as i was falling asleep last night, i had a random funny thought. and i wanted to remember to post something about it, because in my slumber adjacent haze, it was hilarious.
when i woke up this morning, i knew i needed to remember something, but i couldn't remember what it was. and then i did, thanks to a combination of too much olympics viewing and too much caffeine.
so here is the (not so) big sleepytime revelation:
i bet you can tell the rough age of a woman based on nothing more than which "evil" high school girls movie they most identify with, i.e. heathers or the craft or mean girls.
i suppose you'd have to throw jawbreaker in there too. i do so love that rose mcgowan.
and for the record, i am a huge fan of all those movies, but my heart will always belong to the bitches of eastwick. hail to the watchtowers of the motherfucking north.
Showing posts with label nerdiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nerdiness. Show all posts
July 30, 2012
March 12, 2011
jurassic spark
a friend mentioned to me yesterday that they're closing down "the lost world" at universal studios in order to make room for the harry potter world expansion. i am AGHAST. do people not love and respect jurassic park nowadays?!? this makes me unbelievably sad.
i saw jurassic park in the theaters when it was first released, 18 years ago. i was 12 years old and it scared the ever-livin' crap out of me. definitely it was one of the movies that sparked my intense interest in filmmaking in middle and high school, and my continuing love of film today.
in fact, i have probably seen it more than any other movie in my life. though i haven't kept a record, i would estimate i have watched it more than 2 dozen times. at least.
which of course, led me to make a list of the other movies i have watched obsessively over the years. as follows, a partial list of the films i have seen the most, in descending order (or the closest i could get to it, without having kept records.)
1. jurassic park
2. clue
3. newsies
4. indiana jones and the last crusade
5. scream
6. return of the jedi
7. dazed and confused
8. fried green tomatoes
9. dirty dancing
10. la confidential
11. boondock saints
12. the craft
13. casino
14. the princess bride
15. real genius
now the real question is, what the hell does this list say about me?
and to get even nerdier, what does it say that i spend my time making macros such as this? i do 'ship it though and i am not ashamed.
i saw jurassic park in the theaters when it was first released, 18 years ago. i was 12 years old and it scared the ever-livin' crap out of me. definitely it was one of the movies that sparked my intense interest in filmmaking in middle and high school, and my continuing love of film today.
in fact, i have probably seen it more than any other movie in my life. though i haven't kept a record, i would estimate i have watched it more than 2 dozen times. at least.
which of course, led me to make a list of the other movies i have watched obsessively over the years. as follows, a partial list of the films i have seen the most, in descending order (or the closest i could get to it, without having kept records.)
1. jurassic park
2. clue
3. newsies
4. indiana jones and the last crusade
5. scream
6. return of the jedi
7. dazed and confused
8. fried green tomatoes
9. dirty dancing
10. la confidential
11. boondock saints
12. the craft
13. casino
14. the princess bride
15. real genius
now the real question is, what the hell does this list say about me?
and to get even nerdier, what does it say that i spend my time making macros such as this? i do 'ship it though and i am not ashamed.
April 23, 2010
books are my friends. and dracula's too.
in my imagination, heaven has always been a library. i can only hope i am destined to spend my afterlife in the behemoth bibliotheque of my dreams, complete with rolling ladders and spiral staircases. 'twould be a glorious amalgam of the beast's library in "beauty and the beast" and the library of san barnaba in venice.* pure opulence. a perfect setting for so much literature. and i would be perfectly content to wander amongst the stacks for all eternity! the thought of smelling the musty odor of old ink and paper and the countless tomes dazzling my mind with all their knowledge and fancy; surely, no other imaginable heaven could compare.
this longstanding love of books and libraries, combined with the nerdy excitement garnered from reading a novel about book lovers, led me to the decision to start writing book reviews. again. **
so, book report, number 1! how to start? no longer constrained by the stylistic requirements of professional journalism, i sorta don't know how to begin. i suppose i should give the title and author. it's always important to identify your subject...
from reading the dust jacket and pseudo-analyzing the cover art, i expected this hefty tome to verge somewhat toward the lurid and overwrought. it is about the search for dracula after all and most novels featuring vampires tend to follow this approach. (i blame anne rice, which is not to say i don't love her.) "the historian" definitely delivers it's fair share of melodrama and angst, but the drama is so rooted in actual history and folklore, it can take itself seriously without delving into self-mockery.
the story follows three generations of historians on an international search for the elusive vlad the impaler. a monster of medieval history, the impaler, or vlad tepes, was a renowned military leader and "turk killer," who was also responsible for the deaths of many of his subjects. though his legacy is soaked in blood, vlad tepes is as much revered as feared in his native land, the romanian province of wallachia. vlad's rule was unquestionably fierce and brutal, but he was one of the only romanian princes successful in turning back the tide of ottoman conquerors. with such success at sustaining autonomy, it is not surprising that so many stories of the impaler linger in romanian and turkish culture. the wonder is at kostova's insistence that her dracula tale be so dependent upon the historical facts and the "most authentic" vampire lore.
the inclusion of the world's most famous blood sucker aside, kostova dismisses or upends many of the tropes of the vampire tale. Gone are the distressed damsels victimized by scary monsters. the women of "the historian" are fierce, determined and utterly capable of overcoming any obstacle. perhaps fittingly, the men are the weaker characters, forever chasing after the more prepared and decisive females. dracula is the only truly imposing male in the novel and even he is eventually thwarted by both female protagonists. ***
though my love of feminist vampire killers is abundant, my favorite thing about "the historian" is that the entire book is based upon the characters' collective love of literature and history. or as i originally said upon finishing the novel, "dracula is a book nerd!" because, in the end, we find that vlad's search for immortality is rooted in his desire to remain part of history forever. taking this one step further, he decides to use his infinite years to keep a secret library, filled with all the literary treasures of antiquity. mindless blood lusty killer? i think not! just an intellectual romanian war lord, with a bit of a superiority complex and a penchant for beautiful manuscripts. now that's a dracula i can believe in!
*see "indiana jones and the last crusade"
**long long ago, when i was just a fancy-free journalism freshman, i dreamed of writing criticism for a literature or entertainment magazine. unfortunately, after 4 years of j-school, i thought i never wanted to write again, professionally or otherwise. but time being a wound healer, 6 years later, here i am writing again. and still being me, the two things i want to write about most are still books and movies.
***though in no way related in tone or narrative, this is the part of "the historian" that i felt directly connected to because of "buffy the vampire slayer." now, i love joss whedon more than is rational, nevertheless, i think he deserves credit for this kind of role reversal in vampire stories.
this longstanding love of books and libraries, combined with the nerdy excitement garnered from reading a novel about book lovers, led me to the decision to start writing book reviews. again. **
so, book report, number 1! how to start? no longer constrained by the stylistic requirements of professional journalism, i sorta don't know how to begin. i suppose i should give the title and author. it's always important to identify your subject...
"the historian"
by elizabeth kostova.
by elizabeth kostova.
from reading the dust jacket and pseudo-analyzing the cover art, i expected this hefty tome to verge somewhat toward the lurid and overwrought. it is about the search for dracula after all and most novels featuring vampires tend to follow this approach. (i blame anne rice, which is not to say i don't love her.) "the historian" definitely delivers it's fair share of melodrama and angst, but the drama is so rooted in actual history and folklore, it can take itself seriously without delving into self-mockery.
the story follows three generations of historians on an international search for the elusive vlad the impaler. a monster of medieval history, the impaler, or vlad tepes, was a renowned military leader and "turk killer," who was also responsible for the deaths of many of his subjects. though his legacy is soaked in blood, vlad tepes is as much revered as feared in his native land, the romanian province of wallachia. vlad's rule was unquestionably fierce and brutal, but he was one of the only romanian princes successful in turning back the tide of ottoman conquerors. with such success at sustaining autonomy, it is not surprising that so many stories of the impaler linger in romanian and turkish culture. the wonder is at kostova's insistence that her dracula tale be so dependent upon the historical facts and the "most authentic" vampire lore.
the inclusion of the world's most famous blood sucker aside, kostova dismisses or upends many of the tropes of the vampire tale. Gone are the distressed damsels victimized by scary monsters. the women of "the historian" are fierce, determined and utterly capable of overcoming any obstacle. perhaps fittingly, the men are the weaker characters, forever chasing after the more prepared and decisive females. dracula is the only truly imposing male in the novel and even he is eventually thwarted by both female protagonists. ***
though my love of feminist vampire killers is abundant, my favorite thing about "the historian" is that the entire book is based upon the characters' collective love of literature and history. or as i originally said upon finishing the novel, "dracula is a book nerd!" because, in the end, we find that vlad's search for immortality is rooted in his desire to remain part of history forever. taking this one step further, he decides to use his infinite years to keep a secret library, filled with all the literary treasures of antiquity. mindless blood lusty killer? i think not! just an intellectual romanian war lord, with a bit of a superiority complex and a penchant for beautiful manuscripts. now that's a dracula i can believe in!
*see "indiana jones and the last crusade"
**long long ago, when i was just a fancy-free journalism freshman, i dreamed of writing criticism for a literature or entertainment magazine. unfortunately, after 4 years of j-school, i thought i never wanted to write again, professionally or otherwise. but time being a wound healer, 6 years later, here i am writing again. and still being me, the two things i want to write about most are still books and movies.
***though in no way related in tone or narrative, this is the part of "the historian" that i felt directly connected to because of "buffy the vampire slayer." now, i love joss whedon more than is rational, nevertheless, i think he deserves credit for this kind of role reversal in vampire stories.
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