Rawr

I've been watching a lot of The Exorcist lately for various reasons, over the last couple of years I've managed to melt below the somewhat volatile and pretty heavy imagery and subliminal invasions that the film has to offer. I have always been absolutely compelled by the concept and execution, how darn powerful the whole package is. Now it's the subtle details and workings I find most eerie and discover them creeping on me somewhere inside rather than conjuring up god awful images of the decaying Regan! Wonderful film though, nothing and I mean NOTHING, I partake in much horror involvements and nothing has ever touched that tale for impact and dark allure. I'll be watching it for a long time still, definite classic.

I read about that Norwegian fellow today, absolutely awful and utterly (obviously) the wrong way to go about making a statement or getting worked up over how the country is being run but what can anyone do? When someone with no record of criminal or dangerous activity goes off insane like that no one can predict or prevent it. There's only so much you can paint a safe colour with laws and regulations. If someone is intent on committing as much carnage as they can before they are caught, they will do it and that can happen and that's one of the pretty eerie things about sharing the street with fellow humans, which seems quite bizarre when you consider it but it can happen almost anywhere. The gun laws are a lot more strict here yes but we all know in the concrete jungles you can be provided with pretty much everything when you hand over the cash.

Done about 50 pages of American Gods, really building into a caramel textured bar of awesomeness now, getting a feel of what he was aiming for, stuttered a little along the way but flowing nicely now. Also got around twenty more pages of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, very surreal and therefore enticing!

I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 a while back, was a little apprehensive with the record of Hollywood sequels to decent movies, but it surprised me, was a great watch. Fun, sure but a good movie. Depp is absolutely fantastic and adds a whole new dimension and believability to Sparrow, the supporting cast is easily adequate and some of them really shine through.

T'is a great song Last one I listened to was Uprising by Muse courtesy of me and bro taking over the bar jukebox

We Die Young - Alice in Chains

Inb4NightmareBeforeChristmas And Abby, Hocus Pocus is awesomeness!

A Thousand Lies - Machine Head

Down From The Sky - Trivium

Welcome!

I love this section of Blake's Auguries of Innocence; 'To see a world in a grain of sand, And heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.'

The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde There's so much great stuff out there if you dig around

Tonight Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins

I loved Big Jim Rennie, a little far fetched but King loves the sensationalism when he goes off on one. I didn't like much of the rest of the book, huge fan of his work but this did nothing for me. Interesting premise and could have done so much more, didn't identify with Barbie at all and thought his backstory was a little convenient with the whole Cheney/Bush allegory that's obviously at work.

In my opinion, also the general consensus among the readership, things get significantly better as the first few books progress. I think the first was written by a much younger and rougher King and it shows, there are some great scenes, one of my faves is the conversation with the man in black towards the end, but things certainly pick up now and you're in for a wild ride.

When Holden Caulfield has a few drinks, that whole segment in Catcher In The Rye where he's wandering about gradually becoming more and more disenchanted with the world, it's fantastic. Sure it's humorous but heartwrenchingly sobering at the same time, I've read nothing that has moved me in such a unique way before, it's so real.

I finished The Streets of Panic Park, one of the latest Goosebumps by RL Stine, always loved them and great fun, a lot of interesting quirks in his work. Now I've read a couple of chapters of Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice this eve, which I purchased last week :-)

Reservoir Dogs

I remember King causing quite a stir when he said 'The difference between Stephenie Meyer and Joanne Rowling is that Meyer can't write worth a darn' He did say a bit more which was complimentary towards Twilight though but people just pick up that quote and assume he is jealous of someone stealing his attention or something.

Nightrain (Live) - Guns N' Roses

That is in the voice of Merricat though, the unreliable narrator, so I don't think it is deliberate or lazy repetition on Jackson's part. I think it is effective, it's like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye when he keeps saying 'I was ____ like a madman' it all depends on your preferences I guess!

Welcome

Awesome

I think the first horror I read was Dracula at around ten years old when I found it wedged in the bookcase, I don't think I finished it as it was a little daunting and probably bored my impatient mind but I remember being intrigued by the darkness it leaked each time I returned

If King has a weakness it's his endings, some of his best work has such underdeveloped finishes, very frustrating but he is all about the journey of course, which I can get. I didn't really connect with Dome at all and I love King. I didn't feel involved in the characters, setting, plot or anything, it was strange for me. Big Jim is a fun character though, that is about the only thing I cared for throughout. The plot had so much more scope for exploration than what he showed so I was really annoyed and it's such a massive book too. I've read the old manuscript aka The Cannibals which later became Dome, it's an interesting springboard.