live what you love

The Limelight That Is Twilight

Alright, it's time to talk about Twilight. Again. Because I'm sure you've already found you and your friends discussing what all of the hype is about. You're right about the hype part. Twilight is a four-part book series about the tortuous relationships between humans, vampires, and werewolves, with the main characters set at about the 17-18 year-old age level.

The books are popular amongst the tween (by the way, who doesn't detest that word?) demographic. Accordingly, the books are written for that exact reading level. Since the Harry Potter series has come to an end, the next generation of kids are trying to find the Next Big Other Worldly Thing. But the Twilight series doesn't compare to its predecessors (Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings), as it predictably moves through a love story between, essentially, high school sweethearts, without any semblance of character complexity.



Bella is a human who desperately wishes to become a vampire so that she can be with her vampire-boyfriend, Edward. You know this from the first page of the series, and you're also tediously reminded of it throughout the series as she annoyingly begs Edward to "change" her. Edward refuses to do so until they are married like the good Christi... I mean, vampire that he is.

The Biblical undertones may be one reason why the series has become popular. But what about the murders and violence? Couldn't vampirism and werewolf-ism be associated with the Satanic?

The books don't stray too far into the lore of those worlds, which the books would have benefitted from. Instead, they noticeably lack depth. The author confines her characters into realities similar to our own, not daring to offer the readers a compelling, imaginative glimpse into how fantastical Bella's adventure from human to vampire could be. The series will continue to be popular coinciding with the release dates of the upcoming movies, but the franchise will never parallel the global hysteria of past fandoms.

Dillinger Days; Tucson, AZ

This weekend I was coerced into staying in Tucson to attend the Dillinger Days. Okay, not really at all... The downtown hotel, music venue, and club hosted a weekend of festivities celebrating the history of John Dillinger. Dillinger was a bank robber of the 1920's, partaking in many heists and police getaways. A fire at Hotel Congress actually caused many of his gang members to be caught and put into jail. Johnny Depp will play yet another badass role as Dillinger in "Public Enemies," which comes out 1 July 2009.

Well, We've All Been Missing Him

According to this Paste article, former actor Joaquin Phoenix is abandoning his acting career to work on his new project: music. Rap. Because when anyone sees a picture of him, that's the first thing that comes to mind. But, as you can see in the photo above, he's been working on it. And the two step. Songs from upcoming album may feature appearances with former costars: Reese Witherspoon, Kate Winslet, and Mel Gibson.

[Edit]
11 Feb 2009, Joaquin pulling a Ryan Adams with that lovely beard/hair/sunglasses ensemble, barely makes it through his interview with Letterman. Oh Jesus, Commodus...

Scene from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

My friend and I just saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this morning, and one similar effect the movie had on us is that we were both left crying. The movie is adapted from the same titled short-story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in which a man is born old and lives for 80 some years, finally dying as an infant. It is also a love story, which was undoubtedly the main reason for our tears, but also profoundly moving as a life story. The scene I've embedded details just that, as Benjamin advises his daughter on how to not just live, but experience life, in any circumstance.