literature as a portal to truth

Some literature is crap.  But some of it is very good.


I was just having a brief conversation (it is never too late to discuss literature) via text with someone who recommended a book to me, and I was giving my thoughts of the first few chapters I've read thus far.  My friend read this book about a year ago, so it's been many books ago that he read it.  Even so, the author was able to leave a lasting impression.  He achieved a specific affect in us as readers that is rather astonishing.  I'm impressed, but it also makes me wonder how different all of us really are.


Do you ever notice how people who are really successful in life always say (in interviews and such) that they were bullied or picked on?  Well, who wasn't?  You'd have to be the worst kid ever to be not picked on at some point because everyone would fear you your whole life.  I guess my point is - and I'm being brief as I need to go to bed - that as different as we all are, perhaps we are all made of the same glue.  Perhaps we all feel terribly unique and singular - our own island - when really, we are in fact part of a whole after all.

the land of green waves

An adventure awaits me
In the land of waves
Of deep emerald and jade
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

in honor of Groundhog Day

First of all, I realize that it is not Groundhog Day any longer.  I lost track of the time.  Secondly, I am not really obsessed with Groundhog Day.  I'm just attempting enthusiasm, and I decided to save sharing these clips until the actual holiday.

So in honor of Groundhog Day, I wanted to give anyone reading this the chance to view 12:10 pm, which I mentioned last posting.  It is split into three parts, and the quality isn't tip top, but from what I understand this film is very old and it's difficult to find on hard copy, so I hope that it is enjoyable nonetheless.  And yes, that is the dad from That '70s Show.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:

going green and some thoughts on deja vu

One of my favorite authors of all time, thanks to preludetoapparition is John Green.  I received Looking for Alaska as a gift some years ago, and it remains one of my all-time favorites.  That said, it is a mystery as to why I haven't read John Green's other books yet.  I think it has been part forgetfulness (there are a lot of books out there!) and partly distractedness (I am in college).

Anyway, I keep having this weird deja vu lately.  The unfortunate thing is that I can't think of a good example for you - it's kind of like when you wake up from a really freaky dream and you're kind of laying there and wondering what it all means.  Five minutes later you are in the bathroom brushing your teeth and you've forgotten the whole thing, but you know that it was crazy.  That's how it is with my deja vu.  It is usually something like a number.  For instance, before I started writing about Groundhog Day (film, 1993) the other night, I discovered a short film with the same premise as Groundhog Day.  The film is called 12:10pm and I found the film at exactly 12:10am.  This is a tidy coincidence of numbers.

Ah, but here's the rub:  My ultimate deja vu-ey experience of the week was when I happened upon John Green's online network of Nerdfighters.  The concept is too difficult to explain all at once, and my finger hurts so I don't want to type for too long.  Basically, I discovered the network before I realized that it was John Green who made it.  I only realized it when I saw the link to his personal website, which I had visited a couple of years ago.  Weirder still, I decided to join the Nerdfighters network as a means of procrastination, and discovered that I had already created an account???  That's kind of creepy.  It seems that a different network that I joined last year concerning a totally different topic uses the same service as Nerdfighters, and therefore, I have been a Nerdfighter (sort of) for at least a year without really knowing it.

It's just all very overwhelming.

It gets better:  In case you didn't already think me insane with all of this talk of "Nerdfighters," I will add that when I was watching the previously mentioned short film 12:10pm the other night, there was a link to an episode of this show called Merlin that the BBC produced last year or something.  I thought it sounded awful, and it really was awful, but I clicked on the link to the Youtube video just to be sure.  While I was appreciating how incredibly bad Merlin is, I then scrolled through the other videos that the user had uploaded (in addition to every single episode of Merlin ever made).  One of the videos was titled . . . wait for it . . . "Why I am a Nerdfighter."

I was so freaked out.  What is going on with all of these Nerdfighters?  Where are they coming from?  Why is John Green a Nerdfighter?  Are these people fighting off the nerds, or are they embracing nerd-like existence?  And how could there possibly be any connection between Groundhog Day and Nerdfighters?  And Merlin, for that matter?

We report, you decide.