It's been a decade since I read The Catcher in the Rye. It was for school, obviously.
I'm reading Franny and Zooey now.
It's snapped me out of a phase of boredom with novels. It's not the kind of thing you can sell somebody; there's no gimmick. If it were clothing it'd be a good pair of pants. It's so far above anything like...
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I'm reading Franny and Zooey now.
It's snapped me out of a phase of boredom with novels. It's not the kind of thing you can sell somebody; there's no gimmick. If it were clothing it'd be a good pair of pants. It's so far above anything like...
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VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
obd:
I need to make time.
st_expedite:
Hm. I read Ballad of the Sad Cafe today while waiting in the dentist's office, and thought pretty much the same thing about Carson McCullers.
If W hadn't spouted that "uniter not a divider" crap before polarizing American public discourse 6 years ago I might rest easy with the words of our new Prime Minister's acceptance speech on my mind.
Call me crazy, but I think I get this guy. I don't like him. I don't hate him either. He's no ideological goon like W, so it's hard to feel...
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Call me crazy, but I think I get this guy. I don't like him. I don't hate him either. He's no ideological goon like W, so it's hard to feel...
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zaksmith:
ummmmm...
my experience with Canadian politics extends no further than a cursory knowledge of the Weapon X program, but I feel like your sentiments could only have come from a native of a nation about which Mencken said: "The Canadians are the only people who take the idea of moderation to an extreme."
my experience with Canadian politics extends no further than a cursory knowledge of the Weapon X program, but I feel like your sentiments could only have come from a native of a nation about which Mencken said: "The Canadians are the only people who take the idea of moderation to an extreme."
It's probably safe to say that this country will never rally behind a conservative party. Case in point: the Liberal party, that's been in power the entire time I've been of voting age, has been punished for scandalous misdeeds committed over the duration of their reign by being made the opposition to the Conservative Party's minority government.
Let's see you spin that, Mr Harper. The...
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Let's see you spin that, Mr Harper. The...
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hapworth:
I'm ashamed of the fact I don't know much about my neighbors to the north.
I'm pro bagged-milk, though. I also enjoyed paying in loonies and toonies. I must get back to Canada!
I'm pro bagged-milk, though. I also enjoyed paying in loonies and toonies. I must get back to Canada!
legionnaire:
If I know anything about Conservatives though, both in Canada and in the USA, it's that they're all about the spin and not about the substance. The election could have been decided by a single vote and Harper would have gone on and on about how it's a great victory for his cause. Blech. At least Canada has a parliamentary system so coalitions and some degree of cooperation are required to get things done. Not like our idiotic zero sum game that we have in the US.
*CLARIFICATION* I have been on stage in plays before. I've even been credited as an actor. What I mean down there in the second to last sentence is that I've never really been any good at it. Entertaining, occasionally. Good, no. That's what I've got to sweat.
Had a reading for friends last night.
Nice to be confirmed in our suspicion that we were writing...
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Had a reading for friends last night.
Nice to be confirmed in our suspicion that we were writing...
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VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
adjunct:
Don't wave your hands around too much, a classic first-time actor mistake. This isn't the Sopranos.
If comedy is about mis-application or misperceived intentions, then even when a comedy is not a comedy, isn't it still comedy? Okay, with that statement, I can finally say after 8 years that I really got something out of my freshman metafiction writing seminar.
If comedy is about mis-application or misperceived intentions, then even when a comedy is not a comedy, isn't it still comedy? Okay, with that statement, I can finally say after 8 years that I really got something out of my freshman metafiction writing seminar.
freakpirate:
I agreed with the NDP on 10, the Liberals and Bloc on 7 (I think?) and the Conservatives on 2. My riding will most likely go red. I haven't seen a single NDP sign anywhere. Oh well.
We finished the first draft. But I wrote the ending last week? Lemme 'splain: we took assignments to get things moving faster; Julian took the second to last act, and I took the ending.
Today we finished the process we began last week of combing all the material we'd written into a single play.
8 years ago I decided I wanted to be a writer....
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Today we finished the process we began last week of combing all the material we'd written into a single play.
8 years ago I decided I wanted to be a writer....
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superflea:
I'm so very, very envious of you right now.
When do I get a chance to read it?
When do I get a chance to read it?
zaksmith:
hey, you wrote the thing. if it's good then the rest is just bullshit anyway and you've already won.
I wrote the ending.
I never write endings. I gave up on prose because of endings. I've learned more about narrative and character in the last month than in all my years of studying literature.
It's not yet a coherent play. It may never become a good play. But by god, there's no doubt about it; it's a play.
I never write endings. I gave up on prose because of endings. I've learned more about narrative and character in the last month than in all my years of studying literature.
It's not yet a coherent play. It may never become a good play. But by god, there's no doubt about it; it's a play.
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
hapworth:
It seems that good karma you gained by wishing me a happy birthday, is helping your writing.
Well played.
Well played.
radiofrank:
Endings are the worst, to be sure. It took me the better part of a year to come up with an ending for my book.
Your play may not be coherent yet, but finishing it is better than nothing.
It was a pleasure to meet you last Monday, and perhaps we will see each other again in the near future.
Your play may not be coherent yet, but finishing it is better than nothing.
It was a pleasure to meet you last Monday, and perhaps we will see each other again in the near future.
I'm surprised to find that I never said out loud what my one big goal of 2005 was. I planned on getting the hell out of the store I was working at and knocking my income up a couple of pegs at the same time. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I was going to keep a lookout for...
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lizfitts:
Whoever said you can't be smart AND vain? 
Since you're my favorite lit guy........what do YOU think of the JT Leroy scandal? I called bullshit on 'Sarah' a long time ago.......struck me as, uh, phony. Oh how the worm begins to turn.........
Since you're my favorite lit guy........what do YOU think of the JT Leroy scandal? I called bullshit on 'Sarah' a long time ago.......struck me as, uh, phony. Oh how the worm begins to turn.........
mat8drb:
I was wondering about the SG:NHS - I've had a number or articles on the newswire here, and these two, one culture and one tech contain the most non quoted text, so I was wondering if they would be eligable. It is worth a shot.
Failing that, do you take journal or conference papers?
Failing that, do you take journal or conference papers?
Finished reading The Edible Woman. It didn't blow me away, but I will be back to Ms Atwood for more soon. This was my first full-fledged foray into her fiction.
Will probably begin something by Kapuscinski before bed. We've got a couple things on the shelf I've been meaning to read for some time. Shacking up, by the way, has proven a literary windfall....
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Will probably begin something by Kapuscinski before bed. We've got a couple things on the shelf I've been meaning to read for some time. Shacking up, by the way, has proven a literary windfall....
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VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
oryx:
so i attempted to both DEFROST and TOAST a bagel this morning. what wonders! not only was the bagel toasty on the outside, but it was warm and fluffy on the inside. a perfect vehicle for the homemade strawberry jam i snuck in my suitcase.
[Edited on Dec 30, 2005 7:11AM]
[Edited on Dec 30, 2005 7:11AM]
siv:
dood! i have a jetblue credit which wuld make flying to ontario 62 bucks total. name your weekend!
Finally started writing the play I've got to perform in February. A friend and I are working on it and will perform the whole thing, a Kaufmanesque adaptation of Ibsen's "Enemy of the People."
Yeah, right, like the world needs more Charlie Kaufman. But you've got to trust me on this. Months ago, when Julian first mentioned this to me, we both wanted to map...
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Yeah, right, like the world needs more Charlie Kaufman. But you've got to trust me on this. Months ago, when Julian first mentioned this to me, we both wanted to map...
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VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
thistle:
There is nothing I enjoy more than deconstructing (and I mean this word in the layman's sense, not in reference to the school of theory) the ideas and artistic motivations of a piece, whether it be theatre, fine art, or literature. I wish I could see your play.
sprat:
How goes the playwrighting?
In my confused teenage years I went through a number of phases and adopted and dropped a number of tastes in an attempt I guess to find a person to be. I used to gel my hair. I read those fat Robert Jordan books. I owned a CD by Jewel. Horrific, tragic stuff, like the flailing of a dying animal.
One thing though held steady...
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One thing though held steady...
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VIEW 18 of 18 COMMENTS
superflea:
On the off chance you happen to see this in the next ten minutes or so (I have 11:07 Thursday evening over here), those White Stripe characters you're so fond of are playing on the Daily Show on the Comedy Network.
(It'll be on again at 12:05 on CTV.)
(It'll be on again at 12:05 on CTV.)
mk700c:
i know right! hilarity!