WELL, YOU SHOT OFF YOUR MOUTH AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT YOU.

[crickets]

2013-08-22T21:27:56Z

iain m. banks' culture novels.

2012-07-04T01:47:34Z

I saw a blip of utopian sci fi today that suddenly reminded me of the Culture novels, and made me desperately want to read more. Unfortunately, I've already mainlined this series, so Use of Weapons is the only thing left for me :x Which is why I've been been holding off for soooooo long, because it is literally the only Culture text left, I am going to go into horrible withdrawal afterwards.

But then! I went to Wikipedia and saw:

Consider Phlebas (1987) ✔
The Player of Games (1988) ✔
Use of Weapons (1990) X
Excession (1996) + ✔
Inversions (1998) + ✔
Look to Windward (2000) ✔
Matter (2008) ✔
Surface Detail (2010) ✔
The Hydrogen Sonata (forthcoming October 2012)

AHHH YESSSSS. NEW BOOK!!!! It's been two years since Surface Detail (which I really liked), so it is about damn time *__* The final cover was only announced five days ago, too, and it looks awesome. And apparently The Hydrogen Sonata is going to be the longest Culture book so far! FUCK YESSSSSS

Anyway, this means that I can safely read Use of Weapons without compunction. And I'm excited. I'm an unmitigated stan of this series -- I go on about it at great length with anyone who'll let me -- and I just cannot get enough of his 'verse, which is a problem when there are only so many books. I drink your universe, I drink it up.

Well, that was cathartic.

2012-06-21T03:09:33Z

Hello, Livejournal! Who's still around?

I never use this site anymore, though I poke my head in every so often to glance at the flist. I'm in the process of trying to build myself a smarter online presence, and thus tightening up loose ends: I've privated every single entry before August 1 2006 & friendslocked everything else. I'll post a public entry every so often, mostly to retain membership in some communities, but the days of having my life laid bare to the public are, erm, over.

In the process of cleaning out the journal, I revisited my ancient posts and it was awful. Straight-up awful and embarrassing, which is only to be expected when you're 13 years old and blogging. I tried to figure out where the appropriate cut-off point would be, and then finally decided that it should be right before I left for university. I'm still embarrassed by myself six years ago, but not as much as (count it) eleven years ago. And this way, the first friendslocked entry is also a really, really great heartfelt conversation I had with a friend; it was a good point to draw the line between Old Julie and New Julie.

I can't see myself returning in the same capacity since everyone's scattered to the winds, which is a bummer considering my permanent account. Mainly, this LJ will revert to its origins as a cathartic, in-depth journal going over the emotional stuff that no one cares about, but those entries will be private. Trust me, it's nothing you want in on.

Feel free to follow me on tumblr, though!

[MOVIES] FILM NOIR.

2011-08-06T20:26:58Z

DOUBLE-CROSSING DAMES!
TWO-BIT HEELS!
PSYCHOTIC KILLERS!
CRUEL TWISTS OF FATE!

Monday, August 8: The Burglar (& Black Angel)

The Burglar [6.9] -- Noir regular Dan Duryea and rising sex symbol Jayne Mansfield have the leads in a guilt-laden tale of a robbery caper and its gone-wrong aftermath.
Black Angel [7.1] -- Archetypal noir villain Dan Duryea is cast against type as a sympathetic musician who falls into some serious boozing and brooding when his treacherous wife abandons him.

** Wednesday, August 10: The Whistler + Mark of the Whistler & Framed

The Whistler + The Mark of the Whistler -- The film that started it all, directed by future horror-schlock meister William Castle; followed by its sequel, adapted from a short story (“Dormant Account”) by Cornell Woolrich.
Framed [6.9] -- This "rarely-seen piece of prime-grade pulp" features Glenn Ford as a down-on-his-luck man lured into the seductive web of a scheming waitress.

** Friday OR Saturday August 12/13: The Woman in the Window & Laura

The Woman in the Window [7.8] -- This stylish and seductive Noir is “one of the best of Fritz Lang’s American movies — a thriller with the logic and plausibility of a nightmare” (Pauline Kael).
Laura [8.2] -- "The sleekest of noirs, the chicest of murders, and deliciously twisted ... a truly haunting study of obsession" (James Monaco).

** Sunday OR Monday August 14/15: The Power of the Whistler + Voice of the Whistler + Mysterious Intruder

A triple threat of atmospheric mysteries only The Whistler can solve! Amnesia, double-crossing, and trails of falsehoods make for a stimulating evening of intrigue.

Thursday August 18: 99 River Street & The Secret of the Whistler + The Thirteenth Hour

99 River Street [7.5] -- A neglected gem from low-budget director Phil Karlson, whose nasty, tough-as-nails B-noirs are "so pulp-aggressive they make Samuel Fuller’s noirs look sophisticated."
The Secret of the Whistler + The Thirteenth Hour -- Directors George Sherman and William Clemens bring sly and cynical plots to The Whistler series.

** Friday August 19: Phantom Lady & In a Lonely Place

Phantom Lady [7.5] -- “A mini-masterpiece of mood and character” (Jeanine Basinger), this exemplary noir thriller comes from German expatriate Robert Siodmak.
In a Lonely Place [8.0] -- Directed by Hollywood poète maudit and auteurist favourite Nicholas Ray, this noir features Humphrey Bogart as a Hollywood screenwriter blacklisted for his boozing and bad attitude.

** Wednesday August 24: Dead Reckoning & Kansas City Confidential

Dead Reckoning [7.1] -- Humphrey Bogart stars as Rip Murdock, a war hero investigating the disappearance of an army buddy in John Cromwell’s complexly plotted, claustrophobic noir thriller.
Kansas City Confidential [7.5] -- This taut, propulsive heist film reportedly served as inspiration for Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, and marked the first teaming of B-noir director Phil Karlson and leading man John Payne.

NOTE TO SELF: Download The Killers [8.0]; The Lady from Shanghai [7.8]; Gilda [7.8].

terminator: salvation

2010-05-27T01:05:03Z

JOHN: The devil’s hands have been busy. What is it?
KATE: It’s real flesh and blood, though it seems to heal itself quickly. The heart is human. Very powerful. The brain, too, but with a chip interface.
MARCUS: What have you done to me?
KATE: It has a hybrid nervous system. One human cortex, one machine.
MARCUS: Blair, what have they done?
JOHN: Who built you?
MARCUS: My name is Marcus Wright.
JOHN: You think you’re human.
MARCUS: I am human.

This scene is perfection. I started crying before you even see his face.