01st Jul 2003
Media Snacks (2/3): words
More recent input, following films…
I am slogging my way through Basic Writings of Nietzsche. Nietzsche’s the master of the serpentine
sentence. It’s become a personal challenge to get through, at which
point I think I’ll start again. Maybe it’s a lot better the second
time?
Just finished Henry
Rollins: The First Five. Man! Mr. 2-13-61 lays down a lot of
thoughts on shallow society, relationships, suicidal thoughts, being
burned, and so on. The book is great in parts, can be pretty intense,
but can get repetitive. It’s not “read it straight through” material. Hank’s a couple of months younger than me
(42), and I wonder if he’s come to terms with some of the stuff that
pissed him off so thoroughly in the 80s. Reading this and seeing L’Auberge
Espanol in the same week might make for a nice double whammy - 2 sides
of 20-whateverish.
I’ve read all of William Gibson’s books, so I had high hopes for Pattern
Recognition. I can’t say that I was let down, but this is no
Neuromancer, or any of the Bridge Trilogy. One thing I missed: multiple
threads, ping-pong chapters. PR is a straight follow of Cayce all the
way through. I never found myself caring about the Footage, and what
it meant. I did enjoy a lot of the atmosphere though - mention London
and I’m drawn in! I wanted to see Cayce wander into a small shop, and
meet The Finn just starting out. A good book if you are reading everything Gibson, or if you are into the “looking over the shoulders of the
main character, and where they travel” aspect. Perhaps I have too
much of a cyberpunk expectation when I think of Gibson: I want my
Ono-Sendai. I want Molly. I want reflected neon in oil puddles.
Braun coffee grinders. Mercenaries. Cheap origami trick.
