some important questions and goes through a spiritual journey from her Catholic faith to a non-theist, naturalist worldview. Anyway, I've been thinking about the show a lot. At one-point she decides she doesn't think anything happens when we die, that our consciousness just fades and stops like our organs do, and there is no soul or spirit that continues on. Then she thinks, '“Wait a minute, so Hitler, Hitler just... died? No one sat him down and said, ‘You fucked up buddy! And now you’re going to spend an eternity in HELL!’ So Hitler just died.” I thought, “We better make sure that doesn’t happen again.”' And a little while later she thinks, “Wow. Life is so cheap and so precious.” When her parents ask her where she gets her peace and isn't she just depressed all the time, she says, “No. I mean it’s sort of turned out to be the opposite. I’m kind of astonished that I’m even here at all. The smallest things in life seem just amazing to me now. . . . If this is all there is, everything means more, not less, right?” Though she also admits that “I guess I do have less peace. I don’t think everything works out for the best, or that there is some grand plan. I don’t think that things happen for a reason other than a tangible, actual reason. The sad things in life do seem sadder.” When she first decides to try on the "not-believing-in-God glasses" for a second, she actually thinks how does the Earth stay up in the sky? Then she thinks what's to stop me from rushing out and murdering people?, and she has to walk herself through why we are ethical. In a Q&A after the show, she says that ethics are much more fascinating from a non-theist viewpoint. If you're religious, ethics are just whatever God, scripture, religious leaders, etc. tell(s) you to do. But for a naturalist, ethics come from natural rights and social norms and our internal moral sense and these things often get codified into law. But as society changes and evolves then our ethics can--and should--change and evolve too.
So what's the point? Even if you're religious, I think it's important to occasionally put on the not-God glasses and examine the world from a naturalist viewpoint. It's sort of the opposite of Pascal's Wager--which basically states that God cannot be proved or disproved through reason, so it's better to believe in God (or at least fake it) and live accordingly just in case he does exist; if he doesn't exist it doesn't matter, but if he does then you'll be saved. But I think that we should set up our ethics, morals, and laws under the supposition that God doesn't exist--that this life is all we get. Wouldn't that induce us to be better, more loving, more just, more humane people? (Though I guess that depends upon if you take a more Lockean or Hobbesian view of human nature.) I don't think that justice really exists in the world, just a simulacrum of justice. But if you believe that a higher power exists and that justice will be served in the next life, then it's easier to ignore the social inequality, the social injustice, the suffering that occurs every day throughout the world. It's easier to believe that the dictators, the tyrants, the oppressors, the terrorists, the Hitlers will be judged and the victims, the tyrannized, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the exploited will have their reward. But I think that seems too easy. So if this is all we get then I think we need to do what we can to make this "the best of all possible worlds," to protect and uplift the disenfranchised through universal natural, human rights. If God exists in the afterlife and justice will be served, that's swell. But what if Hitler just died? Then we need to make sure the holocaust and other atrocities never happen again--and to solve the current genocides, unjust wars, and human rights violations--because human life is so cheap and so precious. Of course that's easier said than done. Wendell Phillips said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Eternal vigilance is no mere task, and it's a burden placed on all our shoulders. But let's get to work--let us cultivate our garden--so that we can render life tolerable, for all of us, and maybe even better than tolerable.
I just finished Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games series. My sister owns the books, and I read the first two last summer. But then she went back to college in the fall and took her books with her. She’s on a mission now, and her books are back home, so I was able to read the third book. The first two took me mere days to read, this one took months. Most people kept saying they didn’t like the third book, and while there are certainly several depressing turns of events, I think the book ended on a somewhat positive/hopeful note. I think the first book is the best of the series, and I will probably reread it soon. I will also probably see the movie eventually.
I would like to briefly mention that of the three major YA publishing phenomena of the last 15 years, I think Harry Potter is the best in terms of writing, world-building, character development, and message. Jen Andrews of TBTL tells us Harry Potter matters because “Dobby is a free elf, that ‘expelliarmus’ is the spell used by someone who knows that love is always the answer, and that Percy can always come home.” Harry Potter is about the power of love in the face of evil and uncertain times. The Hunger Games satirize us as we already are and may shortly become. Therefore, it’s timely, relevant, and important. Twilight seems mostly about being passive and indulging in unhealthy relationships. and it features the worst writing of the bunch.
I still have a pile of books staring at me. This includes Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, which is the basis of Cabaret. It’s divided in two sections, the short novel The Last of Mr. Norris and then Goodbye to Berlin—a section of autobiographical short stories, one of which is “Sally Bowles.” This served as the basis for the play and film I Am A Camera which in turn become the musical and then Fosse film Cabaret. The Sally Bowles chapter is fantastic and I am still working my way through Goodbye to Berlin. I have not decided yet if I will read The Last of Mr. Norris.
I also checked out from the library Fast Talking Dames by Maria DiBattista which is about those indomitable women of film in the 30s and early 40s, especially in screwball comedies. DiBattista is a Princeton professor and the book was published by Yale University Press, so the book has an academic bent to it, but is interesting so far. It has inspired me to finally watch several screwball comedies including My Man Godfrey, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, Adam’s Rib, and The Lady Eve with more to come.
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. I read A Game of Thrones last summer and when I finished, I promptly bought the second in the series. The only problem is these books are l o n g and intricately plotted, so I was exhausted after the first one. I’m a little more than a third of the way through this one, and it will probably still take a while to finish.
The Tale of Telsharu. I’m a bad friend. My dear friend and former roommate Valerie Mechling co-wrote this novel and got it published last summer. Of course I bought a copy and started it, but then I got sidetracked by lots and lots of other books. So with fewer books, I’m going back to this one and won’t check out any other books until I finish this one. It’s a martial arts fantasy novel set in an imaginary Asian empire. So far it reminds me a bit of Guy Gavriel Kay’s historical fantasy Under Heaven which I enjoyed. Also, they’re about ready to publish the sequel, so I really need to finish this one.
Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim. Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. I don’t know that a book of lyrics is meant to be read straight through, though that’s what I’ve been doing, mostly. It’s also more interesting than one might presume. So far I’ve read the sections on Saturday Night, West Side Story, Gypsy, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I've skipped Anyone Can Whistle and Do I Hear a Waltz?, and have just started Company.
I am not checking out any more books from the library until I finish some, or even all, of these. Yet my reading list grows ever longer. Here’s a couple. Nancy Pearl has just started her Book Lust Rediscoveries which is reprinting some of her favorite novels in the last 50 years that have since gone out of print. The first on the list is A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller, and my Seattle friends are all over it. John Irving is coming out with a new novel next month, In One Person. My friend Lillian got an advance copy and suggested that I read it. So as soon as my local library orders a copy, I will place that on hold.
Yay for books! I would love to hear if you’ve read anything amazing lately. It can go on my list! Also, as I try to be a better “slow” reader, I thought I would share this video which several of my library school friends were sharing on Facebook last month. I’m going to read so hard.
I recently came across this article in The Atlantic about a slow-books manifesto which obviously is borrowing from the slow foods and subsequent slow everything movements. It’s both tongue-in-cheek and sincere. If we’re concerned about what we put in our bodies, why not be concerned about what we put in our minds. And why not take time to enjoy the quieter pleasures of reading (fiction) to the “fast entertainment” of television and the Internet. The Pollan-esque manifesto is: Read books. As often as you can. Mostly classics. and to aim for at least 30 minutes each day of literary reading. I think that’s perfectly admirable and doable, and I am going to try to be better at reading more.
For more about the amorphous slow reading movement, here are two articles from The Daily Beast and The Guardian.
Because I’ve been pretty bad at reading lately, upping my TV and movie watching while the same ten books sit on my bedside table, half-read. It had been a long, long time since I actually finished a book, but I recently finished several and the pile has shrunk somewhat. Since I love books and reading and talking about books and discovering what other people are reading, I thought I would share some of what I’ve been reading in 2012.
I received Habibi by Craig Thompson for Christmas. It’s a graphic novel about . . . a lot of stuff. It’s a bit Dickensian in its sprawl. The artwork is gorgeous, the story is troubling. But then in many ways it’s supposed to be—again like Dickens. I will say that the narrative conceit using numerology, calligraphy, and Bible/Koran stories is complex and interesting. I found the second half of the book/story to be less satisfying and rather bleak in the end. Thompson has also been charged in this book with Orientalism and sexualizing Dodola, one of the main characters. The Hooded Utilitarian has a thoughtful conversation with Craig Thompson about these issues.
Speaking of Dickens, my friend Lillian and I were reading Great Expectations last fall. Lillian finished; I did not, even though it’s my favorite Dickens. Masterpiece just showed a miniseries with Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham. It is currently up at PBS.org, but probably only till Sunday. There is also a new film version due out later this year with Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham. Hopefully, I will finally finish the book before that comes out.
After Habibi, I read Alexandra Fuller’s new memoir Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness. It is honestly the best book I’ve read so far in 2012, and I can’t stop thinking about it. In many ways it’s the sequel to her memoir about her childhood growing up in Africa. This book centers more on her mother’s perspective. This is what I wrote in Goodreads: “Alexandra Fuller wrote of her African childhood in Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight—known afterward to her family as the ‘Awful Book’—and her fey mother, Nicola Fuller of Central Africa, emerged as the most memorable character. In Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness, Fuller returns to that harsh continent to chart her mother’s life and memories as a one million percent Highland Scottish woman who grew up in the perfect equatorial light of colonial Kenya, who led a hardscrabble life in war-torn Rhodesia, who lost children, land, and sanity before courageously achieving an ‘African kind of peace’ on a farm in Zambia under her Tree of Forgetfulness. A notch below the Awful Book, Fuller's writing is beautiful, engaging, and compassionate in capturing her mother's voice and a life Worthy of Fabulous Literature.” I would suggest that you read this book as it is excellent. But read Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight first if you haven’t already.
I’ve read a few different graphic novels. First was the Fables series—where familiar fairy-tale characters, after fleeing their enchanted kingdoms, are living in modern-day New York City. I read the first story arc “Legends in Exile.” It seemed like my perfect cup of tea, fractured/re-imagined fairy tales and in a graphic novel format to boot. And while I have friends who LOVE the series, it left me a bit cold. Maybe I thought it would be more like The Sandman, and it’s not really fair to compare anything to The Sandman which to me is the benchmark of adult comics weaving together myth, history, legend, and superheroes into the stuff of dreams and nightmares. I also read Maus I by Art Speigelman which is considered to be a masterpiece in itself and also of the graphic novel format. I wrote: “Art’s complicated relationship with his father frames Vladek’s own story of surviving Nazi Germany as a Polish Jew. In this graphic novel where Jews are mice and Nazis cats, the story achieves a harrowing reality.” I need to pick up the second volume. Finally I read the first volume of the Scott Pilgrim series “Precious Little Life.” While it’s a fun and clever little comic book, I had already seen the film which is a very faithful adaptation, and the source material did not really give me more.
I read Chris Hedges’s polemical book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. It’s a very interesting book that exposes the fascist elements of some fundamentalists, evangelicals, and dominionists. I think the book deserves its own post, but in case I never get around to finishing it, this angry book, which sometimes gives way to the “left-wing paranoia about a looming evangelical-led theocracy,” is thoughtful, provocative, and relevant. I think it’s definitely worth taking a look.
I decided to read The Paperboy by Pete Dexter after seeing this retro-looking movie poster. The film will star Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman, and David Oyelowo. I read the first third of the book in about a week and the final third in another week. The middle third took about three months when I didn’t feel like reading much of anything. I had to renew the book four times from the library. Here’s my brief annotation: “Paperboy Jack James recounts the story of a death-row groupie, a terrifying inmate and his clan, and Jack’s taciturn brother, half of a star investigative team who stir the remote backwaters of 1960s Florida with shocking consequences.” The movie, directed by Lee Daniels (Precious), should be . . . interesting.
I recently finished Kitchen Confidential, Anthony’s Bourdain’s jumbled mixture of memoir and food writing—two genres I love. But I did not love this book. Part of it is Bourdain’s debauched behavior, smug assholery, and machismo—though he is at least aware of these qualities. Anyway, his whole personality rubbed me the wrong way. However, there are worthwhile chapters. If you have every wanted to be a chef or open a restaurant—or even have a romantic idea of being a chef or opening a restaurant, he will quickly disabuse you of such notions. If you eat out a lot, he will tell you, as a chef, what he eats and what he avoids when dining. If you would like to cook like a pro, he will tell you some of the tricks and tools of the trade he uses. If you enjoy the shocking tales of degenerates, you will like the rest of this book. Otherwise, I feel the parts are greater than the sum.
So I’m sure you’ve heard by now that I finally got a job! It’s the same job I had before I moved to Seattle and spent thousands and thousands (and thousands and thousands) of dollars getting a "first-rate" education that has so far failed to proffer any actual professional library jobs, but I’m not bitter. It’s OK though because I loved my job before. I like the work, my supervisor loves me, and I can listen to podcasts all day. I also enjoy the commute—driving through downtown SLC every day on my way to and from the U listening to NPR. Lovely. It’s also good because I just ran out of money and wouldn’t have been able to pay my bills next month. Crisis adverted! (for now.) It’s part-time, so I won’t be going from no structure to a full-time job, but it will impose some outside structure on me which is really necessary. And while it won’t use any of my fancy library education, it is a library job which has to count for something. And it pays more than minimum wage! I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the plan—that at nearly 26, with a BA and MLIS, I would be stoked about a part-time job that pays a bit more than minimum wage, but there you have it.
About a week ago or so, I spilled some water on my laptop keyboard. Eek! It seems to have only affected the “N” key, so I have to copy and paste all of my “n”s which is super annoying. My laptop also makes upsetting beeping noises when I shut it down or restart it. I should probably find the removable hard drive I got for Christmas a couple of years ago, and back up important files and my music library in case the whole machine goes. And maybe look into replacing the keyboard—see how much that will cost. Good thing I got a job. For now it’s a livable problem—but seriously why couldn’t have been the “X” key or something? “N” is a fairly common letter, and it makes playing online crossword puzzles very difficult.
For Easter I was in charge of preparing dinner, and I decided to go with a lamb. Lamb is seriously expensive, you guys. The lamb leg I had to prepare was also intimidating. and large. and cooked unevenly. I think I should have gone with a smaller and supposedly easier to prepare rack of lamb, especially since my family are not huge lamb eaters. However, the mint sauce I prepared to go with it was delicious!
Anyway, before I start work next week, I need to get a haircut and an overdue oil change and return several books to the library. And sleep and read and watch lots of TV.
I LOVE this! It just about makes me cry. Have you seen it? It's the story of a British WWII propaganda poster with such a simple and reassuring message: Keep Calm and Carry On. Something, I think, of which we could all use more.
"However, it is perhaps the words on the poster that people find most enchanting. Like a voice out of history, it offers a very simple, warm-hearted message to inspire confidence in others during difficult times. And is something that should never fade from fashion."
Everybody who reads this blog knows that I LOVE Tori Amos—emotive, confessional singer-songwriter; kick-ass pianist; and musician extraordinaire. I was hanging out in Ellen's dorm room freshman year, and her roommate Jen was listening to something. I asked who it was, and she said Tori Amos. I don’t remember which song it was, but it was love at first listen. I have since bonded with my high school friend Kristen over Tori, and she is helping me blog today as we listen back to her solo debut album Little Earthquakes which came out 20 years ago last week or so (we both got a little behind).
In 1986 (back when I was born), Tori formed an ‘80s hair band Y Kant Tori Read which released a self-titled album in 1988. It was a commercial flop and the band disbanded. Tori reinvented herself as the girl with her piano, and Atlantic Records shipped her off to England where they hoped she would have more success as the English are more welcoming of eccentric performers. She is after all the musical daughter of Kate Bush, and there were some at Atlantic wanted her to be a female Elton John.
In 1992 Tori Amos released Little Earthquakes and helped usher in the wave of ‘90s alternative female singer-songwriters (though some like Ani DiFranco and Sarah McLachlan had already released albums by this time). It is an emotionally raw album exploring such issues as her religious upbringing, search for identity, sexuality, and rape—a series of little earthquakes. The album was a critical, artistic, and commercial breakthrough. Within a year it was certified gold, in 1995 it was certified platinum, and in 1999 double platinum. In 2002 Q Magazine named it the fourth greatest album by a female artist, right after Bush’s Hounds of Love. It remains one of her most revealing and accessible albums (and my "desert island" record). To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, Kristen and I are going to go through the album track by track (in a format shamelessly borrowed from The Critical Condition and Low Resolution), and while the music videos and outfits may be firmly stuck in the early '90s, I think the music itself has a more timeless quality.
Please keep in mind that neither of us are professional critics in any way, not to mention that music criticism is extremely difficult. Besides, we don’t have much objectivity when it comes to Tori Amos.
Crucify
Greg and Kristen’s Key Lyric: I know a cat named Easter / he says, will you ever learn / you’re just an empty cage girl / if you kill the bird
Greg: In the very first track Tori Amos takes on religion, one of her primary concerns throughout her career from “God” to “Past the Mission” to “Father Lucifer” to “Beulah Land” to . . . you get the idea. I actually wrote about Tori Amos and religion in my unofficial college dissertation “Unprodigal Daughters.” The lyric I chose is about the religious dichotomy between body and soul. Throughout the song, Amos infuses religious imagery, particularly that of the cross, in a song where Tori gets to play the victim, crucifying herself because she's never good enough, as defined by others. At the end, though, she decides she will no longer crucify herself.
This song really highlights the piano, Amos’s instrument of choice. Here the piano is lush and melodic with a driving drum beat. In the beginning, this was one of my all-time favorites, though it's not quite so high anymore. Still there’s a lot going on here; it’s not only a strong song, but as the first track it challenges and provokes the listener. From the beginning you know this is something special.
Kristen: It’s not surprising to me that Tori’s first solo album begins with such vivid religious imagery. As the daughter of a pastor, she no doubt knew how powerful this imagery can be. My personal opinion is that the song starts much stronger than it ends. The beginning sets up a specific instant and the piano is, as Greg noted, “driving.” As the song progresses however, the repetitive “crucify ourselves/myself” wears on me and the piano is all but lost. For me, this song opens the album not because it’s the strongest, but because it tells us what’s to come. Tori’s album continues unapologetically through a series of uncomfortable topics without due reverence (“Happy Phantom” comes immediately to mind). Why should she, after all, crucify or here, conform or censor herself on an album all her own?
Greg’s Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes (out of 10) Kristen's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes
Girl
Greg’s Key Lyric: well I’m not seventeen / but I’ve cuts on my knees / falling down as the winter / takes one more CHERRY TREE Kristen’s Key Lyric: she’s been everybody else’s girl / maybe one day she’ll be her own
G: This feels like one of the more minor songs from the album, but I don’t think it’s filler. In fact, I almost never skip any of the songs when listening to the entire album. Lyrically, this may be one of the more obscure songs from LE. Why isn’t Amos singing in her usual first person? Who is this girl—who has been everybody else’s girl but not even her own person—what is her relationship to Tori? The percussion creates a hypnotic rhythm till things get musically interesting and lyrically surreal during the bridge—a brief surge of independence—and then it is subsumed again by the repetitive structure. But perhaps there’s hope, perhaps one day she’ll be her own girl.
K: The idea that you can exist as someone other than yourself “she’s been everybody else’s girl/ maybe one day she’ll be her own” is a universal ontological crisis. Who am I? and Am I the person I’m supposed to be? The idea that women should be obedient "'sit in the chair and be good now'/and become all that they’ve told you” resonates well as women were historically raised to be not their own selves, but their husbands’ property. Even post-suffrage & Title IX, this idea lingers, especially for those who choose a conventional path.
What I have always wondered is whether Tori is her own girl, calling out to a friend, or whether this song, although in third person and with lines to hint the girl spoken of is not Tori, e.g.“my image under her thumb” is another song like "Crucify," where Tori asks her listeners, but also herself, why do we conform?
At the end of the day, my favorite part is the bridge. I once made an MP3 loop of just the bridge and listened to it as part of my morning playlist.“Dreams with the flying pigs.” Excellent.
G's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes
Silent All These Years
Kristen’s Key Lyric: so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts / what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Greg’s Key Lyric: your MOTHER shows up in a nasty dress / it’s your turn now to stand where I stand / everybody looking at you / here take a hold of my hand
G: Back when Amos was playing in Marriott hotel lounges, she was trying to place songs with people. Tori originally wrote this song for Al Stewart, “and I went to Eric [Rosse], who I was with and who partly produced Little Earthquakes, and he didn’t produce this bit so he was totally objective. And he looked at me and said, ‘You’re out of your mind. That’s your life story.’ And I went, ‘Oh.’ So needless to say, Al Stewart didn’t get that song” (VH1 Storytellers). The song is about finally finding your voice and standing up for yourself. It begins with this minor key thing that repeats throughout the song, what Amos calls “the bumble bee piano tinkle.” But then we get to the bridge, and what a bridge it is! It gets me every time. It’s just gorgeous, especially with the layered vocals. This was the very first Tori Amos song I downloaded, and I burned it onto a CD and played it in my car. It’s still one of my favorites.
K: This is the song that creates Tori fans. It’s my favorite on the album, and one of my favorites of all time. How glad I am that Tori found her voice! (Even if, as I have only just learned from Greg’s comment, the song is not about her.) I think it’s also noteworthy that Tori works to help women who are victims of sexual abuse and rape find their voices again through RAINN.org.
Although the piano in the song is excellent, it’s the lyrics that get me every time. It’s amazing how perfectly absurd comments (e.g. “what if I’m a mermaid” and “been saved again by the garbage man” string together to infuse poignancy into the song.
And finally, just because I enjoy it so much, I love Tori’s jealous statements to those breaking her heart. It’s so different from the anger you’d expect from Alanis Morrisette or Fiona Apple. In this song it’s “so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts/what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts?”I also love “you're off to the mountain top/I say her skinny legs could use sun” from “Putting the Damage On.” Ah, Tori! How many times I thought these things when I was dating!
G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes
Precious Things
Greg’s Key Lyric: I wanna smash the faces / of those beautiful BOYS / those Christian boys / so you can make me cum / that doesn’t make you Jesus Kristen’s Key Lyric: no one cared / to tell me where the pretty girls are / those demigods / with their NINE-INCH nails / and little fascist panties / tucked inside the heart of every nice girl
G: Back in the heydays of MySpace, I once took a What-Tori-Amos-Song-Are-You? quiz, and this song was my result: “School, Sex, Religion. All disappointments. Let them bleed.” I thought that result was quite perfect. Here Amos attacks the piano keys with frenzied control. In the album version there’s a (keyboard?) effect that sounds like a rain stick which is perfect as this song is a storm of frightening intensity spinning from deep personal hurt and rage. When Tori shrieks “Iiiiiiiii” into the mike, I get chills.
K: This song holds the anger you expect from a female ‘90s alternative artist. Tori reflects back on what should have been precious things in her life: school, sex, religion, and particularly childhood friends, and, as Greg says, finds them disappointing. The song itself is powerful, but I dislike its placement. “Silent All These Years” leaves me on such a high, and “Precious Things” is so angry and depressive in comparison. I suppose this was done on purpose. Little Earthquakes gives no one rest, and does tend to disrupt the highs. [G's Note: I think LE is actually perfectly structured: it never gets bogged down in sentimentality, it never stays angry for too long, and it keeps you on your toes!]
Greg’s Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes
Winter
Greg’s Key Lyric: SKATING around the truth who I am / but I know Dad the ice is getting thin Kristen’s Key Lyric: when you gonna make up your mind / when you gonna love you as much as I do?
G: This may be the best song from the album and one of the best songs of her entire catalog. The song is like a Russian music box. In this video, Tori says it’s for her dad, and it takes her back to the vulnerable child, her father, memories, the past becoming present. It reminds me a bit of this line from Eliot’s The Waste Land: “Winter kept us warm, covering / Earth in forgetful snow.” But the snow melts, memory and desire mix, children outgrow their fathers (but never fully), things change, and the horses forge on ahead.
K: Tori explicitly says this song is about her dad and her childhood. I think, though, it can be extrapolated to the trust we place in anyone we love, or even, to continue the religious themes Tori’s music suggests, in deity. It is interesting to me that in most imagery, we consider Winter as the end or death, whereas, here, it represents a suspension of time. Spring is coming and things “are gonna change so fast.” The little earthquakes theme might be getting old in my comments, now, but here is a peaceful moment where Tori prepares before another earthquake hits.
G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes
Happy Phantom
Kristen’s Key Lyric: the HAPPY phantom has no right to bitch Greg’s Key Lyric: they say Confucius does his crossword with a pen / I’m still the angel to a girl who hates to SIN
G: This is a jaunty, lilting song about—what else?—death! Tori joyously proclaims that the time is getting closer to become a ghost, one who will never need umbrellas and can haunt the school nuns of her youth. However, the rapture occasionally gives way to somber introspection: will her lover forget her once she’s dead? will she pay penance for who’s she been?
K: I laugh when I hear this song. I like to think Tori was having a good day when she wrote “And if I die today I’ll be the happy phantom.” As unrepentant as she is, I don’t know what to think when she asks “will I pay for who I’ve been?”
G's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes
China
Greg and Kristen’s Key Lyric: china decorates our table / funny how the CRACKS don’t seem to show / pour the wine dear / you say we’ll take a holiday / but we can never agree on where to go
G: Of all the songs on Little Earthquakes this is the most straightforward ballad featuring gorgeous piano work and string orchestration. The tagline for the film The Painted Veil (which takes place in China!) is “Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.” Originally titled “Distance” and the first song completed for the record, this is the story of a couple who shares a bed but couldn’t be farther apart. Even if they travel from China to Mexico to New York, they will never bridge the gulf of everything that goes unsaid or breach the defensive walls they each build to rival the Great Wall.
K: I like this song, again, for its lyrics. The transition from the country China to the table china to the individual who has built the great wall around him/herself. Awesome. I also love the music. This is one of only a handful of songs where Tori’s piano is soothing and an added bit of percussion takes care to keep the song going.
G's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes
Leather
Greg’s Key Lyric: look I’m standing naked before you / don’t you want more than my sex? Kristen’s Key Lyric: I could just pretend that you love me
G: One of the minor cuts from the album—it’s the shortest and may be the most ambiguous--I’ve always felt this song has a certain cabaret/burlesque feel to it. A smoky little song about realizing the other person wants you only for your body (or is it?). So when you can’t blame the weather, when the love is gone, when nothing else matters, then it's time to “hand me my leather” and move on.
K: I admit that this is one of the songs on the album I’m prone to skip. Greg nails it with his cabaret/burlesque feel. You can just see the performer’s knees bob with each staccato note. In that limbo between realizing a relationship is over and actually ending it, you start to see the other person and the relationship you have with that person with a much more critical eye. I think that’s where Tori’s at here.
G's Rating: 6 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 4 Little Earthquakes
Mother
Kristen’s Key Lyric: somebody leave the light on / just in case I like the dancing / I can remember where I come from Greg’s Key Lyric: I walked into your dream / and now I’ve forgotten / how to dream my own dream
G: This song, which features only the acoustic piano and Tori’s vocals, has always seemed to me to be about the complex and even fraught relationships that daughters and mothers sometimes have. It could also be about marriage and identity. Tori says it comes from the untold story of The Fall: “Mother changed me because I began to remember, where I believe, we come from” (Little Earthquakes Songbook).
K: To me, this song is about the risks we take as we age and venture away from our homes and the protection of our mothers. What if we forget where we’ve come from, or how to get back “bread crumbs lost under the snow.” Particularly if we get caught up in the new experiences “just in case I like the dancing.” I once or twice wondered if part of this might relate back to Tori as she started to find fame.
G's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 9 Little Earthquakes
Tear in Your Hand
Kristen’s Key Lyric: maybe she’s just pieces of me / you’ve never seen Greg’s Key Lyric: maybe it’s time to wave goodbye now / caught a ride with the moon / I know, I know you well / well better than I used to
G: This song is stunning, and one of my personal favorite songs of all time (only “Cooling” has more plays in my iTunes library). From the very first notes, I sigh and smile and feel happy of myself. The song is about the end of a relationship and all of the attendant and contradictory emotions surrounding that, yet the music is not dirge like or overly mournful. It goes from verse to chorus to the bridge or two and then loops back to the chorus. Tori says in the end you’re right back where you started, but by taking the loop you can see finally see where/what that place is: “some sadness, a whole lot of cornfield, and a puddle” (Little Earthquakes Songbook).
One of my favorite things about this song is the Neil Gaiman reference: “if you need me, me and Neil’ll be / hangin’ out with the DREAM KING / Neil says hi by the way.” Tori was deep into The Sandman comics at the time, and the story goes that she placed a demo tape of Little Earthquakes with him—tapes he usually rerecords over—but for whatever reason he listened to this one, loved it, didn’t even catch the Neil reference initially, and called her up. They felt a deep kinship and have been friends ever since. Dream’s sister, Delirium, is even based in part on Tori Amos. Anyway, I once saw Neil Gaiman and had him sign my copy of The Sandman with “Hi by the way,” and it just makes me indescribably happy.
K:I also love the Neil reference (though my personal favorite is from “Space Dog” on Under the Pink.) [G's Note: "Space Dog" 4 Evah!] Tori and her writer friend/confidant Neil sometimes mention each other in their works. (See the bottom of this page for a complete list: hereinmyhead.com/neil). If I ever write anything famous, I’m going to mention my friends, too!
This song doesn’t seem to hold the same power for me that it does for Greg. After “China” and “Leather”, and even to a lesser extent, “Mother”, it makes sense that there is a breakup song on the album. I do like its treatment, that it’s not a “Precious Things” remix, but instead full of the lame excuses “cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream” and “maybe she’s just pieces of me you’ve never seen.” Mostly though, it captures the sadness that comes in those first moments as you breakup “All the world is danglin’ dangling'...danglin' for me darling.”
G’s Rating: 10 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes
Me and a Gun
Kristen and Greg’s Key Lyric: you can laugh / it’s kind of funny / things you think times like these / like I haven’t seen BARBADOS / so I must get out of this
G: Perhaps the biggest seismic wave of the album, this a capella song is about Tori’s own rape after a show at a club, though it wasn't until after watching Thelma & Louise that she wrote it. If I ever skip a song, it’s usually this one, only because it’s such a difficult song to listen to. Here’s Amos’s quote, “the hardest part is performing it every night because, although I know I’m safe, a part of me has to go to that place to sing it. And what this whole process has taught me is, I’m not a victim. Although when I go in and sing it every night, there’s a certain energy I bring to make it very real and then after the performance is over I can go and have an ice cream and have a life and say, ‘this is over. I can talk about it and I have love in my life.’ And it’s really important to get to that stage” (hereinmyhead.com).
K: You know this is going to be different when the piano doesn’t join Tori in the first measure. This song seems to be the origin of some people’s belief that Tori’s music is “angry girl music.” I think the title is undeserved. That Tori included this song is testament to her desire to bring these issues to dialogue. It’s not one I like to listen to, but it’s one I’m glad is out there.
G's Rating: 8 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 5 Little Earthquakes
Little Earthquakes
Kristen’s Key Lyric: and I hate / and I hate / and I hate elevator music / the way we fight Greg’s Key Lyric: here we go again / oh these little earthquakes / doesn’t take much to rip us into pieces
G: And that brings us to the final song, the title song: “Little Earthquakes.” It’s one of the longest songs on the album, and Tori says she wanted it to have three bridges, so it’s a bit ungainly. It is nothing more than the effective summation of the album, of everything that preceded it. It ends with the mantra “give me life / give me pain / give me myself again” repeated again and again with backing vocals by Tori, Eric, Steve Caton (guitarist), and best friend Beene.
K: At nearly 7 minutes, this song was never intended for the radio. That puts it in a different category than the other songs. I prefer to think of it more as an experiment than a summation, just as other ‘90s bands included instrumental or experimental songs at the ends of their albums (e.g. Smashing Pumpkins “17” on Adore). I like to think of this last song as being a little earthquake. So many of the other songs on the album represent big events. Sometimes, though, it’s the little things, an argument or a fight that “rips us to pieces” because, after all, “it doesn’t take much.” To me, this song is another love song about a relationship that is not working. I think it stands on its own, in its own right. And as a final thought, the reference to vampires is very vogue. Tori is truly timeless!
G's Rating: 5 Little Earthquakes K's Rating: 7 Little Earthquakes
