I somehow get sucked into watching the worst movies with D.J. There’s no explanation; I know they’re going to be bad, but I forget about this while standing in line and then sitting through the previews. My mind is tricked by the movie magic, causing me to forget why I never desired to see the movie in the first place. It usually take about five minutes into it for me to remember. They are usually movies that are the lowest of the lows, parody movies. Such cinematic behemoths like Remember the Spartans and The Comebacks have passed through my pupils in attack formation to lay waste to the occipital lobe portion of my brain with their message of mass destruction. Last night’s movie of choice was Step Brothers, the tale of the legitimate actor Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who paradoxically looks like both an adult baby and a ninety-year old with a really wrinkly face, who supersede failure-to-launch syndrome with failure-to-have-the-mental-capacity-of-anybody-over-seven syndrome. Seriously, I understand that it’s a movie but the two, who play forty-year old men, could be mistaken for individuals with down syndrome. The jokes in the first fifteen minutes of the movies lasted throughout the rest of the movie. It was an R-rated movie, but the general manager selling the tickets somehow let people that look like this guy in:
.jpg)
Seriously, he can’t be a day over fifteen. After D.J. and I sat down, the herds of pale, pubescent beasts started roaming to their seats. At least some people thought the movie was funny. By the last half of the movie, D.J. and I didn’t even chuckle. D.J. blurt out the occasional, skeptical “what??” while I wondered why Will Ferrell doesn’t do more movies like Stranger than Fiction.
I started Dracula yesterday. It’s said that first impressions are very important when meeting new people; the same is true for books. There have been books with horrible first chapters that either leave a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book or lead me to believe there is no redemption, causing me to put it away. There have also been books with excellent first chapters that can make the rest of the book better than it actually is. This is why I believe every book, no matter the book, should start out with a joke as the first chapter. The Bible got this part right. I’m kidding—please don’t strike me down Lord! Anyways, regardless how bad the book is, if it can trick your mind into only remembering the joke in the first book, you will walk away thinking “that wasn’t a bad read.” Dracula is the former of the two kinds of books I mentioned. The first chapter was about fifteen pages of description about hero Jonathan Harker’s journey to the Count’s castle. It tried to set the tone and foreshadow the evil that was to come, but it really failed to do so. What was said in fifteen pages could have been said in two. What is impressive about that chapter, and the entire book, is how well detailed Stoker is about the geography and even the dates and times of the trains’ schedules. He paints a brilliant image of the Transylvania region of Romania: the Carpathian Mountains, the diverse people groups that inhabit it (the Count is of Székely ancestry), the rivers, and the lush forests. The juxtaposition to real life is pretty accurate. It took a few chapters for me to warm up to the story a bit more. I know the basic plot of the book, but after reading Nuzum’s book, I became enthusiastic about reading it for the details. The language is a little archaic which is astounding since it’s only been about 110 years since it was published, but it’s pretty easy to follow, though I did find myself not paying attention during some of the long descriptions of details I saw as superfluous and minute. Some of the themes that were taboo for the Victorian era are already starting to emerge in the early chapters, specifically homosexuality and sexual repression in general. They are very subtle and not preachy and could probably be completely overlooked. I originally planned on reading the book over the course of two week, two chapters a day, but since the story has become more interesting, I might pick up the pace a bit. I don’t want to rush it though.
I also got Lewis Black’s Me of Little Faith yesterday at Hastings. It was priced at $23 but was on sale I guess. I got it at a $1 copy of Dorian Gray for under $20. The Lewis Black book came out in June and is hardback, making me apprehensive since I am trying to save money. My C.S. Lewis book came in at the Good Book Store, causing me to shell out another $15. I would have spent the money eventually so it was good to get out of the way when I could comfortably afford it. The Lewis Black book will give me some chuckles as a tread through Dracula, but I want to read the C.S. Lewis book on its own. It’s Out of the Silent Planet, book one in his space trilogy. I have been wanting to read it for some time but could not find a used copy of it. I gave in and ordered it new.
Lee and Miranda are having a shindig tonight at their house. This is the first time I can remember them opening up their home to “the general public”. I really like them as a couple and enjoy spending time with them. They have struck a balance between doing married people stuff while still finding time to hang out with their loser, single friends; I mean actually hanging out and not just keeping to themselves while in a group of people.
