For the most part, I found this book, "Killing Yourself to Live" by Chuck Klosterman, to be thoroughly enjoyable. The best aspect of the book is its perpetual humor--I never had to read long before having a hearty laugh over Chuck's drug addictions and women problems. Though most of the book is merely Chuck rambling about his journey across the country, he offers some clever and, in my opinion, prophetic insight into humanity's psychology.
My only (yes, ONLY) complaint about the travelogue is Chuck's references to rock songs, 97% of which I have never heard of. This seemed to alienate me at certain points in the text, though Chuck quickly drew me back in with his witty humor.
I have already recommended this book to several of my friends, providing quotes from it that put us both in stitches. And don't worry--one doesn't need to be a drunk marijuana fiend to enjoy the hours of humor encapsulated in this pseudo-stream-of-consciousness book.
Overall: A-
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Killing Yourself to Live III
Well, first of all, I was relieved to find the quite extensive Fleetwood Mac reference at the beginning of this section. I personally love this book and think it is hilarious, but my lack of knowledge regarding Chuck's kinds of music has been a slight turn-off from the start. My mom is the one who sparked my interest in this band, and I even went to one of their live concerts last year (yes, they are, in fact, still alive).
The whole twelfth day involving Chuck's Nemesis was pretty amusing--just because most people, I'm assuming, have that one person whom they are friends with, yet consider a type of rival or even enemy. Throughout this chapter, Chuck also eludes to the "something" that is going to happen tonight. At the end, the reader can have a good, disappointed laugh when it is discovered that nothing happens. I actually have that thought a lot too--that either something really good or extremely terrible is going to happen based on the circumstances, but.....it never does.
The whole twelfth day involving Chuck's Nemesis was pretty amusing--just because most people, I'm assuming, have that one person whom they are friends with, yet consider a type of rival or even enemy. Throughout this chapter, Chuck also eludes to the "something" that is going to happen tonight. At the end, the reader can have a good, disappointed laugh when it is discovered that nothing happens. I actually have that thought a lot too--that either something really good or extremely terrible is going to happen based on the circumstances, but.....it never does.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Life
Life has been treating me well lately. I've been working pretty intensely on setting up a club, called the Japanese Manga and Cosplay Club. This organization is meant to be a place where UMD students can go and have meaningful discussions on different aspects of Japanese manga while befriending others with similar interests. Once we get going, we will also try to participate in local events revolving around manga and cosplay. Presently, I am only a few signatures away from submitting my petition to the SAO, so I am excited.
Other than that, nothing too interesting has happened--I had a pretty mellow break, but appreciated being able to see my friends (over the last few weeks, since the schools decided to plot against the students and make our breaks at different times). I have also been beefing up my Magic the Gathering decks, hoping to find some people to play with around campus and at home.
A couple weekends ago, my orchestra played Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which even got aired on the radio. We actually did incredibly well--especially considering that the piece has been deemed the hardest composition of the 20th century. Thanks goes to my conductor and all my fellow musicians for making such an extraordinary event possible.
Other than that, nothing too interesting has happened--I had a pretty mellow break, but appreciated being able to see my friends (over the last few weeks, since the schools decided to plot against the students and make our breaks at different times). I have also been beefing up my Magic the Gathering decks, hoping to find some people to play with around campus and at home.
A couple weekends ago, my orchestra played Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which even got aired on the radio. We actually did incredibly well--especially considering that the piece has been deemed the hardest composition of the 20th century. Thanks goes to my conductor and all my fellow musicians for making such an extraordinary event possible.
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