Because, you know. You need to know.

One advantage of free time is I get to catch up on books, movies and music that I wouldn't otherwise have sought out and engaged. Here's some interesting items out now or coming out soon:

District 9

From Peter Jackson, the visual effects in this look absolutely amazing. And not only is it about aliens, but aliens in mechas. That's like putting a twinkie inside a joe louis. How can you resist?

Daybreakers

Vampire is the new teenage-wizard, dontcha know? Also, I can't help expecting a velociraptor to jump out during any scene, in any movie, that Sam Neill is in. Still, I am intrigued by this seeming genre mashup. The trailer is pretty amazing. Also, I love Kate Bush so much that even Placebo sounds good covering her. Brownie points.

The Hurt Locker

This is supposedly the war movie of the decade. I will watch it soon, as it's out already. This I swear. The tension is pretty clearly jacked up big time from what you see in the trailer. Reviews pouring in have been nothing short of stellar.

500 Days of Summer

This actually looks pretty contrived (The Smiths? And you work in a loft studio? Ok). But I tend to enjoy mildly emo hipster rom-coms (see: State, Garden; Kiss, Last; Real Girl, Lars). Where do I sign up for my hipster-douchebag tshirt?

Albums I am eager to hear:

Ohbijou - Beacons

The Most Serene Republic - ...and the ever expanding universe

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

I've been listening to a lot of upbeat summer music lately. Drake, Passion Pit, Au Revoir Simone, and some Bjork to put myself in vacation mood. Suggestions welcome.

Currently reading:

Fifth Business - Robertson Davies

Next Up:

TBA. Suggestions?

I just finished 'Omnivore's Dilemma' prior to my bi-monthly Canlit fix. It was interesting, definitely, but I feel you'd almost be equally educated by just going to watch FOOD Inc. It's essentially... the movie version, of that book. With some 'Fast Food Nation' thrown in. Also, I feel guilty about everything I eat now. Thanks, Michael Pollan.

Literature and romance. But no Zombies.

This is the part of the movie where I laughed out loud in the theatre, and Irene slapped me.

There's this part in the movie Stranger Than Fiction where Dustan Hoffman is explaining the classical romance of literature, where the main protagonists usually start off hating each other before they slowly (or via an epiphany) fall in love.

I suppose in theory this makes sense. I mean, hate and love are, when distilled, just two variations (symptoms?) of intense passion. So perhaps it's rational that somebody you have strong enough feelings for to drive you insane, naturally might also be someone that has the ability to... well, drive you insane. In a good way.

This is an interesting theory. I don't currently subscribe to any such sort of axiom in real life, but for the most part because I haven't ever seen it happen, or even heard of it happening, in reality.

It's common in books, movies, television and theatre, but where did this idea come from anyways? How did the romantic ideal come to be that two individuals who hate each other might eventually (and fatefully) be meant to be together?

It just seems so practically implausible. Is that the whole point? Is the artistic idea of romance simply achieving what we perceive to be impossible?

Seriously, does anyone have an example they might be able to cite of this occurring in real life? I am very, very curious as to the frequency of this strange, rare (yet somehow cliched) happenstance.

Moreover, I've never hated anybody before. I'm not entirely sure I'm capable of hating someone, unless they were say, some sort of monstrous criminal who refused to apologize for his/her crimes.

But I am equally sure I wouldn't fall in love with them.