I would like to say “thanks” to my asshole neighbor who woke me up at 7 in the morning trying like hell to start his car, which wouldn’t turn over, and kept trying to start his car from 7am until he finally gave up sometime past noon. You, my friend, are a true asshat.
jareddriskill
ITEM!2009 is almost upon us. And al I can say is that 2008 went by too quick, I’m still in the habit of mistakenly writing 2007 on my checks. Maybe this is a omen signifying that the sign of the times are leaving me behind.
ITEM! 2008 shall be known as an very important year in black history. Yes, I am talking about the crushing blow that was the cancellation of the Best Of Soul Train. It is now my hope that fellow Chicago native, Barak Obama, can issue a presidential order demanding it’s return to the airwaves. The return of Soul Train should be Obama’s top priority over the economy, in my humble opinion.
ITEM! I finally saw Fellini’s 8 1/2 for the first time the other day. I don’t know about you, but all the reviews I have read about this film in the past had given me the mistaken impression that it was a totally incoherent film with all sorts of surrealistic daydream symbolism and what not. I thought that the film made total sense.
Of course, my real life is strife with all sorts of daydreams and surrealistic symbolism, as my faithful reading several would undoubtedly already know.
ITEM! I was wrong about being done with Infinte Jest by new years. But I am slogging my way throught it!
jareddriskill
Valkyrie/ starring Tom Cruise/ United Artists 2008.
It’s a good thing that the major motion picture studios like to release new films on Christmas day. From my own personal experience, I have come to realize that once you get disappointed by the gifts that you received on Christmas morning, you have nothing to do for the rest of the day but to stew in anger. Apparently this is also same experience that is shared by the public at large because the theater I went to see “Valkyrie” on Christmas day was crowded beyond belief with all sorts of sullen looking people. (Yes, angry looking guy ahead of me in the concession line, you bought your girlfriend an 24 carat diamond necklace and she only bought you a pair of socks. I feel your pain.)
Let me be honest with you, my faithful reading several, the only reason I went to go see “Valkyrie” was not because all the german officers were played by british actors and that the United Artists saved money in the wardrobe department on this film because I’m sure that all these former charges of the british public school system already had their own nazi uniforms at home! (If you don’t get this joke, then you know nothing of the British public school sytem.)
I didn’t go see this film because I think the topic of WW2 is still interesting as subject matter for any form of entertainment medium. (I believe that the topic of WW2 has become, in recent years, completely worn out. Sort of like the way the subject of Vietnam was worn completely the fuck out by the entertainment industry 20 years ago.)
No, I went to see Valkrie for this sole reason: I somehow had the gut feeling that there is, somewhere out there, a specialized sect of gay s&m enthusiastswho specialize their fantasies around the image of Tom Cruise wearing a nazi uniform. (I understand appeal of this image completely: because my fantasy image is that of Tom Cruise’s ex-wife, Nicole Kidman, wearing a nazi uniform.) And now, with the release of “Valkyrie,” this gay s&m sect’s days of photo shopping Tom Cruise’s head unto old photographs of Himmler are now over!
“Valkyrie” wasn’t totally useless as a form of escapism based entertainment, however, Director Bryan Singer added several cinematic stylistic touches from the 1920’s school of German Expressionism to the film. (Such as the phonograph machine playing Wagner skipping during the air raid scene. Or the cut to the close up of a mosquito being burned out by a cigarette.) I know that these touches completely went over the heads of the majority of the film going audience, but I was glad they were thrown in there. However, there weren’t enough of these touches in the film to maintain my interest.
In short: I strongly suggest that you save your money and wait to see “Valkyrie” until it makes it’s premiere on the basic cable tv channel, TNT.
jareddriskill
Did your Christmas suck? Mine sure as fuck did. This may seem strange to you, the faithful reading several, but I always get insulted when I receive any art supplies or art supplies related gifts. Yes, I do know that I can sketch out things in pencil better than most people can, but that is the extent of my artistic abilities and I have no desire whatsoever to expand my artistic horizons. I have told people time and time again that any art supplies given to me, no matter how well meaning the intention, will go straight into the garbage can. But do they ever listen? Noooo….
I written a few weeks ago about how my brother wanted to buy me some old fucked up 60 year old home movie camera and wanted me to film his upcoming wedding with it. I told him I was flattered that he wanted me to film his wedding but I do not know the first thing about shooting film and besides he also mention that it was impossible to get film for the camera that he wanted to buy me. I told him in no uncertain terms DO NOT BUY ME THAT FUCKING CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS! Guess what he ending up doing? He bought the camera and gave it to me anyways. I hope he enjoys that set of pub glasses that he begged me for, the fucker.
I was going to be totally ungrateful and say that the camera is absoultey WORTHLESS as a gift, but I have already put it to its new use as a wheel chock.
jareddriskill
1. I would like to wish you, my faithful reading several, an early merry christmas but it seems like christmas this year will be tough all around. I was doing some christmas shopping yesterday at Target around noon and the store was empty except for myself and the bored looking employees. In fact, alot of stores I drove by seemed like they were deserted. Not a good sign.
But if you ain’t got the money, there’s nothing you can do.
2. I am about half way through with Infinite Jest. I should be done by New Years.
3. How come nothing is “punk rock” any more? By “punk rock,” I don’t mean wearing mohawks and leather jackets, I mean the 1980’s useage of ”punk rock” as an adjective. Such as the act of baking a cake with a decoration of an aborted fetus on it. Now that’s “fucking punk rock!” (Please note the usage of the meaningless intensifier of “fucking.”)Whereas, going to church with your grandmother while wearing your sunday best is “not punk rock.” Of course, having any clothing considered your sunday best is automatically not “punk rock.”
jareddriskill
I dreamt that I was watching film footage if a training incident at a NASA training ground in Denver Colorado. The footage which was of a unnamed astronaut fily dressed in a space suit was being suspended in mid air by an invisible wire wrapped underneath his arms. The astonaut is outside in a parking lot with piles of plowed up snow in the background.
Something, which was out of the camera frame at the bottom of the screen, explodes which sends a thick rope shooting out at the astonaut at an amazing speed and it connects with a glancing blow to the temple of his spacehelmet. Which, in turn, knocks him out of the wire harness that is suspending him in the air and sends him into a giant snow pile behind him.The astonaut lies in the pile of snow, stunned and the footage ends.
jareddriskill
This is my copy of “Infinite Jest!” There are many like it, but this one is mine! Without my copy of “Infinite Jest” I am nothing! Without me, my copy of “Infinite Jest” is nothing!
This is my copy of “Infinite Jest!” There are many like it, but this one is mine! Without my copy of “Infinite Jest” I am nothing! Without me, my copy of “Infinite Jest” is nothing!
This is my copy of “Infinite Jest!” There are many like it, but this one is mine! Without my copy of “Infinite Jest” I am nothing! Without me, my copy of “Infinite Jest” is nothing!
This is my…
jareddriskill
1. I am done with school this semester, bitches! This term went by so quick that I still hadn’t bought the text books for my classes when I had realized that finals week had arrived. And still, I maintained my “A” average. I still haven’t decided whether or not if this says something about my natural intelligence or about the lack of real educational depth of my chosen major…
2. Now that school is out of the way for the moment, I now have more free time to mentally reflect on the outside world and today I had realized at my job that it’s looking economically dire out there. Instead of seeing people enjoying the hussle and bussle of the holiday season, I am seeing people on the verge of breadlines. Nobody is buying anything and if they do have money, they are saving it for when they get laid off from their jobs in January.
3. This christmas break, I am determined to actually finish reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It will be a hard slog, butI feel it will be worth it when I am through. Actually, I found that reading the book out loud makes the challenges of the text flow by smoother like a hot knife cutting through melted butter. So when you are out enjoying your families this holiday season, just think of me :sitting on the edge of my bed reading Infinite Jest out loud to no one in particular.
jareddriskill
One of the many soul crushing facts of life of working retail during the holiday shopping season is the constant stream of corporate headquarters mandated christmas music over the overhead pa system. And as I have said many times before: nothing will drive a person over the edge to suicide than having to listen to christmas music. The juxtaposition of cheery sounding music and the crushing disappointment and stress of trying to make your supposed loved ones happy by finding them the “right gift” is too much for many to bear. (The statistics of high suicide rates over the holiday season support this fact. Although suicide rates are at their highest during spring time, strangely enough.)
Although I am not the type to take the self inflicted dirt nap, I have noticed, however by the looks of your faces, that some of you people who are out there shopping are seriously considering the garden hose attached to the exhaust pipe option. Don’t turn the ignition on in your car while it is parked in the garage just yet, I have the suicide prevention solution that you need!
Yes, it’s the age old switching the real lyrics of christmas songs to comedic ones trick. Instead, for example, of “It’s beginning to look like christmas” sing “It’s beginning to look like satan” instead and howl in delight when you realize that the lump of coal you will get in your stocking is the perfect solution to your home heating issues.
My current favorite to sing to myself at work in order to maintain what little sanity I have left is “I saw jesus kissing santa claus” sung to the tune of “ I saw mommy kissing santa claus.” (Which, inexplicably, is played every 15 minutes at my place of employment.) The added bonus of seeing customers giving me an evil look while I’m singing ”I saw jesus kissing santa claus” is enough to make me want to live with a renewed vigor all over again.
jareddriskill
1.Working a retail job during the holiday season is hell, what was I thinking when I left my old shitty job as an HVAC tech? I didn’t realize just how good I had it over there.
2. It’s also finals week this week, so I’m plenty busy till Thursday night.
3. The good news is after Thursday I can begin reading the just released “And The Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks” by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. After I finish that I will attempt to read “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace in it’s entirety. The last time I tried to read it I got to the 500 page mark before my brain melted and I hadto stop.
jareddriskill
