Ink for Blood

Haiku

2009-08-09T18:21:00.002-07:00

Crack, pop, fireworks

Living in a microwave

In popcorn season

an original

Musing Over A Cup

2009-08-08T18:29:00.004-07:00

Indian chai

in plain white mug

neutral- the nutmeg and milk

spice belied in flavour

not colour.

Spicy or sweet

made hot or cold

yet both have this in common

and free from any charge-

bitterness.

An original.

Opiates

2009-08-08T18:12:00.004-07:00

That primal smell of salt, seaweed, sand.

Of the dew between dark and dawn,

Creeks encased by damp trunks and boughs,

And prairie grasses drying in the high noon sun.

An original.

Instinctive Magic

2009-07-07T14:20:00.002-07:00

An original.

Instinctive Magic

What a wonder are

Nature's graces

we humans find in

hidden places

When one is called by

the spirit of night

one is drawn there by

echoes of moonlight

Mystic soul without

summons and begins

connecting to the

pulsing life within

What a wonder are

Nature's graces

we humans find

in hidden places

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

2009-06-06T21:33:00.004-07:00

Updated classics are usually not my thing. I don't read abridged copies and I rarely enjoy the movie more than I did the book. But I have to hand it to Seth Grahame-Smith; the addition of zombies, katanas and ninjas to Jane Austen's beloved novel was pure inspiration.

The plot changes very little, despite the revamp. This made a few of the scenes tedious, but this was no doubt due to an eagerness to get back to Grahame-Smith's renovations. What really makes this book read-worthy, however, is that Grahame-Smith manages to marry the traditional regency culture seamlessly to the Asian inspired sub-plot. It seems perfectly believable that Lady Catherine de Bourgh would travel to Japan to study combat under the masters. Charlotte's marriage to Collins suddenly seems reasonable when paired with an impending death by zombie bite and Darcy exacting his revenge on Wickham by breaking nearly every bone in his body seems not only justifiable, but perfect.

I can only hope that others find this rendition of the classic story as entertaining and well crafted as I did. Certainly I feel that boys and men, socially dictated as usually wanting nothing to do with the Edwardian romance, will be able to connect and enjoy the adaptation. I also wish that girls and women, many of whom I personally know to hate any variance from Austen's true vision, will also find this version acceptable and to their liking.

Austen may have written the perfect romance, but I have always been partial to a good parody. Nothing is above satire and Pride and Prejudice should not be an exception. Especially when the outcome is as delightful a read as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

2008-01-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last year for my birthday my roommate gave me a book. At first, it thrilled me. I love reading more than anything. However, after reading the description on the back, i became less than enthusiastic. The book revolved around a 9-year-olds ability to cope with his father's death in the 9/11 attacks. I was wary of this subject and how opinionated the plot line might be. So i put off reading it for over a year. However, I just recently pulled it off my shelves and decided to give it a go.

The book started off with simple narrative. Although, it was far from simple, being written from the perspective of a behaviorally challenged boy. He wears only white clothes, cannot control his emotions, is a vegan and loves all rational thought. His story is a chronicle of his search for the remnants of his father's life. What makes this different from the any other quest is the prose itself. It switches back and forth between several different perspectives and writing styles. It takes awhile to get used to them, due to the lack of background information, but by the end they are more mentally accessible. Also included are full-page pictures, which truly help the reader enter the mind of Oskar, the main character.

The downfall of this book was the emotional effect it had on me while reading it. The first person view often caused me to feel the same overwhelming emotions plaguing Oskar. I often had to put the book down after a chapter or two just to remind myself that I was sane. As his search takes the focus off of his habits it becomes easier to read in larger chunks.

Another disappointment was the ending. It was rather anti-climactic and left me wanting more of a resolution. There were still loose ends that had been unraveled and re-braided but not tied off, causing some confusion. The overall cohesion is lacking in places as well.

All in all I would recommend this book, for there is much wisdom and truly touching sentiments. However, this book must be approached with caution by any reader who is not used to the weird or alternative.

Darjeeling Limited

2007-10-27T17:40:00.001-07:00

The newest movie by Wes Anderson is, to quote a movie-critic cliche, a moving feast. India is an amazing, diverse and spiritually jumbled country that provides a more than accomadating canvas for the story of three estranged brothers trying to find themselves together.
The three words running through my mind the entire time were: sweetly neurotic and bizarre. Each character is slightly unreal in their personalities. But then I realized I know people who really are like that. It may even be myself. And suddenly I find myself on a crazy train ride I can't seem to keep up with. The plot sequence is jarring, jolted and stunted. Sometimes it caught me off guard and I laughed before realizing that I was supposed to be crying.
If you are familiar with Wes' movies, you will not be disappointed by the colors. Why care about one or two lines of badly written script when you can encounter jungle-patterned suitcases and pastel pajamas. Vermillion dots on the forehead, iridescent peacock feathers and turquoise washed houses.
Overall this movie rides upon its scenery and reputation, however, if you've ever felt out-of-place, crazed, misjudged, untrusted, depressed and scared- in short, a member of the human race, then you will probably find youself enjoying the movie as a whole.

Autumn's Shadow

2007-10-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

A new poem. By me. For class.

Fall's Shadow

There's a weather beaten clock
ticking out the rhythm of age

We only see in glimpses
the turns we missed in life

The skies are grey but
the eyes of the children are blue

Water pinpricks the skin but
does it cleanse or does it burn?

The puddles reflect what should have,
could have and would have

We lost ourselves in the process
of trying not to lose the others

Is it usual for tears to
drip down rock faces?

Our memories leave us
as leaves their trees

Even the ink in books not read
begins to fade in time

We carry the branches of
bittersweet to our own funerals

An Original

2007-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a Creative Writing class this semester and we are now into our section on poetry. This poem came about from an exercise using word groups. The group was: moon, prohibit, whiskey, compass

Shaming Swim

Never before had I crossed Whiskey River
its waters brown with subtle rage.
But drunk on love prohibited
I floundered and struggled over.
The moon shone bright on my trespass
and I was spotted straight away.
A wasted night, a wasted life
spent following my misdirected compass.

Brick

2007-10-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite actors ever is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The main reason for this is because I enjoy his jaw line, not to mention his character in the movie "10 Things I Hate About You." When I like an actor, I usually pick up their other work regardless of the reviews and critics. This has led me to the movie "Brick."
Brick is a modern day film noir. Most of the dialogue is a series of speed spouting sleuth slang. The action is a little slow at times, but it is well balanced with the fight scenes. Many of the shots are at contrasting angles, highlighting the negative space around the characters. This does not detract at all and helps make the less than aesthetically pleasing scenery more interesting. The acting is more than real, with the only real let down being that they do not look like high school age.
The only reason I would not recommend this is if you have a personal vendetta against Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Temple, Contest, Seven Deadly Wonders-Matthew Reilly

2007-10-01T10:57:00.001-07:00

My Dad got me hooked on the author Matthew Reilly this summer. He is Australian and deals mainly in action/adventure novels. That is to say, novels that have one heck of a plot but no real literary qualities. To put it even more simply, they are movies on page.
Reilly's works deal with main characters like William Race: a linguist at NYU, perfectly normal, fairly attractive, 30-something, who doesn't believe in himself but by the end of the book is quite remarkable.
Ok, I'll admit it, so far the book doesn't really sound like a good use of time or brainpower. Well, it's not. But it is worth the ride. Reilly takes measures to research what he is writing about. He includes plot lines and gadgets that are believable, or at least conceivable. The guns described are real guns, the helicopters are real helicopters and actually used by the military braches they are ascribed to.
If you are a literary snob, I would not recommend these books. Reilly tends to include a lot of italics. This bothers me, an avid reader, because the genre of the piece suggests emphasis already. Exciting things are happening, I get it, you don't need to make it even more obvious. For example: " onto the wing of the moving seaplane," is italicised. I don't know about you, but if I was reading about someone running across a moving plane, I would be impressed. I wouldn't need the italics to tell me exactly how impressive it should seem. Especially when they tend to happen once or more a page.
Overall, I like Reilly's books because they are a nice break from the usually depressing classics. They don't take a lot of thought and can be read in a day or two. They are exciting, quasi-historical, Indiana Jones meets James Bond and Mr. Smith books.

First Love

2007-10-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

So my plans for having this blog be about myself and the trivial details of my life failed. So instead I am turning it into a temple for words. I will (hopefully) be occassionally posting my own work here. On top of that I will be writing reviews of the various books, works, works of art I encounter.