Before there were the Black Keys or the White Stripes or any other monochrome denomination for a band, there was Led Zeppelin.
In the pantheon of the hairy, shirtless gods of rock, Led Zeppelin will forever reign. Now bow, mes enfants païens!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Books: The Kindle Reader for your laptop
If you haven't downloaded the free Reader App for your Kindle, or for your Mac or a host of other gadgets, then you should. It is FREE! And you can get a good number of classics at Amazon and the Gutenberg Project. Of course, they don't have Henry Miller free, il est trop sale pour leurs propres esprits, les bâtards. Bah! Of course, they do have plenty of hilariously titillating smut should you be into comparative literature. Oh, oh, oh.....yessss! Noooooooo!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Books: Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
"I'm smiling because whenever we touch on the subject of this book which he is going to write some day things assume an incongruous aspect....The book must be absolutely original, absolutely perfect. That is why, among other things, it is impossible for him to get started on it. As soon as he gets an idea he begins to question it."
-Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer (p.132)
Do I dare recommend this book which has been labeled with the most virulent pejoratives ever used to describe a book?
Dare I say I love it?
Yes and yes.
Two recommendations: 1) Read this simultaneously with A Learned Passion: Letters Between Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller for proper contextualization, though not required, it helps with the historical background; 2) Read it like an experienced book reader, checking any and all cultural and moral expectations at the door to fully delve into the gorgeous prose Miller delivers. It isn't sugary, nor lite, nor does it involve vampires nor imagery resembling a pastoral painting. Thank God for that. But it is trashy, vulgar, at times delving on the scatological: all the kinds of crap that I am fully equipped to handle. And yes, it is a classic from the 1930s. Ah, the things I do for a good read....;D
-Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer (p.132)
Do I dare recommend this book which has been labeled with the most virulent pejoratives ever used to describe a book?
Dare I say I love it?
Yes and yes.
Two recommendations: 1) Read this simultaneously with A Learned Passion: Letters Between Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller for proper contextualization, though not required, it helps with the historical background; 2) Read it like an experienced book reader, checking any and all cultural and moral expectations at the door to fully delve into the gorgeous prose Miller delivers. It isn't sugary, nor lite, nor does it involve vampires nor imagery resembling a pastoral painting. Thank God for that. But it is trashy, vulgar, at times delving on the scatological: all the kinds of crap that I am fully equipped to handle. And yes, it is a classic from the 1930s. Ah, the things I do for a good read....;D
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Blogging: The Selvedge Yard
Coolness.....black and white, vintage photography of style icons. The Selvedge Yard.
Enough said.
Visit.
Update: I just saw it again on 5-5-2012 and I am still in awe of the images found therein. Go!
Enough said.
Visit.
Update: I just saw it again on 5-5-2012 and I am still in awe of the images found therein. Go!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Blogging: At Home with Books
I find that I don't care for most books being read by casual bloggers I encounter or perhaps it is that I have yet to do a proper search for lack of time/ambition/desire/engagement to do so. But today, I found an interesting and unpretentious blog called At Home with Books.
Perhaps, I had not been properly engaged by books for so long that I felt somewhat disenchanted and bored with others' recommendations. The technical writing that I have to do for my academic work had dissolved the engagement, the enthusiasm, the love I had once felt for literature. But that is all in the past now. Especially since I have been simultaneously reading A Literate Passion, Nin's Diary (vol. 1), and Tropic of Cancer, all by Anaïs Nin or Henry Miller or both, I have rediscovered my love for words creatively strung. Of course, the academic remains ever present, but it has now been spiced up with some fine prose.
I will be very honest and say that I have yet to peruse through the entirety of At Home with Books (http://athomewithbooks.net/). But its author, Alyce (rhymes with peace), seems to do a fine job of selecting interesting reads to showcase in her blog. Rather than adopting the latest vampire trends (God spare me) or selecting sentimental grocery-store lightweights, she seems to give more care to what she ingests through words than many a blogger out there. However, be warned that if you are seeking an aesthetically pleasing site, one that soothes you or puts your senses at ease, you're not finding it here. That aside, I like books, all books, and so I will give her the opportunity to point some interesting ones my way while overlooking the fallacies of non-design. It's not like I'm a typographer-ista, I shouldn't care.
Oh, the irony! Of course, I had to select the day she chose to put Rob Lowe's biography on her front page, but that can be forgiven for some counterweights she throws into the mix in older posts. Of course, it is her blog, and she has children, so you will also enncounter a fair bit of her personal life among the books. I don't mind it at all if she herself doesn't object to sharing it with her audience. I go for the book titles and reviews anyway, but it is nice knowing that some kids out there in the ether world have a pretty cool thinking mom who loves books and doesn't mind sharing it with the world.
Perhaps, I had not been properly engaged by books for so long that I felt somewhat disenchanted and bored with others' recommendations. The technical writing that I have to do for my academic work had dissolved the engagement, the enthusiasm, the love I had once felt for literature. But that is all in the past now. Especially since I have been simultaneously reading A Literate Passion, Nin's Diary (vol. 1), and Tropic of Cancer, all by Anaïs Nin or Henry Miller or both, I have rediscovered my love for words creatively strung. Of course, the academic remains ever present, but it has now been spiced up with some fine prose.
I will be very honest and say that I have yet to peruse through the entirety of At Home with Books (http://athomewithbooks.net/). But its author, Alyce (rhymes with peace), seems to do a fine job of selecting interesting reads to showcase in her blog. Rather than adopting the latest vampire trends (God spare me) or selecting sentimental grocery-store lightweights, she seems to give more care to what she ingests through words than many a blogger out there. However, be warned that if you are seeking an aesthetically pleasing site, one that soothes you or puts your senses at ease, you're not finding it here. That aside, I like books, all books, and so I will give her the opportunity to point some interesting ones my way while overlooking the fallacies of non-design. It's not like I'm a typographer-ista, I shouldn't care.
Oh, the irony! Of course, I had to select the day she chose to put Rob Lowe's biography on her front page, but that can be forgiven for some counterweights she throws into the mix in older posts. Of course, it is her blog, and she has children, so you will also enncounter a fair bit of her personal life among the books. I don't mind it at all if she herself doesn't object to sharing it with her audience. I go for the book titles and reviews anyway, but it is nice knowing that some kids out there in the ether world have a pretty cool thinking mom who loves books and doesn't mind sharing it with the world.
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