There's magic in those pages!

I probably read a little more than the average person, but that's not really saying much. I recently got some new books though, and I just finished one.




Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland is told from the perspective of four different people who's lives are changed forever after a school shooting.

It starts in 1988, being narrated by Cheryl, a dead girl. She goes into detail about her past life, her death and how it feels to be where she now is.

We then get to be her boyfriend and young husband Jason nine years later, as he's struggling desperately to move on from the massacre.

then we experience the side of Heather, two years later, a woman trying to love a broken and lonely Jason.

and finally Jason's cruel and overly religious father who finds himself questioning everything.

Each perspective references other characters and times, which might sound confusing, but believe me it all flows wonderfully.

These characters struggle to pull shattered lives together, they deal with loss of faith, loneliness and questions that nobody has answers to.

What needs to be said is just how utterly powerful, moving and completely sad this book is. It is one of the most amazing things I've read.

I finished it in what must be record time for me (about 5 hours) because when I DO find a good book, I very seriously cannot put it down.

Books are so awesome because when I'm done I literally sit here for 30 minutes taking it all in and thinking about it. More than I do with most films. I don't know what it is, but it's like an entirely different feeling.

Anyway, I absolutely recommend this novel to anybody who wants to read something real, crushing and yet oddly beautiful.

I was going to go into more detail but I'm exhausted.

Goodnight moon.

Random

hello blogworld. Of bloggers. United. For truth.

It's cooler today than it has been the past couple of days and I for one am glad. The back of my neck and the tips of my ears are peeling from the sun burn I got last time I went fishing. It's also kind of itchy.

ITCHY.
TASTY.

I started writing a story last night and the night before. Something I've always wanted to write. A ZOMBIE story. I quickly realized that there aren't many original ideas that haven't been seen in Romero films or resident evil games though. I guess it doesn't matter, I'm having fun doing it so far. It's the sort of thing that might never get finished. That happens a lot, but still.

It's the first time I've sat down and wrote something for a long time, and actually enjoyed it. I'm no writer/artist, but it still sucks when ideas are stuck in your head or don't come out right.

I always jot down plans and write sections or "scenes" that I want in there somewhere, so it ends up all scrambled until I find a way to piece them together. I don't know if that's a weird way to have it happen, but that's how it goes if I'm writing a "real" story usually.

Also a music reccomendation this time is for a band called Hella. It's a two man band with some insane guitar and drum work, all instrumental. I believe it now includes some of the guys from the Advantage though, which is awesome.

The CD I got comes with a live video and they go pretty nuts, the drummer actually has two drum kits set up and gets up and switches in the middle of the song. That's awesome.

I dunno, not for everyone I guess. My brother said he saw them live and it "sounded like a buch of noise" but I enjoy it a lot.

Final closing thought: Poutine is fucking delicious. I had one from KFC and my god was is succulent.

movie night

WELL,

I saw Lady In the Water with the guys tonight.

I shall keep this brief, but I liked it. I liked it a lot. It's the kind of movie that grows on you AFTER it is over.

This movie is going to catch a lot of shit because of what it is. People will either love it or hate it. I realized why I liked it so much on my drive home. It's because Shyamalan tells a story so outlandish and unbelievable, but it works somehow.

In the end it's all about how much you let yourself get into it. You can sit there and scoff at the fact that it isn't real or that there are plot holes here and there, or you can believe it for what it is and let it entertain you. It's actually quite easy to do, people.

It's a fairy tale story told in modern times. Many people would hear that and be turned off immediately.

The people who will "get" this movie are the ones who always wanted stuff like this to be true. The people who want to believe that magical, extraordinary things CAN happen to normal people in a normal world.

And I do. I believe that is the "message" in this film and I adore it because of that.

Also, Paul Giamatti is an incredible actor.

This won't change your mind about Shyamalan. If you disliked his other efforts you probably won't like this one, but I still consider him one of the greatest directors of our time for many reasons.

It's just too bad that it's cool to hate him these days.

nice bass!

Yesterday my dad and I loaded up the boat and hit Jackfish lake for some fishing.

It was the first time we've had it out on the water since last summer and it started up and ran well for an old hunk of junk.

I managed to reel in two nice sized pike while my dad landed 6. Of course. We had a "Twenty bucks to whoever catches the first fish" deal, he won that. But it's double or nothing next time, I told him.

I think we were out there for two and a half to three hours and I fried like bacon. the sides of my face, my neck and my arms are redder than hell. I take pride in my pasty white skin tone, so it sucks. It's also pretty painful, especially my neck area.

Fuck the sun. I can't believe people actually like to tan. that's always been a bit twisted to me.

Still, it was nice to get out and breathe some air. It was also the first time this summer I actually fished, since the camping trip was a joke. That felt nice too.

Fishing is definately one of my favourite activities.

let's probe a little deeper.

SO, HOW IS EVERYONE.

I don't really care, but I thought I'd ask. No question mark means I don't really want you to answer.

Trevor and I saw A scanner darkly tonight. After all my bitching in the previous post, I have to say it was worth it. And then some, even having to deal with finding the damn place (way to navigate, T-bone)

Just LOOKING at the film is amazing. It's filmed normally (but without all the high tech cameras and shit) and then rotoscoped over top, so you get an animated film that isn't quite animated. It looks incredible in motion, so it's hard to look away.

Aside from the style factor, it was incredibly funny. Robert Downey Jr. going on about how many gears are on his new bike and such is made hilarious because of the way he delivers his lines in such a normal, rambling way. That guy is TALENT.

And of course it's also thought provoking and confusing as all hell at times, which is exactly what I expected it to be. I want to watch it again.

I'm sure underneath it all there's a bit of an anti drug message as well. Seeing these characters become paranoid and insane is funny to see, but terrifying in a lot of ways.

I'll save you all the plot details, because if you plan on seeing it, you should just do so without knowing much about it in that way.

Movies like this make me love movies in general.

Awesome.

Since life is pretty much shite, I've found myself looking forward to the Monday night movie, which was supposed to be A Scanner Darkly.

Thinking ahead, I went to go look up some showtimes.

What did I find? The only theater in all of Edmonton that is showing it is the Princess theater, some small independent dump.

And I'm mad

What the fuck is it with these movie companies? They advertise and spend money and still give great looking, original films a limited release. I don't get how it works, is it somehow super expensive to have it playing on more than one screen per fucking city?

Or how about the big movie theaters that actually run previews for it, and call it a "coming attraction" hell, they even thow up posters for it, but when the times comes, is it going to be playing? No, of course not.

Maybe it's the people. The people who are too busy only watching movies about pirates or superheros, or...jesus fucking christ, men trapped in the body of a baby?

Dear sir, you mean to tell me your establishment is proudly showing that gem of a comedy film "little man" but won't show a potentially brilliant and stylistic sci-fi/drama film"A scanner Darkly"?

Fucking IDIOTS.

Anybody who buys a ticket to Little man should get a coupon for a free bullet to the fucking head, compliments of me. That's right, FOR AN UNLIMITED TIME, I'll pay for the bullets.

Cunts.

and to anyone thinking:

"But Dan, aren't you going a little overboard? it's only a movie!"

you're only a piece of shit and I hope you die.

Well maybe not death, but you're a piece of shit and I'm sorry but this is bullshit. It's happened before, too. It's the only thing holding my fragile life together! can't you see!

The only thing that can calm my nerves right now are some sweet, sweet naked SuicideGirls








That's the stuff.

Over and out.

Baptist Blacktick

Seems we caught some of the weather Raine has been getting.

Before noon today it started pouring like crazy. The skies were still sunny though, which is incredibly eerie if you've never seen it.
Then the thunder and clouds rolled in. This was the loudest thunder I've heard since I was a lad. It was incredible, same for the crazy lighting and wind.

I was actually watching the news at the time and they were talking about how there were minor showers in Edmonton at the time and that it was "hardly noticeable" so either they are completely fucked, or this storm missed them altogether.

My dog gets EXTREMELY scared and nervous during storms like that. He shakes like crazy and follows me VERY closely. He'll even try desperately to squeeze through the door if I go back inside, so I sat in the garage with him until it passed, he mostly paced back and forth but I settled him down eventually.

It's kind of funny watching him, but I also feel kind of bad.

In other news, it is amazing how much a simple car ride can lift spirits and clear your head. During my week off I had too much time on my hands, and too much time leads to nostalgic feelings and fear of the future, which kind of slam into each other and make me a nervous, grumpy wreck.

So I hopped in my car and just flew down the road listening to some tunes. I didn't go anywhere in particular, nor incredible far. Just far enough to know you've left it all behind for a while.

It's nice.

But it won't be happening today because my car is now officially fucked somehow. My brother drove it last, replaced the air filter and now it's acting up. As soon as it stops raining I shall pop the hood and see what is up.
I'm no car guy, but with his help I might be able to straighten it out. If not, it's off to Dwight the neighborhood mechanic. The car needs a good tune up anyhow.

Though I'm still wanting a new car. Just not new new...Because I cannot afford it, and really don't want to be making payments for the rest of my short life.

Well I'm going to go marinate in my own quiet, subtle rage. Adios suckas.

PS. Raine, everytime I'm done chatting with after a round of warcraft the word "cunt" just rolls off my tongue so easily. You should have seen my mom's face while I was talking about the mailman and his slowness.

Not that I blame you, but I think we threw it around quite a bit, and so it leaks out in my everyday conversations I guess.

the more you know

man am I thirsty.

Alright, so I saw Superman Returns with Ryan and Trevor tonight.

I am not a Superman fan at all. I know enough about the character, but that stuff is common knowledge to any person who grew up watching cartoons or reading comics.

So I had low expectations for the movie.

I ended up pleasantly surprised. I liked it A LOT more than I thought I would. I think it takes a different route than a lot of other comic book films, in that it isn't filled with super awesome action scenes (although there are some), it just seemed more emotional than most others for some reason.

I'm no comic book nerd, so I won't sit here and pick apart the film like most people love to do, but I definitely think it is worth seeing, I give it the thumbs up. Hell, the scene with the plane alone makes it worth seeing. That's some awesome shit.

In other news I got a haircut today. The Solid Snake mullet has been retired for the time being, which is kind of sad for some reason. It's purely a comfort thing, because it's too fricken hot these days, plus I just got tired of having so much damn hair. It's nice.

Now I'm going to retire to my fortress of solitude.

goodnight moon.

Debacle '06

Well we're back, after one night. here is a story and some (re-sized) pics.

Worst camping trip ever. Only a few hours in, this should have been a sign of the suckiness to come. All the beverages after this accident tasted like dirt at first and there was plenty of grit to be picked from your teeth.




I can't even begin to imagine the number of kilometers Trevor drove, or the number of camp sites we stopped at, only to be turned away because they were completely packed. Day one was quickly coming to a close, so we eventually settled on a spending the night at an overflow area, which saw us placed more or less in the middle of a field, surrounded by other campers AKA, not the ideal spot. At all, as Trevor shows us after spending nearly $60 for one night and a load of wood (fucking highway robbery and then some)




Oh, well, we decide to make the best of it and pack it in early tomorrow to look for a better spot. In the mean time we drown our sorrows in some fine Merlot.



That's pretty bloody.

Well, at least Fawcett lake looks pretty bitchin' in the evening light.



The night goes by and we have a decent time. In the morning we pack it all up and drive off, hopeful that we'll find a decent site. We find plenty of them...but they are all full. Eventually we're back where we came from, so we continue in the other direction until we're just about in Edson. No dice, full up everywhere.

We did stumble upon a site that had some spots, but after sitting around for a while we all decided it was empty for a reason (no fire wood, and RIGHT off the highway) so we decide to pack it in for good and head home. I think we were all just completely sick of the idea of camping anyway. We'd had to many downers to even give a shit anymore, and this little glimmer of light came far too late in the trip.

The lesson is that if you want to go camping on a long weekend, be sure to make reservations. My advice is to just not go camping on a long weekend though. Ever.

I think we spent most of the time in the car, Seriously. Trevor is a machine. even though it's all over so soon, I'm already glad to be home, and amongst all the bullshit we dealed with it was an adventure and I got to spend it with some pals, so it really wasn't all bad.

Goodnight moon.