I breath a sweet sigh of satisfaction. I was in a foul mood and pestered by annoyingly good stories. I had nothing scathing, nothing bad to say about them. Finally, something I can really dig my teeth into. The Strongest Link, right from the outset this story is delightfully irritating. Ripping off a bad a game show from the 90's that only remained in our collective memories because of a cheesy tagline is in no way, shape or form a good place to start a story from. But I suppose lowering our expectations to then surprise us with a fantastic story, or at least make a half decent story seem better, is sort of noble.
Sadly The Strongest Link achieves neither. It is the annoying punchline that you can see coming from a mile away. The moral heavy, humor light, or in this case devoid, answer to a question no one asked. Have you ever been talking to someone older than you who naturally assumes you know nothing, possibly a teacher or a grandparent or a parent, when they decide, in a vein attempt to connect with you, that telling a horrible joke to teach you lesson about something no one needs a lesson on is a good idea. That feeling of being pinned down by someone's good intentions and irritatingly holier than thou attitude. That's what reading this story felt like. It felt like being pinned down, unable to believe that someone would actually take the time to write that every part of the sentence is very important (try to imagine me speaking with an annoying voice to highlight the fact that I find this annoying). The fact that someone could think that children would like this is what's wrong with school today. Dynamic teaching requires trust, trust that the audience is capable of thought. Teachers, don't patronize your students, it's only insulting. They will learn to match expectations, no matter how low or high those expectations are. The expectations of whomever is the author of Short Story Blog are so very low it's kind of sad. No intelligence can grow from this story. No wisdom can be gained or learned because he, or she, is not allowing his audience to learn for themselves, everything is there. Nothing more can be said about it.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Useless Drama
I hate when this happens. I was in a perfectly foul mood, ready to start complaining about poor story-telling and the world in general. Ready to bitch and moan about every little thing I happened to find irritating until I started reading Useless Drama. I was pleased to be greeted by typos and what I thought would be a privileged girl predictably pestering me. I was taken outside of the story and pleased to have something easy to pick on. So I didn’t close the window. I’m lucky that I decided not to. But in another, much pettier, way I’m not because now I can’t be a troll like I had intended to be because it turns out this is a good story.
In this story by Miss Guidagno (from a certain slice of society disturbingly underrepresented in this blog, the first female author to be featured) the protagonist is haunted by memories of a formal dance a year ago and how lonely she felt when the slow dances began and the couples started coupling without her. Again she is faced with the issue of facing the dance all by her lonesome.
She wants desperately for her boyfriend to go with her, but that old dog worthiness starts nipping at her and she feels guilty wanting him to face the prospect of losing his job and, in turn, his only way of getting through college for a dance. Maybe I’m misinterpreting it but the line “If I worked half as hard as him, then I might be worthy of being selfish” irritates me. Working hard doesn’t entitle you to destroy your boyfriend’s life. Nothing entitles you to ruin anyone’s life. What this line is, however, is honest. I appreciate that.
It may sound strange to say it, because I can’t remember ever having a favourite paragraph, but my favourite one is the fifth. I love the paragraph that deals with her shower because it is so elegantly written. “My hair begins to drown me” is such an evocative way of describing everything she is feeling. So much is said with so little. “My hands move the same way they do every night” something which I can relate to, something that describes her headspace so clearly. Really, really good stuff.
I liked the end too. It was a little ambiguous and I didn’t feel as sure of it as I could have, but if it is indeed as I interpreted, it’s perfect. Maybe that’s the strength of it. It allows for perfect interpretation. Maybe.
What more can I say. It was good, very good. Guidango could have a real future ahead of her if she continues to write like this, ruining trolls’ bad moods.
In this story by Miss Guidagno (from a certain slice of society disturbingly underrepresented in this blog, the first female author to be featured) the protagonist is haunted by memories of a formal dance a year ago and how lonely she felt when the slow dances began and the couples started coupling without her. Again she is faced with the issue of facing the dance all by her lonesome.
She wants desperately for her boyfriend to go with her, but that old dog worthiness starts nipping at her and she feels guilty wanting him to face the prospect of losing his job and, in turn, his only way of getting through college for a dance. Maybe I’m misinterpreting it but the line “If I worked half as hard as him, then I might be worthy of being selfish” irritates me. Working hard doesn’t entitle you to destroy your boyfriend’s life. Nothing entitles you to ruin anyone’s life. What this line is, however, is honest. I appreciate that.
It may sound strange to say it, because I can’t remember ever having a favourite paragraph, but my favourite one is the fifth. I love the paragraph that deals with her shower because it is so elegantly written. “My hair begins to drown me” is such an evocative way of describing everything she is feeling. So much is said with so little. “My hands move the same way they do every night” something which I can relate to, something that describes her headspace so clearly. Really, really good stuff.
I liked the end too. It was a little ambiguous and I didn’t feel as sure of it as I could have, but if it is indeed as I interpreted, it’s perfect. Maybe that’s the strength of it. It allows for perfect interpretation. Maybe.
What more can I say. It was good, very good. Guidango could have a real future ahead of her if she continues to write like this, ruining trolls’ bad moods.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Levni Yilmaz
Today we're going switch gears a little and I'm going to expand my horizons, as it were. I'm going to stray from my usual format and do something I'm very excited about. I'm genuinely shocked that everything came together properly so indulge me a little here while I provide you with some background.
Levni Yilmaz is a San Francisco based blogger and the creator of Tales of Mere Existence (see my blog entry immediately previous to this one) a uniquely honest and comical animated video series and comic strip, and as it turns out a really nice guy giving amateurs like me a chance to do a really cool e-interview (which by its nature isn't all that cool but my joy remains unmitigated).
I was in Lev's San Francisco pad earlier this week to ask a few questions (by San Francisco I mean Brantford, which I think it's safe to say is the San Francisco of south western Ontario, and by pad I mean in my bedroom on my computer composing, and repeatedly rewriting, an e-mail...). So here we go, my first ever genuine interview.
Q:So my first question is: just how much of you is in your films and comics? Obviously quite a bit, but do you protect yourself at all, or is it just all out there?
A:The character is very much part of my personality, but only one part. It's much more the way I used to be than I am now. That said, no, I don't think I try to protect myself that much. I don't know why, but I am not very private about that. I think I struggled to be cool in the normal sense for a long time. After I said Fuck it, it was cleansing to show off my vulnerabilities.
Q:If it is all out there, is there a point where panic sets in and you don't think you can publish the content?
A:The only time I remember it happening is when I wrote a piece with a girl I used to date. It was interesting writing with someone, because they don't let you get away with your bullshit. I had to take some of the material she wrote out, maybe I protect myself more than I admit.
Q:Where does the inspiration for those bits that aren't you come from?
A:I get a lot of ideas just watching other people, seeing similarities of the way they put on an air, to the way I put on an air. I like to think though... well, I don't think I directly make fun of people, do you? I like to draw the line there. I like to make fun of the habits and the thoughts, without directly making fun of the person.
Q:How do you differentiate between something worth recording and something that isn't?
A:If it makes me laugh, and if it feels pure. When I say pure, I mean that it has to be me trying to communicate a thought or a feeling rather than me consciously trying to be funny. That's worth noting, I almost never try to be funny. I try to write about something interesting to me, and then just trust that the comedy will come out naturally.
Q:Is there a video or a comic strip out there that you regret having published?
A:There's one in my Sunny Side Down book that I think is pretty bad called "Your Basic Worldview for the first few years of your life" that I think is pretty bad. I needed it for the sequence/timeline. I think it's a piece of shit.
Q:What made you want to start making Tales of Mere Existence? Is it therapeutic at all?
A:It was an evolution. I made the first video called "Party" and then made another in the same style. I think I still have a drunken scribble in an old notebook that says "Hey, could this be a series?". Yes, totally therapeutic.
Q:And lastly, do you have any hopes for the future of Tales of Mere Existence or are you just taking it day by day?
A:I've thought I was done with the series at least fifteen times. All I really think about is the next way that it could evolve, and take it from there.
Levni Yilmaz is a San Francisco based blogger and the creator of Tales of Mere Existence (see my blog entry immediately previous to this one) a uniquely honest and comical animated video series and comic strip, and as it turns out a really nice guy giving amateurs like me a chance to do a really cool e-interview (which by its nature isn't all that cool but my joy remains unmitigated).
I was in Lev's San Francisco pad earlier this week to ask a few questions (by San Francisco I mean Brantford, which I think it's safe to say is the San Francisco of south western Ontario, and by pad I mean in my bedroom on my computer composing, and repeatedly rewriting, an e-mail...). So here we go, my first ever genuine interview.
Q:So my first question is: just how much of you is in your films and comics? Obviously quite a bit, but do you protect yourself at all, or is it just all out there?
A:The character is very much part of my personality, but only one part. It's much more the way I used to be than I am now. That said, no, I don't think I try to protect myself that much. I don't know why, but I am not very private about that. I think I struggled to be cool in the normal sense for a long time. After I said Fuck it, it was cleansing to show off my vulnerabilities.
Q:If it is all out there, is there a point where panic sets in and you don't think you can publish the content?
A:The only time I remember it happening is when I wrote a piece with a girl I used to date. It was interesting writing with someone, because they don't let you get away with your bullshit. I had to take some of the material she wrote out, maybe I protect myself more than I admit.
Q:Where does the inspiration for those bits that aren't you come from?
A:I get a lot of ideas just watching other people, seeing similarities of the way they put on an air, to the way I put on an air. I like to think though... well, I don't think I directly make fun of people, do you? I like to draw the line there. I like to make fun of the habits and the thoughts, without directly making fun of the person.
Q:How do you differentiate between something worth recording and something that isn't?
A:If it makes me laugh, and if it feels pure. When I say pure, I mean that it has to be me trying to communicate a thought or a feeling rather than me consciously trying to be funny. That's worth noting, I almost never try to be funny. I try to write about something interesting to me, and then just trust that the comedy will come out naturally.
Q:Is there a video or a comic strip out there that you regret having published?
A:There's one in my Sunny Side Down book that I think is pretty bad called "Your Basic Worldview for the first few years of your life" that I think is pretty bad. I needed it for the sequence/timeline. I think it's a piece of shit.
Q:What made you want to start making Tales of Mere Existence? Is it therapeutic at all?
A:It was an evolution. I made the first video called "Party" and then made another in the same style. I think I still have a drunken scribble in an old notebook that says "Hey, could this be a series?". Yes, totally therapeutic.
Q:And lastly, do you have any hopes for the future of Tales of Mere Existence or are you just taking it day by day?
A:I've thought I was done with the series at least fifteen times. All I really think about is the next way that it could evolve, and take it from there.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Youth and Aging
"One of the main reasons why older people get nostalgic about their youth is that, when they were young, they didn't know how things were going to turn out yet." Best. Line. Ever. How delightfully depressing and insulting. Self deprecating too I suppose. I love it. It really strikes a chord with me because of just how blunt and, although I'm not old yet and can't really comment, honest it is. Maybe it isn't the truth for everyone but I sometimes already sometimes feel that way and I know that it's true for some, and Mr. Yilmaz sure makes me feel like he means it.
Even though I still have enough potential left in front of me to not be hugely concerned by the potential I've lost behind me, this line, and in fact this whole video speaks to me. I am all at once excited and terrified of the future because I don't know what it will hold. I look forward to being old and thinking back on my youth, learning what will come, which new fantastical devices will reshape the world and how the world will look back on the time that was mine. On the other hand I could die tomorrow, I could fail all my classes, never achieve any of the things I'd like so desperately to achieve and die cold and alone. It's all very frightening and very important to each of us. I think that's the strength of this video. It doesn't exactly offer terribly new insight into the subject of youth and aging, nor does it answer any questions about it, it just cuts through the crap. Yilmaz doesn't sugar coat anything. He observes and comments and the fact that someone else is feeling the same thing(s) as we are is in itself uplifting. It means that when we die we'll feel a little less cold or alone. At least, that's how I feel.
Youth and Aging is actually the opposite of depressing to me, it's almost uplifting because even though I'm not closer to writing for the New Yorker, I know that a lot of people aren't getting everything they want to get done done. Knowing that, I can approach the situation with less panic, less fear, and deal with it like a normal problem and have a better chance of achieving what I wanted to. I'll also feel less terrible about myself if I don't achieve my goal because I'm in good company.
The slightly deadpan narration and enlivened animation add to this effect wonderfully. The whole thing is really well done, no wonder "Cut Up" picked it up. I highly recommend this one and all the "Tales of Mere Existence" lineup. They're all just as funny, honest, sad or strangely uplifting as this one and the style is unique and interesting.
Even though I still have enough potential left in front of me to not be hugely concerned by the potential I've lost behind me, this line, and in fact this whole video speaks to me. I am all at once excited and terrified of the future because I don't know what it will hold. I look forward to being old and thinking back on my youth, learning what will come, which new fantastical devices will reshape the world and how the world will look back on the time that was mine. On the other hand I could die tomorrow, I could fail all my classes, never achieve any of the things I'd like so desperately to achieve and die cold and alone. It's all very frightening and very important to each of us. I think that's the strength of this video. It doesn't exactly offer terribly new insight into the subject of youth and aging, nor does it answer any questions about it, it just cuts through the crap. Yilmaz doesn't sugar coat anything. He observes and comments and the fact that someone else is feeling the same thing(s) as we are is in itself uplifting. It means that when we die we'll feel a little less cold or alone. At least, that's how I feel.
Youth and Aging is actually the opposite of depressing to me, it's almost uplifting because even though I'm not closer to writing for the New Yorker, I know that a lot of people aren't getting everything they want to get done done. Knowing that, I can approach the situation with less panic, less fear, and deal with it like a normal problem and have a better chance of achieving what I wanted to. I'll also feel less terrible about myself if I don't achieve my goal because I'm in good company.
The slightly deadpan narration and enlivened animation add to this effect wonderfully. The whole thing is really well done, no wonder "Cut Up" picked it up. I highly recommend this one and all the "Tales of Mere Existence" lineup. They're all just as funny, honest, sad or strangely uplifting as this one and the style is unique and interesting.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Italian Spiderman Movie!
Short Shorts entertainment joyously presents Italian Spiderman review! This ten part film on Youtube is really and truly a gem. Italian Spiderman tells the story of-- you guessed it-- the Italian Spiderman and his rival, the Luchadore mask wearing, snake conjuring, Captain Maximum. Why is Captain Maximum wearing a Luchadore mask? Why is the Italian Spiderman overweight? How come Italian Spiderman can teleport? Because it's bad ass, that's why.
Italian Spiderman manages to be laugh out loud funny because it has such dedication to style, strangely well-done but kitschy special effects, a sense of whimsy, and most importantly they didn't take themselves too seriously. Alrugo, the makers of the film, knew exactly what they were shooting for, knew exactly what they had to do, and they did it. The characters are well thought out and remain true until the bitter end, the action is hilarious and perfectly imperfect. Even the hero was imperfect, Italian Spiderman is mostly a jerk, he hits women, he smokes, and he's a misogynist. He really shouldn't be likable but because of the style he commands and the style of the film, I was rooting for him. This is a fine example of what a farce should be.
That is not to say, however, that it was perfect. Some of the episodes near the late middle lost their steam and were, dare I say, boring. But any movie with an epic surf-off is fine by me. You should definitely check it out if you haven't already, watch it again if you have, and hang your head in shame if you won't. Great DIY comedy for the masses by the masses, silly and kitschy mixed with good-looking girls and a superhero who has no real redeeming qualities, what more could I ask for?
Italian Spiderman manages to be laugh out loud funny because it has such dedication to style, strangely well-done but kitschy special effects, a sense of whimsy, and most importantly they didn't take themselves too seriously. Alrugo, the makers of the film, knew exactly what they were shooting for, knew exactly what they had to do, and they did it. The characters are well thought out and remain true until the bitter end, the action is hilarious and perfectly imperfect. Even the hero was imperfect, Italian Spiderman is mostly a jerk, he hits women, he smokes, and he's a misogynist. He really shouldn't be likable but because of the style he commands and the style of the film, I was rooting for him. This is a fine example of what a farce should be.
That is not to say, however, that it was perfect. Some of the episodes near the late middle lost their steam and were, dare I say, boring. But any movie with an epic surf-off is fine by me. You should definitely check it out if you haven't already, watch it again if you have, and hang your head in shame if you won't. Great DIY comedy for the masses by the masses, silly and kitschy mixed with good-looking girls and a superhero who has no real redeeming qualities, what more could I ask for?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Model Millionaire
A little too good. This story is well written, well thought out, witty, clever, socially aware and, really, everything it should be. Why then don't I like it? Well, that's a tough question to answer. It certainly isn't because I don't like Oscar Wilde. The man is a veritable genius and although, as Aphra Behn proved, "wit can never be defense enough against mortality," mortality is no match for wit. Wilde's dying words, "either that wallpaper goes, or I do," border on inspirational. I had nothing but the highest praise for The Importance of Being Earnest, and yet I don't like The Model Millionaire.
Neither is it because of the writing, it's all very well written and I found it really quite funny. The end was satisfying, Wilde, being a master of last words, ties his story in a tight little knot, which returning readers will know how much I appreciate that.
"Unless one is wealthy there is no use being a charming fellow." Even the opening line is great. It's bitter, it feels like a sad regretful discovery just made. The line is reminiscent of a man sick of the world he lives in making lemonade. It's a house-ism, something which could only really be said by an asshole but which is funny because it's said in such a matter-of-fact manner that is speaks to us.
It isn't the characters either. Poor Hughie is friendly, generous, and interesting. His artist friend, Trevor, is larger-than-life, but I mean that in the best way possible. Everyone, really, is likable and interesting. What more could I ask for?
So, it isn't the writer, the writing, the characters, or the wit. No, it's none of these things. I think what it boils down to is the story itself. I didn't really buy it. It was all a little Disney (not that I have anything against Disney in and of itself), a little too deus ex machina for me. I didn't believe for instance that one of the wealthiest people in Russia would fancy having a painting of himself in rags. I didn't buy him giving Hughie the ten thousand pound wedding present either. Maybe I was just in a sour mood. Maybe I don't know enough about wealthy Russians, maybe I wasn't in a state to be reading a comedy but the story left me with a cold feeling in the end. I finished and didn't really feel like I'd read anything worth reading. Fluffy, in a word.
Despite all that, however, the wit was enough to keep me interested to the end and I had no real "issues," as it were, with the story. I just didn't really like it. All in all, it was funny, very well written, and even more clever, but it is by no means Oscar Wilde's best work, there's much better out there.
Neither is it because of the writing, it's all very well written and I found it really quite funny. The end was satisfying, Wilde, being a master of last words, ties his story in a tight little knot, which returning readers will know how much I appreciate that.
"Unless one is wealthy there is no use being a charming fellow." Even the opening line is great. It's bitter, it feels like a sad regretful discovery just made. The line is reminiscent of a man sick of the world he lives in making lemonade. It's a house-ism, something which could only really be said by an asshole but which is funny because it's said in such a matter-of-fact manner that is speaks to us.
It isn't the characters either. Poor Hughie is friendly, generous, and interesting. His artist friend, Trevor, is larger-than-life, but I mean that in the best way possible. Everyone, really, is likable and interesting. What more could I ask for?
So, it isn't the writer, the writing, the characters, or the wit. No, it's none of these things. I think what it boils down to is the story itself. I didn't really buy it. It was all a little Disney (not that I have anything against Disney in and of itself), a little too deus ex machina for me. I didn't believe for instance that one of the wealthiest people in Russia would fancy having a painting of himself in rags. I didn't buy him giving Hughie the ten thousand pound wedding present either. Maybe I was just in a sour mood. Maybe I don't know enough about wealthy Russians, maybe I wasn't in a state to be reading a comedy but the story left me with a cold feeling in the end. I finished and didn't really feel like I'd read anything worth reading. Fluffy, in a word.
Despite all that, however, the wit was enough to keep me interested to the end and I had no real "issues," as it were, with the story. I just didn't really like it. All in all, it was funny, very well written, and even more clever, but it is by no means Oscar Wilde's best work, there's much better out there.
My Favorite Murder
(strange website, the link won't take you directly to the right page but if you search "My Favorite Murder" on the site linked it should come up)
Can an author employ the use of entirely too many adjectives? My Favorite Murder is proof that yes, too many adjectives can be used. Now, I think I'm a pretty erudite guy, I like language and I like to think I have a pretty good grasp of the English one but having to read a story with a dictionary on-hand may have taken away from the story a little. Maybe I just don't have as firm a grasp on the language as I thought but words like saturnine and avarice are a little obscure. However, knowing them now makes my life a little richer and I do like to learn new words.
Despite all this lingual confusion, I must confess it was a good story. Dark, in a word, strange in another, but interesting, perplexing, and good nonetheless. Basically the description of a really terrible way to die, which admittedly is kind of funny for those of us not being pummeled to death by a ram, this story is presented with a very strange, sometimes confusing, always funny nonchalance. I didn't know what to think when I finished. It was funny, but I had a hard time discerning between sarcasm and the machinations of a twisted mind. I don't know about you, but never having had any experience with murderers, I couldn't really tell if the protagonist really was pleased about adding insubordination and treachery to his record or if he was being sarcastic. Knowing the character both seem likely.
To the story's credit, once I moved away from my innocent murder disliking hang-ups it was funny. I was in the mood for a chuckle and I got it. The concept of someone being acquitted of a crime because of another that was so much more heinous tickles me. To add to that the way he commits his avuncular murder is also quite funny. Tying someone up like a pendulum in a bag and coxing their own ram to attack said bag is ironic and makes for a comical mental picture. And despite being confusing at times, the way the protagonist describes the murder is off beat that I found myself amused by the casual account of such an abominable event.
In short this is a well written story, my gripes about over-use of adjectives is a moot point because I love adjectives and it added to the story's comedy. The story was confusing and by no means perfect but it was definitely a worthwhile read.
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