When it comes to horror movies I don't have any standards and just about all horror movies scare me. Still, I'm watching Halloween 5 again and realizing that I lost all interest in the Halloween movies after III. I and II are like the first two Godfathers to me and Season of the Witch is good in it's own way, but all the other sequels sucked.
I think Final Girl has mentioned this already, but: that is NOT the Myers house, not even remodeled to disquise its past- it's just a different house altogether.
I still haven't seen Halloween 6, the one that came out in the mid-90s and stars Paul Rudd. I guess it answers the questions raised at the end of 5. I wanna stay up and watch it but I've gotta be in early tomorrow morning. I'm thinking AMC will play it again this week.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Pixies
I was looking up info on Vaughan Oliver and books like This Rimy River and I came across these pictures. I've wanted that book forever, maybe someone will get it for me for Christmas.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Halloween I and II
My friends and I were hanging out tonight, and while Amy was flipping around we saw that Halloween was on AMC. Watching a movie on AMC is a little bit better than watching one on Sci-fi, but not much. The thing is, AMC not only plays regular commercials, they play long, endless ads for their own shit. And on a side note- they just played a car commercial and Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" is featured in it. What the fuck. I know he lost money on The Capeman but he's still gotta have a shitload of cash, does he really need to do a car commercial?
Anyway, sometimes I feel like that book The Polar Express, where as you get older you can't hear the bell ring anymore. I feel bad when, say, it's December 23 and I'm still not in the Christmas spirit the same way I used to be. Even as a teenager I'd get a special feeling in December, even around Thanksgiving. Some years Christmas feels like just another day.
But watching Halloween (and Halloween II- it's on now) a week before the 31st, I'm starting to get that old feeling. The trees are beautiful and I love the smell of the leaves on the ground. This past weekend in my friend's neighborhood someone was burning leaves and it was the coolest smell.
Thinking back to when I was younger makes me realize how truly lucky I was. I always assumed that every kid, around the world, had a basically good life and were cared for. We were just a middle class family and sometimes my brothers and I would call our parents cheap, but if we wanted something we usually got it. And we were always safe. Our extended family and our parent's friends are good, kind people who always treated us so well.
It's always hard for me to imagine people having genuinely bad, ugly childhoods, and not feeling safe at home. When I was thirteen I was friends with a very nice girl who lived on the other side of the city, about a twenty minute walk. She told me that when she was ten one of her mother's boyfriend's molested her. No charges were ever brought and her mother still talked to the gut. It's still unbelievable to me.
One time I saw a remake of Les Miserables from the mid 1990s. Claire Daines was telling her boyfriend that she can't go away from him and leave her father behind. She says something like "You don't understand- it isn't just that he raised me. I grew up in his love". That reminds me so much of my parents. My brothers and I grew up in their love. That was our house. Their love for us was everywhere and in everything they did. They didn't sleep in, or go out and leave us with babysitters; at least one of them was always there.
We may have been a little sheltered and a little spoiled, and while none of us grew up to be perefect adults all three of us are, essentially, good people. They didn't raise us to be successful, nor did they make us into do-gooders, they just wanted us to be kind and to, at least, think of other people.
I remember when I started school we were sitting down to dinner and my mother said that we should never make fun of someone because they were deaf or fat or weren't pretty or handsome. They said it's never good to hurt someone's feelings and I always remembered that. I also wished that more parents had that same talk with there kids- school would've been a lot different. Do any parents say that to their kids? I'd say yes, but not many.
Like I said, I think we were sheltered in some ways, buit they did let us buy candy and watch horror movies late at night and buy whatever records we wanted. Our parents weren't controlling, just cautious. I saw my parents Friday night and, still, they're worried about me, and my mom has no problem letting me know that as a guy in his thirties who doesn't own a car, I'm a loser.
I've got a lot of changes to make. I've made a lot of mistakes and I've let my life go down the tubes, but the thing is, I've always known the right thing to do. And the moment I decide to stop fucking up I can turn everything around. I've always known what the correct choice was, I just didn't make it.
Luckily, both my parents are in good health. Still I worry that they might not see me turn things around and they might leave worrying about my future. For that reason I've decided to change things now. If I do things right I can have my life in good shape by New Years. I think Christmastime With Clementine is the first step towards fixing things.
Anyway, sometimes I feel like that book The Polar Express, where as you get older you can't hear the bell ring anymore. I feel bad when, say, it's December 23 and I'm still not in the Christmas spirit the same way I used to be. Even as a teenager I'd get a special feeling in December, even around Thanksgiving. Some years Christmas feels like just another day.
But watching Halloween (and Halloween II- it's on now) a week before the 31st, I'm starting to get that old feeling. The trees are beautiful and I love the smell of the leaves on the ground. This past weekend in my friend's neighborhood someone was burning leaves and it was the coolest smell.
Thinking back to when I was younger makes me realize how truly lucky I was. I always assumed that every kid, around the world, had a basically good life and were cared for. We were just a middle class family and sometimes my brothers and I would call our parents cheap, but if we wanted something we usually got it. And we were always safe. Our extended family and our parent's friends are good, kind people who always treated us so well.
It's always hard for me to imagine people having genuinely bad, ugly childhoods, and not feeling safe at home. When I was thirteen I was friends with a very nice girl who lived on the other side of the city, about a twenty minute walk. She told me that when she was ten one of her mother's boyfriend's molested her. No charges were ever brought and her mother still talked to the gut. It's still unbelievable to me.
One time I saw a remake of Les Miserables from the mid 1990s. Claire Daines was telling her boyfriend that she can't go away from him and leave her father behind. She says something like "You don't understand- it isn't just that he raised me. I grew up in his love". That reminds me so much of my parents. My brothers and I grew up in their love. That was our house. Their love for us was everywhere and in everything they did. They didn't sleep in, or go out and leave us with babysitters; at least one of them was always there.
We may have been a little sheltered and a little spoiled, and while none of us grew up to be perefect adults all three of us are, essentially, good people. They didn't raise us to be successful, nor did they make us into do-gooders, they just wanted us to be kind and to, at least, think of other people.
I remember when I started school we were sitting down to dinner and my mother said that we should never make fun of someone because they were deaf or fat or weren't pretty or handsome. They said it's never good to hurt someone's feelings and I always remembered that. I also wished that more parents had that same talk with there kids- school would've been a lot different. Do any parents say that to their kids? I'd say yes, but not many.
Like I said, I think we were sheltered in some ways, buit they did let us buy candy and watch horror movies late at night and buy whatever records we wanted. Our parents weren't controlling, just cautious. I saw my parents Friday night and, still, they're worried about me, and my mom has no problem letting me know that as a guy in his thirties who doesn't own a car, I'm a loser.
I've got a lot of changes to make. I've made a lot of mistakes and I've let my life go down the tubes, but the thing is, I've always known the right thing to do. And the moment I decide to stop fucking up I can turn everything around. I've always known what the correct choice was, I just didn't make it.
Luckily, both my parents are in good health. Still I worry that they might not see me turn things around and they might leave worrying about my future. For that reason I've decided to change things now. If I do things right I can have my life in good shape by New Years. I think Christmastime With Clementine is the first step towards fixing things.
I'm bad at this
I look at my last post, which I wrote at around 3am, and it seems so bad, so 'going through the motions'. Final Girl can write two or three sentences about her favorite horror movies and it's fun and interesting; I do the same thing and it's painfully boring and maybe pointless.
What am I doing wrong? What's missing? Oooooooow, Halloween just started!!! My friends are over and we're gonna watch. Talk to you later, RJ
What am I doing wrong? What's missing? Oooooooow, Halloween just started!!! My friends are over and we're gonna watch. Talk to you later, RJ
Friday, October 22, 2010
Copying Final Girl
It's Shocktober over at Final Girl and I think she did a poll where people voted for their top 20 favorite horror movies and it became a ranking of 500 films. Also, she posted her top 20 choices. I decided since it's October I'll do the same thing.
(This list is not in any order)
My Top 20 Favorite Horror/ Halloween movies
1. The Omen I & II
These movies scared me badly when I was a kid and saw them at 3am on HBO. the best part of I is when Gregory peck and the photographer go gravedigging in Italy. There's something special about the lighting during this scene- it's creepy and dreamlike, it's very beautiful. Part II is all gory and disturbing deaths; the most upsetting is when Damien kills his cousin Mark. Even now, years later, it's hard to watch.
2. Scream
I'm not a big fan of any of the Scream movies (I'm mad that Scream 2 is never on TV; I like how they cast Laurie Metcalf and put her in a Pam Vorhees-sweater) but the opening sequense with Drew Barrymore is amazing. Too bad the whole thing couldn't be that good.
3. Children of the Corn
This is another movie that I caught in the middle of the night on HBO. After seeing the opening scene in the diner I couldn't watch the rest so it wasn't until years later that I saw the whle movie and realized how ridiculous it is. I don't know which is worst: the special effects or Peter Horton's speech to the kids. So lame.
4. Event Horizon
I watched this movie with my friend Chris and it scared the shit out of me. "Where we're going we won't need eyes to see." Holy shit. And that scene with Baby Bear and the cabin doors.
5. The Shining
I've read the book twice and seen the movie a bunch of times. Neither actually scared me but they're both excellent. My favorite thing about the movie: The very first shot- the tiny island on the lake and the music- is so clear and creepy and perfect.
6. IT
I caught the movie on TV and read the book a couple years ago. The book was a good read with a lot of flaws. The movie was a lot of fun with a horrible ending. But it's always good to see Harry Anderson.
7. Haunted Honeymoon
A very unfunny comedy but it has lot of charm and really sets a mood. I like the old-fashioned haunted house feeling it projects. I can't think of one funny part but I'd weatch it if it were on TV right now. Gilda Radner was great.
8. Friday the 13th I II & III
To me it's all the same movie- I saw them when I was very young and always had it in my head that in all of them Jason was the killer and he was always wearing the hockey mask. The first film was really good at setting mood- I remember some nice scenes of waves on the lake and raindrops falling on leaves. The kinds of scenes you wouldn't see in Part VI or Jason X.
9. The Exorcist III
Both the book and the movie are fucked-up and scary.
10. Bram Stoker's Dracula
Not a scary movie in any way. What I love are the blazing sunsets and dark mountains in Transylvania. In some parts it's a truly beautiful movie.
Coming up...11-20
(This list is not in any order)
My Top 20 Favorite Horror/ Halloween movies
1. The Omen I & II
These movies scared me badly when I was a kid and saw them at 3am on HBO. the best part of I is when Gregory peck and the photographer go gravedigging in Italy. There's something special about the lighting during this scene- it's creepy and dreamlike, it's very beautiful. Part II is all gory and disturbing deaths; the most upsetting is when Damien kills his cousin Mark. Even now, years later, it's hard to watch.
2. Scream
I'm not a big fan of any of the Scream movies (I'm mad that Scream 2 is never on TV; I like how they cast Laurie Metcalf and put her in a Pam Vorhees-sweater) but the opening sequense with Drew Barrymore is amazing. Too bad the whole thing couldn't be that good.
3. Children of the Corn
This is another movie that I caught in the middle of the night on HBO. After seeing the opening scene in the diner I couldn't watch the rest so it wasn't until years later that I saw the whle movie and realized how ridiculous it is. I don't know which is worst: the special effects or Peter Horton's speech to the kids. So lame.
4. Event Horizon
I watched this movie with my friend Chris and it scared the shit out of me. "Where we're going we won't need eyes to see." Holy shit. And that scene with Baby Bear and the cabin doors.
5. The Shining
I've read the book twice and seen the movie a bunch of times. Neither actually scared me but they're both excellent. My favorite thing about the movie: The very first shot- the tiny island on the lake and the music- is so clear and creepy and perfect.
6. IT
I caught the movie on TV and read the book a couple years ago. The book was a good read with a lot of flaws. The movie was a lot of fun with a horrible ending. But it's always good to see Harry Anderson.
7. Haunted Honeymoon
A very unfunny comedy but it has lot of charm and really sets a mood. I like the old-fashioned haunted house feeling it projects. I can't think of one funny part but I'd weatch it if it were on TV right now. Gilda Radner was great.
8. Friday the 13th I II & III
To me it's all the same movie- I saw them when I was very young and always had it in my head that in all of them Jason was the killer and he was always wearing the hockey mask. The first film was really good at setting mood- I remember some nice scenes of waves on the lake and raindrops falling on leaves. The kinds of scenes you wouldn't see in Part VI or Jason X.
9. The Exorcist III
Both the book and the movie are fucked-up and scary.
10. Bram Stoker's Dracula
Not a scary movie in any way. What I love are the blazing sunsets and dark mountains in Transylvania. In some parts it's a truly beautiful movie.
Coming up...11-20
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Why would someone come here?
For while the main focus of this blog, RJ Battles, was record sleeves. I've posted a lot of my favorites and there are still more that I wanna find and put up here. there were also movie reviews and my opinion on TV and music.
Now it's just updates about my unfinished writing projects. I've gotta focus. I'm so jealous of Final Girl. She's got horror movies, and a fun writing style, and it's October so it's a big party over at her blog.
Still, there's a lot to look forward to here. You can see my children's Christmas book before it hits stores, and you can read my short story before The New Yorker publishes it. That's something. Stay tuned.
By the way, did I mention one day last week I wanted to kill some time so I read Final Girl's two blog marathons, one for the Halloween series and one for the Friday the 13th movies. It was a great idea and she made it a lot of fun. If you have the time (or if you don't have the time) go over there and read them both from the beginning. It'll make you wanna start your own blog.
Maybe I'll do that. I'll listen to all the Throwing Muses albums in a row and write about it, or all of Aimee Mann's records. If that doesn't bring me a bunch of new readers nothing will.
Now it's just updates about my unfinished writing projects. I've gotta focus. I'm so jealous of Final Girl. She's got horror movies, and a fun writing style, and it's October so it's a big party over at her blog.
Still, there's a lot to look forward to here. You can see my children's Christmas book before it hits stores, and you can read my short story before The New Yorker publishes it. That's something. Stay tuned.
By the way, did I mention one day last week I wanted to kill some time so I read Final Girl's two blog marathons, one for the Halloween series and one for the Friday the 13th movies. It was a great idea and she made it a lot of fun. If you have the time (or if you don't have the time) go over there and read them both from the beginning. It'll make you wanna start your own blog.
Maybe I'll do that. I'll listen to all the Throwing Muses albums in a row and write about it, or all of Aimee Mann's records. If that doesn't bring me a bunch of new readers nothing will.
Good news
I'm headed to work soon, but I got up early and did some re-writes on Christmastime With Clementine. I've taken a simpler approach and I solved a problem with the story so now it holds together better.
If I give it my full attention and work on it non-stop I can get it ready and out there in time for Christmas. I'm very excited. I think this can work.
If I give it my full attention and work on it non-stop I can get it ready and out there in time for Christmas. I'm very excited. I think this can work.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
So many projects
And if I could finish just one of them I'd be happy. I just sat down and listed all of them (actually there are more but they haven't even been started yet; they're just ideas) Here's what I have so far:
Clementine Sees The State (children's book)
Christmastime With Clementine (children's book)
Short story (for The New Yorker)
Book about my city
Horror movie (for Lifetime)
Paintings (for a gallery show)
Here's the progress I've made:
Christmastime With Clementine- I've got more than half of it written in a notebook, but I think it's lacking something. I want to start over, or, at least, punch up what I've got. I wanted to have it done, illustrated, printed, and ready for sale in time for Christmas this year but it's probably too late unless I quit my job and work on it around the clock.
I got the idea for Clementine Sees The State first. Then I thought Who's going to buy a book about my parents' dog? People would, however, buy a Christmas book about my parents' dog. Now I'm thinking I'll do this first and publish it sometime in early 2011.
I started the short story for The New Yorker Monday night and I'm 1/4 of the way through the first draft. I think it has a lot of potential. I'd like to publish it here at RJ Battles first and see what you think of it.
I was reading Rat Girl and I looked over at a pile of books next to my loveseat and saw an old, small, black & white book about Ireland, slim and plain, but with very nice photos. I want my book to be half Tom Wolfe and half Amy Sedaris. I'm not sure how to approach it yet but I know I want it to be fun.
I've always wanted to make a horror movie. I've got a story kicking around. The thing that I think is most important is setting a mood. I want the viewer to feel like they're right there. I want to evoke a certain mood, the same way that whenever you watch Halloween-no matter what time of year it is- you feel like it's October 31st.
My whole life I've thought of myself as a painter (or a drawer). Somehow, though, I lost interest. Up until the time I was 18 I did it all the time. Maybe because I was shy and had trouble talking to people and since then I've gotten better at it. I don't know. Still, I still have pictures I want to make and I'd like to have other people see them. I've got to give it a try or otherwise forget about it forever.
I'm thinking about all the time I waste. Number one, I walk 40 minutes each way to work. That right there is a shitload of wasted time. I come home and go on the computer and read the newspapers and blogs and go to Craigslist Missed Connections to see if anyone wrote about me. I've gotta cut that out. Maybe if I used my time better I could finish all these things by the end of the year or sooner. We'll see.
Clementine Sees The State (children's book)
Christmastime With Clementine (children's book)
Short story (for The New Yorker)
Book about my city
Horror movie (for Lifetime)
Paintings (for a gallery show)
Here's the progress I've made:
Christmastime With Clementine- I've got more than half of it written in a notebook, but I think it's lacking something. I want to start over, or, at least, punch up what I've got. I wanted to have it done, illustrated, printed, and ready for sale in time for Christmas this year but it's probably too late unless I quit my job and work on it around the clock.
I got the idea for Clementine Sees The State first. Then I thought Who's going to buy a book about my parents' dog? People would, however, buy a Christmas book about my parents' dog. Now I'm thinking I'll do this first and publish it sometime in early 2011.
I started the short story for The New Yorker Monday night and I'm 1/4 of the way through the first draft. I think it has a lot of potential. I'd like to publish it here at RJ Battles first and see what you think of it.
I was reading Rat Girl and I looked over at a pile of books next to my loveseat and saw an old, small, black & white book about Ireland, slim and plain, but with very nice photos. I want my book to be half Tom Wolfe and half Amy Sedaris. I'm not sure how to approach it yet but I know I want it to be fun.
I've always wanted to make a horror movie. I've got a story kicking around. The thing that I think is most important is setting a mood. I want the viewer to feel like they're right there. I want to evoke a certain mood, the same way that whenever you watch Halloween-no matter what time of year it is- you feel like it's October 31st.
My whole life I've thought of myself as a painter (or a drawer). Somehow, though, I lost interest. Up until the time I was 18 I did it all the time. Maybe because I was shy and had trouble talking to people and since then I've gotten better at it. I don't know. Still, I still have pictures I want to make and I'd like to have other people see them. I've got to give it a try or otherwise forget about it forever.
I'm thinking about all the time I waste. Number one, I walk 40 minutes each way to work. That right there is a shitload of wasted time. I come home and go on the computer and read the newspapers and blogs and go to Craigslist Missed Connections to see if anyone wrote about me. I've gotta cut that out. Maybe if I used my time better I could finish all these things by the end of the year or sooner. We'll see.
Another book idea
This brings the total up to five I think. I was sitting on my loveseat a few minutes ago and I got the idea to write a book about the city I live in. There have already been a few books written about it- one, in the 1990s, got nationwide attention- but mine will be something different. While that other book, which I liked, was more about life-long residents, I want want mine to focus on creative people in the area, painters and musicians and writers. I'd like for it to be about regional art.
I'd also like for it to be more of a picture book, more visual. I want people to see everything right in front of them. And I want it to be the kind of book where even people who lived here forever will see things they've never seen before.
Maybe I'll focus on shut-ins. There's alot going on indoors in someone's private space, that people might never see.
I'd also like for it to be more of a picture book, more visual. I want people to see everything right in front of them. And I want it to be the kind of book where even people who lived here forever will see things they've never seen before.
Maybe I'll focus on shut-ins. There's alot going on indoors in someone's private space, that people might never see.
Monday, October 18, 2010
13 Steps Lead Down
13 Steps Lead Down (1994) Elvis Costello
I bought most of the Rykodisc re-issues and a couple of the Rhino double disc re-issues- all with EC's liner notes, and I read a book about his music called Let Them All Talk, and still I don't know what he's singing about half the time. All the references and wordplay is lost on me.
Anyway, he's got a lot of good songs. In Greenfield, MA I found the CD single for 13 Steps Lead Down and it's got three cool B-sides:
"Puppet Girl"
"Basement Kiss", and
"We Despise You"
For some reason they're not included on the bonus disc of the Rhino re-release of Brutal Youth. It contains a few other B-sides but mostly it's different versions of the album tracks.
Still, I wanna buy it. I like that record. My only problem with it is the same problem I have with all the other EC records: I can't stand the piano and keyboards. Here, Steve Nieve flat-out wrecks songs like "This Is Hell" and "London's Brilliant Parade". I wish I could remix these songs and erase the keyboards. Oh well.
The sequel to the remake of John Carpenter's 1978 film
I have DirectTV and when you flip around, the display on top tells you the name of what's on before the actual picture comes through. I was so excited tonight when I saw that Halloween II was on Showtime.
But no. It turns out that Showtime is not playing Halloween II tonight. They're playing a Rob Zombie movie.
Why does everyone have to be so dirty. There are so many white trash hillbilly characters, and even Laurie and the cop are mangy and scruffy and probably smell like an ashtray.
But no. It turns out that Showtime is not playing Halloween II tonight. They're playing a Rob Zombie movie.
Why does everyone have to be so dirty. There are so many white trash hillbilly characters, and even Laurie and the cop are mangy and scruffy and probably smell like an ashtray.
Short story
I had today off from work and I don't have to go in tomorrow. So many days off go by and I feel like I hardly ever acomplish anything.
This is because so often I use my off-time to go out of town and sleep at my friend's house in my hometown. I love that and I need it but my life here is not going anywhere. I have to focus on where I am.
I'm not a published writer but tonight I'm going to write a story that will be printed in The New Yorker.
This is because so often I use my off-time to go out of town and sleep at my friend's house in my hometown. I love that and I need it but my life here is not going anywhere. I have to focus on where I am.
I'm not a published writer but tonight I'm going to write a story that will be printed in The New Yorker.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
CardWoo
I'm watching the Chiller Channel and I just saw an ad for a company called CardWoo.
They say that they'll buy your unwanted gift cards. I didn't catch whether or not they give you the full face value of the card or just part of it, and I can't imagine exactly what CardWoo does with the gift cards they buy; I'll have to pay closer attention the next time it comes on.
Gift cards are a bad gift, though. We all know that. And still we've all given them.
Cash is probably the best gift ever invented. I love opening a Christmas or birthday card and seeing money inside. Right away, ideas come about how to spend it. And gift cards are fine, of course, but they're limiting. Maybe you'll get a Best Buy card but you'll wish it was for Target instead.
The actors in the ad are funny; they come across like ungrateful scumbags but they're just saying what we've all thought. One woman stands at the register in a clothing store and says, "I don't want anything here. Why can't I just get the money instead".
The only people who should be given gift cards are junkies and other addicts who otherwise wouldn't buy food. You should get them a gift card from their local grocery store and you should give them a matching amount of cash so they can get high. You don't want them to be sick at Christmas, do you? Have a heart.
They say that they'll buy your unwanted gift cards. I didn't catch whether or not they give you the full face value of the card or just part of it, and I can't imagine exactly what CardWoo does with the gift cards they buy; I'll have to pay closer attention the next time it comes on.
Gift cards are a bad gift, though. We all know that. And still we've all given them.
Cash is probably the best gift ever invented. I love opening a Christmas or birthday card and seeing money inside. Right away, ideas come about how to spend it. And gift cards are fine, of course, but they're limiting. Maybe you'll get a Best Buy card but you'll wish it was for Target instead.
The actors in the ad are funny; they come across like ungrateful scumbags but they're just saying what we've all thought. One woman stands at the register in a clothing store and says, "I don't want anything here. Why can't I just get the money instead".
The only people who should be given gift cards are junkies and other addicts who otherwise wouldn't buy food. You should get them a gift card from their local grocery store and you should give them a matching amount of cash so they can get high. You don't want them to be sick at Christmas, do you? Have a heart.
My Dinner With RJ
I just finished dinner and I have to tell you all about it.
Made two things: corn (from a can), and home fries.
The corn just simmered in a small saucepan with a fat pat of butter and some salt & pepper stirred in.
The home fries- I diced up two leftover baked potatoes from last Sunday's family picnic. I started with a medium saucepan and olive oil, three pats of butter, garlic powder, s & p, parsley flakes, and oregeno. Then I tossed in the diced spuds till they were light brown.
It sounds plain but I practically licked the plate.
Earlier in the evening I went to a Mexican resturant with friends and while they ate I had two screwdrivers so, yes, I was a little hungry anyway, but this came out really fucking good. I'm calling it RJ's Spuds and Corn and you should give it a try.
Made two things: corn (from a can), and home fries.
The corn just simmered in a small saucepan with a fat pat of butter and some salt & pepper stirred in.
The home fries- I diced up two leftover baked potatoes from last Sunday's family picnic. I started with a medium saucepan and olive oil, three pats of butter, garlic powder, s & p, parsley flakes, and oregeno. Then I tossed in the diced spuds till they were light brown.
It sounds plain but I practically licked the plate.
Earlier in the evening I went to a Mexican resturant with friends and while they ate I had two screwdrivers so, yes, I was a little hungry anyway, but this came out really fucking good. I'm calling it RJ's Spuds and Corn and you should give it a try.
Nuala O'Faolain
This past Sunday I went to my parents' house because my dad's side of the family was coming for a visit. It was a beatutiful, warm day and we ate outside and had a great time.
My Uncle Jerry loaded his truck with things he was getting rid of: jackets, books, household items, and a 32" TV. Most of the books were Ireland related and I snagged a couple Irish ghost story books as it's October and I like to get into the spirit.
I also grabbed a book I had seen in the past and hadn't really thought about reading before. I'd liked Angela's Ashes and Frank McCourt blurbed, "You don't want the book to end" about Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain.
I started reading it the next day and I finished it last night with tears in my eyes.
Are You Somebody? is so well written that it makes you want to sit down and write your own life story and hope that it will come out half as good.
Total honesty- no holding back- is one of the things that makes it so strong. She lays everything out when you know it must've been a brutal process.
The only thing that might keep my from recommending it to my friends is I know there are certain parts where they're going to be lost, as I was, and want to skip over sections.
I know next to nothing about many of the books and writers she talks about. And she lost me, too, when she listed the countries and landmarks she visited on holiday.
She's been fucking everywhere, by the way. If you live in Europe it must be really cheap to get plane tickets. She went everywhere you've ever wanted to go and everywhere you don't.
I've gotten really bad with Wikopedia- when I come across a movie on TV I have to go look it up and read how it ends. I don't know why. I'd never do that with a book, but halfway through Are You Somebody? I decided to look up the author and learn a little more about her life.
It made me really sad to discover that she's no longer alive; she died of cancer in 2008. I didn't see that coming- she's only about five years older than my parents.
Anyway, if you get the chance you should seek out this book. Go to the library or buy it this week at your local bookstore. It's worth buying, and besides, you'll want to re-read it, either right away or in the coming years. It's a good story, told well.
My Uncle Jerry loaded his truck with things he was getting rid of: jackets, books, household items, and a 32" TV. Most of the books were Ireland related and I snagged a couple Irish ghost story books as it's October and I like to get into the spirit.
I also grabbed a book I had seen in the past and hadn't really thought about reading before. I'd liked Angela's Ashes and Frank McCourt blurbed, "You don't want the book to end" about Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain.
I started reading it the next day and I finished it last night with tears in my eyes.
Are You Somebody? is so well written that it makes you want to sit down and write your own life story and hope that it will come out half as good.
Total honesty- no holding back- is one of the things that makes it so strong. She lays everything out when you know it must've been a brutal process.
The only thing that might keep my from recommending it to my friends is I know there are certain parts where they're going to be lost, as I was, and want to skip over sections.
I know next to nothing about many of the books and writers she talks about. And she lost me, too, when she listed the countries and landmarks she visited on holiday.
She's been fucking everywhere, by the way. If you live in Europe it must be really cheap to get plane tickets. She went everywhere you've ever wanted to go and everywhere you don't.
I've gotten really bad with Wikopedia- when I come across a movie on TV I have to go look it up and read how it ends. I don't know why. I'd never do that with a book, but halfway through Are You Somebody? I decided to look up the author and learn a little more about her life.
It made me really sad to discover that she's no longer alive; she died of cancer in 2008. I didn't see that coming- she's only about five years older than my parents.
Anyway, if you get the chance you should seek out this book. Go to the library or buy it this week at your local bookstore. It's worth buying, and besides, you'll want to re-read it, either right away or in the coming years. It's a good story, told well.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
New Header for RJ Battles
Since it's October and Halloween is on its way, I decided to put together a new special Halloween header for RJ Battles. Just like the previous header, it's a collage of Belly images- photography: Chris Gorman, design: Chris Bigg.
Peepshow
Peepshow (1988) Siouxsie & the Banshees
If the main quality of great art is that it sets a mood, then Siouxsie & the Banshees's Peepshow falls into that catagory.
Tomorrow, go to the record store and buy Peepshow. Then tomorrow night, after dinner, pop it into your Discman and walk around your neighborhood. If you live in city, drive to someplace where there are a lot of trees, maybe a park. This album feels like October. It feels like Halloween.
The opening track "Peek-A-Boo" is a fucked-up song. It's ok if you wanna skip over it and go to track two, "The Killing Jar". I think you're going to love "Burn-up", the song that closed side one on the LP. "Rawhead and Bloodybones" is wierd but also really cool.
For an album from 1988, this album holds up really well. Their next album, Superstition, sounds more dated than Peepshow, though it doesn't sound too dated either.
The album art is amazing. I love the the way they write the song titles. The front and back covers look like movie posters for a horror movie.
Don't you love it...
...when you take a sip of water from a glass and realize how thirsty you are and drink the whole thing at once. Water is so delicious.
October is one of my favorite months and I love Halloween so I'd like to watch some horror movies and write about them here. And I don't even need to rent anything. Turner Classic Movies is showing a lot of horror films this month and I've got the Chiller Channel.
Today The Changeling was on IFC or Sundance and I caught parts of it. I was sick and went to take a nap halfway through and was surprised to see it was still on when I woke up. I caught the ending and remembered why I'd thought of it recently: Final Girl has been running a game called The Final Shot where she posts the last image from a horror movie and you try and guess the movie. She did The Changeling last week.
Saw that The Sunday New York Times reviewed Kristin Hersh's book Rat Girl this past weekend. I'm happy about that; it was a very favorable review and it'll be great exposure for the book. I'm hoping that Rat Girl finds a large audience and it brings a lot of attention to Throwing Muses, who are working on their first album since 2003.
That record, called Throwing Muses, featured some of their best songs and Tanya Donelly came back to sing backing vocals. From what I've heard she won't be involved with the new album but who knows? It would be awesome to see a full reunion with her singing and playing guitar, maybe even throwing in a couple of her own songs. Donelly hasn't put out an album since 2006 so she must have a few songs kicking around.
There are about half a dozen demos up at Throwing Muses's CASH Music page. The best, I think, is "Cherry Candy/Dripping Trees". If you get a chance, check it out.
Today is the two year anniversary of the start of RJ Battles. I'd been thinking of starting a blog for a while, inspired by my favorite blog, Final Girl. When I began this blog I'd just moved to a new city and had been there (here) for just over a week. I hadn't found a job yet and to be honest, I wasn't really looking too hard. Less than a week later I got a call back and started work the next day. My two year anniversary of starting work there (here) is coming up on the 17th.
I'm very proud of some of the writing I've done here at RJ Battles and I'm pleased with a lot of the images I've found and put up. Thank you to everyone who's come here to RJ Battles to read and look at the pictures. I appreciate it and I hope you'll continue to check in from time to time. See you later, RJ Battles
Friday, October 8, 2010
1990
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What was it about 1990 that brought out three films that were sequels to excellent movies from the early 1970s?
I'm not crazy about Chinatown (1974) and I've never seen The Two Jakes. The first was directed by Roman Polanski and the second by Jack Nicolson. From what I've heard, The Two Jakes holds up pretty well, maybe not as good as Chinatown, but as a good movie on its own.
John Boorman made the first sequel to The Exorcist, The Exorcist II: The Heretic. The movie has its problems; I won't go into all of them, I'll just mention that dumb machine that lets people sync their thoughts and dreams together. Also, it's very dated. But it's a visually intetresting movie with a jarring soundtrack. If I smoked pot still I'd want to watch this high.
Whe I was younger I found William Peter Blatty's novel Legion on the front porch so I sat out there and read it on our old couch one summer. It was so creepy and fucked up, even Blatty's author photo on the back jacket scared me. He looks evil. Blatty directed The Exorcist III: Legion and it's even scarier than the book. Ask anyone who's seen it and they'll mention the nurse scene (I'm not gonna say anymore). You should rent this movie this month. Or do an Exorcist marathon one night. They're all worth seeing.
I've watched all three Godfather movies a bunch of times. Most people say that Part II (1974) is the best and I agree. But I don't agree with people who say that Part III sucks. I think it's very interesting and it came out great, especially considering that Copploa did it mostly for the money and there wasn't any real plan on what to do with the characters. If Pacino didn't feel like doing it they were just gonna kill off his charcter and do something else. Plus, Sophia Coppola was perfect for the role of Mary and she did an excellent job. Part III deserves a second chance. The only thing that bothers me (and it's bothered me ever since I saw the original trailers for the movie) is the special effects when the cardinal is falling down from the stairs. So fake.
When a movie is very good, like The Exorcist or The first two Godfathers, it's really tricky to come along years later and make a quality sequel, but in 1990 Blatty and Coppola succeeded.
Miss Manners
I love Miss Manners. She's an excellent writer and unexpectedly funny. She's one of the very few advice columnists that I almost always agree with. I have a couple of her books and every once in a while I'll go to the Washinton Post online and read a bunch of her columns.
It can be a pain sometimes cause you have to click back and forth to keep reading, but actually, the only thing that really bothers me is when one of her readers will write her a letter and try to imitate her writing style and act overly formal and pretentious.
Anyway, I have a complaint: I answer a lot of business calls and people are always trying to get connected to the owners. They ask for them by their first names- which I don't like but I've learned to live with; everyone's on a first-name-basis with everyone and that's just the way it is- but what I really can't stand is that they don't indentify themselves.
Grown men and women make phone calls like 13-year-olds- "Hi, is Jimmy there?"
The owners get about 20 phone calls a day and none of them are from people they wanna talk to. It's people selling things or people wanting a donation. I can always tell which callers are legit; they'll say, "Hi, this is Peter Davis from Coca-Cola..."
We have a problem when other employees call, or the owner's kids. I'll say that the owners aren't around and ask if they wanna leave a message and then once they identify themselves I say, "Oh, yeah, they're upstairs, hold on a moment, I'll call them".
As for the all the other people, they never wanna leave a message, they just ask when a good time to call would be and I always say they'll be in the office between 5pm and 7pm. By that time the place is closed and the only person around is the cleaning guy.
It can be a pain sometimes cause you have to click back and forth to keep reading, but actually, the only thing that really bothers me is when one of her readers will write her a letter and try to imitate her writing style and act overly formal and pretentious.
Anyway, I have a complaint: I answer a lot of business calls and people are always trying to get connected to the owners. They ask for them by their first names- which I don't like but I've learned to live with; everyone's on a first-name-basis with everyone and that's just the way it is- but what I really can't stand is that they don't indentify themselves.
Grown men and women make phone calls like 13-year-olds- "Hi, is Jimmy there?"
The owners get about 20 phone calls a day and none of them are from people they wanna talk to. It's people selling things or people wanting a donation. I can always tell which callers are legit; they'll say, "Hi, this is Peter Davis from Coca-Cola..."
We have a problem when other employees call, or the owner's kids. I'll say that the owners aren't around and ask if they wanna leave a message and then once they identify themselves I say, "Oh, yeah, they're upstairs, hold on a moment, I'll call them".
As for the all the other people, they never wanna leave a message, they just ask when a good time to call would be and I always say they'll be in the office between 5pm and 7pm. By that time the place is closed and the only person around is the cleaning guy.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
"The Killing Jar"
"The Killing Jar" (1988) Siouxsie & the Banshees
Cool song, the remix is alright. There's also the single version on Twice Upon a Time.
This sleeve is better the "The Last Beat of my Heart" and the tiny Peepshow on the back is even cooler.
"The Last Beat...' Siouxsie
"The Last Beat of my Heart" (1988) Siouxsie & the Banshees
I really like this song and the packaging is cool too. Number one, the record label is neat; number two, I like the back cover with the tiny image of the Peepshow cover.
Wheaties
Yesterday, at work, I came across two wheatback pennies; today I found three.
My Mt. Olive bread & butter pickles jar is filling up.
In other news, terreriunm updates are coming soon.
My Mt. Olive bread & butter pickles jar is filling up.
In other news, terreriunm updates are coming soon.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill (1996)
A Time to Kill is on TV right now. I've never seen it before and I'm not really watching it right now. Years ago I wanted to read one of John Grisham's books and ATtK was handy so I picked it up but it was too upsetting so I put it aside after a few pages. Probably the wrong book to start with.
The story doesn't really interest me. One thing about this movie does surprise me though: I didn't remember when it came out but watching it tonight I was thinking 1992 or 1993. Nope, 1996. But everyone looks so young- sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt (his fat face looks so babyish), Chris Cooper, even Donald Sutherland looks fresh-faced. Hey, look, there's Dr. Chilton. Everybody's in this movie. And by the way, the judge looks just like Peter Fonda playing Tom Wolfe.
This past Thursday there was a special screening of The Exorcist, a movie I'm fascinated with. I read that William Peter Blatty won a bunch of money on You Bet Your Life and when Groucho asked what he was gonna do with it Blatty said he was gonna take a year off and write a novel. That novel was The Exorcist.
Which reminds me- I read once that Blatty became friends with Groucho Marx and the two of them came up with an idea for a prank: you know when Chris MacNeil opens the door to Father Merrin? They were gonna have Groucho wait on the other side of the door to surprise her but then they had schedule problems and couldn't work it.
As I've said here before, I love The Exorcist; it's perfectly made, and once you get past all the shocking elements it's a very sweet story about good people trying to help each other.
I believe Stanley Kubrick was interested in directing at one point but the studio was worried about the costs and headaches. That would be interesting but I'm glad it didn't happen. Nothing could be better than William Freidkin's movie.
Supposedly The Exorcist is going to be made into a mini-series. I can't see how it could be good at all. All I know is, if they're smart they won't set it in the present day. Priests aren't what they used to be.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Madonna Greatest Hits Volume 2
I don't know where or how he got, but my brother ended up with a big cardboard display for GHV2. It was so cool- dozens of little pictures, just like the CD above. He kept it in our parents' attic but it's not there anymore; I think he threw it out.
So many cool pictures. My favorites are:
Top row- the two "Erotica" photos and the "Cherish" one.
Second to last row, last picture- from "Vogue"
Bottom row, right corner- 1989 Rolling Stone photo shoot
Friday, October 1, 2010
2 years of RJ Battles almost
How do you celebrate two years of a blog that nobody reads?
Good question, RJ. I don't know.
Wouldn't it be funny if I had a raffle for $100? If I have two readers (big if) there's a 50% chance of winning. Good odds for somebody.
Maybe, on the big day- October 11- I'll put up a picture of myself naked and then take it down the next morning. Maybe I'll do it; that's a good reason to tune in.
While I don't have a large audience I do like the fact that there's a lot of content in the archives here. If someone where to stumble upon this blog and like it (another big if) they could have fun looking back on the past two years. Sometimes I look back and read things I've written and it isn't always as bad as I expect it to be. There are some decent posts. There are some beautiful pictures. Star-era Belly. The Kubrick paintings. Terrarium updates. By the way, terrarium update: my friend Amy calls them death tubes.
Good question, RJ. I don't know.
Wouldn't it be funny if I had a raffle for $100? If I have two readers (big if) there's a 50% chance of winning. Good odds for somebody.
Maybe, on the big day- October 11- I'll put up a picture of myself naked and then take it down the next morning. Maybe I'll do it; that's a good reason to tune in.
While I don't have a large audience I do like the fact that there's a lot of content in the archives here. If someone where to stumble upon this blog and like it (another big if) they could have fun looking back on the past two years. Sometimes I look back and read things I've written and it isn't always as bad as I expect it to be. There are some decent posts. There are some beautiful pictures. Star-era Belly. The Kubrick paintings. Terrarium updates. By the way, terrarium update: my friend Amy calls them death tubes.
Here's the story...
Back in the summer of 2006 I worked with this shady junkie- we'll call him Dan. Right before he started working there he spent a week in detox to get off heroin. Two weeks into the job he was back on it.
I trained him on a machine at the end of his first week and as he didn't have a car and he happened to live close to me I ended up being his ride home all summer.
A month after we started hanging out I met his 19-year-old girlfriend in his bedroom in his mother's basement. She was a freshman in college, very sweet, and had braces. We were sitting on his futon with him sitting between me and Jill, watching a Van Damme movie. They were making out and halfway through the movie he told her to suck his dick. She blushed, but she did it. I was super-uncomfortable so I just stared at the TV. That's wierd, right?
He was very shady. He was a thief. He had Hep C. He was very bad at injecting himself so when I was around I had to do it for him.
But the big problem was, while he wasn't a big drinker, when he did drink he was one of those people who turns into a completely different person. He'd call me at midnight and threaten to kill me because earlier in the week I'd said something that'd hurt his feelings.
It was a joke- he'd been really fucked up and I said he looked like one of the people from Pet Sematary, one of the ones who'd been brought back. He hadn't even seen the movie, and besides, he didn't have any feelings. I told him that too.
Anyway, that fall he was arrested and he moved to one of the Carolinas and I've only run into him a couple of times since he moved back last year.
This summer he was arrested for robbing an elderly female cashier at a package store at gunpoint in a little town 40 miles away. He spent the last two months in jail and just got out last week. The case has been dismissed because there is security camera footage of him at a package store in his hometown at 9:02pm that night and the robbery happened at 9:08pm so there's no way he could've been there.
So I guess he's innocent but I've started to think that maybe a friend helped him out. Maybe someone he knows works at a package store and they doctored some footage of him shopping and changed the time and date on it in an effort to clear him. I'd like to ask him but even if he wasn't a compulsive liar, which he is, I don't think he'd admit it.
I trained him on a machine at the end of his first week and as he didn't have a car and he happened to live close to me I ended up being his ride home all summer.
A month after we started hanging out I met his 19-year-old girlfriend in his bedroom in his mother's basement. She was a freshman in college, very sweet, and had braces. We were sitting on his futon with him sitting between me and Jill, watching a Van Damme movie. They were making out and halfway through the movie he told her to suck his dick. She blushed, but she did it. I was super-uncomfortable so I just stared at the TV. That's wierd, right?
He was very shady. He was a thief. He had Hep C. He was very bad at injecting himself so when I was around I had to do it for him.
But the big problem was, while he wasn't a big drinker, when he did drink he was one of those people who turns into a completely different person. He'd call me at midnight and threaten to kill me because earlier in the week I'd said something that'd hurt his feelings.
It was a joke- he'd been really fucked up and I said he looked like one of the people from Pet Sematary, one of the ones who'd been brought back. He hadn't even seen the movie, and besides, he didn't have any feelings. I told him that too.
Anyway, that fall he was arrested and he moved to one of the Carolinas and I've only run into him a couple of times since he moved back last year.
This summer he was arrested for robbing an elderly female cashier at a package store at gunpoint in a little town 40 miles away. He spent the last two months in jail and just got out last week. The case has been dismissed because there is security camera footage of him at a package store in his hometown at 9:02pm that night and the robbery happened at 9:08pm so there's no way he could've been there.
So I guess he's innocent but I've started to think that maybe a friend helped him out. Maybe someone he knows works at a package store and they doctored some footage of him shopping and changed the time and date on it in an effort to clear him. I'd like to ask him but even if he wasn't a compulsive liar, which he is, I don't think he'd admit it.
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