In Anticipation of Halloween

"Anticipation" here being pronounced as if you were a cast member of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Last year I attempted to participate in the R.I.P Halloween book challenge. It didn't work out, I only read 3 out of the 4 books I had committed too. Not surprising, I never finish book challenges (as you well know by now I am sure).
But another year, a chance to redeem myself so on that note may I present:

Goal: Read 4 books in any category or subgenre of scary stories that you choose. Detailed description of challenge, and site for book reviews can be found here.

I checked out a bunch of books from the library b/c they had a special Halloween themed exhibit. Maybe I'll read those, or something else. As I know from experience, if I say I am going to read it, make a list, or otherwise announce some sort of set plan - then it is guaranteed not to happen.

In other Halloween related randomness, I really want to do a super scary horror movie marathon. Asked around on facebook, and I got some suggestions - The Ring, The Shining, Alien, Poltergeist, etc. I would add The Blair Witch Project (yes, I know some people think the movie is dumb), and The Excorcist. There are lots that I have already seen, but so many that I have missed, so feel free to provide me with suggestions. And besides, even if I don't do a marathon movie night, I am still curious to know what movie you think is the scariest of all time.

ДахаБраха

Title refers to a Ukrainian band - in the Latin alphabet that would be DakhaBrakha. I thought I'd post something about them b/c:
a) they are good
b) they are Ukrainian
c) I found a new favorite song and finally
d) b/c I cannot sleep.
I slept late this morning, but only b/c I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up in the middle of the night after this horrible nightmare that I was at my grandmother's house and a plane crashed into it. No one died or anything, it was just extremely vivid. I had a few other weird dreams as well.

Anyway, more about the band...
I would classify them as "ethno-rock" or "folk-rock" - they classify themselves as "ethno-chaos." Not sure what that category means, but basically they reinterpret Ukrainian and East European folk music with their own very unique style. They are from Kyiv and affiliated with a Contempory Arts center there DAKH*. Their theater background is probably obvious from their shows, but I have never seen them in concert. I only learned about the band this summer, though apparently my friends saw them last summer at a festival. For more information, here is their website.

In other news,...oh, wait there isn't any other news. Not really, not anything of interest. However, I managed to be fairly productive today. Graded all the mulitiple choice tests. I hope my students aren't the only ones who had a hard time. Checked out a million books from the library b/c I have decided to become interested in Critical Theory. Hm..and that is about it besides wrestling with some Russian text that I needed to put online for my classmates, which I cannot read so really have zero clue if I copied the correct pages (microfiche were invented by a sadist or a lunatic).

So, goodnight. I am still wide awake, but hopefully all the rest of you are sleeping peacefully!


*A clue to where their name comes from, but also Dakha Brakha in Old Slavonic means "to give" and "to take". In modern Ukrainian, it would be "Daty" (дати- to give) and "Braty" (брати - to take). From their website:

The meaning of “giving” is obvious - to give music, joy, celebration, the whole spectrum of emotions, feelings and reflections that fresh music and singing bring with itself.

But where “to take” from? The energy can be taken not only from a native “source” but from anywhere...

Modern ethnic music needs a sort of reconstruction and in a way it means to search roots, to move back in time. But if one belongs to the urban culture and has no initial experience of the traditional life, how can he find these roots?

Simultaneously Terrifying and Hilarious

I feel like that rarely happens. When you see or hear or read something that is really really scary, but at the same time utterly amusing. Today's example - Tom Cruise interview. And yes, I know we shouldn't be suprised by anything that comes out of that man's mouth, but this was too much.

As a Scientologist, at the scene of an accident, "you know you are the only one who can help." -Yep b/c non-Sc paramedics don't know anything.

"We are the authorities on getting people off drugs. We are the authorities on the mind."
- Just watch the video to know why this is really ironic.

"We unite cultures!"

"If you are a Scientologist you see things....... the way they are."

And I am not linking to the video, b/c I am a little paranoid and more than a little scared of those people.

4 Down...5 to go

Finally, I have finished the first volume in my quest to read the earliest 9 Faulkner books. I know I think I said I was going to do that this summer, but at least I am only 2 months behind. It could be much worse, I am so bad at these book challenges. The ones I read were Soldiers' Pay, Mosquitoes, Flags in the Dust, and The Sound and The Fury. Out of the four the best was The Sound and The Fury. The worst by far was Mosquitoes. It was absolutely the most pointless book ever. Next up is As I Lay Dying, which I read last year, and Sanctuary - the beginning of this last one is amazing, so hopefully it will not disappoint.

Soldiers' Pay

I started the book several months ago, and couldn't really get into it due to time constraints rather than lack of interest. Once I had a chunk of time to really engage with it, I found the book utterly captivating. I am rather impressed that this novel was Faulkner's first, but at the same time I felt it was very different - less sophisticated perhaps? - than his other works that I am familiar with. The plot at least is pretty generic. Sections are definitely slow, but other scenes blew me away - I was totally amazed by Faulkner's skill at writing. Granted that might be obvious, he did win a Nobel Prize, but it is nice to experience an author's ability for oneself. As part of a reading challenge, I decided to read Faulkner's first 9 books - this one is definitely a good start.

Mosquitoes

Took me a really long time and to be honest I skimmed most of the second half. One of the most utterly pointless books I have ever read in the sense that there wasn't too much of a plot and nothing really happened throughout most of the book. Gets 2 1/2 b/c some minor sections were interesting and b/c I found W.F's descriptions of the landscape (esp the swamp) and some of the characters' emotional states to be well-written and realistically portrayed. Otherwise, honestly I would say it is not even worth the time to read it.

Flags in the Dust

A bit more developed in terms of characters and plot than his first two books, but had the potential to be so much better. The biggest problem is that some of the most interesting scenes - that create tension and drama in the novel - are never resolved. There is an entire secondary plot that seems, at the beginning, like it will be the focus of the action as the story unfolds, but Faulkner never really follows up on this aspect of the book. It is also a bit confusing in parts because so many people have the same names, and it isn't always clear who is being referred to. I do realize that Faulkner had a specific reason for doing this; he is trying to show the Sartoris legacy and tradition is bound up in the names of the family members as if they develop a particular set of characteristics or a certain personality type simply because of their name. I think that point is made very clear at the end of the book when the new Sartoris is named. 3/5 stars.

The Sound and the Fury

I am so happy I finally read this book. I think I started it in 8th grade, but never could get through the beginning. Trying to follow the flow of the story through the perspective of Benjy amidst numerous flashbacks through time, characters, and space was, I think, a bit too much. However, this time around, I didn't find it that confusing - except for maybe the first 5 or so pages. Really Faulkner does a good job of leaving clues in the text as to when certain events occur whether early in the story when the characters are young, or later when the whole family has nearly disintegrated. The Compson Appendix definitely helps clarify some issues that Faulkner was not completely clear about in the novel itself. The ending was a bit random, but maybe considering the "stream of consciousness" style of the work that was to be expected. My absolute favorite part was with Dilsey at the end when she goes to church. The passages during the revival with the out of town preacher are amazing. Try reading them out loud (I did, it was great). Faulkner nailed this section. 4/5 Stars

Toronto

Went to the annual Ukrainian festival in Toronto last weekend. Super fun, had an amazing time. The festival itself was ok. We were there a lot, but really were only paying attention to one band - which was Ludy Dobri. They are from Ukraine, from Lviv actually and play traditional Ukrainian folk music with a modern twist. We met them last year and hung out a bit. It was kind of strange to see them in Canada, but not as weird as I thought it would be. I did see a few of the other performers. A couple of dance groups who were apparently not very good - I have no standard to judge them by b/c I know next to nothing about Ukrainian dancing. The best part really was that I got to see a lot of people that I met this summer and several people that I met last summer. This is the largest Ukie festival in North America so "everyone" tends to be there - at least everyone who is important :) Ok, that isn't exactly true, but my basic point is that I was excited to hang out with people that I otherwise would probably never have seen again. Pictures and video and all that fun stuff to be posted on Facebook at some point in time - possibly tonight. I might write a more extended version on the other blog seeing as how I was actually supposed to be doing fieldwork while there for my folklore class. I think it was all participation with zero observation this time around.