Another week, another couple hundred pages.

I finished Absurdistan. I mentioned before that it seemed to combine elements of Pynchon and Adiga, but it also had very strong currents of Junot Diaz, although more satirical. The main character really had very few redeeming qualities, but he was still likable. I enjoy over the top political satire, and books heavy on forgeign culture, so Absurdistan was right up my alley. I may have to check out Shteyngart's other books.

Today I started "Gentlemen Of The Road," after which I will have no more Michael Chabon left to read (except for any uncollected essays, the exceprt of "Fountain City" included McSweeney's #36, and hopefully soon his next novel.) I didn't realize that this book is so similar to "The Final Solution," where Chabon mimicked the style Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This time around, he seems to be channeling Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and Fritz Leiber.


Recent beer has included another bottle of Left Hand Warrior IPA. I cannot stress enough how much I love wet hop ales. They may not have quite the strength of hops as many IPAs, but the range of dimension in the hop profile is so much fuller. When the hops are dried for storage, you just lose so many aspects of the flavor. Someday I may have to get an entire refrigerator dedicated just to Fresh Hop beer, since it can only be brewed for a couple weeks during the fall hop harvest.


I am now re-watching Shaun Of The Dead. This is only the second time I've seen it, and I am once again struck by how well it is made. That tracking shot where Shaun walks from his flat to the cornershop is far more beautiful than it has any need to be. I didn't realize until just now that the same director, Edgar Wright, did the Scott Pilgrim movie. I'll have to make sure to watch that just for the craftsmanship, and I guess I need to finally see Hot Fuzz as well.

In a way, it reminds me of John Cameron Mitchell. Both directors have such incredible technical skill, attention to detail, and visual flair, and while I enjoy movies featuring zombies and swingers, I'd love to see them make films with fewer distractions. I hate to use the phrase "a more serious film" but I feel like many people would discount their work's seriousness out of hand because of what they perceive as gimmicks.