Monday, August 21, 2006

"Has the perrier gone straight to my head? Or is life sick and cruel, instead?"

I would like to take the cue from Barbara B., and include a cynical, beverage-related Smiths' quote to introduce my post.

I'm on page 490 of Ulysses, which is past the halfway mark! I've been doing a lot of reading lately, because I have a lot of time to spare. Sometimes I read to much in a day, and acquire "Ulysses Exposure Syndrome" or UES, which makes me quit for the day. I also feel like I'm understanding it a bit better. It really feels awesome to understand parts of that book. So, my goal for the week is to get past or to page 650. And hopefully, to catch up with Jian. My friend Jenn has also begun reading. I hope she didn't feel any pressure for being told to on national radio. She's around page 200 or so. I think I've proved that teenagers are capable of reading books like this, if they put their mind to it. I'm pretty confident in myself right now. I'll be able to get through this, as long as the Perrier I'm drinking doesn't get to my head. I am drinking Perrier. But I usually mix it with juice. I like Perrier, because it makes lime-flavoured bubbly water sound sophisticated.

But for now, I was listening to the 80's station in the car when they started to play a Smith's song called "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side". I know all the words to this song, so I entertained my mum and brother with my Morrissey voice and Morrissey dance moves. Note the waggly eyebrows, and Johnny Marr's heart-melting gaze.



10 comments:

Allison said...

"I like Perrier, because it makes lime-flavoured bubbly water sound sophisticated", you kill me.
Oh, now you've done it, you have to show us you Morrissey dance moves.

Congrats on getting that far in Ulysses!! I've stalled and I think I'm going to pack the book for now (in my suitcase, not away). I'm around 400, but I know this week is going to be crazy. It does feel pretty good reading a giant book like that eh? And understanding it. I read 'War and Peace' when I was 15, and was pretty proud of myself.

hilary m. said...

I think the Morrissey dance moves are wonderful. Well, at least they make me laugh every time I see them. I have a whole DVD of Smiths music videos.

Thanks! I found it hard to get past page 400. That's still good considering that I have infinite spare time, and you definitely don't. It feels awesome! My mum gave me 'War and Peace' when I was 12. Thankfully, I didn't finish the first chapter.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

"a cynical beverage-related Smiths' quote" - you KILL me!

I'll bet we could challenge each other to start all our posts with Smiths'lyrics for the next two months and we'd still not use up all the good ones.

Thanks for the great video. Awww, Johnny Marr loves the Mozfather, he really really does!
Is there anything finer than a Morrissey dance? I think not, and I'm with Allison that we really need to see your Morrissey moves.

I've heard Belle and Sebastian cover The Boy with the Thorn in his Side and they made it so happy and singalongy - completely different song. Love them both.

hilary m. said...

I agree Barbara! There seems to be an endless amount of funny quotable Smiths lyrics.

I recall a Nardwuar interview with Johnny Marr. Nardwuar asked him something like "When Morrissey was really sad, did you ever cuddle him?". It was pretty funny. The Moz-moves are inspiring.

I've never heard that cover, sounds interesting. I love it when songs get covered, and take on a whole different feel.

Mint Sharpie said...

Pardon me for my ignorance: Johnny Mar is the one with black hair?

If you like covers, you should hear the Marilyn Manson version of "I Put A Spell On You." Imagine the original gone completely mental, and on acid. The ending part makes my throat hurt (he's screaming), but the first half is really good, with an awesome bassline. Major tripping-ness!

hilary m. said...

He is the one with the black hair, the camera kind of zooms in on his pretty face once in a while. He's their (talented) guitarist.

I've heard Tim Curry do "I Put A Spell On You", but never Marilyn Manson. I suppose that'd be very interesting.

Will said...

Well done with the Mozzer song ! Can I ask a question ? What sort of a reaction were you getting from your family for your performance ?

hilary m. said...

Haha.
Good question Ben. My mum finds Morrissey hilarious, and my brother was pleading me to stop singing. Although, deep down I know he loves Morrissey's dancing.

Anonymous said...

hi hilary good job on the reading! my mom just finished reading ulysses and she found it very rewording. i just wanted to ask how you are dealing with all the "explicit" details in the book... im 16 and thought i might pickit up and give it a whirl but my mom wouldnt let me. i think that any one could read ulysses word for word and get it well enough if they were persistant enough... i just dont know how appropriate it is for teenagers to read a book with such content.

hilary m. said...

You're right, it's taken me a great deal of persistence to tackle understanding the book. Of course some of the parts in the book are sexual, but that doesn't mean young people shouldn't be allowed exposure to them. I feel that I would be worse off, if I was ignorant of these things. As long as I'm mature enough to deal with it, it shouldn't matter. I think that if teenagers turn a blind eye to some of the "explicit" parts, then they will be uncomfortable with this when they face it later in life. Of course, if someone's not mature enough to deal with it appropriatly they shouldn't be reading the book as a whole.

Woah. That was long. Sorry. =)