Category Archives: Art

A lesson to learn from Peter Jackson (or, stating the obvious, part infinity plus eight)

By terje | Published: July 19, 2009
(Disclaimer: The following, while containing at least some opinions the author can sort of be said to hold, is more of an exploration than a presentation of ideas. It should all therefore be taken with a few barrelfuls of salt.) So I’m watching the appendices on the Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition DVD, and as [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Annoyance, GRRM, Harry Potter, History, Hodge-podge rambling, Impressions, Language, Literature, Malazan, Movies, Opinions, Rant, Scott Lynch, Speculations, Speculative fiction, WoT | 3 Comments

Stranger than Fiction

By terje | Published: March 30, 2009
Watched Stranger than Fiction again tonight, and I was happy to discover that it was as good on the second viewing and in company as it was on the first and alone. The plot is a bit hard to describe without ruining it all, as discovering what the hell is going on is one of the [...]
Also posted in A Moistening of the Eyes, A Praise Chorus, Awe, Bliss, Glee, Goosebumps!, Love, Movies, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Recommendations, Review, Speculative fiction, Television stuff, Yay! | 9 Comments

Yeah, um… — 2009-01-29

By terje | Published: January 29, 2009
“The past is a grotesque animal And in its eyes you see How completely wrong you can be How completely wrong you can be The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday Makes you wonder why it bothered (…) Things could be different but they’re not Things could be different but they’re not (…) But it’s like we weren’t made for this [...]
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Awe, Goosebumps!, Hodge-podge rambling, Language, Music, Pimping, Poetry, Quote of the day, Whoa, Words | 2 Comments

Fight Club

By terje | Published: December 30, 2008
I watched Fight Club again, a couple of weeks ago. It’s been a few years since the last time I watched it, but I still clearly remembered the plot. What struck me this time was how well the movie has kept; for a movie with such a major plot twist, it is remarkable how great [...]
Also posted in A Moistening of the Eyes, A Praise Chorus, Awe, Bliss, Goosebumps!, Irony, Love, Movies, Music, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Recommendations, Revelations, Review, Whoa | 5 Comments

The Matrix

By terje | Published: November 20, 2008
Just watched The Matrix, but seeing as I’ve already reviewed this movie somewhere else on this blog, I’m going to limit myself to pointing out how much the whole Matrix/human batteries thing seems like something out of Marx. You’ve got your people, right, who can be likened to either the people in Marxist theory in general, [...]
Also posted in Ambiguity, Awe, Bliss, Coincidents, Goosebumps!, Hodge-podge rambling, Karl Marx, Movies, Old Heroes, Pleasant surprises, Politics, Revelations, Review, Speculative fiction, Weird stuff, What I Learned Today, Whoa, Yay!, lol | 6 Comments

The Histories by Herodotus

By terje | Published: November 18, 2008
[Approximately 435 BCE] 2003. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt (1954). Introduction and notes by John Marincola (1996, 2003). 600 pages of main text. 166 pages of paratext.
Also posted in A Praise Chorus, Awe, Boredom, Collections, Conflicting emotions, Education, Glee, Gloating, Great Expectations, Greek stuff, History, Impressions, Literature, Loki, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Pride, Recommendations, Review, Strategy/Plans | 3 Comments

An English villager’s complaint

By terje | Published: October 15, 2008
Ye friends to truth, ye statesman who survey The rich man’s joys increase, the poor’s decay, ‘T is yours to judge how wide the limits stand Between a splendid and an happy land. Proud swells the tide with loads of freighted ore, And shouting Folly hails them from her shore; Hoards e’en beyond the miser’s wish abound, And rich men flock from [...]
Also posted in A Moistening of the Eyes, Awe, Education, English, Goosebumps!, History, Language, Literature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Politics, Quote of the day, Wistfulness | 4 Comments

A TV Dante

By terje | Published: September 24, 2008
My sister is one of the most important students at NTNU’s Department of Nordistics (or whatever) and Literature, primarily through her role as founder of the departemental body responsible for arranging events related to the relevant field of study (primarily Nordic linguistics and literature, as well as literature in general). Yesterday, she had arrange a [...]
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WALL-E

By terje | Published: September 20, 2008
As I went to see WALL-E (from now on Wall-E, as Nature abhors a shout, even though it’s supposed to be an acronym) last a couple of days ago, I was feeling highly ambiguous and thus also a bit scared. You see, my hopes for this movie were nothing short of astronomic, as just about [...]
Also posted in A Moistening of the Eyes, A Praise Chorus, Ambiguity, Awe, Bliss, Glee, Goosebumps!, Great Expectations, Hodge-podge rambling, Hope, Impressions, Irony, Love, Movies, My microcosmos, Optimism, Pimping, Pleasant surprises, Potential, Rant, Recommendations, Relief, Review, Speculations, Wistfulness, Yay! | 11 Comments

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

By terje | Published: July 17, 2008
2008. 536 pages (Gollancz Fantasy trade paperback). “Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.” — Paul Gaugin. This being the opening quote of Last Argument of Kings, the concluding volume in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law series, one can perhaps perceive that this is a bleak affair. As I remarked in my reviews of the first [...]
Also posted in A Moistening of the Eyes, A Praise Chorus, Ambiguity, Awe, Conflicting emotions, Death, Discomfort, Evilness, Goosebumps!, History, Literature, Misery, Oh noes!, Pain, Panic, Paranoia, Pessimism, Recommendations, Regret, Review, Speculative fiction, Whoa, Wistfulness | 13 Comments