Red Crabs Start Their Annual Migration Bloody Quest For Revenge Against All Of Humankind.

Red crabs start their annual migration bloody quest for revenge against all of humankind.

Bridesmaids is full of great scenes, but this one is my favorite. I've met people like Megan before -- you've just introduced yourself and suddenly they're telling you the craziest things about themselves! Melissa McCarthy did a phenomenal job with this role.

bustahines:

bombay bicycle club - shuffle

attn: brittney

OMG

Why Video and Film Look Different

Filmmakers were not content to make movies with video cameras until those cameras could shoot 24p, because video, with its many-frames-per-second, looks like reality, like the evening news, like a live broadcast or a daytime soap opera; whereas 24p film, by showing us less, looks somehow larger than life, like a dream, like a story being told rather than an event being documented. This seemingly technical issue turns out to have an enoumous emotional effect on the viewer.

-- Your New TV Ruins Movies

AT LAST! I've wondered FOREVER what the difference was between film and video! So video can show 60+ images per second, resulting in a smoother and more "real life" look, while film only shows 24 images per second, giving it that patina of unreality. Unfortunately "video" is forever linked with "cheap" in my mind due to soap operas, so when they show Doctor Who extras as actual video instead of at 24p, it looks like the tackiest thing in the entire world, because Doctor Who is not something that happens in real life (creys).

Once upon a time, I used to review books on my Tumblr! Then I stopped out of laziness. But I like being able to go back and see what I thought about books after I've read them, so I'm going to do a trite summing-up post.

Labor of the Heart: A Parent’s Guide to the Decisions and Emotions in Adoption by Kathleen L. Whitten

Adoption is difficult, expensive, and emotionally complex. I already knew that, but this book provided good specifics about the adoption process and the emotional aftermath, which are helpful for book I'm working on (it's called Hallways).

Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block

Speaking of adoption, no one tells Witch Baby the circumstances of her birth, which leads to depression and a piquant morbidity of thought (reading F. Scott Fitzgerald is what leads to descriptions like "piquant morbidity of thought.") Like with Weetzie Bat, I was unsettled by the combination of realistic themes (sex, drugs, depression, abuse) and the pretty, childlike narrative voice. But I still liked them, and I think our culture needs to negotiate a bigger space for these kinds of stories. Weetzie & Co are still terrible parents, though.

February House by Sherill Tippins

A bunch of now-famous writers, artists, and musicians decided to rent a house together and form a communal creative space (occupants included Carson McCullers, W.H. Auden, and Gypsy Rose Lee). Some of them accomplished good work; others drank and drank and did no work at all. The idea sounds really awesome in theory, but seriously, I bet it was a nightmare. Can you imagine trying to collect monthly rent from ten or twelve drunk artists? Can you imagine trying to convince ten or twelve drunk artists that someone needs to do the dishes? Holy God.

Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher

No, you really can't multi-task and still get things done efficiently. I already knew that, but I didn't want to believe it. :( Gallagher also mentions that an interval of 90 minutes is about as long as you can stay "rapt" in the zone of intense productive focus. I was like "how useful to try!" but honestly, I can't stay focused for half an hour, let alone 90 minutes.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

I had never read any of Hemingway's books before! And I have a BA in English! I did read "Hills Like White Elephants" like three times in various classes, though. Anyway, now I finally see why Hemingway's style is so famous, and that Raymond Chandler was working in the same minimalist/non-emotional vein, only with snappy jokes. I also see why some label Hemingway misogynistic, but it's a more...complex misogyny?...than I thought it would be. Catherine's character doesn't feel realistic AT ALL, but her denial and harsh carelessness in the face of an unwanted pregnancy is fascinating. And then there's the thematic tidiness in her baby being a boy -- she's beset by men on all sides, from her dead fiancé, who triggers her mental and emotional breakdown, to the book's narrator, whose interest in sex outweighs any consideration for the risks, to the baby boy she didn't want and couldn't survive. Oh yeah, also there's some war.  

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A well-written account of two horrible, horrible people.