I don't consider myself a Bill Murray fan but he's such an indie icon these days. I don't even know if he's still considered a comedian. He developed this sad and melancholic aura which made me stay clear of his more recent movies such as Moonrise Kingdom. But whether I like it or not, he is setting himself apart. His career path is...
"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." - Stephen King Despite being terrified of Stephen King's books*, I need to buy a copy of his On writing urgently. I can't tell you how many times I have seen authors and bloggers recommending it. i'm not a big fan of...
Giovanni Bellini was an important painter from the Renaissance period. His work was extremely influential especially in the use of color and atmosphere. Here's some interesting information about him: detail from the San Giobbe AltarPiece by Giovanni Bellini (1480) He received his first lessons from Andrea Mantegna, his brother-in-law, which were decisive for the formation of his talent. A self-made man, he...
Money, money, money, money, money, money, money, MO-NEY! I rented It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world because I just realized I watched many parts of this movie but I had never really seen all of it. Then I remembered why. The movie is over two and half hours. The dialogues are really funny and make it worth while though. The physical comedy and the...
I'd like to share my latest book purchases and maybe rationalize how on Earth I am supposed to finish all of them. I bought them on the same day and almost couldn't carry them home. In my defense, they were bargains. (Isn't that always the defense?) Paul Johnson's preface got me really excited: "It is therefore essential that society defend itself against cultural...
Apparently, Wiki Paintings is a great place to find new artists. The other day I happened upon this painting in the Most Viewed section: Negro attacked by a Jaguar by Henri Rosseau - 1910 Ok, the artist is not exactly a new one, but he is new to me. Henri Rosseau was a French Post-impressionist painter. Carnival evening by Henri Rosseau - 1885-1886...
A Coen Brother's western with Jeff Bridges wearing an eye patch - what else do we need? What called my attention the most about True Grit was the things that called Imdb user's attention about True Grit. I couldn't believe the topics of discussion in the movie's page. It sums up to: the movie was too violent, the language used by the characters...
It's so strange that the book How to live on 24 hours a day by Arnold Bennet is not more popular. I used to say I didn't have enough time to read or study but this book has certainly killed that excuse. It offers tips to manage time in order to both read and ponder over what you read - which is incredibly important....
Farnsworth House (Illinois) - designed by Mies van der Rohe "Architecture has for its first duty, in this period of renewal, that of bringing about a revision of values, a revision of the constituent elements of the house." - Le Corbusier I don't know why but I have this interest on Bauhaus architecture. Maybe it's because the Bauhaus is not only architecture it's also social engineering....
A post where I over-analyse Addams Family Values and ask a whole lot of questions. When I was a child, I used to love the Addams family. They seemed so strange and at the same time so cool. I was strange and wanted to be cool, so it was the perfect movie for me. The cast was amazing and the jokes were dark and funny....
I have some poetry books lying around which I just can't finish reading. I usually put novels on a deadline: x number of pages per day. I can't do that with poetry. Or can I? (cue evil smile and raised brow) No, I can't. We can't read poetry as we read prose. So, I set the poetry aside and began reading Practical Criticism by I....
Leave it to Matchbook to be inspirational and useful. In their July issue they have an amazing article on how to start collecting art (pages 50 - 59). This came at the right moment because I've been reading about Peggy Guggenheim lately and totally wanting to be her. Who knows? Maybe I could take some steps towards it (collecting art, not being Peggy Gugghenheim -...
In an episode of Seinfeld, Elaine tells Jerry: "It is so sad. All your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons." What's even sadder is that all my knowledge of high culture comes from pop culture, from Tv shows just like Seinfeld. For some years I've been trying to listen to classical music. It has been somewhat difficult to appreciate it, you...
I just remembered I never got around to writing about Persuasion by Jane Austen. I recently finished reading all her books and that makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because they are all amazing books and sad because there are no more Austen novels to read. Maybe it's time to start re-reading them. I recommend reading Persuasion after Sense...
