geebs | (no subject)

Current Mood: bored

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I'm a simple man. Its seems the majority of the time, I'm thinking about sex/girls or food. And I'm more likely to know about the latest entertainment gossip than current events. It seems all I ever surf for is stuff having to do with entertainment, guns, or cars.

I've said this a million times before, but surely there are more fruitful pursuits out there. Perhaps I should read more. Like the classics, mebbe delve into philosophy and strategy too so I can sound all well read and wise and stuff. Or I can work on my writing. There are a couple things I've been inspired to write about. I have some ideas for stories, short essays, and the like. I could compile a comprehensive listing of all my slang and sayings, and plant the seeds further to see if it pervades the language in twenty years.

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Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
Germinal
Tess of the D'urbervilles
The Trial
Story of an African Farm
Cry, the Beloved Country
Out of Africa
Driving Over Lemons
Under the Tuscan Sun

Have fun.

The Trial

i can hear him now--"these angst-ridden people with their one-letter last names...cliffv('what's up with that?')"

[an inside joke only anthony & i would get, except anthony's never read kafka so i guess only i get it--but its damned funny...]

heh.

Actually, I fucking HATED The Trial. I still can't stand it.

So, I feel like recommending it so I can spread the misery of having had to read it for a college class years ago.

But really, what is up with all this angst ridden stuff or social commentary? These writers think they're so great and they have something important to say!

Well, it *was* important, I just hated reading it. Scary stuff...about fascism and genetics and what not in all sorts of books. Like, I hated "A Brave New World"...but looking back on the book, think about how close that is to coming true with all the cloning and other genetic experiments going on.

The only one I've read out of that whole list is Tess of the D'urbervilles, which I thought was a pretty good read. But just thinking about all those books makes me sleepy. Can't I just rent the movies?

NO.

Invariably, the movies are horrid interpretations. Like "The Scarlett Letter" with Demi Moore. Hello. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale were supposed to be remorseful about their affair. That movie was soft porn from the looks of the ads. They completely trashed one of the few American Classics of literature.

Heh, the movies are rarely anything like the books! I'm sure there are a few exceptions out there. I was just trying to be a lazy bum.

Read. Educate yourself.

But then I'll lose my ignorant slacker creds. Seriously, I should read more. If I'm like on vacation and there's nothing on the idiot box or the web that piques my interest, I'll read. I remember one Christmas break, back when my parents didn't have a cable modem and since it was all repeats on TV, I read six or seven 300 page novels in a week. I just have problems motivating myself to start a book, but once I do, I get too engrossed and don't pace myself. I'm always, "just one more chapter, then I'll sleep!"

Also:

My Antonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.

Any book by Jane Austen such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility

To Kill a Mockingbird

Start reading.

I already read To Kill a Mockingbird, so ha! I thought it was required reading in High School English. Unless one went to a school in an area where the book was actually banned. Banning books. cliffV('What's up with that?!') But I digress. If I start reading, I might turn into one of those guys. You know, like you see on TV who act all cool and aloof and everyone thinks they're ne'r do wells. Then they surprise everyone who takes the time to know them by showing off how smart they are because they're so well read. And the chyx think they're so damn great because they've read their favorite novel. What is it with girls and books anyways?

I laugh. Why? Because there was an article on MSNBC the other day about "Where have all the men [in college] gone?"

It seems women are far and away starting to outnumber men at 4 year colleges...theory is - - women are better equipped to learn in the university setting.

I dunno...maybe that has something to do with "chicks and books".

For god's sake, spell it properly - not CHYKS!

More girls at college? Alright! Bring on the co-eds! Oh, and its chyx, not chyks! I realize a lot of times the way I spell things makes me come off as an uneducated jack-ass, but it is all on purpose. Its all part of my desire to interject my own little idiosyncrasies into the English language. Create my own little sub-dialect, as it were. I mean, they don't even speak the same kind of English in the same parts of the US, much less the English speaking countries like Australia or England. So I use my own little words, with their wacky pronunciations or spellings. I use it enough, people start copying me and using it, and others copy them, etc. Years from now, its part of the language! Now if only OJ Simpson would say "Man, its obvious!" on national television.

Ah, you should read Les Liaisons Dangereuses. You can show off by comparing it to Cruel Intentions.

But I'd really just rather watch Cruel Intentions. Or CI:2!

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