Yay/ Nay.

Yay:

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Yeah I know this book came out like 2 years ago or so, but working on a Masters can take its toll on your pleasure reading. I heart Cormac, so I am pretty sad it took me this long to read this book, but since I got two copies of The Tales of Beedle The Bard for Christmas I returned one and bought The Road instead [Beedle also gets a Yay! btw]. The Road is disturbing and terrifying and its images of a destroyed world where the only things that exist are ash, a dead grey sea, ruins of cities, crumbling roads and cannibals will probably haunt your dreams [then again, when I read All Quiet On The Western Front I woke up one morning and jumped out of bed in a panic when I heard a fire truck siren because I thought I was getting shelled....so that last thing might only apply to me]. As per usual, McCarthy writes about terrible things beautifully - and the prose is the entire point of this book. There is no plot per say, because well, after the apocalpyse what is there left to plot? In previous books McCarthy pondered how you could describe terrible acts that defy description; but in The Road he asks, what do you talk about when there is nothing left to talk about? His answer? "The ponderous counterspectacle of things ceasing to be." This is one of those books that I had to put down every once in awhile and tell myself that it was all just a story, that this couldn't happen - but in the end I knew just how easily it could. Quite possibly the most depressing book I have ever read, and the perfect antidote to holiday cheer. [Oh and also! They are making a movie! With Viggo Mortensen! Heart!]

Gran Torino

I had no idea Clint Eastwood a] could be funny and b] play a really surprisingly convincing cranky old Polish man. I think I enjoyed the movie because of its setting and filming in and around Detroit - and because the cranky old Polish man was basically a dead ringer for my grandpa. Well, without the action hero-ness. But I give Clint Eastwood props for being an action hero of sorts even when he is nearing 80 - when he utters the lines "You ever get the feeling you fucked with the wrong person? Well, that person is me" he sounds more badass at 78 than most people do when they are young and spry. Even though its slightly predictable, the story itself is rather touching, even though the whole time all I could think about was how the actor who plays Clint's young Hmong neighbor Thao looked just like an Asian David Archuleta. Seriously. Oh, and that the actress who played his spoiled granddaughter plays essentially the same character on Gossip Girl. I probably wouldn't have gone to see this movie if it wasn't set/filmed in the D, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised and happy I saw it.

Nay:

Lame New Year's Eve Telecasts With Ryan Seacrest/ Dick Clark/ Fergie/ Carson Daly/ The randoms over at Fox.

These shows could start at 11:30 and the world would be a better place. Instead they start at 10 and include performances I could do without from the likes of TI, Ludacris, the Jonas Brothers, and I like her, but good god Katy Perry sounds awful live [It sounded like she was singing a bad warbly karaoke version of her own song!] And good lord ABC, just let Dick Clark retire with grace already. And a note to Ryan Seacrest's "special correspondent" Kellie Pickler - DO NOT wear a white coat with matching eyeshadow. For realz. And omfg, my family. Watching the telecast from LA which continued after the ball dropped in Times Square[hosted by the one and only Fergie Ferg!], they revealed their severe lack of knowledge about popular music. Which let's be honest, is probably for the best. My dad thought Jesse McCartney was Paul McCartney's son. He also refered to Natasha Bedingfield as "that girl from American Idol." And my brother asked me which Pussycat Doll was Victoria Beckham. My mother however - rather disconcertingly - knew exactly who Ne-Yo was. Oh and Fox, just give up. I thought you owned Ryan Seacrest, but apparently not as he ditched you for ABC. Everyone else under American Idol contract appeared though, Chris Daughtry's entire band decked out it t-shirts I am 100% certain I saw on the clearance rack at Target. And the camera work was so bad that one shot only contained the top of David Cook's head [this is the one time his incredibly wonky hair worked in his favor, as otherwise we would have had no idea who it was]. And whoever the randoms were Fox tapped to host the show looked like geeks from some random college A/V class they pulled out of nowhere at the last second. Seriously, the one skinny guy in the plastic glasses and poufy coat I am pretty sure I have seen him huddled in the far reaches of the college library. Fergie did a better job as MC! I could have done a better job! Fox, why are you even a network?!

Homemade Incindiary Devices at My Starbucks!!!!

So this is a notice to the jerk who decided to try and pull off some lame prank and make a homemade firework/ incindiary device/ minature bomb and set it off at one of the Starbucks in the Prov. That Starbucks is right next to the bus stop I frequent and when I am early for my bus sometimes I run in there and grab a coffee. I do not appreciate you setting off plastic bottle bombs and nonsense there, and I am pretty sure the general population of Providence doesn't either. I know that Starbucks is taking over the world, and I would actually rather give my business to independent places like Blue State or the Edge or Coffee Exchange because well, their coffee is better - but damnitt that Starbucks is like 4 blocks closer to my house and sometimes its cold and I don't want to walk those 4 extra blocks. Plus, they are genius for building them right next to bus stops! I mean one time that Starbucks gave me hot chocolate when I ordered a latte but I was late for class already [typical] so I just took it anyway - but really, they never did anything else to make me anrgy enough to set off plastic bottle bombs. So calm the fuck down. Peace, love, and no plastic bottle bombs.