Sunday, January 27, 2008

YouTube Video of the Day: Cooper's Dream



I recently discovered the joy that is David Lynch's Twin Peaks. It's this totally aweseome TV series from the 1990's about the murder of a girl named Laura Palmer in the town of Twin Peaks. Because the murder matched a few other recent murders, the FBI sends in Special Agent Dale Cooper, who likes Tibet, Coffee and Cherry Pie. You get to see really weird stuff like this. Kcor S'let!

Book Reviews: Titus Groan and The Great Gatsby

Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake
Titus Groan is the story of Gormonghast and the first year and a half of it's 77th Earl, Titus Groan. Gormonghast is a huge Gothic fortress inhabited by equally Gothic and uncanny characters. The story also follows the rise of a young man named Steerpyke from being an oppressed kitchen boy to the Guy who works for Gormonghast's Tradition Master. Tradition is very important in Gormonghast, as nothing is done without following the strictest ritual.
Besides the entertaining and whimsical prose, the thing that first struck me about Titus Groan is that the entire place has a very autistic vibe about it. I wonder how popular this book is among other Aspies out there. Countess Gertrude is pretty autistic. She has next to no interest in human contact, instead obsessing over her several birds and cats. Her husband, Sepulcrave, who was the Earl before Titus, is also comes of as autistic because of his obsession with his books, but since he's the Earl he has to uphold tradition. The inhabitants of Gormonghast are in all likely hood autistic because of environment, not of birth.
The plot is unconventional. It is in fact, several interlocking plots. We've got Steerpyke's rise to power, Sepulcrave's descent into madness, his daughter Fushia's coming of age, the tense rivalry between Flay and Swelter which comes to a bloody conclusion, and the tragic story of Titus' wet nurse Keda. In the end, Titus becomes the Earl, but there is foreshadowing of some event in the future that will turn Gormonghast on it's head.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Dad said awhile back that I should read more of the great writers. He said I should read female writers, but since I couldn't find any in my collection and my sister is probably not going to lend me her Jane Austen anytime soon, I decided to look into my collection for classics. I had bough the Great Gatsby awhile back at a Church sale thing so I decided to read that.
The Great Gatsby isn't a long novel, and I wouldn't describe the novel as an epic. Simply, it's the story of a summer in the life of a man named Nick Carraway, as he observes his neighbour Jay Gatsby and his attempt at romance with his ex-girlfriend Daisy Buchanan among the various parties that occurred in 1922. The character of Gatsby is the fulcrum from which the novel springs. He's rich, he throws amazing parties and when he dies at the end of the novel his funeral is only attended by Nick, Gatsby's father and a guy who came to his parties and commented on Gatsby's books.
The story is about the American Dream. I don't think it was a positive look at it, as in the end Gatsby, who exemplifies the American Dream dies alone and the woman he loves doesn't even come to his future. I believe Fitzgerald may have had something there. In the end, America will collapse and the world will move on. Yes, there will be economic repercussions, but will get bye somehow. New nations will come up with new dreams, and they will write novels exemplifying there own dreams (The Great Gao? The Great Gupta?). Americans are aware of this, but most are afraid to look at it. If I may quote the Invisibles "The Rosicrucians who founded this nation wouldn't recognize it if they saw it today." This s paraphrasing mind you.
But I digress. I can't say that The Great Gatsby fully sunk in with me. I'm not used to reading realism, and Gatsby is the second realistic book I read on my own accord, the first one being On the Road. But The Great Gatsby, unlike On the Road, isn't the Beat celebration of life. The Great Gatsby is the tragedy of the 20th century. I think that I should re-read it again, just to figure out how it worked, but I don't feel like reading it anytime soon. I need to read some fantasy or science fiction.

Blog Thought

I was wondering if I should just write down my blog as random ideas that I feel I can share. I mean, I don't think I should put down all my ideas on this blog, but I was thinking I could just do brief edits. For instance, I could write about my feelings on one subject and then have another post on another subject. It would be pretty complex to read, but what do I actually care. Just as long as I don't go about putting down the secrets of my mythos I'll be fine.
I've been worrying about how I'm keeping up my blog. I've only got six posts, soon to be seven. I don't feel I am living up to my responsibility as a blogger. There are probubly all sorts of blogs out there that didn't get far. Heck, I've started a few of them. I want this blog to be the blog that historians look back on as the ultimate blog. I want to have this blog going from here to 2050 and beyond this point. When I stop blogging I'm going to be DEAD!
So should I just have this as random thought blog. Well, why not. It's my blog and I can do with it what I wish. The only problem is that I don't know if you guys reading this will enjoy it like that. I'm worried about what you think when I go all Tristan Shandy on you. Maybe I shouldn't and just damn the consequences.
So, basically I'm going to turn this into Writer's random thoughts and I will lisean to your feedback. I won't act on it, but I'll lisean to it.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Finish Exams

Hey, sorry that I didn't write. I am getting so damn lazy with this blog! Anyways, I have been working on school projects (finished) and studying for exams (also finished). Basically, I am free for the next few days.
Anyways, I'm at the library and I found a series of books on human history that I bought instally. It's only now that I realize I don't want half of them. I'm going through them again to see which ones I don't want. I've already gotten ride of most of the modern history and I'm probubly going to get ride of the classical civilizations as well, bunch of war-like arrogant pricks. Still, the Greeks gave us philosophy and I suppose that's got to count for something. Still, I could probubly do without most of these. I'll keep the ones on China and Japan, as well African and Pre-Columbian Civilizations. Early Islam is defenetly staying as well. Byzantium and Russia maybe. But I think I'm going to cut down on the Mideval period and anything else that goes with it. This probubly isn't even the collection that is at the library anyways. I noticed India isn't in this collection.
I've decided to make Mythania a series of solar systems. I guess I was just annoyed with the bowl and solar systems sounded easier. The various planets are interconnected with a series of stargate type things, which is called "The Web." I don't mean to make Mythania science-fiction, I still see it as high fantasy, but it's going to have characteristics of science fiction.
Well, it seems to be the time to stop. Be seeing you.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Quick Update I'm Not Really Thinking Much About

Hey. Sorry I havn't blogged in awhile but I have been really active these past few days. Lots of homework, finishing the big philosophy essay about God's omnipotence and benevolence. It was really hard and frustrating so I'm glad to be finished it. If that isn't enough however I'm getting together with a bunch of kids from my class to complete a project on Contemporary Philosophy. I'm concentrating on the metaphysics, so I'm doing Existentalism, Postmodernism, Surrealism and guys on psychedelics.
So, on a note it may be that I am going to a rock concert tonight. Yeah, social interaction! I have a friend from art class and her bands playing so I thought I'd go over and watch. That's all I can write now, I'm going to go. Bye

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Happy ending to the Holy Mountain thing

Good news on the Holy Mountain front, we got to watch the first bit of it for reaserch. We won't be playing it for the project though, because it is just to weird for school. So we wasted most of our time. Still, I felt it was time well spent. I also got positive reviews from my group mates.
What project you may ask? Well, I have to make an exhibit on metaphysics of contemporary philosophy. My group mates got to do other stuff, but I called existentialism and guys who take weird mushrooms. I'm going to do a model of Timothy Leary's 8-circuits of conciousness and making an "Are you an Existentalist" Quiz. I already have one question.
  1. Are you an Existentalist, Yes or No?

If you answer no you get more points, because most existentialists don't think of them selves as existentalist because they don't like being part of a movement what with the whole thing on individualism. And if you don't fill out any answers, you get 100%, which is a refrence to a Woody Allen joke. I also plan on making a timeline

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Nobody came to my party

Today a bunch of kids from school were supposed to maybe come over and watch Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain and eat chips. They didn't come, which admittedly they said would be an option. Still, I feel sad because for a second there I thought I'd actually have social interaction. Instead I'm just sitting here eating ketchup chips. I just felt I should mention this, but I have nothing else to say right now about it.

This was supposed to be put on Jan 4, 2007 "New Computer Toy"

Well, I've finally found a program for making a family tree. I can't remember the name, but I can now trace the Blackwrights to the Victorian period, and I'm working on the Kinsley's, who run a pub the Blackwright's own and is world famous within the context of my mythos. The annoying thing is that I have it concentrated on one person.
I'm probably going to start on the Wold Newton Family after that. For those of you who don't know, the Wold Newton Family started when a meteor landed near the English village of Wold Newton. What most people don't know is that various people present present at Wold Newton where genetically affected, leading to such descendants as Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Doc Savage, Fu Manchu, James Bond, Philip Marlowe, Arsene Lupin and various other fictional characters. I found all this vary interesting, so I plan on using the family tree thing to make a comprehensive family tree that I will add characters I believe should be present. Here's a list of characters I believe should be in there somewhere.
  • Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (The Big Lebowski)
  • Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise (On the Road)
  • Sissy Hankshaw (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
  • Jerry Cornelius and Co. (The Final Programme, A Cure for Cancer, The English Assassin, The Condition of Muzak)
  • John Constantine
  • The two guys from Easy Rider
  • Pretty much everyone in Deadly Viper Assasination Squad (Kill Bill Vol 1&2), and most of the caste of Pulp Fiction.
Hm, now I'm bored with the entire concept. Funny that, might go along with adding these guys. Jerry Cornelius should be a bit of a problem, but I'm working him into the family tree I've got going now, so that shouldn't be to much of a problem. I'm thinking about working Dean Moriarty in as a descendent of Professer Moriarty, but I don't see how that could work as apparently he left no desendents with that name. I might just use different ones from other Kerouac books or something like that.
Well, that's it. Be seeing you.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

New Year's Resolutions

  • Finish "The Last Dance Revolution"
  • Get a bunch of short stories done
  • Start reading Proust and Dick. Figure out how to be a good writer.