Steve's Guide To Christmas Shopping

1. Make A List- Go out there with some purpose. If you know what your going to get or what you want to get your going to have a more efficient shopping experience. If you have a list your going to cut down on the chance that you start browsing and buy something for yourself. Its better to give than receive.

2. Get Something You Like- If your giving a person something that you would enjoy its going to carry alot more weight. Your going to be excited about giving it to them and seeing what they think about it. If you give them something you like its alot more personal. Your invested as opposed to just doing someones shopping for them which brings me to my next point...

3. Don't Use Their List- Getting something off of a persons list is fine and cool, obviously its something they want BUT its better to get something that you know they want but didn't ask for. Or something you know they would like but don't know they want. Those gifts have the most power, hold the most delight. Anyone can go buy something from a list.

4. Recycle- Wrapping paper is dumb. I honestly don't get it. Use newspaper. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Happy Holidays.

An addition: Roger Ebert's Top 10 Movies of 2010
1. The Social Network
2. The King's Speech
3. Black Swan
4. I Am Love
5. Winter's Bone
6. Inception
7. The Secret In Their Eyes
8. The American
9. The Kids Are All Right
10. The Ghost Writer

'Zeroville' A Recommendation

I reread one of my favorite books 'Zeroville' by Steve Erickson, start to finish yesterday. It's written in a series of short chapters going from 1 to 227 and and then back down to 0. It starts with the main character Vikar showing up in L.A. in 1969 because he wants to be involved with the movies. He's raised in a super religious way that the book doesn't really delve into but they refer to a point when he discovered movies and then became obsessed. The author said in an interview "I didn't want to write a book about making movies, I wanted to write a book about loving movies." And thats what it is, an expression of pure love for something. I highly recommend it.

Norse Mythology

I just finished reading 'American Gods' for the third time. One of the main characters is the American incarnation of the God Odin. My dad's family is from Norway so for whatever reason the Norse pantheon speaks to me.

Having a series of Gods with human like traits makes more sense to me than the whole Christian philosophy. I'm not saying I'm a pagan, for one I wouldn't even know how to go about worshipping a polytheistic religion, but to me the Greek, Roman, and most of all Norse mythology makes more sense. It's more accessible without any of the blaring contradictions.

I know Loki, Odin, and Thor. My knowledge is not extensive but I know some stories and I know the traits of each god. I can identify with their strengths and weaknesses, I see myself reflected. The Christian God and Jesus are perfect and ethereal and unmanageable. I can't see any of myself in them or the idea of them. They're as foreign to me as an alien would be. More 'primitive' cultures developed religions with gods with human characteristics because thats what they could identify with.

My ancestors came from Mountains and Forests, from Sea and Battle. Their lives were lived on the brink. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century.

'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman(which I highly recommend that you read) alleges that belief creates gods. That belief by people creates a personification of different gods.

I just want to believe.

'Black Swan' A Review

Devin posing with the poster after the movie, which she loved. For me...

In a word: Disappointing.

I don't know why exactly but I've come to expect alot from Darren Aronofsky. Maybe it's because I fit squarely in his target demographic 18-45 white middle-class artist type. So I feel like I should like him, I'm obligated to like him. He sucked me in with Pi and I feel like he's been riding that train ever since.

Pi: Amazing

Requiem For A Dream: Disturbing for disturbings sake, will never watch again.

The Fountain: Terrible. Laughably bad.

The Wrestler: OK, generally a disappointment.

(Spoilers)

Nina is an up-in-comer in a prestigious dance company in New York City. She gets taped to play the Swan Queen in their upcoming production of 'Swan Lake.' Thus begins her mental breakdown. The part requires her to play the innocent White Swan whose technicalities she can nail but also the sensuous Black Swan who Nina can't get in touch with. Natalie Portman plays Nina all one note, she's whiny, sniveling, and tentative for 99% of her performance. We only get the briefest of tastes of her darker side, her sexual side, her 'Black Swan.' Which is the TITLE OF THE MOVIE! There's about 15 seconds in the movie prior to the opening night performance where we get even the slightest hint that Nina has a back bone. Opening night comes, Nina rushes to the theater and when its time to dance the 'Black Swan' she kills. Absolutely kills. Up until then the on screen dancing was boring and Natalie Portman worrying about the dance moves came across more so then the actual dance moves. But this last dance is breathtaking and as she dances she starts to sprout feathers and morph into a black swan.

It's incredible...problem is its only 30 seconds long. We never get a real taste of Nina's duality until this moment, minutes before the film ends. Isn't it a film about duality? Up until then we've only been given one side and were suppose to be satisfied by numerous shots of mirrors and Natalie Portman seeing other Natalie Portmans dressed in black. There's no juice, there's no HEFT. Nina is two dimensional at best. We have no idea what drives her, we have no idea who she is, where she comes from, what her secrets are. All we know is that she's 'losing it' and thats where the movie stays. A place Aronofsky is comfortable weird for weirds sake, all surface no depth. Sorry Natalie I'm just not interested. In the supporting roles Nina's mother and Nina's dance instructor are both flat, one note repeated endlessly. We have no idea who these people are or what drives them. Mila Kunis is a shining star in this bleak landscape of 2D images. She jumps off the screen with desire and spark and wild abandon. She dances, sure, but she also lives and THATS what we want to see, thats the Black Swan not Natalie Portman needing her fucking eyebrows. Unfortunately Kunis is in the movie only briefly. Also I don't really like Vincent Cassel as the dance instructor, what with the yelling and the sexual harassment and all. But he does make a good point...

"PASSION NINA!"

An addition: Stephen King's Top 10 Movies of 2010

1. Let Me In

2. The Town

3. Inception

4. The Social Network

5. Takers

6. Kick-Ass

7. Splice

8. Monsters

9. Jackass 3D

10. Green Zone

'Splice' Stephen? Really?

Panang Curry: Joy's Noodles

A couple months back I was talking with Matt about BLT's. He said he loved BLT's and ordered them wherever he could. He was trying to find the perfect BLT.

Whenever I go out for Thai food I always get the Panang Curry. In an effort to find the best Panang Curry I will document my different attempts.

Served on a plate not a bowl. Crispy fried noodles not steamed rice. Ingredients: chicken, curry, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, crispy noodles. 6/10. The curry was generally forgettable. The crispy noodles made the whole dish difficult to eat, it was difficult to saturate the noodles with the curry sauce so they were sharp and too crunchy.

The best part of the meal was the waiter whose voice was high pitched and whose accent was incredibly thick. He may have asked me if I wanted steamed rice or the crispy noddles but if so I didn't understand and just said 'Yes.'

I would not get the Panang Curry at Joy's Noodles again.

'Winter's Bone' A Review

This year has been pretty thin for film. This movie was a pleasant surprise. See it.

(Spoilers)

The movie takes place in the Ozarks of Missouri. The landscape is bleak and its people poor. Junked up cars and trucks sit in almost everyones yard. The movie opens with a seen that clearly establishes our hero Ree Dolly played by Jennifer Lawerence. A seventeen year old girl who acts like a woman, shouldered with the responsibility of taking care of her mother and raising her little brother and sister. Her father, a meth cooker, was recently released from jail on bond using their house and property as collateral. The local sheriff played by Garret Dillahunt(of Deadwood fame) comes by to tell Ree that her fathers missing and they'll be evicted if he doesn't make it to court. Her response "I'll find him." with such determination you have no doubt she will.

The rest of the movie is Ree's quest to find her father and save her home. Everyone in the area is a Dolly and related in some way. And it seems everyone is involved in the meth trade. It's spoken about obliquely and not emphasised which is pleasing for us, its not about drugs its about Ree. Movies about meth or meth culture sometimes beat it to death a la 'SPUN'. Ree first goes to her sisters for help and then her uncle 'Teardrop' played by John Hawkes(also from Deadwood). She continually gets the brush off and is told to 'go home and not mettle.' A relative takes her to a blown up meth lab and says her father was in it. Her response "You must think I'm stupid, there's 3 month old weeds growing in there." She's smart and she's brave and she's strong. She has a singleness of purpose and thats to take care of her family. She tries to approach the local crime boss, of course a Dolly, but when she pushes her luck three women beat her up.

She comes to in a garage full of Dollys looking to intimidate her. Teardrop comes to pick her up and take her home and makes it clear she's to be left alone. Hawkes at first comes off antagonistic towards Ree, gruff and almost hateful. He periodically snorts from a bag of white powder we assume is meth or cocaine. He conveys a relaxed reserve of danger, like he could calmly kill at anytime. One of my favorite scenes Teardrop is driving Ree home and they get pulled over by the sheriff. The movie is a lot of implications and subtext, most things are left unsaid. Come to find out Jessup Ree's dad had turned snitch in order to help his family. This information kind of comes out while the sheriff tries to get Teardrop to get out of the car. Teardrop pulls a gun, backs the sheriff down, and drives off. This scene was such a pleasure to watch because of the tension, the exposition, and the aesthetic. Also its nice to see two awesome actors from my favorite TV show have a scene together.

Another favorite scene of mine is during a break of looking for her father Ree teachers her brother and sister to shoot and skin squirrels. It's sweet, forceful, and beautiful. She's trying to teach them how to feed themselves, how to survive, in case something should happen to her. She's totally aware of the danger shes put herself in looking for her father but she pursues this goal fearlessly.

A subplot during the film is Ree thinking of joining the armed forces. She is thinking about joining up for the $40,000 signing bonus and maybe a chance to get out of her town. She never says this but you can see that she's conflicted about the decision. Half way through the film she talks to a recruiter. The scene is just so honest and powerful. He gives her some advice, basically she should stay with her family, the money isn't a reason to join up. I realized during this scene how great the accents were. Understated yet totally regional.

Come to find out Jessup has been killed for talking to the cops the Dolly clan eventually bring Ree out to the body where she gets proof he's dead for the sheriff so they can keep their house. Early on Teardrop said "don't tell me who killed him, if you find out don't tell me." At the end he's sitting on Ree's porch, there's a long pause, and he says out of no where "I know who did it." He runs to his truck and drives off presumably to kill whoever he suspected. Teardrop comes in and out of the movie like a storm. Hawkes was absolutely mesmerising to watch.

Ree is the movie. She's quiet and stalwart. Brave and powerful. We travel with her on her journey and never get a sense that she's afraid or thinks about stopping. She has her family to think of. We all aspire to her courage.

The Twilight Effect

In response to my Harry Potter post I had a request to write about 'Twilight.' Here it goes.

As far as getting children or people who don't read to read I'm on board with anything, in this case the Twilight series. BUT I have problems with it both logistically and philosophically. I will also preface this response by saying I read the first book only. My knowledge of the plot of the last three books is based off of descriptions from friends and the Twilight episode of the Stupid Nerd Podcast. Which you can access here- http://stupidnerdpodcast.blogspot.com/

1. Co-opting Mythology- Meyer takes a mythology that were all familiar with, vampires and werewolves, and creates a whole new set of rules. Some of which are absurd, stupid, or nonsensical. Shining like diamonds in the light as opposed to being burned. Being able to feed on animals etc. She changes so much the 'vampires' don't resemble vampires anymore. It seems to me she picks and chooses different vampire conventions to move her narrative forward not because she's particularly interested or invested in vampires. The story at it's base isn't even about vampires. It's more a 'Romeo and Juliet' not a 'Dracula.'

2. Bella- The main character isn't likable. I've posted before about how this is a huge dealbreaker for me. Bella is whiny, entitled, irrational, dangerously impulsive, standoffish, and what...cute? I mean is that the big draw that she's hot? I don't get it. In the first book and from what I understand of the other three Bella has no redeeming qualities. She never does anything that warrants the Team Edward/Team Jacob fervor.

3. Sexuality- What the book actually is about is combining love and sex in a very non-threatening way. I imagine that's why the book appealed primarily to girls and young women. For me I found this aspect of it very frustrating and unsatisfying. Meyer doesn't spend a lot of time on the vampires, fine. But she doesn't really spend much time on the sex either(at least in the first book) Edward and Bella kiss a couple times and there is a lot of tortured caressing. There are pages and pages of tortured caressing. I don't understand the appeal to women in my age bracket but many women I know read and enjoyed the entire series. Evidently there is a lot of sex in the last book but I'm not going to read 1200 pages in order to get to it. For me if you don't have good vampire stuff and you don't have good sex stuff your left with boring whiny high school kids. Woof.

4. Bad Writing- Stephen King said it first "Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good." The book is poorly written- it's muddled, it meanders, the characters are underdeveloped. Edward comes off as more of an idea than a person. There is no variation in sentence structure so it reads like it was written by a middle-schooler. The narrative structure as well has no sense of rising action, tension, or climax(similar to the sex scenes). There's never any payoff. In the first book specifically we finally get a vampire fight but its only partially written because Bella blacks out so we skip it. It's almost as if Meyer knows she can't handle writing that scene so she just fast forwards. I thought at least the book would be a page turner because of how fast my friends had devoured the books. I found I had to force myself to finish it. To quote Truman Capote "That isn't writing at all, it's typing."

If people are engaged by the story I'm all for that. I just wish they were engaged by a better story. For me the J.K. Rowling/Stephenie Meyer comparison...

Is no comparison at all.