What? Really...

I would like to apologize for breaking my oath of posting a blog everyday. Yesterday, I realized that I still had 300 pages of the novel Native Son left to read and I had to get it done for a meeting with my mentor today. I did, however, finish the novel; it was a very interesting read considering it was a little lengthy. But, most importantly, a time management crisis was adverted. 

So, last night after I finished my reading, I turned on the television and The Real Housewives of New Jersey was on. Although I know that it is unhealthy, I am totally captivated by reality T.V.--it honestly doesn't matter what it is,  I'll probably watch it. Anyway, this was the first time that I tuned in to watch the New Jersey version of the show, and let me just say that these women are cut-throat: they do not mess around. 

At first I didn't really like how three of the housewives were related to one another, but then after I saw how they all used their family ties to gang up on this one woman last night, I changed my mind. This shit is going to be good. For those of you who missed the show, the whole episode revolved around the fact that one of the housewives was arrested for drugs, alleged prostitution, and kidnapping back in her twenties. This chick was into some pretty hardcore stuff. Well one of the other housewives served as the whistle-blower by showing the others a book that revealed this information about the crimes that the housewife committed. Crazy. On top of that, they also claim that she is still a quasi-prostitute because she makes her boyfriend pay for everything since they are having sex. This is a far cry from the Orange County and New York cast where the only things that they ever had to worry about were parties, "charity events", and gossip. No, this is New Jersey; these women are killers.

However, what really surprised me came on after the show: the preview episode of NYC Prep. After the first few seconds I knew that this shit was going to be good. The opening scene showed these six prep school kids, who, might I add,  look like they around sixteen, up in a swanky New York club ordering drinks, grinding all over one another, and acting the fool. But what makes it so much better is that it turns out that this was on some regular school night. What? Really...I literally could not stop laughing the entire night because crazy revelation after revelation kept flowing out of their mouths. To start with, they all attend prestigious New York Boarding schools and all aspire to go to Ivy League Universities upon graduation. Additionally, one of the girls even remarked that they spend around $500 dollars a day, most of the time, and each day is filled with an array of shopping, dinner plans, and parties. However, the best part of it all is that they have chosen the six most obnoxious adolescents I have ever seen in my life. They each have distinct personalities: one is pursuing a pop music career even though she can't sing, one is the self-professed player, one is a brilliant know-it-all, and one is a fashion forward boy who won't settle for anything less than front row during fashion week. What a crew; and there are others, as well. Throughout the entire show the exchanges between the teens are so melodramatic. There is too much drama. Many of them also look quite grotesque including this girl that I am, already, obsessed with.   

  

I'll let you be the judge. Im ready to see the ridiculous shit that will, no doubt, ensue.

Thoughts on The Tonght Show with Conan and Upcoming Films

So, I watched the premier of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien tonight, and I was very pleased with the transition that he has made to the new 11:30 P.M. slot. I've been a fan of Conans for a while--partially because of of my insomnia--but I have always felt, at times, that he can be a tad too stupid and over dramatic. I do believe that his move to prime time late night will quell a lot of his superfluous comedy. However, above all, I am extremely happy that Jay Leno is finally off of the air. There are few people that I absolutely abhor; he is one of them. Plus, I venerate the comic genius of Dave Letterman, and he will always be number one in my book. With that said, I'm truly glad that Late Night Television is finally filled with comedians that, I believe, are extremely talented: Letterman, O'Brien, Kimmel and Furgueson.

On a different note, words cannot express how fucking psyched out of my mind I am for The Hangover: the new movie opening this Friday--I've been told repeatedly that my excitement is not good. For all those out there shaking their heads, I have reasons why, apart from the reviews, I believe that it is going to be a kick-ass movie.

First of all, there is a great cast: Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. I consider them all pretty solid supporting-cast actors who have always paid their dues; however, I believe that they have all finally found a better comic vechile: The Hangover. In fact, I am most excited about Ed Helms who is so damn funny on both The Daily Show and The Office, and, most of the time, I can just look at him and laugh. Did also I mention the slew of cameo's including one from, none other than, Mike Tyson? Additionally, the movie, although set in Las Vegas, does not try to capture the late-night debauchery of the four eternal frat boys; instead, it focuses on the repercussions that emerge during the day; a perspective of Vegas that is rarely shown. The intelligent plot-line, a pseudo detective noir, traces the location of the Groom, who is missing hours before his own wedding--a device that sounds quite interesting.

Lets just say I'm so pumped, and look forward to an actual review of the movie, not just an over-excited advertisement.

The Lake, The River, The...

Today my family and I decided to take a trip to what we, and everyone else, have always called "the river." However, while we were en route to "the river" I thought to myself: why in the hell do we call it "the river" when this body of water that we are headed to is clearly and unmistakably a lake. I think that if someone were to say: "yeah, we're going to the lake this weekend", I would probably think that they were mentally retarded, and I wouldn't have the foggiest idea of what they are thinking about. Anyway, I posed this point to my parents, and they told me they thought that I was being overtly complicated; however, we came to the agreement that the proper term is "the backwaters." Why the plural? I don't know. But it sounds better than just "the backwater", even though there is just one lake. There are not a variety of lakes that make up the illustrious "backwaters", but that's not important. For everyone out there wondering: "the backwaters" is the correct term.

We hauled our two jet skis with us, and drove to the public slough in order to "put in" the jet skis, which is always my least favorite part. Inevitably, there is always a backed-up line of people who are trying to back their boats into the water, and it always feels like your are in the craziest rush against time to untie all of the lines in the attempt of letting your boat out into the water. Well the jet skis are a new purchase and I have never had the pleasure of of driving them--because my dad and brother enjoy them a bit too much--until today. Well, I was backing the boat down into the water, and my dad had counted on my brother, who road separately, to back one of the jet skis off the trailer while he backed the other one off. Like I said this process is a headache, and you also have the infinite joy of doing this while someone else is unloading right beside you and tons of bystanders are also crowded around awaiting their turn. Well, my brother did not show up in time; therefore, I hear my dad yell: "Will, give the wheel to your momma, and come back here and ride this jet ski out of the way." I was thinking: okay, he already has the jet ski in the water, it won't be that hard. Wrong. I press down on the throttle and quickly realize that the damn contraption is in reverse, and I can't figure out how to go forward. In a matter of three to four seconds I have drifted over to the adjacent boat and I hear a woman in a bikini with a fou paux on her the side of my head yell: don't hit my boat. I reach my had out to push off of her boat, and start drifting in the opposite direction--praise God, but not before I gave her the meanest damn look I could muster. Then, I finally heard my dad yell: "push the lever down to go forward". Thanks. Some instruction would have been helpful a few seconds ago. So, I pushed it down and was off towards the open water. Somehow, I managed to receive a crash course on how to drive a water ski while I almost had a crash collision with a backwater bitch, who, let me add, enjoys KFC's eleven original herbs and spices a little too much.

The rest of the day was great: we met up with the Lees, road the boat and jet skis all afternoon, and broke into people's unfinished lake houses to sneak a peak at the profress. During all of this merriment, I didn't notice how badly sunburned I had become. I got toasted--no lie, and not in the sense that I would have like to have been.

When we finally got in the car to leave, my family started talking about the incident with me and the woman, again. Apparently, when my mother went to park the car, she came back down and saw a hefty woman huffing and puffing on her boat because it would not crank. It turns out it was the same woman. All I got to say is that god don't like ugly.

The Road

I am going to be brutally honest. Before I read The Road, I found Cormac McCarthy to be one of my least favorite authors. I know, how dare I utter such; however, it was true. In high school, I tried my best to read All The Pretty Horses for AP literature, but it's one of the few books that I entirely gave up on--the only other that comes to mind is Wuthering Heights. The Bronte sisters and I are not friends. I do blame my failure on my own folly: attempting to read a descriptively poetic novel about the southwest, which was something that I could honestly care less about, especially then. However, I gave McCarthy a second try when I read No Country For Old Men. Once again, I thought that the plot was fascinatingly dark and unpredictable, but it was, for me, such a hard book to read. It had truly incredible moments, don't get me wrong, but it also sagged in sequences that made me think: I am incredibly bored. Never a good sign. The movie No Country for Old Men, on the other hand, was the best incarnation of McCarthy's work-- thanks to the Coen brothers. I would definitely recommend seeing the movie over the book.

I must admit that I begrudgingly gave Mr. McCarthy another chance--like he cares--because of not only good word of mouth buzz, but also because of the Pulitzer that he won for the novel. It was a great decision on my part. After finishing The Road, I really have no recollection of the former frustration that I had when reading his works. With the publication of The Road, Cormac McCarthy has penned a stunningly simplistic book that is both extremely frightening and truly heartbreaking. It is a masterwork: a real gem.

The post-apocalyptic south provides the setting for the journey of a father and his young son who are perpetual transients on a mission to reach the coast, where they feel that a better likelihood of food and friendly survivors exists. It is unclear what event caused the utter destruction of the majority of human life--nuclear disaster or freak natural occurrences--but a thick sheet of grey ash covers every inch of the remaining earth. The world that now exists is barren, lawless, cold, and truly bleak; an environment that begs the question: Why continue to live? Not only do the father and son have to fight the cruel elements, but they also have to travel as swiftly as possible in order to avoid possible looters and gangs of cannibals, who have resorted to feasting on other humans due to the lack of food. There journey tests the capacity of human beings to remain "human" in a world conducive to chaos and savagery.

Throughout the novel, McCarthy explores the masculine relationship between a father and son. Inspired by his own experiences with his son, McCarthy succeeds in capturing the concise, yet truthfully honest dialogue between the both the boy and his father. Their journey tests each others trust, challenges their motives, and illustrates the interesting and very atypical relationship that fathers and their sons experience. In this case, their union is not loveless by any means; however, the father's unfamiliarity with care giving and the boys' innocence make for a very touching and memorable point to chart throughout the novel.

The Road poses a couple of points that I also believe deserve attention: when left with nothing, would you be willing to help someone less fortunate, and how far would you really go to defend your family? These aren't new circumstances at all; these circumstances can be found in fundamental biblical parables that most people learn growing up, but the way that they are presented in The Road is quite refreshing.

The Road is compelling, clever, and clear. Be forewarned: You will not be able to put it down. If your are looking for quintessential McCarthy--this isn't it. However, you will laugh, cringe, and undoubtedly cry during Cormac McCarthy's latest novel that departs from his previous subject matter, yet still reinforces his title in society: one of the great living American novelists.

Here we go, yall!

It's true. I've decided to blog. I think it will be a fun venture, and a way for me to express any opinions, concerns, or comments on issues that I deem important enough to write about. However, most importantly, I am challenging myself to try and post every day--crazy, right. It will be good for me to just get my thoughts out there on a daily basis; therefore, my decision to blog.

I have to state that nothing is off limits; I will be posting on a myriad of topics: popular culture, daily life, recent books I've read, things that I find interesting, and anything else that happens to draw my attention. Simply stated: nothing is off limits. Needless to say, I'm excited.

So, with this entry as my first ever post, I will christen my blog--and the blogging world, for that matter. My, I sound quite dumb. Anyway, here it goes.