I'm already euphoric just thinking about watching The Sopranos tonight.
Then there' s that new western, Deadwood. I was already favorably disposed to it from seeing the promos, but when the opening sequence started, and I heard that music and saw those images, I knew I was in love.
Perhaps it's a generational/sentimental thing. The western genre is practically dead; no one does it any more in this age of bullshit so-called reality shows. When I was a kid growing up in the sixties, there were plenty of westerns in film and on TV. I was fascinated by the macho atmosphere, the hokey-folky wisdom, the horses, guns, cards, whiskey, violence. The saloon doors, the player piano with that clinky sound...
Now comes this ultra high qualiity show where the creators went to the trouble of researching the shit out of the history of Deadwood, Montana, to bring you a beautifully produced work that de-romanticizes the old American west in the manner of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. (For the record: I won't be suprised if some critic has already compared Deadwood to Cormac McCarthy, but I haven't read or heard any such comparision, so maybe, just maybe: you heard it here first.) And so you have a character named Ellsworth who stands at the bar, having just traded his $170 gold piece for bar credit, and proclaims: I may have fucked my life up flatter than hammered shit, but I stand before you today beholden to no human cocksucker." How can you not love it?
Harold Bloom, the Yale professor and grand curmudgeon of the literary world, has said something that I can wholeheartedly agree with: He pronounced "Blood Meridian" THE great American novel! My instincts weren't wrong after all. Of course I could make a case for McCarthy's denser and more problematic "Suttree"; well, I'll say it is a tie. How's that?
Hey Professor B, on the video rental front, have you seen Project Grizzley? I watched it last night and it's quite entertaining. It's the heartwarming story of a Canadian whack job / visionary and self-proclaimed "Close-Quarter Bear Researcher" who wants nothing more than to create a Grizzly-proof suit and go a couple of rounds.
If you haven't yet seen American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, or hell, even if you have, those two videos /dvds would make a kick-ass double feature.
So many worthwhile cultural products, so little time! Thanks for the tip Kelley.
This has got to be the best student blog I have yet read (not to disparage my fellow students but so many blogs I have visited didn't seem in the spirit of blogging) and cut my throat if I ain't gonna bookmark you. Your comments in class are always intelligently put and a wee witty. I like dat. You cool, Prof B.
I love American TV (and hate it, too, for some obvious reasons) and miss it, I'll admit (I live in Japan where TV shows here friggin SUCK, for the most part.) A new Western. But it's HBO, so they can get away with the cursing. The last Western I remember was Brisco County Jr. and that was a fun, stupid and doomed show from the get go. But I love Bruce Campbell. He's so funny and talented. Met him once. Great guy with a great laugh, even after attending the wants of a few hundred conventioners.
I don't care who wins the next election (I'd like it to be Wesley Clark) as long as it isn't Bush, jr. The man is, to put it as lightly as possible, evil incarnate. I hate him and I never hate anyone. My wife used to toss the word "hate" around for people she didn't like but I explained the intense meaning of hate to her. For example, Jews hate Hitler. That means they must want him dead and burning in hell for eternity. Pretty much the same for me. I think I hear black op copters swooping in.... Lemme see... "Ho.. Ho-ome.... Llll-and.... Se.. Se-e-e..cur-i-ty... Property of George W. Bush." Who're these guys? What da fuck? I wasn't wearing red polka-dots toda-
Hey thanks for the kudos, Lance. An explanatory note for those who may wonder WTF we're talking about: there's an online class in Moveable Type offered by HWA.org. Covers such things as blog culture and protocol, setup and customization of MT, etc. They gave us blogs to blog with and and most of them are newbieish and naive because they've just been put out there by newbies as a sandbox to play in. The class is now in week 3 of 4.
This blog, however, has been around ever since... January 2004! ...and it is the work of some crusty old independent-minded wisasses who don't take any shit unquestioningly, and who have years of experience honing the art of written expression. Blogging fits like a glove, whether it's pointless or not.