Life, Death, and Television

I have been contemplating death a lot in the past six weeks. Intellectually, I know that anything can happen at any minute, and that life, including my own, is unimaginably fragile. It still surprises me though, when someone I love is suddenly, violently, irrevocably gone. Last week, an old friend of mine was killed in a hit and run accident crossing the street outside of a bar. Gone.

I can’t wrap my mind around his absence, even though I have not seen nor spoken to him in months. I spent so much time, sang so many songs, shared so many bottles, baked so many pies, and laughed at so many jokes with him. I have so many memories of both throw-away moments and major life changes that I either experienced with him or that I could talk about with him. He was never judgmental or malicious. He was enthusiastic and funny. He was going to be a Spanish teacher. And now there’s a hole in the universe where he should be.

I have a tendency to filter my experiences through pop culture I consume. I have been meaning to write a post about Six Feet Under (SFU) and how its treatment of death has shaped my attitude towards life. This seems like an appropriate time. SFU was the most honest look at how people deal with mortality I have ever seen. The title of the finale alone, articulated what I imagine the end to be like: Everyone’s Waiting. Below, in no particular order, are my favorite moments involving music from one of the greatest serials television ever offered.

We have to live to honor the dead, and we have to learn to live with all the trappings of being physical, ephemeral beings. Somewhere, though, is the energy that makes us work. My limited understanding of physics reminds me that energy can’t be created nor destroyed, it just changes. Nate, I know you’re in all these places, always.

Top Five Crazies from Slasher Films

Gentle Reader, I love horror films. Beginning at a tender age, I have been an equal-opportunity horror fan: I love the slashers, wonderful Tartan Asian Extreme, the psychological thrillers, the Italian giallo films, the zombies, the spooks, the splatters, the revenge films, the moments of dread in mainstream films that make them horrific. All of it. I love all of it. This is a list, in no order, of five beloved crazies from some of my favorite slashers. Click on the picture for a clip. CAUTION: Here there be spoilers!

The Caller from Black Christmas

I have had some experiences with obscene phone callers, and those guys were amateurs compared to this gem. Seriously. The calls were the scariest, most memorable scenes for this viewer. This is not to say that the death scenes were not well done; they were. The caller is just so...crazy. He turns on a dime from run-of-the-mill pervert to dangerous very authentically. Freak.

Crazy Ralph from Friday the 13th

Dear Ralph. I am sorry for what happened to you, more sorry than I am for the scores of

counselors claimed by the Vorhees family and their successors. You really tried to warn them. If only your communication skills were better.

Chop Top from Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II

I think Part II is a great film for precisely the opposite reasons Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is a great film. I will cover the glory of Part I in another post; it’s Part II’s time to shine here, and no part of this film shines brighter than Leatherface’s older brother, Chop Top. Chop Top was absent for the events that took place in part I because he was busy having part of his head destroyed in Vietnam. From what I gather, it was the sane part. Now, don’t get me wrong, the whole Sawyer clan is pretty off. Hitchhiker was less than altogether, and their father is clearly not well. Leatherface is the sensitive Holden Caulfield of the film, clearly in need of psychological intervention, but you can tell he has a soft, gooey center. None of the family are as completely, gleefully unhinged as Chop Top. He’s the whole package: Sonny Bono wig-wearing, scalp-burning-with-a-hot-wire-hanger-ing, screeching pile of crazy. Brilliant.

Marie from Haute Tension

Ah, Marie. You’re such a good friend to come to the rescue of lovely Alex from that vile, murderous drifter. Wait a second.

Aunt Martha from Sleepaway Camp

I think of all of these characters, Aunt Martha is my favorite. That voice. Those clothes. I mean, come on. I listed a few murderous monsters above and one crazy messenger, but Aunt Martha is the only one from the list who created a monster. I could watch her brief scenes again and again.

Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc - $7.00

"Wine is to be enjoyed, not critiqued." I received this advice from a wonderful man, possibly the owner, of a Belmont Beverage on a recent adventure to branch out into Sauvignon Blanc. Indeed, my friend, it is. But I hope you were not insinuating that I am snobby or cliche. I am really just trying to figure out what I like and how to describe it. Except for "chewy". I don't understand the usage of that word yet.

Now that my obligatory moment of near-crippling insecurity is out of the way, I hope to make a regular feature out of my quest. You see, sometimes librarians need to indulge themselves. And I decided that wine, though it sometimes mixes badly with my antacids and Benadryl, is going to be my indulgence. You know, along with all the food I eat and the television I become fanatically obsessed with.

Tonight's selection comes from Chile. I decided that to honor both the Chilean miners and the $7 price tag, I would try Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc. I normally like reds, but this is a crisp, clean divergence from my routine. It has peachy hints of tangerine, and it's not too sweet or dry. I would definitely try it again, and I will probably try Terra Andina's reds as well. Num, num. I am on my third glass, so it's probably great that my computer is set to spell check automatically.

Cheers.

Top Ten: Songs That Drive Me to Tears Edition

1. Tori Amos - 1000 Oceans

2. Sarah McLachlan - Prayer of Saint Francis

3. Judy Collins's version - Bird on a Wire

4. Neil Young - Philadelphia

5. Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna

6. Pretty Much Anything Michael Giacchino wrote for Lost

7. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl

8. Bright Eyes - Let's Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and to be Loved)

9. Nelly Furtado - Like a Bird

10. Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

There's plenty more, but why push it?

Listless Listing

The title may be misleading. I am intensely interested in a lot of things; I just tend to get distracted or discouraged easily. Easily enough to say that I actually do lack interest. I always have enough interest to make lists, though.

I list the things I want to learn to do: play piano, knit, sew, grow things, and so on. I list the things I need to do to lose weight: um, exercise, eat less (especially less delicious, delicious cheese), try this diet, try that diet, and so on. I was quite disturbed to realize that one commonality among each new obsession/interest was the necessity to consume. I will need healthy groceries, new shoes, seeds, yarn, and of course, instructional materials. When I lose interest from lack of time, lack of talent, or whatever, I need to find something new complete with a list of things I need. My lists always end up as shopping lists.

This summer, I vowed to learn to use my Simplicity Fashion Pro sewing machine that has been sheltering spiders in the basement for years. It would have been a perfect way to break the cycle of picking up hobbies as an excuse to consume. I cleaned up the machine and toted it up to my over-flowing bedroom/creativity station. Oh, what fun! I had to clean and organize to find room for the machine, and I did this to a great soundtrack. I already have plenty of thread and old cloths to tear up and practice with, so this was going to be great.

After I succeeded, after three tries, to wind the bobbin, I attempted to load the bobbin case. Only, there wasn't a bobbin case. Anywhere. I ended up having to order one from E-bay. I thought I wouldn't have to buy anything until I needed material.

I have always wanted to be more crafty. I need something to do, and why not do something with a tangible end result? I hope to have my bobbin case by next week. In the meantime, I plan to make use of the sock yarn I have.

Sometimes I think I make these involved realizations about my personality that may actually be exaggerations of character traits that I find repulsive, but do not really describe me wholly. I think over-consuming is icky, okay? I really, really hope I am not too guilty of it. I do like to shop for certain things. I do not conserve as much as I could. I recycle, but my commitment pretty much ends there. I need to find consistency in something that I do moderately. I need to maybe wake up early and do sit-ups instead of morphing into Jillian Michaels. I need to eat less and make healthier choices without totally changing my diet. I need to just relax and knit a damn sock without going all Little House. Maybe that's the self-discovery.

Top Ten: Driving Music Edition

We all compile the soundtracks for our lives. I have mental playlists for cleaning, cooking, exercising (seriously), showering, pondering, and you get the idea.

These are the top ten musicians and artists who automatically get cranked up when I drive alone. Don't judge me.

10. Journey

9. Pink (Yeah, I know.)

8. Genesis or Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins (They're the same, right?)

7. Guitar-based singer/songwriters

6. Radiohead

5. Back Sabbath

4. Anything Motown

3.Bruce Springsteen

2. Piano-based singer/song-writers

1.Bob Dylan

What about you?

The Teen Library Turns 1: Librarian Edition

We're walking and feeding ourselves now, what a milestone!

Before working in a teen library, I had not picked up a book written for teens in years. Even when I was a teen, I usually chose adult books (being the precocious jerk I was). I now read teen literature almost exclusively. Though I miss grown-up books sometimes, the teen books I have read unexpectedly turned out to be some of the greatest pages I have had the pleasure of turning. I will adapt this post for the Teen Library blog, as well as for the birthday party on Monday. Reply with the top ten books from The Teen Library you have read since October 2008.