A five o’clock morning

When was the last time I had a five o’clock morning proper?

I’m thinking it could be over a year ago, maybe two, but that’s probably pushing it.

It feels good now, like I’m fully up and refreshed, and I will enjoy an extra couple of active hours in my day, but as I recall, you really feel it later at around ten in the morning.

A five o’clock morning

When was the last time I had a five o’clock morning proper?

I’m thinking it could be over a year ago, maybe two, but that’s probably pushing it.

It feels good now, like I’m fully up and refreshed, and I will enjoy an extra couple of active hours in my day, but as I recall, you really feel it later at around ten in the morning.

The Colossus

Alvarez has gone to the United States to teach for a term, and he receives Sylvia’s first book of poetry, “The Colossus”, to review.

_ _ _

It seemed to fit the image I had of her: serious, gifted, withheld, and still partly under the massive shadow of her husband. There were poems that had been influenced by him, others which echoed Theodore Roethke and Wallace Stevens; clearly, she was still casting about for her own style. Yet the technical ability was great and beneath most of the poems was a sense of resources and disturbances not yet tapped. “Her poems,” I wrote, “rest secure in a mass of experience that is never quite brought out into the daylight... It is this sense of threat, as though she were continually menaced by something she could see only out of the corners of her eyes, that gives her work its distinction.”

-- A. Alvarez, “The Savage God”

_ _ _

Alvarez notes that Sylvia subsequently thanked him for the review, and that she said she agreed with his qualifications.

The Colossus

Alvarez has gone to the United States to teach for a term, and he receives Sylvia’s first book of poetry, “The Colossus”, to review.

_ _ _

It seemed to fit the image I had of her: serious, gifted, withheld, and still partly under the massive shadow of her husband. There were poems that had been influenced by him, others which echoed Theodore Roethke and Wallace Stevens; clearly, she was still casting about for her own style. Yet the technical ability was great and beneath most of the poems was a sense of resources and disturbances not yet tapped. “Her poems,” I wrote, “rest secure in a mass of experience that is never quite brought out into the daylight... It is this sense of threat, as though she were continually menaced by something she could see only out of the corners of her eyes, that gives her work its distinction.”

-- A. Alvarez, “The Savage God”

_ _ _

Alvarez notes that Sylvia subsequently thanked him for the review, and that she said she agreed with his qualifications.

The Empire at Dusk

In his article "The Empire at Dusk: American pundits decry the onset of sharp defense cuts, but the Pentagon can’t even account for $1 trillion in its own spending. Isn't it time to rein in the beast?", Stephen Glain takes a nice swing at the security-military establishment.

( excerpt )

The Empire at Dusk

In his article "The Empire at Dusk: American pundits decry the onset of sharp defense cuts, but the Pentagon can’t even account for $1 trillion in its own spending. Isn't it time to rein in the beast?", Stephen Glain takes a nice swing at the security-military establishment.

( excerpt )

my zombie book

I spent my morning book-blogging time this morning trying to whip up a nice journal entry for my zombie book, “The Reapers Are the Angels” by Alden Bell, but I’m not feeling it. I enjoyed it a lot and can see myself reading it again down the road, maybe in five years or so, but it really is pop-fiction, the escapist reading I needed, but I don’t feel like I need to say more. To be clear, I am not hooked on the zombie genre; I don't expect to pick up another zombie novel. But I am happy to have read this one, to enjoy the variety. The spiritual undertone made the novel work for me.

my zombie book

I spent my morning book-blogging time this morning trying to whip up a nice journal entry for my zombie book, “The Reapers Are the Angels” by Alden Bell, but I’m not feeling it. I enjoyed it a lot and can see myself reading it again down the road, maybe in five years or so, but it really is pop-fiction, the escapist reading I needed, but I don’t feel like I need to say more. To be clear, I am not hooked on the zombie genre; I don't expect to pick up another zombie novel. But I am happy to have read this one, to enjoy the variety. The spiritual undertone made the novel work for me.

The grass is always greener...

The grass is always greener...

Scarface

In honor of Scarface’s upcoming Blu-ray release, Universal Studios hosted a lavish soiree last week to celebrate the Brian De Palma gangster flick which has become a machismo cult classic since its poor critical reception in 1983. At the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles, the event featured Cuban cuisine, desserts shaped like lines of cocaine, a Ludacris concert and a Q&A panel with stars Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia and F. Murray Abraham, as well as Scarface producer Martin Bregman. From their Scarface-style thrones on stage — bathed in red light and surrounded by Roman sculptures, natch — the cast reflected on their movie’s present-day popularity, machine-gun injuries and Eddie Murphy. The nine most interesting revelations follow.

3. Pacino may not remember it, but he did not originally want to cast Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock. (LIES AND SLANDER! WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY?! Michelle was perfect!)
While discussing the film’s female casting, Bregman said, “Michelle Pfeiffer… That was a battle because of everybody in town was going out for that. In spite of what [Al] said before, [he was] a star at the time. Michelle wasn’t known at the time.”

“And you had that sense about her,” Pacino offered. “Because I probably would have said no.”

“You did say no!” replied Bregman, inciting laughter from Pacino and the entire theater.

-- ONTD

What latino gangster is complete without a lithe pretty blonde at his feet?

"Scarface" is not a top favorite of mine, but I remember it well and don't mind watching it every once in a while.

Scarface

In honor of Scarface’s upcoming Blu-ray release, Universal Studios hosted a lavish soiree last week to celebrate the Brian De Palma gangster flick which has become a machismo cult classic since its poor critical reception in 1983. At the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles, the event featured Cuban cuisine, desserts shaped like lines of cocaine, a Ludacris concert and a Q&A panel with stars Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia and F. Murray Abraham, as well as Scarface producer Martin Bregman. From their Scarface-style thrones on stage — bathed in red light and surrounded by Roman sculptures, natch — the cast reflected on their movie’s present-day popularity, machine-gun injuries and Eddie Murphy. The nine most interesting revelations follow.

3. Pacino may not remember it, but he did not originally want to cast Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock. (LIES AND SLANDER! WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY?! Michelle was perfect!)
While discussing the film’s female casting, Bregman said, “Michelle Pfeiffer… That was a battle because of everybody in town was going out for that. In spite of what [Al] said before, [he was] a star at the time. Michelle wasn’t known at the time.”

“And you had that sense about her,” Pacino offered. “Because I probably would have said no.”

“You did say no!” replied Bregman, inciting laughter from Pacino and the entire theater.

-- ONTD

What latino gangster is complete without a lithe pretty blonde at his feet?

"Scarface" is not a top favorite of mine, but I remember it well and don't mind watching it every once in a while.