Gone Girl
I’m not generally in the practice of reviewing books but in this case I just could not hold myself back. There were so many things that rubbed me the wrong way about Gone Girl
First the disclaimers:
1. Spoilers ahead!
2. I listened to the audiobook which I knew from the beginning was a huge mistake. In a story told in the first person with massive amounts of dialogue, the voice and acting abilities of the storyteller can really affect the tone of the tale. From the outset these narrators irritated me. Granted, they’re irritating characters but their inflections and characterizations of the secondary characters made a story I already disliked much worse.
Novel as film
It’s clear from the writing style as well as the numerous film and television references that this book is based in the world of cinema. Considering the state of the current film industry, where studios are looking for known properties instead of original screenplays, it makes sense that Gillian Flynn (a former writer for Entertainment Weekly) would write an easily adaptable book. Yet the writing relies too heavily on the language of cinema.
When describing situations and their emotions, the characters often compare their present states to being in a movie. This notion is repeated ad nauseum. Characters are described as playing their parts in the crime drama version of the story. But what movie? Certainly not a Korean crime drama like The Yellow Sea. Or a television show like The Killing (season 3 in particular). Flynn references only pop culture and only the most generic of it.
Flynn is constantly relying on the viewer’s knowledge of popular culture to fill in the blanks of her story. It’s like CSI! It’s like Law and Order! This feels like a cheap and easy way to construct her fictional universe. There is no new territory covered. Often when Flynn riffs on these movie/television tropes she makes sure to tell the reader that she is doing that. Yet this becomes less of an affectation of the characters, since it’s applied to all of them, but instead a shortcoming of Flynn’s writing.
Real Life Exp.
Real Life Exp. from Kristoffer Borgli on Vimeo.
I am a really big fan of Kristoffer Borgli’s Whateverest so I was pleased to find he had released a new short film. Real Life Exp. is much a much subtler narrative piece that explores what happens when two girls are locked in a swimming pool. It perfectly captures teenage boredom and playfulness. It shows two girls balancing on the edge of childhood, about to fall into the world of adulthood.
salton sea photos part 1
It’s been ages since we went to the Salton Sea now, and I’ve only just gotten the film developed from the trip.* It makes me want to visit again, but it will have to wait for cooler days. I’m particularly fond of this prize winning cat. Also, I find it quite amusing that the accidental light leak is a look that so many iphone photo apps are trying to recreate. Film has its magic, but quickly capturing a moment has its perks as well. There are still a few more photos for another day.
*Actually Shawn took it in finally so I wasn’t even the responsible one here. Five months later, that film was just sitting on the counter taunting me.
cookie dough ice cream pops
A few weeks ago I had the idea of chocolate dipped cookie dough ice cream in my head and I couldn’t let it go. After the red velvet ice cream turned out so well, I thought I would give it a shot. The hardest part about this recipe was choosing the mold. I initially was going to go low tech and just DIY something, but at the last minute I realized it would be a lot less complicated to use a mold. I settled on these round pop molds
One of my biggest complaints with cookie dough ice cream is that there’s never enough cookie dough so I dig it all out and end up with a container of craggy vanilla. Here you can add as much as you please. Plus, because the cookie dough is vegan, there’s no worries about uncooked eggs.
These are a pretty decadent treat, so I was fine with only having a few, which meant I had leftovers of everything. You could easily make more with this recipe.
Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars
non-dairy vanilla ice cream
chocolate chip cookie dough
chocolate dip (recipe below)
Set your ice cream out to soften (but don’t let it melt). Prepare your cookie dough. I recommend using mini-chips if you can, so it’s not super crunchy. In a separate bowl, mix equal parts cookie dough and ice cream. You can mix it as much as you like but make sure you still have some chunks of cookie dough. Fill your popsicle molds and freeze for about 4 hours, or until they are firm enough to remove from the molds.
While the pops are freezing, line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Then prepare the chocolate dip. Full disclosure here, I wasn’t totally satisfied with this chocolate dip. It tasted fine, but didn’t have the crunch I was looking for. Next time I’ll try omitting the soy milk.
Chocolate Dip
1/4 cup soy milk
4 oz chocolate chips
1 Tbs coconut oil
In a small sauce pan, bring the soy milk to a boil. Remove from heat and mix with chocolate chips and coconut oil until melted and smooth. Let cool, but not solidify.
Remove ice cream pops from the molds and dip in chocolate. Place the chocolate dipped ice cream pops on the cookie sheet and freeze for 1/2 and hour to an hour, until the chocolate hardens. Enjoy!
Ashes of a Cowboy
I’m excited to share that Shawn has launched a kickstarter for his newest short film ASHES OF A COWBOY. He’s been working like crazy on this project but needs some help getting it off the ground. To quote from his site:
Lately I’ve been making my films more experimental, lower profile and lower budget. For once I want to make something with a more traditional narrative and I need your help. I’d love to make a movie that my friends and family will really care about. This movie is all about great acting and telling a sincere story. For a low budget movie this will take me a lot of time, preparation, and resources.
We’ve been funding our own film projects for years and this is the first time we’ve reached out to the the community for support. If you have a few spare dollars to contribute to independent film we would be forever grateful. Even if you can’t donate, sharing the project with friends helps get the word out.
Watch the film above or checkout the kickstarter page.
