rantlust

Posted by jcaldera on July 10th 2006 in Art, Literature
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On a recent trip to Washington, Vanessa’s aunt gave me a whole bunch of comic titles that she thought I might like. I started reading 100 Bullets, which seemed just about the right story for the format and the right story for me. 9 books later, and still more to come, I can tell you it is probably one of the most fun reads I have had in a long time. I am utterly hooked to this story, to the point that I had to go to the comic store and buy the individual issues, cuz I couldn’t wait for the next book to come in December.

If you are a fan of film noir type, I am pretty sure you are going to like it. The story is fascinating, the writing is superb and the art is very compelling. I have shared the books with some of my friends, that are versed in the comic world, and they love it as much as we do.

The story starts with this guy (Agent Graves) that gives a suitcase to a (not-so) random character containing 100 Bullets, a gun, and a bunch of documentation of a person that is behind this character disgraces. The bullets, the gun, and the actions are untrackable by the police or any other law enforcement agency. It seems simple, but that is just the introduction to a really convoluted series of nicely tied subplots to the overarching big story that whenever you think you’ve gotten it down, the next page will make sure you are wrong, and start guessing again.

You can find more info about the series here

Happy read!

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Posted by renéejo on June 22nd 2006 in Books, Rants, Sex, Women
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I admit it. I am one. Why should men get to have all the fun? I watch porn. I go to raunchy clubs. I used to be an exhibitionist in beaches in the south of France. I have done my fair share of naughty behavior in nightclubs. And though I haven’t gone to the extremes of the characters described by Ariel Levy in her wonderful book ‘Female Chauvinist Pigs‘, I surely would love to.

This is a book for the post-feminists. We, who like to think we are finally coming to terms with why our men like porn or strippers. If you can’t beat them, join them, as the cliche goes. Levy is an American living in New York and the book is about how being raunchy and sexy (think Paris Hilton) is the in-thing for the American women. She talks about the wild women of Girls Gone Wild and Playboy. Funnily enough, both of these are run for the most part, by women. The book is well-written but is sure to offend many. This was a present from a friend and I devoured it in a couple of hours non-stop. Even the male dominated rantlust crowd should check it out, if only for sheer voyeurism. I now understand why fleshbot, Jenna Jameson and Jordan are so mainstream these days. Poor old Traci Lords was way ahead of her time.

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Posted by anupcs on May 19th 2006 in Books, Movies, Religion
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Fellow blogger bab and I went for an early showing of “The Da Vinci Code” today (from work).

The book was highly readable despite a lack of style. Dan Brown keeps us on the edge but he has the annoying habit of filling his paragraphs with italics. How much emphasis do we really need?

The movie, which is sure to unseat MI:III from the top of the box office heap this weekend, religiously follows the book with very minor variations. Some scenes are omitted and some of the secret code is different. I wasn’t that pleased with the performance of Tom Hanks, an actor I have deep respect for. He didn’t have to try very hard to portray Robert Langdon. Audrey Tautou was ideal for the part of Sophie Neveu. (I am glad that Kate Beckinsale, who’s best when fighting vampires in skin-tight clothes, wasn’t chosen for this role, as was rumored.) Sir Ian McKellan, Jean Reno, and Paul Bettany do a good job in supporting roles.

I felt that the movie got slow at times, more so than the book. However, the end result is not as bad as most of the critics made it out to be. I would suggest waiting for DVD though.

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Posted by anupcs on April 26th 2006 in Books, Nature, Outdoors, Raves
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As a rat race victim, I often take solace in the mountains during weekend outings. Backpacking is one of my favorite activities… often with fellow rantlusters. Most of these outings are the two-day one-night variety. We normally head out early morning on Saturday to Tahoe’s amazing Desolation Wilderness and head back Sunday night. Our last stop in civilization is the Lake Tahoe ranger station where we pick up our permits. The ranger station has well-maintained restrooms among other things. So it’s often here that we conduct our proper morning rituals before heading out into the wilderness. For the next 36 hours or so, I try my best not to go for the big one in the woods. This is what Kathleen Meyer defines as “avoidance constipation.”

If words such as shyte, turd, crap, piss, leak, dump, defecation, stools, scats, dung, chips, pellets, number one, number two, tinkle, poop, poo-poo, doo-doo, load, excrement, etc., fill you with disgust, then read no further for what follows is some serious shit.
(Read more…)

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Posted by dharpe guje on April 15th 2006 in Books, Literature, Rants
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The Colony is a work of non-fiction by John Tayman based on the lives of 8000 people condemned to the island of Molokai during the mid 1800s through the 1900s as part of a government plan to enforce segregation of leprosy patients. This horrific tale of human condition, it’s relative value and the attitude of our society in general when facing such tough social issues is a good reminder to mankind as to how not to treat human beings. That life can be this indecent, difficult and cruel for some provides a true perspective for our problems today.

The work also outlines the heroism and sacrifices made by many who were truly troubled by the human condition on the islands.

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Posted by anupcs on April 13th 2006 in Books, Food & Wine, Humor
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Ed the brewer recommends the wickedly entertaining “Alcoholica Esoterica.”

In it, the author, Ian Lendler, talks about a puzzle that James Joyce wrote about in the wickedly boring “Ulysses”: A good puzzle would be to cross Dublin without passing a pub.

A local radio station not too long ago offered £100 to someone who could solve the puzzle. The winner explained that you could take any route but you would just have to visit all the pubs on your way. Instead of “passing” it up, in case that wasn’t clear.

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Posted by riyer on April 06th 2006 in Books, History, Mythology, Religion, Technology
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The earliest known manuscript known as the ‘Gospel of Judas’ has surfaced after 1700 years and sheds new light on Judas’ role in Christ’s betrayal (or does it?). You’ll find this fascinating story here

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Posted by renéejo on March 29th 2006 in Books
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Winning the Nobel prize in anything doesn’t make you great. You need to be truly non-judgemental in order to be great unlike some laureates. Idiot.

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