Monoculture

I've been reading lots of books! And movies have been seen! I will write on them soon! Enjoy this! It's from Transmetropolitan (after a sort).

Quoting the Cube*

I am currently in the process of writing 2 blog entries of film review and analysis (on Cloverfield and The Fountain, respectively), and a short story about ghosts and writing, and 2 different songs, and still attempting to piece together a story in my head about dealing with the death of a loved one and robots (I AM AMBITIOUS AND FULL OF BEES!), thus you, my wonderful reader[s], are receiving the following list of quotes that I A) like quite a bit, and B) tend to apply to my own personal world-view. And you know very well that all that I say and do is right.**

So anyway, more substantial content coming in the near future, but for now... courage! And interesting epigraph-worthy material...


"What is Grand is necessarily obscure to Weak men. That which can be made Explicit to the Idiot is not worth my care."
:: William Blake

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
:: Philip K. Dick

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via.
(There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.)"
:: Seneca

"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is made of you can make of it whatever you wish."
:: Terence McKenna

"See, now! Our sentence is up "
:: Grant Morrison

"When you start worrying about whether someone likes you, or whether you're going to get what you want, or whether you'll ever become the person you want to be, just remember: we're all doomed."
:: Warren Ellis

"I know I can write my way out of this."
:: Blake Schwarzenbach

"A tradition is a past that distorts the present."
:: Albert Camus

""In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people angry and has widely been considered as a bad move."
:: Douglas Adams

"Nought's had, all's spent,
Where our desire is got without content.
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy."
:: William Shakespeare

"Knowing and being are mutually exclusive."
:: Nietzsche

"Appearance blinds, whereas words reveal."
:: Oscar Wilde

"To perpetuate one's name, one must carve it on a heavy stone and sink to the bottom of the sea; depths last longer than heights."
:: Herman Melville

"The world's a fucking brilliant place to live in."
:: Douglas Coupland

"It is not certain that our time has lacked gods; many have been proposed, usually stupid or cowardly ones."
:: Albert Camus

"To define is to limit."
:: Oscar Wilde

"Buy the ticket; Take the ride."
:: Hunter S. Thompson


Plan on seeing more like these at some point in the future. I like collecting interesting quotes.


* Kind of like Gleaming the Cube, but less skateboarding and more literature. Still involves lots of yelling of the word "RADICAL!"

** This statement might be insanely untrue.

The motherfucking boat is exploding!

One of my secrets I usually don't let people know is that I still read comic books. I don't know why it is necessary to keep it a secret, but there is a certain stigma attached to those who read them. Y'know, basically, its encapsulated by the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.


I am, as should be obvious below, not one of them.


Hmm, probably not the best picture to use. Eh, whatever. I'm too lazy to change it now.

My point is that I am not the stereotypical comics fan, nor am I a slavish speculator who buys everything then immediately places them in hermetically sealed bags within climate-controlled longboxes in order to preserve them for eternity. In fact, the few I buy end up in piles after I've read them, in order to be read again at a later date. 'Cause, see, I like to read them.

As a medium, comics have a reputation of being juvenile adolescent power fantasies. And yes, some.. in fact, most, still are. But there is some surprisingly deep and meaningful themes and writing contained in others. See: anything by Alan Moore. And, as always, there is also some kick-ass hyper-science insanity. Mostly thanks to Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. Which brings me to the point of this entry...

NEXTWAVE is a new series by the aforementioned Mr. Ellis, which looks like most super-hero comics on crystal meth, PCP, and acid at the same time. There's an interview here from the editor of it. There's a press conference interview here with the writer which contains my favorite quote of the moment: "On Sunday I killed someone, and when I left the church, I carved 'NEXTWAVE' into his chest. I hope the papers pick up on that." And it has its OWN FRIGGIN' THEME SONG. Which is catchy as all hell. Can't beat the tagline either: "Nextwave: Healing America by beating people up." Plus, it has a giant dragon named "Fin Fang Foom" in it. That's got to count for something.

And, to summarize:

SO yeah, in conclusion, if you don't like it, don't read it. But eff you if you think I'm not going to. As long as I have the (small amount of required) money and the ability to, I will enjoy my sequential art.

Just, do me a favor.... if I say I'm reading something by Rob Liefeld or Chuck Austen, shoot me. In the head. It'll be for the best.



PS. for further reading, might I suggest The Invisibles by Grant Morrison, about anarchists, metaphysics, drugs, sex, the counter culture, and quantum physics; From Hell by Alan Moore, about the Jack the Ripper murders (and loads better than the movie); and Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis, about gonzo journalism, pop-culture, and cynicism. All goodness, all love, all the time.