Part Deux

Do you remember how great you felt after the first time you saw The Dark Knight? (After you done in the bathroom, because if that movie has any flaws, it's that it is hella long)

That rush of seeing a really spectacular movie. Perhaps even more excited since you'd been waiting for it since Batman Begins? And yet, as that initial rush subsided, there was a tinge of sadness knowing that the Joker could never return. That Heath Ledger was gone.

That was my experience finishing Infinite Jest. I sighed with relief, tenderly tucked away my bookmarks (plural (And I should probably get them bronzed), and then I realized David Foster Wallace killed himself last year and there's never going to be another book like this.

But enough about that. I might actually start coming back here to write since there will be some shit going down.

Accomplishment!

I know no one reads this any more because I never write anything any more BUT I have achieved what I once thought impossible.

I have finished reading David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. And it was a bitch.

I got it last year, Christmastime and figured I would burn through it over the break.

When I first started reading it was like a different language. The vocabulary of this man is so extensive that I had to keep an online dictionary open at all times. It didn't help that he would use bits of Quebecois French either. And the book humbled me. I kept chugging along a few chapters at a time but I was quick to toss it aside for something, ANYTHING, else.

And yet it still loomed there. And considering its size, it really does loom. But I could never just quit it. The prose is so intriguing, and intoxicating, and just... indescribable. And it is so far-reaching and DENSE.

I'll write more on this when I get back.

Next Time!: My Opinion of DFW, skewed by the fact that I am drunk on box wine.

Mars Attacks!: The Drinking Game

THE MARS ATTACKS DRINKING GAME

So Mars Attacks has a ridiculous amount of famous people in it, right? And we all love showing off our knowledge of an actor's work, right? So what I'm suggesting is a game that takes the best parts of 6 Steps to Kevin Bacon (Knowing the most obscure roles an actor has played) and the best part of Mars Attacks (A ridiculous amount of well known actors slumming it in this weird-ass movie) to create something that we can all enjoy and get drunk with.

The Goal:

Recognize the actor or actress that appears on screen and name as many of their other films as you can.

Knowing the actor gives you a drink with an addition drink for every film of theirs that you name.

These drinks are then given out to the other players.

An Example:

You recognize Jack Black as the young army private who is quickly vaporized. In addition you remember his great role in High Fidelity as well as his not-so-great roles in such fare as Shallow Hal, Orange County, Tenacious D: And the Pick of Destiny, and Tropic Thunder.

You now have 6 drinks. You give one to Dean, because he's a dude. One to yourself, since victory is so sweet. And 4 to Erin, because she's lotsa fun when she's drunk.

Starting to understand?

Now let's go back and say after you stopped with Tropic Thunder, Erin knew that Jack Black was in King Kong and Kung Fu Panda. She then would have 8 drinks to pass out to those playing the game.

Additional Rules:

1. IMDB.com will be the source used to settle any disputes between players about the presence of an actor in a film. If a computer is not available you will be required to name or awkwardly describe (You know, he worked at the store with John Cusack. He sang Marvin Gaye at the end? "Let's Get it On", remember?) the actor's character in the film.

2. We ask that you honor the actors unfortunate enough to get blasted with a group toast. Everybody drinks.

3. A benevolent film buff quenches his own thirst as he magnanimously doles out drinks to others. Spread the wealth around, comrade.

Feel free to add your own amendments in the comments section, I think this has potential to be a fine pass time for movie geeks everywhere. In keeping with the kindred spirits of Mars Attacks and Booze, It's like the immortal exchange between Jim Brown and Annette Benning:

"I need a drink."

"You and Me Both, Baby."

Quick Conversation

I was discussing the merits of the actress playing Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Hunt) against those of Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) with m'lady and she agreed that Harry has clearly been under some kind of spell. 

And it led to the very awesome 

"Rupert Grint? Not for all the galleons in Gringotts."

Bloomsday

Today is devoted to the book Ulysses by James Joyce. Irish folk love it and dress up in straw hats and eat weird foods from the book. I assume alcohol in large quantities is also involved, as with most great wide-spread holidays.

I know I'm never going to read it. It has noooo appeal for me. However, it reminds me of Infinite Jest which is another thick, famous, and scary book. It also has the honor of being hidden far away in a trunk where it cannot shame me with its loquaciousness and eloquent prose. 

I have tons of free time in the summer and, like a Tell-Tale Heart, this book is always reminding me it is there. I can almost hear it mock me. 

I'll beat it eventually. I just have all this delightful Mary Roach and Neil Gaiman and Christopher Moore to finish first.

Checking In

Haven't posted in too long. But this won't be a very long one, I don't think...

I really just want to mention some feelings I've been having. (Yuck, what a terrible way to start.)

But anyway, and I'm weirdly hesitant to say this, but when I see my parents talk to each other I really never want to get married. They just seem to talk about each other behind their backs and their interaction is so empty and wrong. 

I don't know if I want to feel forced to stay with someone just because of a piece of paper and some jewelry. 

It's just what I've been thinking about. 

I'm So Excited (Also, I seem to have difficulty concealing it)

My baby's coming to see me on Friday. It's easy to say I'm psyched for that. But really at the same time I am almost more excited to see Drag Me to Hell with her. I know, I'm a romantic.

My problem now lies in the fact that I have to try to organize my room. The problem is that I also have to somehow fit my dorm room stuff in here. 

So I'm hoping that the ton of stuff gives off the impression of quirkiness and eccentricity rather than pack-ratty filthiness.