Completed:
Books

• The Catcher in the Rye
  • I first read this piece of literature when I was a sophomore in high school. At the time I do not believe my mind was prepared for it, I remember very little from the reading. I mostly remember the emotions I felt when I read it-- those akin to confusion, embarrassment, and disgust (much along the lines of those emotions felt by Holden Caulfield).
    As I read this book for the second time, at a point in my life when daily I question my own sanity and the genuineness of the world around me I found myself held together by the madness. I found myself feeling a bit more normal having a companion like Holden to look at this crazy world with. Holden says in chapter 3,

    What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.
    

    And it doesn't happen much, but this time it happened. I read this book and I feel better for having its words work their way through me. I think I should probably own it one day.

Movies

• Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues
  • Sadness-- This documentary started off fabulously. And I'm sure it would have ended in the same manner, but we didn't get that far because the DVD started skipping. Those are the risks you take checking things out from the library. I think I'll add it to our Netflix Queue. I was really excited to see that Hank III was interviewed about his grandfather. Josh introduced me to Hank III and I'm a fan. Josh has seen him in concert and he said that there were Amish and skinheads alike! What a diverse fan following.
• Marie Antoinette
  • Beautiful. The visual aspects of this film were absolutely stunning in my opinion. I appreciated the pop aspect that Coppola introduced to the film through its soundtrack. I felt that the use of modern music allowed the viewer to understand that though these moments took place in the 1700's so many of the behaviors of the people are similar to those actions that are executed (no pun intended) now-a-days. Ultimately I feel that the music allowed the viewer to transcend time and place and empathize with the characters, who could have been considered very foreign and hard to relate to.
    Yeah, Marie Antionette didn't seem to be the most responsible queen. Yet, when you consider the fact that she was given a pretty shit deal-- being married off so young and having all those horrible responsibilities of uniting two countries I can understand her selfish actions. Basically she was just doing what she do. I really liked the fact that she was a little bit of a hippy-- with her muslin dresses and singing and acting in plays. And it was very gallant that she stuck by her man, even though he made her life miserable those first few years with the whole celibacy bit. Good on her.
    Kirsten Dunst was pretty cool as Marie Antionette. I liked how she was all fuck-it when it came to pursuing an accent. And boy, I don't think that girl will ever be good at fake crying.
• Prom Night in Kansas City
  • This documentary was just great. I tell you what... It was so uncomfortable you practically squirm the whole way through, and by uncomfortable I mean human. The kids they followed around to their proms didn't put on any airs. The just did what they do. There was quite a diverse slice of young adulthood featured:
    • A inner city predominately African-American high school.
    • A preppy (white) rich kid school.
    • A Mormon school (they didn't have a prom, they had a dinner).
    • A GLBTQI prom.
  Each story was concise and clear, but yet left room for speculation. A very rewarding experience. Reminded me of the awkwardness of high school and the finding out of who you are.
  

New Items:
May 28th

Books

• A Woman's Journey To God by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

Movies

• The Sixties: The years that shaped a generation
• The 11th Hour
• Fahrenheit 451
• The Nanny Diaries