Lists of Note

David Foster Wallace's Word Lists

Joan Didion's Packing List

Woody Guthrie's New Year's Resolutions 1942

(the first and last via Lists of Note - possibly even better than Letters of Note?)

Read and Learn

Everything you need to know about Sexting, Cute Boys in Black Jeans and Black Shirts, and being a Beatnik - don't say I never give you nothin'.

Best Movies of 2010 so far (a biased list)

1. Fish Tank - Andrea Arnold



Everything about this film was perfect - the performances, the script and the soundtrack. Best of all its not jam-it-down-your-throat over emotive and confrontational yet still including a lot of scenes where some weird fucked up stuff shit goes down.

2. Kick Ass - Matthew Vaugh



Kick Ass not only looks great but it somehow managed to have a little girl say 'cunt' and star Nicholas Cage and get away with being completely charming. Also where did Aaron Johnson come from? Between Kick Ass and Nowhere Boy and managing to pull of a Cera/Eisenberg role with complete charm and better looks - well, is there nothing he can't do?

3. Youth in Revolt - Miguel Arteta



I don't know why this film got such a weird "release" - Cera is at his best AND in white pants no-less!

4. Greenberg - Noah Baumbach



I hated this film when I first saw it. I really did and I was really upset about it. However I've kept thinking about it and have somehow come around to it - Rhys Ifans character especially for some reason? I can't work out whether I liked it/didn't like it because I relate to it too much or not enough? No matter as I think its very important to society (and my life) that Baumbach keeps making films.

5. Mother - Joon-ho Bong

I loved 'The Host' (same dir.) and this film is just as good if not better in a much more understated and unexpected way. This film should have been so much bigger than it was.

6. Fantastic Mr Fox - Wes Anderson

I don't love everything Anderson does. For example I hated 'Rushmore' but this was great and really cute (perfect summer movie too). Plus Jarvis Cocker stop-motion cameo? So good!

7. I Am Love - Luca Guadagnino

Beautiful and crushing.

8. A Single Man - Tom Ford

More beautiful than I am Love but less crushing? Which is weird cause it was all about love = death. Whereas the former seemed to be more about love = life = death = life. PS Clearly I am not a math's student.

9. A Prophet - Jacques Audiard

This is one of the most interesting prison x ghost x gangster movies I've ever seen. Really well cast and perfect characters, the film had a great pace to it too. The ghost scenes were my fave.

10. Exit Through the Gift Shop - Banksy

This film is so well edited and funny. I don't care who directed it or if its true etc. IF ITS GOOD IT DOESN'T MATTER a la James Frey.

Honorable Mentions - 'Broken Embraces' as Amoldovar and Cruz always works, 'Date Night' because it was an OK screwball and Fey and Carrel are adorable and kinda worked, 'Ghost Writer' Polanksi film making all about the million of details you don't notice but are essential, 'The Runaways' in the grand tradition of 'Whip It' and 'Almost Famous' I could watch these all over and over again, 'Looking For Eric' I know nothing about football but I loved this, 'Four Lions' I think the directors intro to this film MADE me love it - its not that far from reality, 'Killer Inside of Me' everything about this film looked good even bludgeonings to death and 'Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work' because this made me LOVE Joan!

Films I Missed/ Haven't Come Out in Australia - Streetdance 3D, Shutter Island, Happy Tears, Leaves of Grass, Trash Humpers, A Solitary Love, Videocracy, Winter's Bone, Cyrus, Toy Story 3, Ondine, Life During Wartime, Valhalla Rising etc and so on.

Tis the season to be reading

The Internet is all abuzz with Summer Reading Guides but to me Summer is more akin to picnics, bands, drinking and dancing. While in winter I go into hibernation zone and start baking, watching movies and reading more than ever. So here's my Winter Reading Guide as there are heaps of books that I want to read at the moment.

1. The Heart Says Whatever - Emily Gould

I'm always interested to read anything that is heralded as "the voice of a generation" especially if she's female. I'm yet to find anything that sounds like my voice - maybe we voice sounds like Cher from Clueless? Also I love slacker stories.

2. Just Kids - Patti Smith
I still haven't read this! Can you believe it? Because I certainly can't, I should just go and buy it but I'm saving up for a trip overseas (hopefully) and a new winter coat/gloves/hat (I'm freezing) plus I've been waiting for the library to get it in for soooooooo long. It would feel like quitting to go and buy it now.

3. Role Models - John Waters

I might have to buy this after listening to this lovely interview on NPR and reading this interview on Salon.com. Frugality be damned, and also the library hates JW, they never get his stuff in no matter how much I suggest it. I just want to sit at JW's feet and have him tell me that everything's going to be OK and then kick me in the pants and make me do something with my life. He is totally my guru.

4. The Family Law - Benjamin Law

I've always loved Benjamin Law's irreverent anecdotes in Frankie Magazine (yes he's Australian AND yes we can make our own funny everyone!) and I am of course a huge Dave Sedaris fan. You see poor Benjamin he gets compared to Sedaris in every single review/interview. I guess there are worse people to be compared to, but it is telling to see how Sedaris "owns" this genre of funny familial stories and how! Whatever you do don't go to Paris Benjamin!

5. What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell

I love Gladwell. If JW is my guru Gladwell is like that cool uncle or cousin that knew everything and always made family get-together dinners more bearable. Even if I don't always agree with his theories I love his writing and speaking. I've bought people copies of 'Blink' and 'Tipping Point' just we can share Gladwell-ian points and secret smiles when something is 'soooo Gladwell'. Therefore I want to read this collection of essays even though I've probably already read half online. It'll totally be worth it.

6. Don't Tell Me The Truth About Love - Dan Rhodes

Dan Rhodes is my all time favourite short story writer, if you haven't already read his book 'Anthropology' please do! Its absolute genius and will take about 2 hours max to read. I went through a phase of photocopying his stories and sticking them inside mixtapes and CD's after my friend Johanna did this for me - it was absolute genius!

7. Wilson - Dan Clowes

I've read all of Clowes' comics after seeing 'Ghost World' the movie for the first time and a hundred times after that. I am definitely of the indie-breed when it comes to comics (Love and Rockets, Scott Pilgrim, Adrien Tomine) and one other which I've always assumed everyone knew Ivan Brunetti - who only released 4 comics in his Schizo series as far as I know. To be honest Wilson sounds a lot like Clowes-does-Brunetti AKA overly-self-aware-honest-angry-intolerant-cynical but also weirdly relateable and funny? Anyway can't wait to read it as I love them both and if one wants to ape the other who am I to complain?

8. The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris

I love, love, loved Joshua Ferris' book 'Then We Came to an End'. So I can't wait to read this new one 'The Unnamed' it will be interesting to see if he can bring his surreal but believable touch and wonderfully humanist tone to illness ('The Unnamed') the same way he can to office life and retrenchment ('Then We Came To An End').

9. Zeitoun - Dave Eggers

I'm still waiting for Eggers to win me over the way he has my friends. If at first you don't succeed - keep reading. From what I've read in the New Yorker it does sound interesting "one man’s experience after Hurricane Katrina, Eggers draws an indelible picture of Bush-era crisis management".

10. You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice

Confession time: I like self help books whether they be relationship ones, how to reach your life's goal, how to become zen and I love getting advice most of which I ignore till I've heard the same thing for the hundredth time. Self help and advice is like my trash romance literature - instantly forgotten but thoroughly enjoyed. This looks more enjoyable and less forgettable (and funny in a different way) than most of the trash out there ATM.

11. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
I have had this out 2 times already from the library and keep only getting 150 pages deep into this some 800 page tome. However I kinda like this way of reading it. This books is like catching up every few weeks with your wacky friends adventures and exploits. I am so determined to finish this too - now if only I could apply this sort've finish a long book determination to the Russians. I am modern literature's whore.

some of my favourite things

Herb and Dorothy


45365


Winnebago Man

These are my three of my favourite "new" indie films I've seen this year so far, that if you have the chance I reccomend you catch (if you haven't already). With SFF just around the corner and MIFF not far off - I imagine this list of new indie reccomendations will get a LOT longer.

Best of the Fest, and all the Rest

Basquiat

This year I'm going to the Sydney Film Festival. First time I've ever travelled to a film festival before - kinda exciting. So....I'm only going for two days and therefore missing a lot of these films but heres my run down on the best of the fest, in no particular order.

1. Exit Through the Gift Shop - There couldn't be more buzz about this film at the moment. Love his "art" or hate it, this is a good film.

2. Life During Wartime - Todd Solondz I've loved him since Welcome to the Dollhouse, one of my favourite films of all time. Even if some of his more recent films are a bit patchy, I'm still hoping for something as good as Welcome to the Dollhouse or Happiness.

3. The Tree - This film is closing out Cannes Festival and director Julie Bertucelli directed the semi-awesome film Since Otar Left.

4. Last Train Home - This doco looks brutal and amazing - make sure your in a good place before seeing this.

5. The Killer Inside of Me - I'm definitely interested in seeing Jessica Alba getting beaten to a bloody pulp. Also I loved director Michael Winterbottom's 24-Hour Party People.

6. Beautiful Darling - I missed this at Melbourne Queer Festival and I'm missing it at SFF too. I love all things Warhol, this films about Candy Darling one of the Factory crew, I've heard really good things about this.

7. Howl - I love Robert Epstein (director of Life and Times of Harvey Milk and Word is Out) and James Franco, oh and Ginsberg who this biopics about.

8. Nobody Knows About Persian Cats - Indie Rock in Iran - this looks adorable and amazing.

9. White Material - Dear Claire Denis, I've been trying to catch your films for the last two years but its harder than you'd think. I'm very excited that I've finally bought tickets and made a date to see White Material and I'm sure I'll love it, 'gards Sam

10. Joan Rivers: A piece of work -This is why the phrase laugh-a-minute was invented.

11. Four Lions - 'Jihadist comedy' is what this film has been referred to as, its about suicide bombers plotting a wave of terror in the UK. Sounds good to me.

12. Teenage Paparazzo - Yeah so Adrien Grenier made a documentary, the premise of the film is pretty interesting to me. It follows a kid named Austin Visschedyk who decided to become a paparazzi at the young age of 13 - Adrien spotted him in the camera throng and was like 'whats up?' and made a film about it.

13. The Runaways - If you've read my blog (or any other for that matter) you'll know why I'll be seeing this. I know it looks bad but I've totally been sucked into this film.

14. I am Love - I love Tilda Swinton whose starring (I've forgiven her for the Benjamin Button fiasco) but this film also has a lot of Sundance buzz and the plot sounds a bit first-world-problems which is a bit ew.

15. Hesher - Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a greasy, tattooed loner and early Sundance buzz is bad, all signs point to WIN.

16. Ghost Writer - The latest from Roman Polanski whether you love him or hate him, think he's genius or a felon, you can't deny the man knows how to make a good movie.

18. Cyrus - I love the Duplass bro's previous mumbly films Puffy Chair and Baghead. Could their first studio film with an awesome cast (John C Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marissa Tomei) be anything but, um, super-awesome?

Lists upon lists.

Must do this week

- Amongst other things

- Put on a kick ass R&B party (Neverwhere Bar, 185 Smith St Collingwood - Sat Feb 14 9PM-3AM - SLLLLLLOW JAMZZZZ people) and not drink myself to death from nerves/stress that no one will like it as much as me.

Top Ten...

MUSIC VIDEOS - songs that kick ass and the videos that live up to the ass. I had a couple of rules no crappy songs and no claymation.

1. Justice - Stress

2. Kanye West - Flashing Lights

Flashing Lights - Kanye West from Jarvis Smith on Vimeo.

3. Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Beyonce/DC videos make me want to dance like I'm home alone but in public - true story)

4. MGMT - Time to Pretend (I didn't even like MGMT till my pal Hugh made me watch their music videos)

MGMT- Time to Pretend from ▲HOWLCARNAGE▲ on Vimeo.

5. Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes

6. She and Him - Why do you let me stay here

7. M83 - Graveyard Girl

8. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma (I actually just saw this on another list and they are such cuties - the videos not that great)

9.  Gnarls Barkley - Whose Going to Save My Soul

10. LCD Soundsystem - New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

11 Jay Z - Wonderwall / 99 problems (not really a music video but still stupidly awesome)

Movie Men Part 5

THE LAID BACK LOSER aka THE REAL GUY- Knocked Up

The bearded, bear-like 26-year-old is probably the world's unlikeliest pin-up. True we fell for a few of Rogen incarnations Knocked Up, Freaks and Geeks and Pineapple Express. In fact they are all fairly similar characters with a few different quirks.

Theres something about his inept honesty about himself and inept earnestness and inept...well you get the idea. Also there's something about his realisation that Heigl is soooo out of his league - the opposite of guys who think they're doing you a favour by glancing in your direction.

Or it might just be that even the idea that even when you have a drunken one-night stand with someone, that they'd actually try and make it work long term is kinda sweet.

Also he's funny. Like really funny.

2008 in books

I read a lot this year -more than last year and the year before - and I tried to read a lot more. It was a year of the library fight for me. Requested a lot of books - tried to find the time and inclination and concentration/focus to read a lot of books. Half finished a lot of books, sped-read a lot of overdue books and stayed up all night finishing books etc etc I can't remember all the books I read. I'm a compulsive list maker. Last year I made a list of all the films a saw each month - I saw a lot (RMIT Lib access plus interning at MIFF). This year I think I saw a lot, I think a read a lot, I definitely saw more theatre and dance. Probably listened to a lot less new music than I did in the 2005 and 2006. Anyway here for my own peace of OCD mind is an incomplete list of the books I read in 2008. I'll prob compile some other best of/all the best lists in the coming months - just to avoid that stack of overdue literary better myself tomes on my dresser - and hey its better than sitting on facebook pressing refresh every 5 seconds right? Right!

2008 in reading - an appendix

Yes its like the Infinite Jest all over again! You even get - if you care - my one word capsule reviews - occasionally abbreviated due to laziness to one letter. DF is didn't finish btw and RR is re-read it was probably overdue.

And no my hope/aim/only New Years resolution to read Hemingway, all the Russian authors, mountains of feminist and philosophical texts etc all came to very little. It is hard even in these times of terrible television to tear myself away from drinking, facebooking/blogging, movie watching and laundry to read something as momentous and self-improving as Dead Souls. It seems the best I could do was a few easy to read feminist tomes and some slight volume semi-classics - and a whole lot of other enjoyable trash.

Movie Men - Part 4

NICE GUY/THE FRIEND - Pretty in Pink - Duckie

Kind of nerdy, smart, sweet, kind, approachable and bitter as hell. Always the 'best friend' and a 'girls guy' - a guy that understands the female temperament and mindset more than the typical male one. The one we were always meant to be with - or thats what our other female friends thought after an extended single patch.

Its also Duckies refusal to play the 'nice guy' and his opportunistic and relentless ways of wooing Andie that makes him flawed-ly lovable - 'Yours or mine? Ours?'. Its hard not to love him when he sings 'Try A Little Tenderness' as a mating song.




Either way - just like Andie ended up with Blane (what kind of name is that really?!) - we all know Duckie ended up with the cool record chick Iona in the end.

Movie Men - Part 3

CRAZY GUY aka ANARCHIST REBEL - Heathers - Jason J.D. Dean

Similar but slightly different from the bad boy the crazy guy is actually unhinged and in this case sociopathic - BUT (and this is a big but deserving of caps) always smoking - literally and figuratively. He's also intelligent, witty and wickedly funny. J.D. quips his way through bloodbath killings. Yes 'the extreme always seems to make an impression.'



He does the things we only fantasise in our angsty teen moments about - killing off rich Cactus Jam shopping bitches and blonde tipped Hawthorn residing assholes who in the crazy injustices of high school always seem to rule - and he does it with style and panache. The mysterious and misanthropic drifter with his over gelled hair doesn't suffer fools - this is one cool guy we always wanted to tell 'get out of my life' and into our croquet courts.

Movie Men - Part 2

THE IDEALIST - Masculine Feminine - Paul

Masculin/Feminin remains my favourite Godard film. Mainly because of Jean Piere Leaud's portrayal of Paul one of the good looking and charismatic children of Marx and Coca-Cola. Paul's interests move between his on-again-off again girlfriend, his political beliefs and a social survey he is conducting into the opinions of Parisians. His Marxist-Leninisst stance collide . When he talks about politics it sounds like he's talking about love. There's nothing like a man who confuses his political with his personal even if its subconscious. He longs for a perfect society - culturally and politically in the same way he longs for a perfect love (a movie story romance) and a perfect film - his perfect vision of life as it should be.



Paul plays out the cliches of a leading man tossing cigarettes offhand and getting into lovelorn fight, wandering the streets of Paris - a heartthrob to an unseen audience. His political ideals, romantic ideals and his own ideals about his own life.

Movie Men - Part 1

Movies have taught me a great deal - mainly about men. I often fall for types of men or cliches/stereotypes of men from movies before I meet them in real life.

1. THE BAD BOY - A Streetcar Names Desire - Stanley Kowalski

"Some people rarely touch it but it touches them often". Brando may have been talking about booze but he may as well have been talking about about the ultimate bad boy character he himself was playing. Sweaty, dirty and eventually shirtless and gum chewing and cocky - Stanley oozes power, strength and just a whisper of possible danger and violence. When Stanleys looks at Blanche in those first scenes its almost like a hungry lion stalking a stupid animal.



Stanley was more than the first bad boy I ever encountered but the first I ever swooned for. Just like Blanche I was weak for men that I was unsure of, unable to read or predict their reactions. Also the Stanley is all man - hunky, husky, and somewhat incoherent.

Stella explains any women's interest in a guy like Stan "But there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the dark — that sort of make everything else seem — unimportant."

Yes sex - sex is Stanley's saviour.

A man like Stanley or a man with a bit of Stanley in them - he's like so many men that do us wrong - we should turn our backs on them completely and may do so in part but there always be that heady spell of lust that they can cast with a look that still slays us dead.

Most Played

1. He Keeps Me Alive
2. Blind
3. Gray Or Blue
4. Stupid Thing
5. Little Waltz
6. Clumsy
7. I Felt Your Shape
8. Headsprung
9. I'm A Flirt
10. Shoop
11. One
12. Radio Nowhere
13. Where Friend Rhymes With End
14. Until the End of Time
15. Good Life
16. I'm Going Down
17. Heard Em Say
18. Shorty Swing My Way
19. The First Night
20. Tears Dry On Their Own
21. Relief
22. When I See U
23. Hate It Or Love It
24. That Kind of Girl
25. You Can't Hold The Hand of a Rock and Roll Man

Because I Am Fifteen - no really...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): ...no car and no pet...therefore my rock star name is " " -artist formerly know as?

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Chubby Hubby Short(y)bread

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Black Squirrel

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Jane Sydney

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Blue Whiskey Sour

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy): Stella M&M

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Gardenia

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearingright now + "ie" or "y"): Apricot Jeanie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Cheerio Willow

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: ("The" + Your fave hobby/craft, faveweather element + "Tour"): The Mixtape Sunshower Tour