Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, no kidding!

During my weekly online recreational shopping hour, I stumbled across this intriguing novel: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. First I thought it was a joke and Austen's body (or the remains that is) would probably roll over in her grave upon hearing such sacrilegious concept but it's an actual adaptation of Jane Austen's classic or as the caption reads: "The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem" In this apparently kick-ass version a plague has fallen on Meryton, bringing the dead back to life. Our beloved heroine Elizabeth Bennet wages war against the zombies until Darcy get in the way, that is.

I finally read Pride and Prejudice a few weeks ago and really liked it despite the fact that I couldn't get Keira Knightley out of my head and although I'm not fond of adaptations, I can't help but get excited about this one for the simple reason that it's such an odd combination. Ok, my first reaction was 'what the f***?' followed by a shrieking 'why?' but ultimately I thought 'why the hell not?' In an age where we're remaking, revamping and regurgitating everything that was once bright, shiney and new, why not throw in a few zombies? It couldn't hurt, right?

Alas, I still have to wait a few weeks before I can get my hands on a copy but it has already gotten great reviews, even by literary buffs. Who knows, Darcy might end up giving his brain to Lizzie as the ultimate contemporary romantic gesture...

Stream of consciousness

The past few days have been pretty strange. For one, I didn't have to work for three days straight which was absolute bliss. It also gave me some time to get me head together and do some more beloved job hunting! After two months I've decided that sales really isn't my cup of tea eventhough it's books I'm selling, I'm slowly but surely delving into a deep pit of madness and despair. In order to crawl out, I'm now looking for a part-time job so I'll finally have time to devote to my writing. I just hope the world will love it as much as I do, although I sincerely doubt it.

This weekend I went to the Goya, Redon, Ensor exhibit in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and it was pretty great. I have to say that I don't know a lot about art and my comments usually range from 'oh pretty' to 'they call that art?' but this was actually quite interesting, especially Redon's and Ensor's drawings that were inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's short stories made my literature loving heart flutter. I was also very impressed by Redon's work in general although I have to admit I had no idea who he was. His black and white drawings were very simple and surprisingly modern. They could have almost been illustrations out of a contemporary upscale graphic novel. And the best part of all, was that I had to write an article about it!

Speaking of graphic novels, I was planning on going to see Watchmen this weekend 'cause for some reason I'm very intrigued by that movie. I don't like special effects / super hero stuff but seeing as this was based on the mother of all graphic novels and the source of a lot of controversy (writer Alan Moore is pissed about how they massacred his brainchild and refuses to have anything to do with it so illustrator Dave Gibbons is reaping all the benefits), it is tickling my fancy. Sadly, that trip had to be postponed to next week.

This weekend wasn't all fun and games, I also had some very bad news, twice actually. I never mentioned this before but my best friend has leukemia. She had a bonemarrow transplant two weeks ago and she isn't doing well. She isn't resonding to treatment and has a lot of infections to battle. As we speak, she's on a ventilator and in a coma. It doesn't look good.
I visited her yesterday and it was really weird because she doesn't look like herself anymore but I couldn't bare not going despite it being an awful sight. I just can't imagine a world without her.

Now if that wasn't enough to drain someone emotionally I also learned that my beloved companion, my baby Molly, has a heart murmur. We went to the vet 'cause she had to pee every 2 minutes and left with a bladder infection and the number of a cat cardiologist. Seriously, a cat cardiologist. After she's stopped peeing every couple of minutes, we have to take her for an ultrasound to see what's wrong with her heart and how long she's got but breathing problems and paralysis are inevitable. Needless to say, I shed a fair amount of tears the past few days.

But I'm going to try and end on a remotely happier note being books, yay! As always I've been buying more than I'm reading. I simply don't seem to have the time to read anymore. I should probably write less and read more but darn it, my Vaio is so addictive!
Now seeing as this book has held the top spot in the the bestseller list ever since I started working in the intellectually numbing hellhole, I decided to give it a go and will now commence reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by the already infamous Stieg Larsson. It's crime fiction so, I can hardly wait. Afterwards I'm going to reward myself by reading the third Twilight installment, Eclipse. I've put myself on a Twilight diet (only one a month) because otherwise it'll all be over too soon. And hopefully (meaning if I don't buy anything new) I'll start in People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks next. It's our new bookclub book which this time, I'm determined to finish.

Zen of zombie

This book is not only a highly original but also very hilarious take on the common self help book. The whole idea behind this concept is that zombies are pure and straightforward beings. Their goals are simple, they don't deviate and they just go for it, it being you brain but that's beside the point. Zombies are focused, determined and don't sweat the small stuff, an attitude we should all aspire to. Besides covering the 24 traits of the quintessential zombie, the book also contains a twelve step program to become one fearless and successful individual. In the end, good advice marinated in a sauce of useful facts and gruesome fiction.

"I guess I gotta keep creating or I just die"

Last weekend we saw Eagle vs. Shark, a very funny and endearing independent film born and bred in New Zealand. I read a lot of good things about this movie and accidently stumbled across it on one of my favorite online shopping sites. The movie was never released in Belgium which is a shame seeing as it is one of the funniest films I've seen in a while.

The movie was directed by New Zealand born Taika Cohen who co-wrote it with his leading lady Loren Horsly. It kicked off the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The story revolves around Lilly, a shy and awkward girl, and Jarrod, an odd and deluded nerd. Lilly desperately wants Jarrod to love her but sadly he is too blinded by his quest for vengence to notice. He wants to get even with his high school nemesis and she decides to help him along the way, hoping that their quality time will change his mind from war to love.

The story is quite simple but what make Eagle vs. Shark so unique are its quirky and higly loveable characters who usually end up in the strangest situations. This mix of absurdities and honest yet highly unconventional characters creates a very distinct style aided by various animated interludes.

A style, that despite it's original nature (compared to most romantic comedies at least), is incredibly reminiscent of the equally hilarious Napoleon Dynamite staring Jon Heder although the latter was definitely less subtle in portraying its protagonists emotional development. Both have an oddball cast, unusual situations and are covered by a certain melancholic ironie that makes everything endearingly plausible.

Eagle vs. Shark's leading man, Jemaine Clement, who was blessed with the face of an über geek went on the reap the benifits of his peculiar appearance by starring it the critically acclaimed series The Flight of the Conchords about two New Zealand friends (you just gotta love their accent) who go to America to try and make it big with their folk band. Naturally, nothing goes quite as planned seeing as their entire fanbase is a semi hysterical girl and their only gig is at the aquarium. HBO immediately snapped up this smartly written and well acted jewel in disguise. Too bad we Belgians have such a hard time getting quality TV.

Tragedy, the sequel

Yesterday morning when I got to work I immediately started flipping through the newspapers to see if I found anything about that dead ostrich, thinking it was strange that nobody reported anything about it on friday but apparently they weren't allowed because, are you ready? It was "art" and I totally fell for it!

Actor / "artist" Benjamin Verdonck, thought it would be cool to display a shockingly realistic Pechvogel (loosely translated as unlucky bird) in the middle of a crowded shopping street seeing as it was Friday the 13th. How highly original. According to the newspaper 70% of the people who say this gratuitous scene were simply appaled and disgusted as it was a real dead animal that was displayed simply to nauseate us accompanied with a lot of blood and bucket loads of shit (pardon my French).

So OK, the animal didn't escape which was actually highly unlikely and it (hopefully) didn't suffer but why use such cheap and gross theatrics? What could possibly have been his point because an unlucky bird on Friday the 13th isn't the most illuminated idea out there if you ask me and to sink so low to get a reaction is simply beyond me. Verdonck should really consider a career change or give his "artwork" a second thought at least, maybe even a third before he wastes tax payers money by having an entire police squad guard his carcass all day.

Tragedy

Every Friday I go into town to run some errands but this morning I was shocked by one of the most horrific scenes I've ever seen in real life. I'm not going to describe it because that would just be gratuitous but in the middle of the Meir layed a dead ostrich amongst a lot of blood and other splatters. It silmply made me sick to my stomach and angry that people were just standing there, amazed and laughing.
I can't imagine what that poor animal must have been through but judging by what I saw it must have been terrified and endured a horrendous ordeal. I don't know how an ostrich even got to be in the middle of the Meir, ok there is a zoo nearby but he would have had to "survive" a kilometer of traffic which is highly unlikely and probably the cause of this massacre.
Now I don't know why I'm writing about this because I don't want to turn it into a spectacle like everyone else did, but I guess I just what to raise some awareness for a poor animal whose life came to a tragic end. It shook me to the core to experience such horror and imagine such fear and confussion on his behalf. I hope he rests in peace.

Ghost story

Even though I've had weeks to read it, I couldn't get myself to finish Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susannah Clarke which was our next book club assignment. I actually barely started meaning I never got past page 60 although I did try about four times. Somehow I simply couldn't get into it.

It's also a pattern that I've been developping the past few weeks. I start a new book almost daily and after a few pages I simply lose interest except for The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman which I read in two days and loved as I expected. Like Coraline, the book is aimed at young readers but not children per sé. It tells the story of a boy named Bod (short for Nobody) who was raised by the ghosts of a graveyard after his family was murdered. I highly recommend it to everyone who just wants to sit back and enjoy a good old-fashioned no nonsense ghost story and even those who don't like the genre (like me originally) will surely be pleasantly surprised. I can't help but notice that my taste in books has taken a 180° turn in a strange new direction seeing as the only books I'm finishing lately are either fantasy or illustrated and I'm loving both.

Going Gondry

Working at Standaard Boekhandel means that I can borrow as many dvd's whenever I want, a privilege I try to take advantage of as much as possible. Last night we watched Michel Gondry's Be kind Rewind, a movie that disappeared from Belgian theatres after just one week. The reason for my borrowing this fairly unknown 2008 Sundance favorite was my poodle's endearing adoration for Jack Black and the fact that Gondry's work really fascinates me.

His most famous work to date is the exceptional Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which wasn't just visually innovative but also had a damn good story thanks to the wonderful Charlie Kaufman. Now one of the characteristics of a Gondry film is the way he literally constructs sets within his set meaning characters often dream or in this case really are being filmed / watched which brings voyeurism to a whole new level.

This was also the case in Be Kind Rewind, a reference to VHS's hayday. Jack Black became magnetized while trying to sabotage a power plant and accidently erases all the movies in the good old-fashioned video store that the squeecky voiced Mos Def is working in which results in them making unique and contemporary recreations of the classics.

Once again, Gondry has a great idea and a visually satisfying approach in creating this mosaic of movie clips but alas storywise there's still a lot of work to be done and that's why I now refer you to exhibit B: The Science of Sleep, a previous writing attempt that had great potential but no clue what to do with it. Visually, Gondry really knows his stuff and has a deliciously fresh approach but narritively he needs Kaufman, desperately, if he wants to stay spotless that is.

I heart my computer

Don't be alarmed, I'm not going to make a habit of talking about technology but two days after I announced that I wanted a fuschia Macbook, something in my computer exploded. Coincidence or did he die of a broken heart? It was probably old age but I can't help but wonder. The timing really sucked because the day before that I got some good, potentially life altering news disguised as my first (trail) article. I just hope I don't blow it.

So there I was, one article, a deadline and no computer. The necessary hysterics naturally followed which resulted in me buying a laptop out of the blue really. I was planning on getting one sometime in the future and preferably that adorable little Macbook once I'd mastered OSX but that plan got shot to hell, pardon my French. Without actually knowing anything about laptops, like I said in my previous post I'm a computer simpleton, I went out and bought in my opinion the most elegant one I could afford being a Sony Vaio. Everything was installed yesterday and I've spent most of today writing and exploring its possibilities, slowly but surely I'm starting to forget all about that fuschia bundle of joy. I've even had my first Skype experience today...

Mac

I've never cared much for computers. I write on them, surf the net and do a lot of shopping but that's about it. Numerous conversations about a computer's capacity, hard drive,... have already been lost on me. And seeing as I'm a firm believer in content over packaging, I'm saddened to announce that I have fallen in love with a Mac. In my defense, it's not just any Mac, it's a fuchsia one.

I've been a PC user all my life simply because I don't know many non-PC users and it's cheaper. I always thought Mac was overrated, who cares about a slim design (some people will probably crucify me for saying this) it's what the machine can do, isn't it?

Now, I know Mac is good and after having browsed through the set up a few times, it even seems to make a lot more sense to a rudimentary computer users like myself. I even started to warm up to it's clean crisp look a while back even though I hate anything white or metallic (it just screams work in progress to me).

But a few minutes ago I became certain that a Mac will personally cross my path in the future seeing as I desperately need, crave all that fuchsia goodness. Once again, my girly side can't be denied even when it comes to computers.

Non-Fiction, a deluded genre

One of the bestsellers is my department right now is Eten, Bidden en Beminnen aka Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert so I decided to give it a try. It has already sold over 5 million copies world wide and lately it's all woman (luckily few of whom I hold in esteem) seem to talk about. Basically Gilbert talks about her struggles after her divorce and how she decided to make a trip to Italy, India and Indonesia to get her shit together, putting it bluntly anyway. In Italy she finds physical nourishment, in India the spiritual kind and in Indonesia the emotional variety, turning her into a whole new and balanced woman.

Now after having read about her "struggle" I can't keep wondering what would have possessed her to think we actually care and secondly why 5 million plus people around the world actually do? Aren't these "going away and finding yourself" tales old news? Personally her novel only irritated me like most non-fiction does. The reason I'm not fond of the genre (despite the occasional biography or historic document) is because reality basically doesn't interest me that much which I know, is an odd thing to say. Everyone probably knows someone who's had a bad divorce, tragic accident, crippling disease, troubled childhood, breakdown,... I for one have already personally witnessed all of these which leads me to conclude: where's the news value? Why write about something we've all heard a million times before and why think that someone actually cares about your personal strife?

There are actual people out there who have had amazing or even horrifying things happen to them, sometimes numerous times and should raise our awareness. There are people who have experienced things we can't imagine and maybe don't even want to imagine but through their writing they are able to open our eyes to things we couldn't possibly understand otherwise. I'd even encourage someone (you know who you are) to do so.

So as you can see my feelings towards non-fiction are a bit ambivalent: on the one hand I think it's necessary and can be enlightening but one the other hand there are so many Tom, Dick, Harry, Janes and Elizabeths who flood the world with their sorry and pathetic tales making me wonder why should I care? So you had a bad divorce? Who hasn't? So you went to India to find yourself? Lucky you! You were able to travel around the world for an entire year meditating and afterwards received millions of dollars (did I mention she also got a movie deal? Julia Roberts is playing her in the film) while most women stay behind heart-broken and penniless.

This is why Gilbert strikes me as a tad arrogant preaching her tale of fictional hope to the common woman. She hurts just like us, the only difference is several million dollars. Non-fiction like this just annoys me and makes me appreciate fiction even more. An author who is able to create characters, situations, emotions even worlds who do not exist but touch us or seem like they could really be out there (albeit in some parallel universe) deserve more respect, applause and admiration than some whiney yoga obsessed blonde if you ask me.

Now, the ironic twist I'd like to end with is the fact that Eat, Pray, Love was being promoted as non-fiction or even a memoir in the States. When it finally reached our turbulent Belgian shores we immediately labeled it as fiction making me think once again: Belgians can be such idiots sometimes. But as it turns out, we were right all along seeing as these things don't happen. Not here at least.