The Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch

[create_destiny]

Well, I wanted to relax and unwind from the tension of a long work week so I decided to watch a dvd my dad sent me for my birthday a couple of months ago-- Baruka.

Not a good choice for a person perpetually staving off an existential crisis. Gee thanks dad.

After the flick I had to get away from my thoughts so I went to a used bookstore and found a few things:

-The Collective Family: A Handbook for Russian Parents
I'm not Russian, or a parent but I am fascinated with Russian history, particularly Soviet histroy. This book was published in 1937, 20 yrs. after the Bolshevik Revolution, and approaching a time when young school children were encouraged to nark on their parents for "counter-revolutionary" activity such as praying, owning icons, or basically saying anything that questioned the wisdom of the Soviet leaders. Read 1984 by George Orwell for a picture of life taken straight out of Soviet Russia.

--One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I already have a copy of this but I picked up another one to give to some unsuspecting bibliophile in the future. I haven't even read the copy I have. I read a short story by this author in a lit class a couple of semesters ago and was compellingly attracted to his magical realism. Which is odd because I usually don't go for anything "magical."

--The Sea-Wolf by Jack London
Jack London is one of my dad's favorite writers, mostly for The Call of the Wild but I picked this one up because a monk friend of mine told me this is one of his favorite books. I tend to love "men at sea" stories for some reason.

--The American Transcendentalists: Their Prose and Poetry.
I guess I'm somewhat intrigued by Transcendentalism even though I absolutely detest the "godfather" of Transcendentalism, Emerson, that pompous son-of-a $%#@*!

--The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change the World Around Them. I love to hear stories about amazing teachers who are literally able to be a catalyst for change in the lives of students.

Comments

[mysterylanguage.livejournal.com]

Hey! I like Emerson! :)

It looks like you found some interesting books. I've been wanting to read One Hundred Years of Solitude for a while now, but haven't managed to do so yet. I'm not the biggest fan of magical realism, but I've heard so many good things about this book that I figure I should at least give it a try. I also read a story of his in a comparative literature class I took; I think it was called "An Old Man with Enormous Wings," or something like that.

Happy reading!

[recycling.livejournal.com]

I just had to cut in here and lavish some more praise upon One Hundred Years of Solitude, as it's one of my very favorites.

[mmmmsmurf.livejournal.com]

i went to the Met last spring and saw some of hieronymous bosch's for the first time. it was crazy stuff.

Off the subject...

[dietcokehed.livejournal.com]

This has nothing to do with your entry but I found out some things we had wanted to know about Prince:
His name is Prince Roger Nelson and he's 45.
:)
OH! And Stevie Nicks cried at his concert too, so THERE!! :P

[wingsonwind.livejournal.com]

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I have the same copy I read in college several years ago. Interesting book and for a while was one of my favorites, but Italo Calvino is better.

[lcurtis.livejournal.com]

How in the hell did "Baraka" bring on existential angst? I was so fascinated by the Balinese Monkey Chant that I needed research its origin. I was sure that it was some deep, primitive religious practice or some sort on inner-village ritualistic battle but according to the article I read the people of Bali started doing it back in the nineteen thirties for the tourists trade. How disappointing.
Now I recall why you may have reacted so badly to the film; the images of the oil wells burning during Daddy Bush's Iraq war in 92, sorry! But you got to love the Japanese snow monkey sitting in the hot spring.