In Which I Work Up The Courage To Speak To Strangers On The Metro

She pulled out my last week's nemesis, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I debated, as she put the book down for a moment, whether or not I should ask her about it. The book that I got 46 pages through and gave up on.

Neither of these things are normal. I don't give up on books, and I usually don't try to talk to strangers on the train about the books they are reading.

But I was so bored with the book, unable to force myself to get it out and read it (two days in a row). So dry, with the child character being all...unbelievable, I guess, and boring boring boring.

I don't say anything on the train. But she's right behind me on the escalator, so I initiate:

"You're reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, right?"

Affirmative.

"Are you enjoying it?" I ask.

She makes a sour lemon face. She complained that both characters spoke with the same "voice" even though they were supposed to be completely different. I complained that it was boring. She's reading it for book club so she'll probably stick with it.

Cue relief: that I'm not the only person that thinks that book is incredibly dull.

I probably won't pick it up unless I can get it in French -- not because I'm that sure it will be that much better in French, but because if I'm that bored, I might as well be working at my translation skills at the same time.

Frak It Friday - "RE: Your Letter" by We Landed On The Moon

This week has been teetering on awful, but I credit yesterday with being somewhat okay because I discovered "RE: Your Letter" and then played in 60 times.

Other We Landed On The Moon! music.

Frak it Friday - "Giving Up The Gun" by Vampire Weekend

Okay, I love Jake Gyllenhaal cameos and would really like a pair of red tights now, but seriously, Vampire Weekend, tennis? Some don't care for your music because you are oh-so rich and they think it shows up in your music.... and you go ahead and make rich person sport tennis part of your music video?

From the St. Petersburg Times about Vampire Weekend's first album:

At first listen, the boys in Vampire Weekend — four pasty Columbia U. sharps who dub their brainy brand of art-pop "Upper West Side Soweto" — come off like rich-boy villains in a John Hughes movie. They indulge in the well-read lyricism of privilege; they date soapy-smelling heiresses schooled at Middlebury.

I'm just saying. Don't become a stereotype.

Jennifer's Body - Why's Everybody Gotta Hate?

For some reason, people are really, really down on Jennifer's Body. And I know that I'm about six to eight months late on this, but it was on very long wait on Netlix and I wasn't about to see it in the theater.

But people are really down on it, especially the best parts.

It was an enjoyable horror movie. Most horror movies suck. But this one is at least funny! And Megan Fox wasn't terrible terrible.

From the imdb movie quote section:

Nikolai Wolf (as portrayed by Seth Cohen): Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days? There are so many of us, and we're all so cute and it's like if you don't get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you're screwed, okay? Satan is our only hope.


Jennifer Check (as portayed by Megan Fox): PMS isn't real Needy, it was invented by the boy-run media to make us seem like we're crazy.


Nikolai Wolf: "Do you want to be a loser, or do you want to be rich and awesome like that guy from Maroon 5?"


My theory: most of the people who love Juno are not going to watch a silly horror movie, because it doesn't look quirky enough.This means that only the Diablo Cody haters were paying attention and decided to flood the internet with bad reviews. Plus all the Megan Fox haters.

As the great Roger Ebert said, "...as a movie about a flesh-eating cheerleader, it's better than it has to be." I think that people should try to remember that.

Stephen King: A Kinda Sorta Love Letter

What a silly, stupid idea, right? The car is a living entity! Powered by its previous owners ghost! Chases after people and no one is driving!

Laughable, right? Except, Stephen King can make the craziest shit work. He doesn't plunge right into it, but works up to it...something is wrong with the car, and all of the characters know it, but no one knows how to say it without being crazy. Hell, they don't know how to think it without being crazy.

Its a conversation that Dan and I have over and over: its hard to make a good Stephen King adaptation, because he injects a creepiness into his storytelling that is actually difficult to do with film. Its easier, in a book narrative, to create a growing suspicion, a growing horror..."I don't think I saw anyone in the drivers seat, but that can't be right. The engine just turned off, someone has to get out of the drivers seat now."

With movies, its pretty obvious. Which is why horror movies based off of Stephen King novels usually fall flat. Stephen King is excellent at the growing uneasiness of characters, the growing intensity of a situation. The Stand might be one of the most epic books I ever read (of course, I read the expanded version...nearly 1200 pages) and now I want to reread it. Because Stephen King is a genius.

Changing the subject slightly, you can tell that Ben Linus in Lost is evil because he hates Carrie by Stephen King:



[For more Lost/Stephen King connections, check out Lostpedia)]

So to sum up:

Stephen King = genuis

Lost Creators <3 Stephen King

I <3 Stephen King

Facebook should do things like this

Apparently its old, but I'm maintaining its a good one. There has been plenty written about it.

There's even a study that says facebook contributes to relationship jealousy. That even if you're happy and moved on with someone else, seeing an ex in the same state of bliss can lead to a resurgence of jealousy.

So Facebook? Remind us that we're about to do something harmful, to ourselves. Save us from ourselves.

Happy Valentine's Day

[some e cards]

[Remember: Valentine's Day is not the end all be all of anything. February 15th, however, is the end all be all of half price chocolate candy.]