Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Hitchhikers and Coke-heads

I just finished Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Pretty cool stuff. There's no real plot. It just moves from one scene to the next. I like that. Very easy to read and enjoy. I want to keep reading the series and probably will. What I really dug about it was something that people are gonna think I'm making up. It felt like a laid-back, sci-fi, and positive version of less than zero.

For one, the font was the same
For two, the chapters were short
For three, the details were very surfacy (but still good) no lingering or over description
For four, the scenes were quick and to the point
For five, the plot was not there--just a story floating through "space" (haha)

OK. These are minor and there are a million things that say, "Josh you're crazy, there are so many thing NOT like Less than Zero." But I say, "F. U." I kept thinking about Less than Zero (minus the drugs, rape, and murder, and overall nihilism of that book).

But enough of that. I really enjoyed reading it and thinking about where the books could go. So, I look forward to the next book.

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I'm in between books right now. I started Blind Assassin but quickly switched to Ishmael. Right now, I'm just in the mood for light reading. I think I'm burnt out on stuff I got to dig into and really think about. I just want things to read that I can enjoy and plow through. You know? I'm saving my Atwoods, Frazen's, Hurston's, Rushdie's and most my poetry for winter time, when there's more dark-time. I think.

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Mad Men Season 4 just started. If you're not into Mad Men, go rent all three seasons watch them, then check out the new episode on On Demand and start watching. The show is brilliant and Don Draper is the man. My Dad made Old Fashions for the premiere. It was cool.

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I want to see Tron (The second one).

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Bye,
Joshua

5 comments:

Ian D said...

I haven't read the Hitchhiker's series since I was a kid, but I remember the second one being my favorite, and the third and fourth being pretty disappointing. The restaurant scene in the second... oh man.

That last episode of Mad Men had one of the coolest Don Draper moments ever (last five minutes). What. a. badass.

Joshua Young said...

You mean when he kicked those prudes out of his office? Amazing! Mmmm...

Ok. I'll have to get my hands on the second book...coolio

How was B'ham last weekend?

Ian D said...

Kicking the prudes out of his office followed by totally manipulating the hell out of the media (because you know the Jantzen people are going to talk, and it's going to add to his image). What a stud.

B'ham was excellent. I hopped from coffeehouse to favorite restaurant to coffeehouse to bar all weekend. Lovely.

Dave said...

I'm an idiot: what goes into an "Old Fashion"?

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad, Dave...we had never even heard of and Old Fashioned until Mad Men. Here is the drink recipe:

2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 dashes Angostura® bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix sugar, water and angostura bitters in an old-fashioned glass. Drop in a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a paste using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Pour in bourbon, fill with ice cubes, and stir.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.