It’s been a good month. An emotional month. I quit my job today to pursue my career as a writer. I’m probably going to spend the next month finishing my first book. I’ve been studying for the driver’s exam, because I somehow made it to 27 without knowing how to drive. I met Bishop N. T. Wright. I made some great relationships on Twitter and really challenged myself to use social media for all it’s worth.
I haven’t been watching a lot of movies because it’s Lent, but I did sneak in a few. These were some of my favorites:
Nebraska (2013)
A sad black-and-white movie about an old man with a drinking problem and his world-weary son, who are taking a trip to Nebraska to claim the million dollars the man thinks he’s won. Lovely and powerful and haunting.
Breathless (1959)
The first film in the French New Wave movement, Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless was a breath of fresh air. The cinematography, encompassing the picturesque sweep of Paris streets and the idleness of a pair of lovers casually chatting, is breath-taking.
True Detective (2014)
The entire first season, from start to finish. A great fix for anyone who’s still suffering from the end of Breaking Bad. The writing and directing is electrifying, and at times genius. Woody Harrelson is effective as a blustery Louisiana detective, while Matthew McConaughey creates a character for the ages.
NOAH (2014)
No, it wasn’t made by evil alien space lizards with the intention of destroying “traditional Christianity.” Ignore all the bizarre controversy surrounding this movie and go see it for yourself. It’s worth it. Trust me.
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It’s been a much better month in terms of books, because I HAVE A KINDLE NOW AND I CAN READ ALL THE TIME!
This month I read, or began reading:
– Story Engineering: Character Development, Story Concept, Scene Construction by Larry Brooks
– The Mahabharata (a modern adaptation in two volumes) by Ramesh Menon
– The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters,by Christopher Vogler (haha, can you tell that I’m writing a book?)
– Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination, by Peter Ackroyd
– Jesus & the Victory of God, by N. T. Wright
– Girl At the End of the World, by Elizabeth Esther
Excluding Elizabeth’s book, which I’ve already written about at length, my favorite of these was the Mahabharata. It’s an ancient story of family and war and sex and betrayal, gods and goddesses and demons and monsters, that reads like a great Shakespearean tragedy. I’ll have more to say about this. I want to write a post about my eleven favorite stories ever, and this is definitely one of them.
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Music that I’ve been falling in love with? The Silver Seas, Elbow, The Handsome Family, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Alessi’s Ark, Club 8, Elizabeth & the Catapult
Songs? Here’s a sampling:
“Far from Any Road” (The Handsome Family—True Detective theme song!)
“The Bottomless Hole” (The Handsome Family)
“Julian, Darling” (Elizabeth & the Catapult)
“Karaoke Star” (The Silver Seas)
“The Water” (Johnny Flynn ft. Laura Marling)
“New York Morning” (Elbow)
“John Lennon” (Felix)
“Song of Joy” (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds)
What about you? What have you fallen in love with this month?
Sketches By Boze 