Beauty in Decay / UrbEx
Posted: August 17, 2013 Filed under: Art / Photo, Books | Tags: Art, Books, English, Urban Exploration, Urbex Leave a comment
Browsing through Respublica shop photo album section, I came across this absolutely stunning book called Beauty in Decay. Though it was firmly sealed in cellophane, and it was impossible to peak in, its cover gave a vivid preview of what's inside – a photo trip into numerous derelict buildings, industrial, public sector, private, you name it.
The book has no author – it has 49 different photographers contributing their pictures, and certainly not all of them professional – but this is the part where content can beat the author. Abandoned places are made of magic, it seems, full of ghosts of the past long gone, and it's not something that you see – it's something that you have to imagine that sticks most with you.
Not all, but some of us hate splendor mummified – I've been to Paris half a dozen times or more, but never, never visited Louvre and never intend to – and my recollections from my visit to Palacio Real in Madrid are a nightmare – in contrast to my trip to, say, abandoned hotel Berengaria in Cyprus Trodos mountains, a vivid say symbol of decay, uninhabited since mid-70s, which was a beauty every time.
The book has a perfect Stalker / Silent Hill feel – and you have to love it to love it, I guess. And I do love it. Awesome book. The best picture book I've had in ages – and the only architectural one – as I typically like mostly press photos, like war conflicts, refugees, African mines, Soviet plants, and other world's miseries.
So, what's up with radiation level in Pripyat now?
Julio’s Day by Gilbert Hernandez
Posted: August 12, 2013 Filed under: Books, Comic | Tags: Books, English, Gilbert Hernandez 1 Comment
I somehow miss (missed) all the fun about Gilbert Hernandez' Locas and the rest of Love and Rockets – the one I did read was totally lame – so Julio's Day, his latest graphic novel looked attractive because it seemed very different from the main stuff – and ComiXology ad did its magic on me.
It's a 100-page long story about a Mexican American named Julio and the life of his family, beginning in 1900 and ending in 2000. A century in 100 pages – a book read in one sitting. However, parallels to historic events are minimal for my taste and not too detailed – part of scenery, I'd say.
The story had a couple of peak moments when my eyes were practically glued to ipad screen – the first poisoning, the second mudslide, the vengeance – but other than that, a page-flipper at fast pace.
The book reminded me a bit Keiji Nakazawa's historic masterpiece Barefoot Gen – I read the whole 10 volumes of the A-bomb saga – it has the same minimal approach to certain events in the story and quite a bit of gore drawings. But what is expected of a real Hiroshima survivor – and what he is repected for – has nothing to do with a certain Sr. Hernandez from Cali, USA.
My final score – while a quick 60-minutes read, good drawings and all, the book is forgettable for my taste – save for one thing. The blue worm poisoning (seems to be the invention of Hernandez mind – though some symptoms have clear correlation with those of elephantiasis). The blue worm poisoning! Man, that was creepy! Hope I won't see that at night, shivering in my bed at 4am in the morning. That I would be glad to compare to Tezuka's Kirihito, which equals one of the highest degrees of praise for a comic book in my universe. That alone a good reason to read it. Scary and sick!
El Borbah by Charles Burns
Posted: August 10, 2013 Filed under: Comic | Tags: Books, Charles Burns, English 1 Comment
While waiting for Charles Burns‘ latest installment of what I call the Tintin on drugs trilogy, I purchased El Borbah, an old collection of “defective detective” stories published in mid-1980s. From my count, this is the only published book by Burns that I haven’t read so far.
Also, if I’m not mistaken, El Borbah was Burns’ debut work the sickness and talent of which further evolved into the mesmerizing tale of Black Hole, which I guess I have to pick up from my shelf and re-read.
As the notion of defective detective may suggest, El Borbah is a tale – well, tales – about a series of cases solved by a wrestler-lookalike private eye that breaks bad boys’ noses and finds missing lads and ladies. The stories are short, wicked, beautifully drawn – too sad that I am lazy, get sucked into the storyline quickly and thus spend far too little time on each page, which is a shame.
A perfect addition to and a true enhancement of El Borbah experience would be, in yours truly humble opinion, finishing the book by watching Guy Maddin’s Sombra Dolorosa, a 2004 short that pays homage to Lucha Libre / Mexican wrestling.
I am making (yet another futile) promise to myself – read Black Hole, read Black Hole, read Black Hole – and I am waiting in awe for Sugar Skull to come out.
The Walking Dead #112 by Robert Kirkman et al
Posted: August 10, 2013 Filed under: Books, Comic | Tags: Books, English, Robert Kirkman, Zombie Leave a comment
Finally, a good one this one. Yikes!
Journalism by Joe Sacco
Posted: August 9, 2013 Filed under: Books, Comic, Documentary, Non-fiction | Tags: Books, Chechnya, English, Joe Sacco Leave a comment
Quite an interesting collection of various short stories by the great Joe Sacco, covering his multiple trips to war and poverty ridden destinations in Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, India, as well as illegal immigration camps in Malta.
Over the past two decades Sacco seems to have become the only (or definitely the most well-known) comic journalist in the proper journalism sense of the word. He goes to locations, meets poor disadvantaged refugees, and makes photos which he then subsequently turns into cartoons.
Yes, indeed, he tends to look at things from a true socialist (well, liberal) point of view – and not because he doesn't like Ayn Rand – but because he just wants the Indian seven-year-olds fed and the Iraqi wounded treated.
This book, as great as it is, for a true Sacco fan certainly lags behind Safe Area Goražde, a gripping blood-chilling tale of the massacre of Eastern Bosnian muslims by the joint Serb forces – but it has its up points. The lazy of me read it in a few attempts, with Iraq being the stalling point of my journey – but it is definitely worth a try.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Posted: July 14, 2013 Filed under: Books, Non-fiction | Tags: Books, English, Tim Ferriss 2 Comments
Tim Ferriss has been, in a sense, a life-changer in the past 6 months. I gave away 14 kilos in 4 months on his diet (though I am taking a short break from it on my 2 weeks off, gaining kilos now, as sometimes you want a proper vacation) – and man, I am positively surprised about how much this simple 4HWW book has made me think.
The practical advice he gives is nothing new, and sadly, it is not easily compatible with an advisor career – but big picture-wise, it strikes a chord. The guy is great. Clear clean-cut thinking. Checks all the right boxes: eustress, no W4W, income automation, liberation, mini-retirement, travel, languages.
No, I'm not going to say much. I need to pause and think. I need to find my muse. Or muses, plural. Roger out.
“But, you don't understand my situation. It's complicated!” But is it really? Don't confuse the complex with the difficult. Most situations are simple – many are just emotionally difficult to act upon. The problem and the solution are usually obvious and simple. It's not that you don't know what to do. Of course you do. You are just terrified that you might end up worse off than you are now. I'll tell you right now: If you're at this point, you won't be worse off.
Skagboys by Irvine Welsh
Posted: June 29, 2013 Filed under: Books, Fiction | Tags: Books, English, Irvine Welsh Leave a comment
To make it clear, Skagboys is a rather lengthy 550-page long prequel to Trainspotting, published some 20 years or so after the original hit the shelves and corrupted the minds of millions – and given the fact that Porno, a 2002 sequel to the same Rents/Sick Boy/Begbie routine was so-and-so (I couldn't read it, so I just listened to a shortened audiobook instead), hopes were not too high.
Despite being a little bit slow at the beginning (I tried to start reading it three times, and only the 3rd attempt got me past Chapter 1), the book caught up with me somewhat later, and got me pretty much immersed in it till the very end.
My call – the absolute peak of the novel is a chapter called Chute, a standalone story about Nicksy, rather a secondary character than the main crew, a brilliant piece of literature in its own right – brutal, raw, jaw twisting, gripping, and showing that grandpa Irvine hasn't lost his form yet. After such intensity through, a comedown was imminent – and there was a prolonged, I'd say, even dragging pace-killer of Renton's 100-page rehab diary.
The very end of the book was a tiny bit disappointing, as with all my love and devotion to Welsh, I didn't like at all his poorly hidden winks and nods at the T-novel and the T-movie – had a lame taste, if you ask me – but nah, what can you do in a prequel.
Overall, hard as it seems to believe, I still adore these dirty, incorrect, abusive, and violent crime/sex/addiction stories of Leith's troubled youth – and probably not to a lesser extent than when I first read them, after I'd bought a copy of Ecstasy in 1996 in the old Zwemmer's bookstore on Kuznetsky, once I had found out about Mr. W's world in Птюч magazine. Oh well, these days are long gone.
If you don't wanna read the whole of Skagboys – well, read just Chute, it's awesome.
The Juliette Society by Sasha Grey
Posted: June 2, 2013 Filed under: Books, Fiction | Tags: Books, English, Sasha Grey Leave a comment
Reading a couple of articles about Sasha Grey's recent visit to Russia and her support for Pussy Riot (though with Sasha Grey, it's a pun of words in itself), I realized Ms. Grey has just published a book – and, surprise, surprise – not a typical autobiography describing hard youth and then a working gal's sweaty days in the trade, but a full fledged fiction novel. Wow. So I've tricked amazon into believing I am now living in London (typically, they think I'm in the US, but the US edition isn't out yet), bought a copy for 4 quid and started reading. (Even put down Skagboys that I am reading now on a quick hold.)
Well, after reading a number of website reviews, I was expecting an erotic novel of sorts, a fifty shades, the Story of O or so kinda thing, but written by a much more experienced girl. (BTW, I still haven't read Pauline Reage – and for sure I haven't read E.L. James, as 50 million housewives couldn't get it wrong, if you get my drift – this book is forever off limits.)
Kindle says 100%, and I have three topics to mention.
First, sex – I would've been surprised if there wasn't a pinch of it. I guess Mr. Kubrick changed the perspective on sexual fantasies for quite a few people with that Tom Cruise movie, huh, Sasha inclusive. To my mind though, this book ain't so erotic – graphic sometimes, maybe, but not erotic, as Sasha is way too reflexive and not so straightforward.
Second, a big theme in the novel is Sasha's big screen aspiration, love for the non-porn celluloid, and her movie student career. Her numerous references to a few great films of the past are too simple and plain for my taste, far from the undeniable truths and insight of the Bambi book by the revered David Mamet, and nowhere near the rage with which Pat Bateman talks about Phil Collins's music, but still quite fun, especially given Sasha's very own cinematic past.
And, third, the end of it had a little bit of Kill List aftertaste – but just a tiny whiny bit. And all too predictable. Anyway, no spoilers!
Overall, a very quick read – and don't forget, that ain't a fake E.L. James story, that's Sasha Grey – and she must know her shit on the subject )))) Not even close to Venus in Furs, probably the greatest erotic obsessions novel I have read, but still, a decent try.
Plot is always subservient to character. Always, always, always and without fail. […] Just as an aside, there is one type of movie, and only one, that doesn't conform. One genre that flagrantly breaks the rule. Not only breaks it, but turns it on its head, just because it can, and it doesn't give a fuck: the porn movie. But let's not go there.
Moth City Season 1 by Tim Gibson
Posted: May 23, 2013 Filed under: Books, Comic | Tags: Books, English, Tim Gibson Leave a comment
Interestingly, Moth City is probably the first comic book written specifically for iPad (or Kindle Fire, if that is your choice). It is impossible to print it in full on paper. Each action panel represents a new page in the file, thus creating a unique movie like feeling while reading it. And no need for panel guided view technology of Kindle App or comiXology, as all pages, panels, text balloons etc, all fit iPad screen nicely without any zooming. The future of comic books, yeah.
The story is in the early stages of development, so hard to comment on its quality – overall, it's a noir setting in a ficticious Asian city in the 30s, action and adventure, huh. The drawing style I can judge already – it looks great.
Total score: even though I do not like reading serialized comic books as they come out, usually once a month or so (other than The Walking Dead – but man, I am tired of it, I keep forgetting previous episodes every month), this particular one is probably worth picking up and trying.
The Walking Dead #110 by Robert Kirkman et al
Posted: May 18, 2013 Filed under: Books, Comic | Tags: Books, English, Robert Kirkman, Zombie Leave a comment
Reading it volume by volume, 25 pages each per month, is total waste. Should I go back to at least semi-annual 6-volumes-a-piece books?
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