Sunday, November 20

Digression is either the proof of narrative ability or ADD.

I've been slack updating, yes. Apologies.

Excuse: I've been working on writing a book (80 pages short thus far!) lately - I'm taking a break from working on it right now to write this quickly - so blogging, to me, seems like wasted writing/creative energy. I don't know about you, gentle reader (and likely fellow blogger), but, for me, the attempt to create a well-written and interesting post can be quite grueling. I should go take a nap.

But I persevere!

So here are few things going on with me right now:

Book-wise, I'm just started Kissing in Manhattan by David Schnickler. Collection of short stories, set in NYC. Read two so far. Very impressive. Smart, funny, interesting, and full of heart. What more could you want? Nothing, that's what.

Music-wise, the past two weeks or so it's been a lot of Stars' "Set Yourself on Fire". Man I wish I had my CD of Beck's "Sea Change" right now though. It's maybe my favorite album by him. All that wry and eccentricity and hip pop-culture saturation is flung away in favor of an emotional, droning, and downright painful outpouring of folk/blues. Given the subject matter it could be whining, cliche, and/or pathetically self-pitying, but instead it's simply amazing and tear-jerking, like a good ending to a serious-minded movie, also known as a "drama".

Saw Amos Lee at Slim's downtown the other night. Amos was very good. Sounded a little like a morose young Al Green. Very talented and very humble. Good man. Unlike this guy: Rude old coot (and wife) standing behind me at the show. It's the 8th comment down.

Other things musical:

If you're an Elliott Smith fan like me, check these out: Leaked Elliott Smith Basement II Demos.

I haven't had much time to listen to them yet, but it's Elliott. It's gotten pretty high reviews from what I've seen.

Other random news: I seem to have lost my digital camera and I'm really, really pissed about that. I simply will NOT go back to those yellow cardboard boxes that sell three for fifteen dollars. No sir.

My last post was quite focused, like an essay. This one, not so much.

5 comments:

Becky said...

Maybe you should take a nap, since you wrote that you "perserve"...(did you mean persevere, or preserve? just kidding. I'm an ass).

Trevor said...

You're writing a book? A Book! BOOK! Book?

Sorry, I just enjoy drawing out my outrage to extreme lengths.

What's it about? If you say "a young man embarks on a journey of discovery both on the road and within himself, and comes to realizes that the love he's been searching for all his life is right beside him"....you will be describing the plot of the John Cusack film 'The Sure Thing', and will be taken to court over plagarism charges.

I'm just saying.....

James said...

It's fixed, Becky. I'm tempted to erase your comment and thus remove all evidence of my egregious error.

Trevor, is that the plot of "The Sure Thing" or "On the Road"? Or "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?

Amichai said...

The sure thing? I coulda sworn he was talking about Lord of the Rings.

Good luck on the novel. It's hard. I'm trying to write one myself and have become stalled on page 105 for the past four months.

Don't forget it's all in the phrasing. An unfocused post is not "unstructured" rather a highly creative and unconventional "stream of conciousness" narratitive. Sounds more impressive that way.

James said...

Yes and whenever I'm write something that doesn't make sense, it's "experimental" or "avant-garde". Cliches are "ironic allusions" and cheesy and/or bad dialogue is "Tarantino-esque".