TRH

Audio

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:57:54 -0600

Audio

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:37:55 -0600

Finally, my oldest and one of my most treasured friends has a Tumblr solely for her art. At least,...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:12:24 -0600

Finally, my oldest and one of my most treasured friends has a Tumblr solely for her art. At least, this is the first I’ve heard about it.

“Voyage of the Pequod” map (1956)

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:49:16 -0600

“Voyage of the Pequod” map (1956)

Is it ever an inappropriate time?

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:01:08 -0600

Cleaning lady in movie: "I'm finished."
Me: That's what she said.
Dude in movie: "Check's on the table."
Me: THAT'S WHAT HE SAID.
Ripley: Oh, my God.

Liberties

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:46:00 -0600

(This is a review of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. It contains spoilers. Also, this is my first movie review for Tumblr, and any feedback you may have would be appreciated. This is meant to be an informal review.)

If you’ve been following my blog recently, you already know that The Great Gatsby has triumphantly made it onto my list of favorite novels. Surprisingly to everyone I tell and to myself, I was not assigned it in high school, and for this I am relieved, simply for the fact that it is fresh in my memory upon seeing Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the film. I even went so far as to watch the 1974 version starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford the night before I planned to see the 2013 version. This will not be a comparative review, though I should mention that the 1974 version was more honorable to the novel and the cast fit like a cozy glove.

“My father always taught me to see the best in people,” said Nick Carraway, from the psychiatrist’s office window. His breath fogged the glass; snow fell outside. The doctor advised him to write down whatever he could remember about his time with Gatsby.

Let’s pause for a moment.

Nick Carraway as the “author” of this “novel,” written from a sanitarium into which he was admitted for insomnia and alcoholism, among other ailments, is the first and perhaps the biggest liberty Luhrmann took in his adaptation. I hesitate to call it an interpretation; did he, after all, interpret Romeo + Juliet, or did he simply modernize it, make it “hip?”

At least he kept the original dialogue in that film.

In the new Gatsby, Tobey Maguire (as Carraway) reads out bits of the novel throughout.

The first line of the novel is one of the most important lines. All of you who have read the novel would agree. The closing line was read correctly at the end of the film, which was, you know, a relief. But it shouldn’t have had to be. Whatever story Luhrmann was trying to tell was largely hidden behind glitter, confetti, obscenely bright wallpaper and furniture, which were all not made better by the womens’ ridiculously overdone makeup.

This is Baz Luhrmann saying, “Look at what a visionary I am. I’m so good with colors.” But it was probably naive on my part to expect anything different.

The cast was correctly chosen. Each actor fit his role, even if those roles were overdone. DiCaprio as Gatsby, Maguire as Carraway, Mulligan as Daisy, and an astoundingly fitting Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker.

The music, I felt, was overdone. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack continuously for the past couple of days, of course because some of my favorite artists are featured: new and original songs from Lana del Rey, The xx, Florence + The Machine, Jay-Z, and others. The fusion of these contemporary artists with jazz of the era was a huge risk; it yielded pleasant results at best. When songs by these artists (exc Jay-Z) played during intimate moments, it simply worked. It was overdone at certain points that stick out most in my memory: when hip-hop was played in public. Can we agree that the only music we should have heard, when we were guided into the hotels and bars and restaurants, or overheard radios in passing cars, was jazz?

Honestly, if you’ve read the novel, appreciate it for what it is, and want to see it honored on screen, don’t expect to with Luhrmann’s adaptation; though do see it if that’s all you’re interested in. And if you want to keep your Leonardo DiCaprio movie list up-to-date, of course.

barretta: Every time I look at my girlfriend I find some new way that she’s gorgeous beyond...

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:27:35 -0600

barretta:

Every time I look at my girlfriend I find some new way that she’s gorgeous beyond compare.

No moral or anything. That’s all.

Getting my very first pixie cut tomorrow. Next week, I’ll...

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:47:00 -0600

Getting my very first pixie cut tomorrow. Next week, I’ll post before/after photos. I’d rather not do it just yet, since I want to surprise Kendon when I see him.

There's Nothing

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:09:00 -0600

There are people who enter your life, they stay for awhile, they’re gone. They can stay for minutes at a time, or weeks, or years. You could have been so close to loving them that you can’t quite ever admit that, a long time ago, it could have been so. They can reappear sporadically to serve as a reminder of someone else, if you so choose, or for absolutely no reason at all, if you’d rather. You can almost be friends. Or nowhere close to almost, if you really think about it.

I’ve never been strictly happy to see people in my life turn their backs to me and walk, sometimes run, away. As with most anything, changes take a certain amount of time to get used to. I’ve never felt strictly one way about it. It’s happened, and that’s all I can really say.

There’s nothing to say when a guy you’d mistakenly slept with awhile back, both of you certain that you could still remain “friends,” whatever that word meant to you at the time, thinks he can try again when you’ve both had too much to drink. Suddenly there’s another warm body, out of nowhere, that whispers and coaxes. Luckily, you’re strong enough and there enough to murmur, “Go back to bed.” Luckily, he does.

There’s nothing to say when you go upstairs the next morning to let your friends know you’re leaving now, see you later, and you remember what happened when you’re about to reach the top step, and you’re so ashamed that you go straight to your car across the street, shaking. They won’t find you on the couch. They won’t find you anywhere for awhile, if you decide not to come around.

There’s nothing to say when you blame yourself. There’s nothing to say when you spend the next day piecing together the night before, counting up how many bottles of beer you drank, coupled with bottles of wine you shared. There’s nothing to say to your mother when she asks, “How was your night?” while you pour your first cup of coffee after getting home.

There’s nothing to say, should you ever see his face again.

Paul Caponigro: Blue Ridge Way, North Carolina and Virginia,...

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:05:32 -0600

Paul Caponigro: Blue Ridge Way, North Carolina and Virginia, 1965

Thorne Bay House by Bossley Architects, located in Takapuna, New...

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:40:14 -0600

Thorne Bay House by Bossley Architects, located in Takapuna, New Zealand.

A compact house designed for a beautiful but small and near-impossible site! The desire not to damage the trees or their extensive root systems, combined with the steep slope and limited turning circle for cars, the rock outcrops, and the restrictive planning controls resulted in an innovative building which and is squeezed under, around and between the limbs of the trees, and still manages to take full advantage of the site, the sun and the views.

The character of the house changes as it rises from the ground towards the sky. The ground floor level comprises orthogonal spaces, which follow the slope in a series of steps down towards the sea, providing sea views from each level. Upstairs, the rooms become more angular and free flowing, to reflect the contortions of the pohutukawa limbs.

Coffee time with the BFF!! <3

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:01:00 -0600

Coffee time with the BFF!! <3

"Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy,..."

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:38:03 -0600

“Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound. And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held its breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

What? This novel has to end? DAMN IT.

(When you have that reaction to a novel, you know it has to go on your favorites list.)

Here is a picture of me today, upon Barretta’s request.

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:45:32 -0600

Here is a picture of me today, upon Barretta’s request.

"But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted..."

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:47:05 -0600

“But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Michael Shannon Reads the Insane Delta Gamma Sorority Letter My...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:51:00 -0600

Michael Shannon Reads the Insane Delta Gamma Sorority Letter

My dad and I laughed so hard. So. Hard. Not only that: he’s a fucking fantastic actor.

Various Phrases My Girlfriend Has Shouted at Me in All Caps via Text Message, and Their Subjects

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:10:00 -0600

barretta:

“ALSO I THINK SHE’S REALLY COOL AND I HAVE A GIRL CRUSH ON HER AND I WANT TO TALK TO HER ABOUT GENERAL THINGS” — some blog

“SERIOUSLY THOUGH HE’S MARRIED TO THE LUNATIC IN THE ATTIC AND YOU STILL MARRY HIM” — Jane Eyre

“SO TANGY AND DELICIOUS” — a bowl of noodles

“SO BAD” — Jane Eyre

“TAKE MY HAND AND WE’LL MAKE IT I SWEAR” — a cold I had one week ago

“NO I DID NOT JUST CALL YOU JESUS DON’T THINK I DID” — her religion

“I DON’T WORSHIP YOU” — her religion

“I LOVE YOU AND THAT IS DIFFERENT” — her religion

"Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy..."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:12:08 -0600

“Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I promise I will try to keep posting Gatsby excerpts to a minimum.

"I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night and the satisfaction that the..."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:06 -0600

“I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye. I liked to walk up Fifth Avenue and pick out romantic women from the crowd and imagine that in a few minutes I was going to enter into their lives, and no one would ever know or disapprove. Sometimes, in my mind, I followed them to their apartments on the corners of hidden streets, and they turned and smiled back at me before they faded through a door into warm darkness. At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others - poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner - young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

"He smiled understandingly - more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a..."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:03:32 -0600

“He smiled understandingly - more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I haven’t fallen deeply and instantly in love with a novel in quite some time.