Desert Island Discs

My best friend and I did the “Desert Island Discs” game the other day. We created a shortlist of 10 and a finalist list of 5 for the music, movies, and books categories, with the added rule (stolen from the radio Desert Island Discs program) that the Bible and Shakespeare are already on the island. These are the books, DVDs, and albums that (at this point) we would want with us forever.

It was really difficult, and actually a little surprising. I’m a big fan of doing things like this every so often, to see how your tastes have changed over time – and sometimes how they haven’t, even if you think they have. Some of my favourites – most-played songs, most-watched films, books that I love – did not make the list. If they were songs, then the whole album wasn’t worth it; books were emotional in perhaps the wrong way (Hardy, I’m looking at you), films I’d watched so many times that even looking at them makes the whole thing play in my head.

It’s also quite challenging. Do you pick your “comfort” items? Things that you’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t had the time? A combination of the two? Is length a consideration? (For example, if it comes down to a choice between two books by your favourite author, do you pick the longer one?) Do series count as separate items, or one item total? What about “collected works” or anthologies or single-volume sets?

It was challenging, but here’s my final list. I say final, but really it’s just final as of last week when we did this. Lists like this are so dependent on mood and state of mind that it’s entirely possible that my list will change again tomorrow.

Books:

Finalists – A Room with a View (E.M. Forster), Bet Me (Jennifer Crusie), An Equal Music (Vikram Seth), Persuasion (Jane Austen), The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)

Runners-Up – Rilla of Ingleside (L.M. Montgomery), The Robin Hood Handbook, Bellwether (Connie Willis), The Blue Castle (L.M. Montgomery), War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)

Comments – I went with the comfort items on this list, for the most part. A Room with a View is my favourite book ever, and every time I read it I find something new in it. Bet Me is also one of my comfort books; I find it nearly perfect. An Equal Music is one of the best books I’ve ever read that shows what it’s like to be a musician. Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen, even beating Pride and Prejudice, in part because of the letter at the end which is one of the most romantic letters in all of fiction. The Canterbury Tales makes the list for two reasons: I couldn’t go without something in Middle English, and I’ve never actually read the whole thing. So, in a way, it’s both a comfort book and a challenge book.

I was torn between The Canterbury Tales and The Robin Hood Handbook – Robin is my historical fictional boyfriend, after all – but ultimately decided that Chaucer had more variety. The Montgomery books are also wonderful, and comfort books for me, but not quite as meaty as the finalists. Bellwether is my favourite Connie Willis book, and there to satisfy the sci-fi/specfic side of me. And War and Peace is on the list purely for length – I liked it a lot when I read it and it would keep me entertained for quite a while. But it doesn’t come up to the personal emotion of the finalists.

Films:

Finalists – Singin’ in the Rain, Bend It Like Beckham, The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Pride and Prejudice

Runners-up – North and South, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lion in Winter, Ratatouille, Beauty and the Beast

Comments – This is a list that changes almost every minute. It’s like picking your favourite child. It was actually harder to narrow this list down than it was for the books! But the first three are my all-time favourite films, than I can, have, and will watch over and over and over again, sometimes in the same day. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the “funny one” of the Indy movies, plus it features Sean Connery. And it doesn’t matter which of the (more recent) Pride and Prejudices it is. I adore both Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen.

Any of the runners-up could easily make the list on any given day, depending on mood and how recently I’ve seen or been reminded of that particular movie. And there are many more that could make the shortlist, again depending on day, mood, and proximity.

Music:

Finalists – Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), Ninth Symphony (Beethoven), Wicked, Carmen (Bizet), Revolver (The Beatles)

Runners –up – Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti), Abbey Road (The Beatles), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Led Zeppelin IV, Joshua Tree (U2)

Comments – This is where I surprised myself. I thought I was moving away from classical music and more towards pop/rock/alt stuff. But it turns out, when picking the albums to go with me onto a fictional desert island for the rest of my life, I go back to my roots. Romeo and Juliet is my favourite of the Prokofiev ballets, or really orchestral music in general. Beethoven’s 9^th is, without a doubt, the most perfect creation of musical structure, themes, instrumentation, and just everything that has ever been performed ever. Carmen is my favourite opera. Wicked is currently my singalong musical, although depending on mood it could easily be another one; I do need something in my range to sing along with, though. And Revolver is my current favourite Beatles album.

I really debated between the three Beatles albums that I had on the shortlist. All three of them are amazing, and are the three that I listen to all the way through, without skipping. Sgt. Pepper is even my stated all-time favourite Beatles album. But for some reason in my subconscious, possibly because it has one of my favourite tracks, Revolver was the one that I chose to come with me. Led Zeppelin IV is partially on the list for my rock interests, but as it turned out it didn’t hold a candle to the others. And Amahl is wonderful, but very occasion-specific. I sometimes listen to it when it’s not Christmas time, but I listen to Carmen all year long.

As previously stated, these lists are only valid for the day and time that we did them; they are subject to change based on mood and experience. But it’s an interesting exercise nonetheless. Have you ever done the Desert Island Discs game?

Football thoughts

The Pro Bowl was last night, and I listened to it as I fell asleep. Here's a question: is there anyone who takes the Pro Bowl seriously? Most of the players weren't, and the announcers certainly weren't. Here's the next question: do we need to?

There's been a lot of talk this year (....at least, from the two Sports Illustrated writers I follow, and from NFL.com) about the relevance of the Pro Bowl and the perception of the Pro Bowl, etc., etc. A lot of players withdrew because of either the Super Bowl or injury. Players were still being named to the squads in the week leading up to the Pro Bowl. Is the Pro Bowl still important? Still necessary?

I don't follow any other professional sports league as avidly as I follow the NFL, so I don't know what reaction their All-Star games get. I know that MLB's All-Star game comes in the middle of the season, but I don't know anything about the NBA or NHL's All-Star games. I'm assuming they each have one. (Perhaps someone who does follow these sports can help me compare?)

Because that's all that the Pro Bowl is: an All-Star game. And it doesn't need to have this great import or significance. It's the best players of the season (for a certain level of "best" this year, admittedly), playing the game that they love to play, in a game that has no significance other than bragging rights. That's the point. The emotional investment, for players and for fans, isn't in winning or losing: it's just in the game.

And you could tell that, at least from the Westwood One announcers last night. They were just a bunch of guys sitting around, talking about football, and oh, yeah, there was a game going on too and wow did you see that play? I don't think they used those exact words, but pretty close. They were guys who liked football and each other. That was why they were there, and that came through over the airwaves.

(I suppose they're not airwaves if it's digital and online and stuff, is it? I'll stop obsessing over pedantry now.)

Last night's Pro Bowl was definitely an offensive battle: the defense was almost non-existent. And that's also okay: you'd hate either to have or cause a potential career-ending injury in the Pro Bowl (or a pre-season game: the same emotional attitudes apply). And, again, it's just a game for the enjoyment of the game. Not that I don't enjoy good defense, but highlight reels are made for long runs and beautiful spiral passes, with the occasional interception and kick or punt return thrown in. (I did hear that there was an interesting lateral play? I think one of the SI writers said something about Benny Hill....?)

I don't know how to "fix" the perception of the Pro Bowl; I don't know if it's better or worse to have it before the Super Bowl or in Miami instead of Honolulu. But I do know that it doesn't need all the hand-wringing that I've seen over the last few weeks. Maybe it's not the Pro Bowl's problem - maybe our expectations need to be adjusted instead.

Moooooooooooooooom, I'm booooooooooored.......

There was an article in the New York Times about boredom recently. It started with the fact that book reviews rarely use the word “boring”, even if the book in question is, meandered through the history of boredom and contemporary culture’s attitude toward boredom, and concludes with boredom in literature (specifically David Foster Wallace’s new book).

Boredom is something that I’ve thought about quite a lot recently, like within the last year or so. For me, at least, boredom is not a case of having nothing to do – it’s a case of low motivation and not wanting to do what you do have to do, or not being able to decide what to do (a big problem for me right now). Having nothing to do is boring, but you can justifiably fill the time with mindless entertainment or something. For me, boredom has a mild frustration element – of wanting to have nothing to do, of not being able to focus, of not having the panic of deadlines pushing me to finish things.

It’s lack of interest, mostly. Lack of interest in the things on my to-do list. Lack of interest in what’s going on in the world, in my life. When it comes to boring books or movies, lack of interest in what’s going on in the story. It’s not necessarily something inherent in the book or movie, although it might be. What is profoundly uninteresting to me might be fascinating to someone else, and vice versa.

The article brings up some good points about boredom – how it was created by the rise of the middle class, leisure time, and individualism born out of the Industrial Revolution. People pre-Industrial Revolution might have been bored, but not quite in the same way that people post-Industrial Revolution were. The argument, sort of, is that it took the rise of leisure time for people to realize that boredom was a possibility, that you were responsible for filling your own time and that you could enjoy what you did.

One of the references in the article is to a recent study that shows the neurological patterns of a “resting mind” – they analyzed the patterns of people in an fMRI machine who were told to “just relax” and empty their minds. For a lot of people, that is boring – but for me, at least for a while, it would be relaxing. I wouldn’t have to worry that I’m supposed to be doing something else, that I’m missing out on something. Of course, after a while, forced inactivity does become boring – but again, it’s because you can’t stop thinking of the things that you should or could be doing instead.

(I’m not sure if this post is turning out the way that I wanted it to…..I may have to revisit it at some point and rewrite….)

Are you a megalosaurus?

Today has been a book day for me. I am slowly making my way through my saved items on Google Reader, and this morning I read through some of the book items. Most of them were book reviews (there's a biography of Chopin that looks interesting; the new Elizabeth Kostova got panned).

The topic of interest over the last few months, and especially yesterday, has been e-readers. Yesterday, as everyone who has turned on a computer probably knows, Apple revealed the iPad. And most of the immediate online reaction has been to the name. (What hasn't been to the name has been "So....it's a bigger iPhone. That's not a phone.") Personally, I'm a little disappointed that Apple didn't go with iTablet or iSlate - I especially liked iSlate, and I think that iPad is too similar to iPod to really distinguish it effectively. But, really, couldn't they have foreseen the jokes? The jokes that I've seen are mostly feminine-product-related (the iPad will come in Mini, Regular, and Maxi, etc.) with a few Star Trek (iPadd, Paramount should sue) ones thrown in. But, like I said to a friend online, in a few weeks the name will be normal and worth nothing more than a wry smile (if that). So if you're going to mock it, do it now.

I also sought out a new second-hand bookstore today; I'd heard about it on Tuesday when I was volunteering at Oxfam. It's just up the street from the town square, so about a fifteen-minute walk at most from my house. It also seems to be staffed by volunteers, so no chance for a job, but any bookstore is a good thing in my mind (although sad: no income means an absolute moratorium on book buying, and I need to get through the books that I already own and haven't read anyway). I met a sweet but loopy woman who declared her love for the Sweet Valley High books, and who also gave me job advice. It took me about ten minutes to extract myself from the conversation.

There's also a couple of book articles from the last few days that I think I want to either keep around or talk more about; I'll try to work those up tonight and post them on the other blog sometime soon.

Randomness:

I found a flowchart online detailing whether you should eat food that has been dropped on the floor. It is very comprehensive - including questions such as "Are you a megalosaurus?"

A friend also posted a pun - I don't think it's originally his but it's very funny.

I sent off my final assessment for my proofreading course; now I need to start on the copy-editing part of it. I've also been doing some stuff (volunteer, of course. I need to get into a field that pays me) on the proofreading site for Project Gutenberg. I'm still a beginner on that site, but it's pretty addicting. I have actually been limiting my time on it because I'm supposed to be looking for jobs and things....

My sleeping patterns are totally screwed up. It's almost like I'm jetlagged, except I haven't been out of the UK since October, and haven't even been out of Nottingham since New Year's. I'm hoping that I can stay awake all day today (no napping!) and fall asleep at and stay asleep for a reasonable time. It seems to be going pretty well so far.

I should probably get back to working on something. Focus on one of my writing projects and get at least a few hundred words written.

Jasper Fforde is awesome, and random encounters

Last night I went to hear Jasper Fforde speak about his new book, Shades of Grey. It was fantastic. I'd also let one of my friends know; we didn't exactly go together, but there was still an empty seat next to me when he arrived, so we hung out during and after.

The book's been on sale this week at Waterstone's - half-price - and the ticket price for the event could go toward the book, so I only paid six quid on the night for the book. Which I was very excited about, because (a) I don't have an income right now, and (b) I doubt that it'll even be that cheap in a year or so when it comes out in paperback.

Jasper Fforde was very personable and funny. He talked about his path to becoming a writer, about the book (including a few passages), and answered questions. Some paraphrased quotations:

"After stealing - sorry, paying homage - to other people's ideas, I decided to write my own story with my own characters."

"Writing is a series of challenges or dares - a bit like Scottish cuisine."

"Because I'm the author, and I can do whatever I want, I generally do."

"Writing is never finished, only abandoned."

He also mentioned his publication schedule, which is a book every year for at least the next three. He didn't say a lot about the sequel to Shades of Grey, but the next Thursday Next book and especially the next Nursery Crimes Division book (which isn't scheduled until 2013) sound fascinating. The most recent NCD book, The Fourth Bear, also sounds fascinating ("How is the porridge different temperatures when it was poured at the same time?"), and it's the only other one of his that I haven't read yet.

He signed books afterwards. James and I started off in what turned out to be the buying line, but switched to the signing line once we realized. We were chatting when one of the three girls in front of us asked if I was American. I said I was, and asked where they were from. Minnesota, Chicago....are you the Luther group? And they were. We talked the whole rest of the way to the front of the line.

Jasper Fforde in person was very friendly and cheerful, even after almost an hour of signing. I can't wait to read this book (I got to chapter three before the talk started).....and everything else that he ever writes.

My goals

They're not "New Year's Resolutions," because it's already January 17th. They're not deadlines, because I have a problems sticking to self-imposed deadlines. They're goals. Goals that will hopefully not be too onerous to meet, that are flexible enough to allow for my current schedule and social life (ha), and that should eventually lead to the ever-elusive income. And they are "at least" goals, so I can exceed them if I want to and can.

They are to apply for at least two jobs every day, and to write at least 500 words on something that is not a blog every day. I'm getting better about getting in the habit of writing, and the words are coming more easily, but it's far too easy to blather on for 1100 words about football or something and not make any progress on my long-term plans.

So, those are my goals.

An excursion

I went on an excursion today. A new art museum opened in November, Nottingham Contemporary, and its first exhibits are closing in a week or so. I’ve been meaning to go since it opened, and decided to take today to do so. It got me out of the house for a little while, and then I could be in town and hit the pound-or-less stores for Dr. Pepper and Pepsi, and go to Waterstone’s which is always a good time and relaxing for me (even though I have put a sort of moratorium on luxury spending which, until I get through all the books that I currently own, includes books. It does not, however, include a ticket to an author event from one of my favourite current writers. On Wednesday. For three pounds.)

Anyway. Nottingham Contemporary. It is, without a doubt, one of the ugliest designed buildings I’ve ever seen. For a long time, when I walked by it, I thought it was the scaffolding hiding the building, something that would come down to reveal the museum when it was done. It is growing on me a little bit, but it suffers in comparison to its neighbours – it’s right next to Pitcher and Piano, an excellent restaurant/cocktail bar in a converted church. It’s one of the most beautiful buildings in the area, and the art museum looks squat and ugly next to it. Close up, one can see the lace patterns on the outside of the museum, a nice nod to Nottingham’s history and the history of that particular neighborhood. However, you can’t see that unless you’re close up – even from across the street you can’t see the detail. And I haven’t even mentioned the Vegas strip/’50s diner style neon sign that points to the thing. It’s kind of unbelievable how badly this museum does not fit in with its surroundings.

But, anyway, I’ve wanted to go there since it opened, and today I took the opportunity. No point in just lying around the house all day, and then wishing I’d gone, right? Of course, I was not the only one who had that idea today. The place was much more crowded than I was expecting. Of course, it’s a rainy Saturday, so I don’t know why I was surprised, but it’s also Nottingham. I’ve never had a problem with crowds when I’ve gone to the museums here before. If anything, I’ve had a problem with undercrowding – when my sister and I went to the Galleries of Justice over Christmas, we were the only people there, and on a performance tour that gets interesting.

The exhibits themselves were pretty good, I thought. I’m not a huge fan of modern art, but this was a lot more representational than a lot of the stuff at, say, the Tate Modern. Two artists are featured currently: David Hockney, a name I’ve actually heard of, and Frances Stark, an American collage artist. Frances Stark’s work was in the first two galleries, one of her earlier work and one of more recent pieces, and David Hockney was in the other two galleries, which featured his work from 1960-1968 which covered his first trip to America.

Frances Stark’s first phase, if that’s the appropriate word to use, is collages made up primarily of words and pictures; the second phase used more images. I preferred the first gallery, quite a bit actually. The words, and the letters of the words, formed essential parts of the collages. Words were repeated almost ad infinitum to form the patterns in some of them, kind of like this:

t t t t t

h h h h h

e e e e e

My favourite of the ones in this gallery was one called “And also another one at the same time”, which used the words “And also another one at the same time, not” to form what looked like the trunks of trees, and then near the top the letters turn into birds. It’s kind of Escher-esque in the way that one thing turns into another – although it’s not quite so deliberate and subtle as Escher. The demarcation between the letters and the birds is quite clear, but there’s still that sense of motion, of transformation. And, as I said, from a distance at least, they look like trees.

The David Hockney galleries were much more crowded than the Frances Stark ones, both in terms of works of art and of people. There wasn’t as much room to move, because there was just so much more there, which meant that even if the number of people was the same, it seemed like more. I think, though, that there really were more people in the David Hockney rooms. I also realized my invisibility power, or whatever it is about me that says, “Please walk right in front of me and stop, especially if I’m trying to read the panels or look at the artwork in detail.” I managed to keep my frustration in check, though, and look at/read everything that I wanted to in the depth that I wanted to.

I have a few more favourites among the David Hockney works than among the Frances Stark works, even though overall I think I am more interested in Frances Stark’s style. Some of the ones I liked were “Great Pyramid at Giza with Broken Head from Thebes” (I want to go to Egypt. Also I have been listening to Doctor Who audio books that feature an Egyptian princess) and the ones that show him experimenting with water: Man Taking Shower in Beverly Hills, Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool (light reflecting in water as well as the glass of the sliding doors), and A Bigger Splash (so very active, for a static painting). The one with the coolest story, I thought, was “The First Marriage (A Marriage of Styles I)”: he was at a museum with a friend, and had fallen behind a bit. He saw the friend ahead of him, standing near a statue and looking in the same direction as the statue, and it seemed like the friend and the statue were looking at the same thing, as if they were together. So he painted the idea of it. I thought that one was cool.

The gift shop was a test of my willpower, just like Waterstone’s – there was the usual spread of art and cultural studies books (Derrida and the like), and a few shelves of Nottingham interest (i.e. Byron and Lawrence…they had a couple of Sillitoe books, but not Saturday Night and Sunday Morning which is the one I really want to read first), and quite a good selection of children’s books (Emily Gravett is everywhere around here, and they also had the true story of the Big Bad Wolf, which is hilarious). There was also the typical art museum jewelry and bags and things that look “artistic” – one set that was actually pretty cool was jewelry based around shadow puppets. Maybe at some point, when I have an income, I will splurge.

I am looking forward to seeing what else Nottingham Contemporary puts on. It probably won’t be a place I go all the time, but it will definitely be a place I go back to.