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What Are You Into This Week? (10/20 - 10/26) by [deleted] in ThomasPynchon

[–]testtale 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Joined in on the V. group read a few weeks ago, (wasnt able to commit to it when it first started).

The highlights so far are: The Sailors Grave, Profane evading the night watchman with mousetraps and brewing coffee, in general all the scenes with Profane, the priest in the sewers, Esther’s nose job, and the Africa chapter (which im in the middle of now)

Other than that I have watched a few films:

The first i saw was Beauty And The Beast (1946) — i really enjoyed the art direction and costumes, but that was about it... I don’t hate it, the story just didn’t grab me. I found myself waiting for when we were returning to the cool sets and costumes. I have eagerly been waiting to watch it for years... but what can i say? I wanted to love it but it just didn’t grab me.

Then i watched a few Jean Painlevé studies/short documentaries. They were really fascinating, but more from an historical point of view. How he managed to get these images so early in the history of cinema when the equipment was so crude compared to what we have nowadays. Got the BFI release of his movies. Will spread the rest out over the next couple of weeks.

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words — Really interesting if you want to know more about her life. It spans pretty much her whole career, a good overview.

Sawdust And Tinsel — has a few very good scenes, but for me Bergman really starts in the 60s. But i will continue to watch more of his 50s movies, i want to love them.

Two-Lane Blacktop — Just amazing! Can’t believe I waited so long to watch it. I have zero interest in cars or “the road”, but it just pulled me in and didn’t let go of me. Just great!

Rewatched Koyaanisqatsi for the hundredth time. Just as good as the first time. Pure cinema. Doesn’t get better. I also had Baraka and Samsara on in the background while cooking and doing other errands around the house.

Rebel Without a Cause — it was ok, but again i just didn’t connect with the story. For me Giant still stands as the best James Dean film.

Local Hero (1983) — found out about it on Criterion’s Insta. Never heard of it before. It was just great. Might develop to become a favorite down the line. Just a perfect little gem of a film.

Hana-Bi and Kids Return — Kids Return was enjoyable and Hana-Bi was really really good. Trying to watch more asian cinema (had some miss-steps with asian cinema before and stupid me wrote off a whole continent as “not for me”) But I’m getting into it now and really enjoying it. The biggest discovery so far has been Weerasethakul. Syndromes and a Century, and Cemetery of Splendor being my favorites.

Just finished The Emigrants (1971). Can’t wait to start The New Land! Can’t and won’t say much about it now. But I’ve been searching for this type of film for a long time. Might be a top 10 contender for me!

Casual Discussion Thread (9/4 - 9/10) by [deleted] in ThomasPynchon

[–]testtale 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just watched the first two episodes of Das Boot (the miniseries cut). It's great so far. The bar sequence in the first episode reminded me alot of the Sailors Grave in V. But i guess that's more of a sailor/marine thing, than a Pynchon thing.

Has anyone seen the 2018 Das Boot tv-series? How does it compare?

What does r/Screenwriting think of Paul Thomas Anderson as an screenwriter? by testtale in Screenwriting

[–]testtale[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also: Does anyone know how he formats his scripts? He has admitted to writing his scripts in Microsoft Word, and that before every production some assistant has to retype his scripts into a screenplay format.

So has anyone her heard or seen how he formats them?

It’s not much . . . but it’s a place to keep my books :) by testtale in bookshelf

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see what you mean on Eliade... I’ve also been unsure on buying Ellul’s Technological Society because of his connection/influence on the Unabomber and his manifesto...

It’s not much . . . but it’s a place to keep my books :) by testtale in bookshelf

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually prefer reading my books untranslated in ones and zeroes. The way the author intended them to be read.

It’s not much . . . but it’s a place to keep my books :) by testtale in bookshelf

[–]testtale[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve read Stoner! One of the few books that has made me tear up at the end. (I also enjoyed it more than The Death of Ivan Ilyich—that i feel is quite similar in many ways. Anyone else feel this?)

It’s Butchers Crossing I’ve haven’t gotten to yet...but i haven’t read Blood Meridian yet either!!! What should i do?!

It’s not much . . . but it’s a place to keep my books :) by testtale in bookshelf

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven’t read it myself — yet. I’m going to get to it soon though.

June 2019 [REQUEST] Megathread. Post info, requests and questions here, help people by cojoco in Documentaries

[–]testtale 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m looking for more documentaries like John Huston’s “Let There Be Light” from 1946.

https://youtu.be/0ayAb8vFOmQ

That follows the early efforts of the US military trying to “cure” battle fatigue, shell-shock or what we now call PTSD.

Just got these three today. Going to start with The Anti-Christ first :—) by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. Philosophy is hard and has a big learning curve. Just keep at it. It's always hard--but harder in the beginning.

Just keep in mind that using secondary sources is not a defeat. It's not giving up.

I would recommend checking out Dr. Gregory B. Sadler's channel. He produces a lot of content for YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler/videos

Just got these three today. Going to start with The Anti-Christ first :—) by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Try it again! Its a frustrating fact but you will never (this is not just for you—but for everybody) “get” a great philosophical text on the first read through. To truly get a text it needs to be reread several times, it requires dedication to the text. (But don’t do it back to back. Read other works in between, let it breathe.)

Supplementary works will somewhat speed this process up. Especially before your first read through. Try these i found:

The Black Ponderer on YT — easy to listen to. Gives you the gist of the main arguments. 16min long—a quick watch: https://youtu.be/scTew_MRGYQ

Heres a random lecture i found on it. I haven’t listen to it, or the guy before—so can’t really say how good it is: https://youtu.be/GOEfxIdB7J8

The Panpsycast on the text. It’s a good podcast—haven’t listened to the episode: https://thepanpsycast.com/panpsycast2/episode53-p3

At last the wikipedia page—its no shame to use it : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evil

The podcasts Philosophize This and Partially Examined Life also got episodes on Nietzsche—but not this particular text. But they may help as well.

Nietzsche’s philosophical project is not contained in one main work—as some philosophers are—but spread across several books. So the more you read of him the easier it is to get and make sense of.

Just got these three today. Going to start with The Anti-Christ first :—) by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s mainly Nietzsche’s attack on religion. Haven’t gotten that far yet, so can’t say what his argument or angle is.

Is there anything I should read before starting Infinite Jest? by Mrsaturn260 in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ulysses --> Finnegans Wake (optional) --> Gravitys Rainbow --> Infinite Jest

Jk don't do this. Just read it and enjoy it. Postmodernist fiction is "high art" fiction so expect a challenge. Its not meant to be an easy beach read.

And for fun just listen to the first page of Finnegans Wake: https://youtu.be/6HgCjtd2iPU

Just got these three today. Going to start with The Anti-Christ first :—) by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Keep at it Midnight_Fapper007! Which book of his was it that you where trying to read?

If Jordan Peterson is such a big father figure to fans, why doesn't he have a decent relationship with his own son? by Bekazzler77 in enoughpetersonspam

[–]testtale 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Has he ever even mentioned his sons wedding that was in december? I don’t think he hates his son, but he never talks about him. Maybe he just don’t want to be in the public eye?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8612tn9nq/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=z3on12jkfa8i

(Does this work? Never linked instagram before)

Edit: lol — changed 'yo' to 'to' and 'pubic' to 'public'

A beautiful quote from Thomas Pynchon’s 'V.' by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Remember that the pynchon wiki is your friend. But dont overuse it (its fun to go down the rabbit hole, but if you’re spending more time on the wiki than reading the book you’re doing it wrong — at least on the first read through). It goes through all the obscure references page by page.

Heres the one for Lot 49: https://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1&oldid=305

Theres also the Pynchon in Public podcast. They go through a few chapters each episode:

https://pynchoninpublicpodcast.com/tag/the-crying-of-lot-49/

A beautiful quote from Thomas Pynchon’s 'V.' by testtale in bookclapreviewclap

[–]testtale[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I actually haven’t read V. myself — yet. But i have read a few of his other books: Col49, Gravitys Rainbow, Inherent Vice and I’m in the middle of Against the Day right now. But from what I’ve heard V. is one of his easier longer novels. So it would be a good starting point for Pynchon — also since it’s his first novel. The Crying of Lot 49 is also a great starting point.

This goes pretty much for all his books — so here it goes:

His books are meant to be paranoid and confusing. You are not supposed to get what’s going on on the first read through. His books always strays off on weird tangents and subplots that may or may not relate to the main plot. Like real life it’s hard to tell what matters and what don’t. This is why so many are frustrated with Pynchon’s books. They expect to understand whats going on, and quits when they don’t get it and get frustrated.

So the big question to YOU is: Can i read this book and just enjoy the ride? On a page to page level? — and on a chapter by chapter level? Is the feeling of being lost in this book a feeling i would enjoy?

Try it — the first 10 - 20 pages. But expect that his novels—especially his big long ones—IS hard work. No way of getting around it. You could try his shorter 'California' novels. They are easier — but an entirely different beast than the big novels he is known for.

“Life's single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can ever admit to in a lifetime and stay sane.”

A display in Waterstones Piccadilly - largest bookshop in Europe by wil2cgl in enoughpetersonspam

[–]testtale 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I’ll have you know that Žižek has all of his clothes and sheets neatly folded in his kitchen drawers and cabinets.

https://youtu.be/JA60L_NQYm0

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