A Mind’s Meme

“Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteers be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.”

I remember getting notice of this “study” in my email a few years ago, but surprisingly this internet memes goes way back to 2003.  The noted researcher put up his own webpage to further explain the science behind the email, and it’s quite a good read.

As far as memes go, this one is by far is my favorite – for the obvious reason that I can’t afford my own copy editor and it’s good to know that my typos aren’t too detrimental to my communication.  But as a reader noted, I do have a terrible habit of omitting important words in my posts.

Please note that I am NOT partial to Stephen King (sorry, but thank goodness for ninja editing).

The Natural Flow of Things

Here we are at the end of another month, so I thought it was probably time for a post.

The weather’s changing. Yesterday was the last of the cold November rain – the month’s relentless wind and water have chilled the leaves off the branches and chased the animals to warmer places. The sky’s darkened to its winter hue, a pale ash tint above receding light, a color just before snowfall. The wind is growing fierce and shaking the remaining brittle leaves.

I’ve grown leery of the weather report (terrible habit, I know shouldn’t be so skeptical) – it was supposed to be in the 50’s today, but I soon discovered that my new coat is much too light for this drastic temperature shift. I half-expect light flurries of flakes soon, but the weather isn’t as predictable as it is up north. Seasonal transitions don’t seem to exist here. Summers last much longer than they’re supposed to while spring and fall are delayed or seem to meld into summer – oh, and the winters are pretty schizophrenic.

It’s quite easy for you to lose your bearings, making you feel disoriented and out of place. Perhaps that’s the problem with this place that makes so many people want to leave – actually there are a number of things but that’s much too long of a list for this post. There’s value in having a sense of time and place (cue the Byrds song now), and we’ve all seen enough Hollywood movies to know what happens when we go messing with nature.

At least I think that was the obvious moral of the movie Splice, which I saw last week and intended to post this commentary soon after (of course as a committed procrastinator, my posting is late). I actually had pretty high hopes for this movie when I had seen the teasers. Particularly when Sarah Polley is playing lead – she’s general the critic’s darling and I really liked her direction of Away from Her. There have been few movies that I didn’t like her in – yes, I know it seems illogical that my skepticism about the weather doesn’t extend to Hollywood, right?

Alas, Splice is my comeuppance for being complacent. Again, there were so many problems with this film and mine was primarily its forced narrative. I really liked the concept: society’s contemporary fear and obsession with creation realized through the feminine fears of motherhood. (Who knew that the feminist gothic literature class would come in handy, right?) This fear manifests as Elsa’s fear of losing control, but rather than focusing on a character study and allowing the story to unfold naturally, the story is rushed. You only know about her fear because you’re continually reminded of it through the other cool character’s needless expository dialogue. I won’t bore you with how much I loathed being reminded about how cool the characters were. Suspension of disbelief is one thing but…really? Wired magazine, ugly hipster car? I’m guessing that I’m not cool enough to appreciate it. Pearls before swine.

I really wanted to like this film, but I really don’t think it knew what it wanted to be: hipster sci-fi thriller (is there such a thing?), a modern appropriation of Frankenstein (obvious failure), a character study of our moral choices (way off) or just a plain horror flick (scary that I’m writing so much about it). Even if Polley’s character was supposed to be a female gothic archetype, there were better movies that are along the same vein.  For some reason, I think that Spanish films seem to better capture these classic Gothic themes with more complex female roles like Guillermo del Toro’s works, The Orphanage, House of Voices (though not so much and is French).   I take that back, The Others was well done.

Granted that Splice is more sci-fi than gothic, but they share the same classic themes just not the same attention to character and story development.  The movie’s ending was forced with no real resolution in my opinion, perhaps there’s hope for a sequel? I’m not sure if skepticism or cynicism is the appropriate response.

All in all, I’m sure I’m giving this film much more credit than it deserves. However, but I’m really trying to understand why Polley took on this role. The concept had potential but in the end the forced and rushed narrative produced a rather mediocre movie that came off shallow and schizophrenic.

So, now back to square one, and the moral of the story is? Yes, don’t mess with the natural flow of things – especially when writing and producing a cohesive narrative. Now only if I had a superfluous hipster scientist exposing that to me daily, I’d be golden with these posts (typos, comma splices, etc.).

November’s gone.

Unnecessary Melodrama

I just passed my thesis chair in the hallway, and he saw me of course.  So, I’ll need to make an appointment to see him soon.  Though, I’m sure he knows I’m reluctant to do so given my whimpering reply to his greeting. Oh well, I don’t need the extra drama of hiding from my academic objectives.

Speaking of unnecessary drama, I came across a blog entry this morning: How the Brontës divide humanity.  I’ve never been one for gothic romance, Jane Eyre was required AP reading but I’ve never read Wuthering Heights, though my younger sister loves it.  Ironically, Gothic Feminist Literature was my first semester assigned freshman English class.  I loathed that class so much.  The instructor was nice, and tried to make us understand the feminist themes – but, I still hated the heroines in those books.

But the blog entry is interesting nonetheless – it suggests that: “the Men, particularly, seem much more likely to rate Wuthering Heights and slate Jane Eyre.”  I’m not terribly surprised as I have known quite a few people who thrive on the attention of the prima donnas.  Men who know full well that certain women are utter nonsense and are only about their own egos and domination the weak-willed socially inept; yet, these same men will fall all over themselves to get those women’s scant attention.  But that can also be said with women and the “bad boy” type.

I can certainly understand it. Some people just like being miserable, I guess.

And there are others who would rather get away from it all.  A girlfriend of mine went through her own melodrama of being the “rebound” girl.  She was involved with this great guy and all seemed to be going well, but then she found out that the guy was still talking to his previous love interest.  It was terrible for her to be thought of as the fool, being well aware of the situation but feigning ignorance just the same.  At first, I had suggested that she give him the benefit of the doubt and perhaps talk to him about it.  I had suggested that people deserve a second chance.  She’s older than me and has already been through a traumatic divorce so she’s a bit more reserved about such matter, if not a bit cynical.

I don’t know if she ever confronted him about it (I doubt that she did), but I’ve had a change of heart since then.  She’s better off just letting it go (the relationship).  Being made a fool the first time is bad enough, but do you open yourself to letting it happen a second time?  Sadly, sometimes that’s what happens with second chances.  People should be judged for what they do rather than what they say as their actions often betray their “sincere” utterances. The second time makes it very clear how people feel about you.  For me, someone who isn’t into melodrama, I have better things to do and would rather talk to someone who doesn’t wish I was someone else when they’re talking to me.

Although I’m not a fan of the Brontës, I suppose I’m more the low-key librarian type if I had to choose.  I’d rather keep that type of drama on the pages – especially as the thesis calls.

I’ve Got Zero Friends

Saw South Park’s “You Have 0 Friends” episode the other night, and it was pretty funny.  Though much of it hit too close to home, especially, ahem, Kip Drory’s scene below. I don’t have Facebook but this is what would completely happen to me.

Speaking of Facebook, here’s an interesting article from Wired about what CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks about your “privacy” – he doesn’t care.  Actually, the article’s about  using tweets as sources and the difference between “off the record” and “not for attribution.”  As a rule, I always ask “I can use this” when I’m interviewing just in case BUT I always say “off the record” (a lot) when I don’t want the information to come back to me but I want to guide the reporter in the right direction.

Anyway, for you Facebook users, I’d be closing my account if I were using one.  But it seems to me that this “Post I.T.” generation seems not to be too bothered by their lack of privacy or at least they have an interesting concept of it.

“Zuckerberg’s apparent disregard for your privacy is probably not reason enough to delete your Facebook account. But we wouldn’t recommend posting anything there that you wouldn’t want marketers, legal authorities, governments (or your mother) to see, especially as Facebook continues to push more and more of users’ information public and even into the hands of other companies, leaving the onus on users to figure out its Rubik’s Cube-esque privacy controls.

Facebook has been on a relentless request over the past six months to become the center of identity and connections online. The site unilaterally decided last December that much of a user’s profile information, including the names of all their friends and the things they were “fans” of, would be public information — no exceptions or opt-outs allowed.

Zuckerberg defended the change — largely intended to keep up with the publicness of Twitter, saying that people’s notions of privacy were changing.  He took no responsibility for being the one to drag many Facebook users into the net’s public sphere.”

Fight The System, man!!!

The Weird and the Wonderful

“Whatever it is you’re seeking won’t come in the form you’re expecting.”
— Haruki Murakami

I broke routine today and met up with a friend for lunch at the bookstore.  They’re remodeling it so I had a difficult time finding the magazine I wanted, but it needed up that they didn’t have it after all.  These are the days when I miss having the independent bookstore downtown.  They always seem to carry some of the most obscure titles and publications.  I suppose that’s the price you pay for homogenized economic efficiency.

So, I’m pretty excited because said friend’s significant other is working at the local photo store so that means I can get my camera fixed – at least properly. There’s a bit of dust the keeps showing up on my pictures but I can’t seem to get if off and don’t want to try it myself since it was a pretty expensive piece when I bought it.  I’m sure it’s pretty worthless now compared to the newer models and their fancy add-ons.  But it still takes awesome pictures and since I’ve got little skills to begin with, it suits me fine.

Though, just like my writing, I approach photography in the same pain-staking slow manner.  I think for every one picture I end up liking and using, I’ve got 150 outtakes.  Though there are times when I do get lucky and get the shot that I want in a few tries.  The picture above is one where I was playing around with light to see if I could get a different perspective on something very ordinary – something surreal laid out in the open, which is how I would describe  Haruki Murakami’s books.

If you haven’t already read one of his books, please do.  They’re weirdly wonderful and so masterfully crafted.  I don’t really have a favorite because they’re all very different.  However, I suppose Kafka on the Shore is would be highest on my list as it was my first, and the first cut is always the deepest they say. The basic story is about Kafka Tamura, a 15-year old boy who runs away because he believes his life is an Oedipal curse (killing his father, sleeping with his mom & sister) and Satoru Nakata, an old man who has the ability to talk to cats, told in alternating chapters and plotlines obviously converge.

Seems like a weird premise, right?  Well, that’s exactly Murakami’s style – I’m not quite sure how I would describe his writing.  Adjectives others have used are: bewitching, obscure, dreamlike, cerebral, odd, unreal, hip, funny…and just plain cool.

His writing style is minimal but you can tell that it’s carefully crafted since EVERY word matters and, while sparse, metaphors are there for a reason.  I suppose the beauty of his work is that the meaning are there, plain as day but it’s so layered and the first reading is just scratching the surface of…what exactly?  And because we’re all different, each bringing our own baggage of history, culture and personal experiences, the meaning will undoubtedly shift so to get at a “universal” meaning either takes multiple readings or remains elusive…who knows, I still have to read Kafka again.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is also a good introduction to his style as well.  It’s a thriller, very fast paced cyberpunk…and very cerebral, I won’t go into any more detail.  Though I recently had a debate with a friend about how the English translation/style differs from what he had originally intended in his native Japanese version.  I think the translation worked but she disagreed.  Though I don’t remember if we ever said we like the ending or not.  I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending.

In Spite of Life’s Obstacles

I find myself perplexed.  I’m staring at the cover of “Born Rich” a documentary by Jamie Johnson about, well privileged children of the wealthy (the people who pay the rich).  I’d seen him on Oprah years ago promoting his film but wasn’t much inclined to go out and spend money to watch it.  I mean, he’s the heir to the Johnson & Johnson empire what’s my measly $10 going to mean compared to the large trust fund of his?

So, I’m caught in a situation where I don’t want to stereotype, judge or hate – but I feel compelled to do all the above as I am only human and the first step to recovery is admission of one’s problems, right?  I’ll probably watch it when I’m more in the mood to see how the other half lives.  Who knows, maybe I’ll be enlightened by it. 

The last time I gave a questionable documentary a chance, it ended up being my favorite films…which I will now introduce to those of you who haven’t seen it, and for those of you who already know my obsession, I’ve found more YouTube videos!  Oh, yes, I did.

As you already know, I can’t sing and this is a follow-up posting about how I also can’t dance.  This is why I am enamored by the talents of others, especially B-Boys and Girls – they rock too!  Planet B-Boy actually was shown at the documentary film festival here in town a few years ago, but I saw it online and it’s actually a very well done film.

The editing really helps drive the narrative – yes, there’s actually several good stories woven in the dancing footage (which are awesome).  I wonder how many 100 of hours of footage they had to go through to get a sense of a complete story.  The South Korean (Last for One) and Japanese (Ichigeki) group’s are the most poignant – they also happen to be the best groups.

I highly recommend this one if you want to be entertained by the raw, passionate, artistic talents of others and love a good visual narrative. Besides, it’s always encouraging and inspiring to see others live their dreams in spite of life’s obstacles.

FYI – Break dancing has come a long way from the days of parachute pants and Alfonso Ribeiro’s Breakin’ and Poppin’. Old School Cool – love it!

One for a Gloomy Sunday

Everyone in my family sings – everyone but me.  I must have missed that gene assignment as I’m almost completely tone-deaf.   Seriously, I know I have a habit to dramatize (writer here) but in this case, no amount of fiction I can dream up can truly express how horrid I am at singing; no self-depreciating humor just an honest admission to a personal weakness.

However, I love music and regard singers with great admiration because their talent is alien to me.  Dancing is another alien talent – that’ll be the topic of my next post Okay, so maybe anything with a sense of rhythm is a challenge for me, which is why I avoid certain poetic styles.

There are few songs that stay with you – songs whose haunting melody echo in daydreams with lyrics that burrow and settle into your psyche becoming a part of you.  Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart is one of the most darkly beautiful songs ever written – the lyrics, the emotions in his voice and the back story of Ian Curtis’s inner demons only deepen the song’s impact.

It’s one of those defining pieces that, over time, became overexposed and the depth of its meaning has been somewhat lost in its commercial success.  I’m probably being an old curmudgeon, but I haven’t found very many covers that have neared the beauty of the original.  Though I think it’s because most covers aren’t making it their own but merely imitating or cover it strictly as a homage rather than as an original interpretation.  I can’t complain too much since a new generation of music lovers are being exposed to a great song – maybe they’ll learn to appreciate and love the original too.

But, I have to say that this Anton Corbijn’s cover makes me weepy.  It does the song justice in expressing the pathos of an existential hopeless love, at least to me.  Thanks, Internets and YouTube!

Discovering Magic

If you didn’t know, this month the National Heritage Museum is hosting “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World.”

Our local Art House Theatre is having a “Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy” series honoring his work.  I’ve missed most of the good events, but I thought I’d pay homage to my childhood hero.

A child’s mind is always developing, changing and learning things.  As children we are adept learners and we soak up information like thirsty sponges.  Yet, the irony is that we lose our early memories as we grow older – the cost of our marvelous mental development is being able to recall our special moments of discovery as children.  Some would even say that we lose a sense of our childhood, our innocence and wonderment, to the more serious adult stuff.

Truth be told, there are days when I can’t recall what I had for breakfast (it’s a good thing it’s always the same oatmeal and coffee).  However, I can’t recall a time when Jim Henson wasn’t part of my childhood.  Growing up in the early 80’s, his influence was everywhere.  I still remember the excitement I had when I first saw Sesame Street and how badly I wanted to live there.  I watched it every day, always hoping that this would be the day that everyone else would see Mr. Snuffleupagus and would stop teasing Big Bird.

His Muppets were influential in the development of my young mind.  The Count taught me my numbers, I learned to like radishes because the Fraggles ate them and, best of all, Stantler & Waldorf gave me my best comeback lines!

Even more, his vision, his imagination, his creations – his magic – impacted the way I saw the world.  It provided me with places to go in my own mind, introduced me to other worlds and alternatives to the way things were, knowing and believing that they didn’t have to be that way.  The weird and creepy were wonderful and charming places in Henson’s hands.  I still get all sappy when the Skeksis and the Mystics are reunited in beauty and harmony at the end of the Dark Crystal.  We always watch Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas during the holidays – it’s a testament to the enduring beauty of unconditional love and the grace of simplicity.  As a writer, my love of words and stories was rekindled by the narration and writing of the Storyteller series – John Hurt is the best.   It inspired me to write again.

When people told themselves their past with stories, explained their present with stories, foretold the future with stories, the best place by the fire was kept for… The Storyteller.

Perhaps like other headstrong, imaginative, fantasy and fairy tales loving bookworm, I identified with Sarah and her struggles in Labyrinth.  The world is an unfair place, a maze full of illusions and sometimes betrayal, but in the end, the only power it has over you is what you give it.  It also helps to have good friends beside you on your journey even if they are imaginary.

So, as I grow older, when age and responsibilities have made the playful, carefree world seem so far away, when I feel out of touch; the lessons I learned, the magic I’ve experienced, the dreams that I’ve had, the hopes that inspire me, they’re all nestled in the imaginative corner of my mind and embedded in my forever child-like heart.  They say that nothing lasts forever – but I believe magic does.

“Should you need us,” they say.  I reply: “I always do.”

Thank you Jim Henson.

I believe in taking a positive attitude toward the world, toward people, and toward my work. I think I’m here for a purpose. I think it’s likely that we all are, but I’m only sure about myself.   – Jim Henson

Resistance is Futile

My resistance was a failure from the start, and sooner or later we’re all going to be assimilated into this new tech culture.

I’m taking a momentary break from playing with my new Droid.  Honestly, I didn’t realize how many useless apps there are out there!  I think that I’ve uninstalled about three times as many apps as I’ve decided to keep.  My current challenge right now is to make sure this phone doesn’t become an entertainment distraction (though the magic eight ball is pretty funny as you can edit your own replies).

Besides for the basic email and calendar stuff, I’m not sure what kind of good productive writing apps there are out there.  I’ve got the basic references as well as some free books.  The basic notes tool is fine, and I like the fact that I don’t have to have to carry as many items.  However, I don’t know if I can completely give up writing in a physical notebook or pick up an actual book.

For one, screen drawing just doesn’t compare to the ol’ pencil and paper.  Second, there’s just something irreplaceable about a worn dog-eared book when it comes to reading on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  I don’t mind reading online (I do it every day for hours on end) but I like the charm and simplicity of holding a book.

However, given the current publishing trends, the market seems to be shirking for physical books, at least in certain categories.  I’m not sure reading a children’s picture book is going to work as well online as a novel.  Anyway, there are plenty of articles and online discussions on this topic, so my comments are redundant in terms of the existing business models and problems.

I suppose that’s the one problem we’re all facing as writers; sorting out the “best” channels for advice, networking, exposure, discussion and whatnot.  A lot of it is trial and error, and finding a sense of “belonging” which I think can be difficult on some forums and discussion boards.  I’ve left a few for that reason, but this sense of “belonging” can be a blessing as much as it can be a curse.  You can sometimes get trapped into the group think mentality and become a Borg drone.

Web culture is interesting to watch this continued “modern man problem” – the idea that individual liberty and freedom of expression, classical liberal concepts of John Milton and John Stuart Mill, should superseded the laws of society especially when it came to the censorship of ideas.  Since then, modern society became more polarized and burdened with the extremes of individualism and socialism (notice small “s” is used, don’t freak out).  This problem has become even more complicated as online usage is now global and different political ideologies are struggling for control of information and “speech.”

Check out what the UK just passed.  It’s pretty scary to think that this is Orwell’s native land.  Though it won’t be too long before those laws infringe upon our shores – America is the only country that still protects the freedom of speech but we’re already seeing hate speech policies and codes being developed to “protect victims” – as a potential victim, I’d like to say that I don’t need protecting.  I value my freedom of thought more than I fear being the target of “hateful” or “offensive” speech.

The unintended consequence of a little censorship is censorship.

Saved By Oatmeal

It’s Friday and I’m going to keep this first entry light. I’m not a morning person – never have been and never will be. However, if you give me oatmeal and coffee (not mixed together of course) then I’m a happy camper and good for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, there’s a Starbucks across the street and they know my order by heart. This is convenient because on my sluggish mornings all I have to do is grunt, nod and hand them my card. Yes, that is pretty sad commentary about how bad a creature of my habit I am. Anyway, I’m not a terribly big fan of their perfect oatmeal and only get it when I’m in a pinch.

Apparently, it was one of their star items when they rolled out their breakfast menu.  I know Starbucks standardizes their preparation methods, but my oatmeal always comes out different and often too mushy.

And there’s nothing worse than mushy oatmeal! I loathe mushy oatmeal in fact. So, for fans of non-mushy oatmeal below is my recipe/suggestion for the “Perfect Oatmeal.” The first and most important thing is to use Steel Cut Oats, McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal is the best (no, I’m not being paid for my sad endorsement). I’ve recently switched to their instant oatmeal because it’s more convenient to make at work in the microwave.

“The Perfect Oatmeal”

1/4 c of instant steel cut oatmeal

1/3 c of hot water

1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries

Cook in microwave for 2-3 minutes – this will depend on how hot your water and frozen your berries are. You can add extra stuff to it and there are lots of different variations. But, it’s the most basic start.

Generally the package instructions tell you to add 3/4 c of water but again that will vary on your added ingredients. The water from the frozen berries fulfills that requirement.

Check it out, below is my happy find of the day!