Picking up from a month ago: books. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? turned out to be reasonably good. I finished it a few weeks ago and am already having trouble with specific details (I'm getting old). The world that Philip K. Dick created for this book is unreal. It is rich and seems as if it could actually exist. I was impressed. The novel plays with identity quite a bit which I enjoyed. I don't have much more to say about it sadly. I enjoyed it, but it definitely isn't one of my favorite books. Cool facts - Google mobile stuff seems to be based on the book. The robots are called "androids" in the novel and the "nexus-one" is reminiscent of the "nexus-6" androids that Deckard eliminates. Fun.
More on books: Tonight, I finished Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Quite a bit of a change from extreme sci-fi to this non-fiction novel, but I liked it. After Androids, this book was a needed change. The book is about Krakauer's personal trip up Mt. Everest. My mom has been recommending the book to me for years and I just haven't read it for some odd reason. I loved every bit of this book. It read quickly, gave an interesting history of Everest, told the story of many different groups who climbed Everest in the Spring of 1996, and was simply a great read. Krakauer's voice can be a bit cocky at times (though he is one of very few people who actually survive the trip - maybe he can speak like this), but overall, the book is great.
This particular season climbing on Everest would lead to the deaths of 12 people and this novel chronicles all the stories. The rivalry between the 2 group leaders (Fischer and Hall), the unready Taiwanese and South African groups, and the personal stories themselves, all create a lush story. The most interesting character proves to be Beck Weathers (who I barely recognized at all throughout the book). In the end, he was left for dead in the ice, made it back to camp, was left in a tent that fell apart in a windstorm (shouldve died again as his sleeping bag fell off and tent was wide open at the 2nd highest camp), and somehow managed to survive it all (be it with only 3/4 of one arm and no fingers on the other hand). I'm rambling about this book and getting nowhere, but the most fascinating part about this book is the fact that humans simply desire to conquer everything. There's no reason for anyone to ever attempt to survive at altitudes that high. It's physically impossible. Yet, humans go again and again to summit this mountain. The book is an interesting look at the human condition and the flaws within it. And! is also awesome.
Next up - George Orwell's 1984. I skipped it in high school and decided it was about time to get caught up. Thank you summertime!
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Onto movies! My mom and I have recently been covering the great animated films - Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. I've realized that I appreciate Pixar movies more than most true films. Their messages resonate with everyone from a 2 year old to grandparents and have some of the best scripts today. Toy Story was great. I'd put TS1 at #1, TS3 at #2, and TS2 at #3 on my rankings of best Toy Story films. TS3 incorporates an evil dictator teddy bear, Buzz's Spanish language button, a host of more toys, and a great plot surrounding Andy's going to college. It is a great look at growing up, overcoming the odds, and letting things go. What more could you ask for? Oh - it was in 3d! Cha ching!
Somewhat related, but mostly a great video (comprised entirely of audio derived from the film):
Despicable Me wasn't nearly as good as TS, but in the end, I enjoyed it. How could I not with Steve Carrell and Russell Brand voicing the 2 main characters? Sadly, I didn't see this one in 3d so I don't think I enjoyed the rollercoaster scene as much as I could have, but I don't think that's what hurt the film. The script just wasn't quite as good as TS and the characters weren't nearly as great as Woody and Buzz. Regardless, it was great and the theme song was really catchy.
Onto other movies! Last night I finished The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. I downloaded it via torrent (I'm a badass) though I didn't know much about it. Turns out, it is Heath Ledger's last film, but he died in the midst of production. Director Terry Gilliam (Of Monty Python fame, who I have loved for a long time. I grew up watching Time Bandits) was able to continue production by hiring Ledger's friends Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to fill in. Gilliam's films are so stylistic that somehow he is able to pull this off. The film is extremely surreal and isn't the most "normal" movie I have ever seen, but that's why I enjoyed it. Tom Waits also stars as the Devil which was interesting. I appreciated the visual appeal of the film more than the actual story. But I may just be biased because I love Time Bandits so much.
And I'm a bit late on this one, but I finally saw Donnie Darko tonight. While I liked the film, I can't say I'll be joining the cult followers of this one. The bunny was creepy, Jake Gyllenhaal was great, and I was shocked to see Seth Rogen in the cast. Didn't really think he existed pre-5 years ago. Best part of the movie:
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And finally! videos that have interested me/I've made recently:
Pogo - "Gardyn"
Video is made entirely of sounds from an interview with his mom and sounds from her working in the garden. It's crazy to see the music that's possible with just normal day to day sound. I love this video. Pogo is a great producer that also did the Toy Story video above. I first found his music through a video he did for Alice in Wonderland. He took audio from that movie and created a song and video to accompany it. His whole catalogue is pretty fascinating."Upular" is probably his best produced piece. Highly recommend.
Ok Go - "This Too Shall Pass"
OK Go might be create the best music videos ever. This one is recorded in one take (which seems to be a theme for them). Featured is the Notre Dame marching band. Every aspect of this production is so over the top. It's great.
A bit of self promotion:
(I'm no JoBroz fan, but I will say I have a lot more respect for them after interviewing them. They were much more down to earth and intelligent than I would have guessed)
And to close, what better than this:
I can't even begin to explain that one, but I was laughing hysterically.
