One week left until I start my new job. They want me to come up with a budget before then which is bugging me. First, because I'm eager to please like that but second, because I'm still working elsewhere and I'm not being paid yet. So, we'll see. I'll come up with something but I'm not sure they understand how expensive reference books are.
And it's really muggy right now. I can deal with that though, it's the waiting that I can't stand.
I finished The Shape of Water and I think I've found a new series to enjoy. The writing was easy and the plot was different. The dead man died of natural causes but how he ended up where he was and the background shenanigans were the real mystery. There are cultural notes at the end which help with understanding Italian references.
I'm reading a number of things at the moment because when I get nervous or stressed I surround myself with books. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, The Widow Killer by Pavel Kohout, Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews and others. Donna Andrews Meg Langslow series is very funny. Meg is a blacksmith who lives in Virginia two hours south of D.C. and her family is what one might call 'wacky'. Each member brings their own brand of ridiculousness to the plot and she has to deal with extreme croquet and temperamental birds in order to solve the mystery of the day. For easy fun these books are great.
I've watched several movies as well. Infection, a Japanese horror movie about a dying hospital and a patient with a mysterious illness that begins to spread throughout the building. It's tense and the actors do a good job. The fully infected people are not shown because the directors of this movie understand that our minds are much better at the job of scaring us than make-up or CGI. The infection also seems to bring out the insecurities of the victims, making for some interesting self-reflection. Of course while they're reflecting about their weaknesses they are also often sticking themselves with dirty needles and such. The end had an interesting twist which then managed to subvert itself. The only thing I didn't get was why there were several shots of possessed swings.
Re-Cycle, a Chinese movie, had some amazing imagery. It started out as a typical Asian horror movie and ended up entirely elsewhere. An author is transported to a world where forgotten things end up and must find her way out with the help of a little girl. The settings are fantastical and dreamy and the people who inhabit them are bent and horrifying. The ending was bittersweet and then kind of confusing/scary. It was a journey movie, almost a fairytale. With zombies.
I saw John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. That was all right. Disturbing, freaky, okay plot. A writer's fiction coming to life in an attempt to what? I wasn't quite sure of that. To be God? To destroy. Eh. This movie makes the mistake Infection didn't. It shows the ultimate horror allowing you to laugh a the '90s special effects. Oh well.
Mad Detective, a Chinese movie. A detective goes to a retired colleague for help on a case. This colleague seems to have the ability to see people's inner selves. This is somewhat marred by the fact that he is insane. The inner selves concept was fascinating (and confusing) to watch play out although in the end it didn't really go anywhere. The ending was a bit odd but the ride as a whole was satisfying.
And now I'm playing Resident Evil 4 on my wii. The dialogue says the village Leon goes to is "somewhere in Europe" but it's totally Spain. Right? The villagers speak Spanish. To my great amusement the infected villagers seemed to be just repeatedly saying "cabron" and "mierda" in the background. The woman droning "mierda" does appear to be cleaning out a cow shed so maybe she's just commenting on her work. Also, the village is apparently named "pueblo." The controls are a little iffy. Turning is not easy and you can't walk around with your knife out. I am enjoying shooting the crap out of anything that moves and exploring the village. We'll see where this goes.
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