“This moment will just be another story someday.” A Book Review with No Spoilers
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lately, I have been asked what i thought about this book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I think the fact that the movie is coming out soon is behind the increased curiosity.
This is a straight forward YA novel, but Stephen Chbosky has made it so personal that you cannot help but connect to these characters. The protagonist, Charlie, is an innocent 15 year old boy who is trying to find his place in the world instead of observing from the edges. Read More…
Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 6 Recap: Buyout
Walt and company are busy cleaning up after last week’s shocking murder and we start with a silent montage of how they disposed of the body. I love how they handled the scene. You see them carefully taking apart the dirt bike so it would fit into an industrial barrel which they fill with acid. Once this is done Walt brings out another barrel and you just know what they plan to do with the boy’s body.
Click for a full (yet concise) recap with pictures.
Thoughts of….”Oh Love” Music Video
Attention Rock Stars and even Rap stars for that matter:
Music + Scantily clad females does not a music video make!
Okay so I have been listening to Green Day’s single all week, mainly because my local rock station likes to beat new songs into our heads by over playing them between Nirvana and Sublime songs which are wonderful, but lose something when played on the hour every hour. Sorry for the negativity, lets move on…
Oh Love is Green Day’s newest single which we covered a month or so back . I love being able to hear the evolution in a band’s sound. Green Day’s sound feels close to their Warning album, but perhaps with a dash of Ritalin. Listen to their second single “Kill the DJ” to hear what I mean.
Okay back to the topic at hand; “oh love”‘s music video:
The video opens like a bad makeup ad; you have vapid models hanging out in the GD rehearsal area while these boys sing about their struggles with keeping emotions intact while their hearts war with their loins.
I think that with such a basic song like this the band could have pulled out a better music video. These women seem like mannequins and barely even convey that they are enjoying the music. Don’t get me wrong, in a song like this where lust is a big part of it beautiful women are essential. Just give me live women, not mindless shells. How is your heart getting confused when all you are staring at lies between her neck and belly button?
Towards the end of the video there are a few shots of the guys enjoying themselves drinking and laughing with these beautiful girls, but I just don’t see the tension building conflict of the song.
This is a rookie music video! Why? IMHO When a band is new and not comfortable with the theatrical aspect of shooting a music video they play the song and usually the label just throws some females and Gibson guitars in for good measure. (Replace Gibson guitars with whoever the band is endorsing in the video). I suppose I expect more from a veteran band.
Am I wrong? Please watch the video above and leave me a comment. Art is always up for discussion, even if it seems as empty as this video is.
What’s in my Library Bag?
I practically live at my local library, I mean it is perfect for people who possess insatiable media-based appetites. I can find that book I have been wanting to read, listen to the new album by <insert band name here>, flip through magazines that I don’t want cluttering up my coffee table, and even rent a movie to take home.
This week my haul is pretty amazing. Here is my week of figurative consumption:
BOOKS
I have been on a quest to understand the comic book world and since Batman is such a big part of 2012 I thought I would start from the beginning. First page and I feel so comfortable because an old friend from my Archie Comics days is there. Commissioner Gordon is a dead ringer for Hiram Lodge (Veronica’s father) in my humble opinion. Sorry, I am partial to tangents. The dialogue in this volume is amazingly bad! I mean he sees a light in a window and says, “A light! I should go there!” don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t take much away from “The Batman”. It is fun to see where this character we all grew up with came from and appreciate the evolution in art and writing.
What stuck out?:
The violence in this book is different than what I see in modern day heroes. Batman has no qualms about killing in the early issues and he is injured quite a few times. He gets shot and because he is human, he needs to make tactical retreats and lick his wounds. Oh and of course the Joker! He is not some lame mobster like the other villains in this volume. He is smart and has a game in place while also being insane. I immediately thought of The Dark Knight when i read it because this Joker calls his plays. Another touch I loved was the use of nerve chemicals to leave his victims with a gruesome smile. Very dark, I enjoyed it.
Please Click to see my advanced review of the new Bloc Party album and the rest of what’s in my library bag.
Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 5 Recap: Dead Freight
Wow, I think this was the best episode of the season thus far. Towards the end I was just stuck on the edge of my seat and I was so close to screaming at Walt through my TV screen. Okay, if we are being honest I may have yelled a few times; this episode was that suspenseful and action packed!
We start off in the desert following a young kid on a dirt bike, innocently catching big freakin’ eight legged creature. Ugh! Gross!
Click for a full recap: Read More…
Flashback Friday Playlist. Enjoy!
It is Friday morning, I am on my way to work and the local radio station is playing a throwback of 90s hip-hop, mainly west coast artists. The DJ is the same guy I used to listen to while walking to middle school and on this unusually sunny Friday morning he has transported me back … way back… back into time.
I probably resemble the opening scene in Office Space, but hey this brings back memories. In fact I used to make playlists like this for my gamer friends back in high school. I mean is there a better playlist to accompany a first person shooter? Doubtful. Very doubtful.
This Flashback Friday Playlist comes in two flavors; the first is for you hardcore folks and the second is for those who just want something to bob your head to. Click to embiggen.
Feeling like an Outsider?
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and each year I save and save to be able to watch my favorite bands when they come into town.This means a couple arena festival shows and a sprinkling of small venue shows a year. Well, every year there is a huge festival each summer in Golden Gate Park, you may have heard of it… Outside Lands.
Usually the lineup is just okay, i won’t die if i don’t go… its so expensive anyways… NOT THIS YEAR. Foo Fighters, Metallica, Beck, Skrillex, Jack White, Franz Ferdinan, Stevie Wonder, Regina Spector, Bloc Party… I will stop there or I will start crying. I have been giving my boyfriend sad, puppy dog stares and hinting that if a bank robbery were to take place in order to secure tickets i would not turn him in. Alas, he is oblivious!
Why not just buy my own ticket? Well, it’s pretty much sold out AND I don’t wanna be so broke that I am forced to eat delicious Top Ramen for the next couple months. So my plan was to sadly sit outside the gates and listen to bits of music that drift into the streets. *tear*
However, my clever boyfriend has found a way for me and YOU to go for free! Click to see how clever he truly is… Read More…
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings
Attention Book Nerds:
Today, I received an e-mail alert for one of my favorite authors; Neil Gaiman! The alert is for an anthology of ghost stories that he has contributed to called, Ghosts: Recent Hauntings.
“The spirits of the dead have walked among our legends, myths, and stories since before recorded history. Ghostly visitations, hauntings, unquiet souls seeking the living, vengeful wraiths, the possibility of life beyond the grave that can somehow reach out and touch us are some of literature’s most enduring icons. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are no less fascinated with phantoms than our cave-dwelling ancestors or our Victorian-age forebears. Thirty modern masters of fright and fantasy fill this anthology with shivers, chills, and spooky explorations of both sides of the veil. Be prepared to keep a light on all night!”
Don’t get too excited, this collection has 29 reprinted short stories (whomp whomp) and one grim original by Stephen Graham Jones titled “Uncle”.
That shouldn’t discourage you though. I have perused the list of authors and this anthology is pretty promising. Tim Powers for example wrote “On Stranger Tides” which was used as inspiration for the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Also the author of Bubba Ho-Tep Joe R. Lansdale has a story included. Lots more (including Gaiman goodness) after the jump. Read More…
Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 4 Recap: Fifty One
This episode was centered on Walt and the balance in his life. He is having a bit of a crisis, but you could not tell by looking at his expressions. However, starting off an episode by acquiring two muscle cars is a good indication that all is not steady in his world.
Click for a complete re-cap of last night’s episode. Read More…
Apparently Dogs turn into Lions…
Snoop Dogg has been put to sleep to make way for his “born again” persona : Snoop Lion. No, I am not making this up. Snoop is gearing up for his genre change from Hip Hop to Reggae with a name change. The west-coast gangster rapper announced on Monday that his new reggae album Reincarnated (on the nose much?) is set for release in the fall. During his press conference he played five songs from the album including what may be his first single titled, No Guns Allowed; which features Snoop’s daughter. When asked about what his intention was for the change he explained that he was ready to make music that, “kids and grandparents can listen to.”
This is a pretty dramatic change from his past career and apparently I am not the only one who thinks so. There was a documentary film crew following the gin and juice drinking artist throughout his reincarnation. The footage will be made into a documentary set to debut at the Toronto film festival.
I think that he had a better name in D-O-double G…. but i’m a bit old school like that.
Call Yourself A Nerd 