Random Thought Thread

Just finished watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Pretty dreadful. A complete mess of a film that has no idea what it wants to be. Tarantino's worst yet, by a long way.

 

I was so offended by Kill Bill Part 1 that I've refused to watch any more of his stuff to the point where I'll change the channel if something comes on on cable.

 

I loved Kill Bill... I love Tarantino... but this was just awful.

 

Worst yet? Did you not see Deathproof or Hateful 8?

What's wrong with you two? These are good movies, especially Kill Bill!

 

Sorry, but homage is one thing, making a movie without a single original thought in it is another. I liked Reservoir Dogs a bit, True Romance and Pulp Fiction quite a bit, but after that? No thanks. And it appears I misspoke, I do remember seeing Death Proof and wanting to gouge my brain out with a rusty icepick for making the decision to do so.

 

Hateful 8 I'll give you - it's one of his weakest. But Death Proof is right up there amongst his best for me.

I also love Jackie Brown, which seems to be a rather unpopular opinion.

 

Probably a photo from the photographer in this so yeah;

 

Reading Journal of Nicholas Cresswell - 1774-1777 who went to the American colonies from England.

I'm surmising in the few pages I've read, he's resolute to go because he wants to give his friends and family 'peace and quiet' -- basically thinking 'oh, they'll be happier if I'm gone'. At least that's how I'm interpreting it. He's thinking they legit don't care about him.

On his entry dated March 30th, 1774, shortly before he leaves, he's all:
"They all are, or pretend to be, very uneasy at my going away. Some of them that I had least expected shed tears plentifully; but whether they are real or affected they are the best judges."

There's definitely something going on in his head...

Damn, now I wish I was a psychology major as I'm now trying to diagnose him.

 

My Hipster Handbook came in the mail yesterday! I'm writing a story that takes place in the future (20 years or so) with an MC who's obsessed with the music and culture of the O's. She mentions she has a copy of The Hipster Handbook from 2002, so I ordered a copy, mostly for the glossary. I wanted to work some words into her dialog. Said glossary is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read! The author was either making it up, or somebody played a joke on him while he was researching, because I was twenty-two in 2002 and definitely in with some in crowds, but I've never heard anyone use any of these terms! Check this out:

Berries = dollars (see also Kale)
Boggle = vomit
Bronson = beer
Chowder = alcoholic beverage
Clothesline = The gossip that is on the scene
Cronkite = boy
Deck = A key word for most hipsters, similar in meaning to the antiquated "fresh." To be deck is to be up on the latest trends, cutting edge, and/or hip.
Fin = The opposite of deck, similar to outdated terms like "wack" and "lame." Something that is fin is bad or undesirable.
Flavorless = Heterosexual
Flubber = breast implants
Frado = an ugly guy who thinks they're good-looking
Gluten = to eat (sentence: "I'm starving: let's gluten")
Hilfiger = having no fashion sense.
Hipster = One who possesses taste, social attitudes and opinions deemed cool by the cool. (Note: it is no longer recommended that one use the term "cool"; a Hipster would instead say "deck") The Hipster walks among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream. A hipster ideally possesses no more than 2 percent body fat.
Ishtar = bad
Juicer = a ladies man
Liquid (sometimes liquefy) = Having performed a sexual act with another. (sentence: I saw the way you looked at Marty. Are you two liquid?" "She's got such a tight bod. I'd love to liquefy that ass"
Nancy = ass
Piece = cell phone
Tassel = girl
Wally = an unattractive male Hipster
(There are 35 more!)

The opening pages of this book talk about it like it's an anthropological study, and suggest that it's not only a guidebook for new hipsters, but also a way for parents to connect with their hipster kids. I would freaking love to hear that conversation:

"Timmy, you're getting to be a big cronkite now, and you're no hilfiger wally, so I thought it was time we had a talk about liquid and chowder. Now I'm deck. I understand peer pressure, but I don't want to hear on the clothesline that you're drinking bronsons until you boggle every night, and I don't want you liquefying tassels without protection. I was a bit of a juicer myself back in the day. I had my share of nancy, but going in without a rubber is not just fin; it could have consequences that are seriously ishtar.
"Dad, what the f*** are you talking about?"

 

From Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (emphasis mine):

 

I have to admit this is my favorite.

 

The heat has been almost unbearable today. Walking up and down bowling greens pushing a mower for what seems like forever, with nowhere to hide from the sun, has left me feeling quite unwell.

 

I'm the opposite. I grew up in South Africa and today's temperature reminded me of that. So I made the most of today's sunshine

 

This is from Wisconsin. Amazing video.

There are so many farms in my part of Iowa with silos close to the highway, I'm grateful this doesn't happen more often.

 

Hm... I've been slacking from almost any kind of creative activity for months now. Today I accidentally highlighted "lost my ability to write" in a book while reading. A sign?

 

This felt ironically symbolic. I wonder what the individual that came up with this was going through...

By the way, she's the only barbie that has holes in her package. The rest of them don't need to breathe. Must be some kind of androids. Synthetic, silicon beings. Or dead. Zombie barbies. Just saying...

 

Anyone else remember this? Might have been a UK thing - a ‘tobacco’, not for the pipe, because it was in fact strands of coconut toffee. It was delicious.

 

Happy #RoshHashanah to the Jewish folks here What are your plans? Have fun and be safe, OK?

 

The two most pleasant surprises in sports commentary I've seen are Tony Romo and Urban Meyer.

 

Does anyone else grow to love certain films they disliked on first viewing? Usually this happens to me over a period of many many years, in much the same way I now love foods I hated as a kid. This you could put down to changes in lifestyles and outlook on things, but on this occasion it took place within days. I posted how disappointed and utterly underwhelmed I was with Tarantino's latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but when I look back on it now, I do so with great fondness. How does that happen?

 

The original Blade Runner film is now set in the past

 

Genre-switched from SF to Alternate History.

 

I'll bet that took some cleanup.

 

Nothing dates 80s futuristic sci-fi more, than the use of CRT monitors and displays.