Failed Idealism http://failedidealist.posterous.com Inside every cynic is a disappointed and failed idealist posterous.com Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:05:06 -0700 30 Reasons That Patrick Stweart Kicked Ass http://failedidealist.posterous.com/30-reasons-that-patrick-stweart-kicked-ass http://failedidealist.posterous.com/30-reasons-that-patrick-stweart-kicked-ass
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Empire's fitting tribute to the dude

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1354817/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGafKLz4cYV Tom failedidealist Tom
Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:50:17 -0700 Statuesqe http://failedidealist.posterous.com/statuesqe http://failedidealist.posterous.com/statuesqe (slightly belated now)

 Had an enchanted Sunday afternoon in Watford of all places.

 Thanks to Twitter and Neil Gaiman's generosity, the place and time of
filming for his new 6 minute short was made available, and i made the
worthwhile trek down to watch.

 Ended up meeting Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, and catching many glimpses of
Bill Nighy.

 Gaiman was unbeliveablty pleasant, a lovely man, smiling and cheerful,
funny and charming. Signed two books for me, chatted to him for a
while and had my photo taken. I've only become a fan recently (i was a
reluctant comvert) but it felt wonderful to meet the creative genius
behind the incredible world of the Sandman.

 The friend i went with became a 13 year old girl at a Take That
concert upon meeting him, blushing and churlish, giggling and visably
drooling. I think he may have squeeled at one point.

 Gaiaman made the small number of fans in attendance feel very welcome,
even though at times it felt like we may be intruding (he insisted we
were not).

 Can't wait to see the finished product.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1354817/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGafKLz4cYV Tom failedidealist Tom
Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:27:00 -0700 Dream and the Dreaming http://failedidealist.posterous.com/dream-and-the-dreaming http://failedidealist.posterous.com/dream-and-the-dreaming Through a degree of belligerence and dog-eardness a friend finally convinced me to try Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

The irritating thing here is that my friend was right (I hate those rare occasions)I loved every page of the book. so much in so that a mere two weeks later I’ve finished half of the 11 book series.

The series has a mythic otherworldly air to it, nothing needs validation or explanation to be accepted. the magic that exists is never quantifiable, nor is the structure of the Dream-verse probed for reason. It is a massive story, which for me is definitely part of the appeal, Gaiman evidently undertook an epic amount of research, as the series references elements from a vast diversity of mythologies, some of which are adapted to fit, some plucked directly from millennia old tales and texts.

Never have I read a book that can have Nordic gods, Egyptian deities, Christian angels and demons, Japanese figures and above that a collection of Endless beings personifying experiences and emotions of humans all interacting together, without explanation. it is an incredible achievement, and a fascinating one. A new character pops up, with a few scant lines of origin or relevance and then disappears. From experience I recognise the name, and the character can hold even more significance.

"Wolf-father" as the Nordic god of mischief Loki is referred too, may sound like an insult at first glance, unless you are familiar with Nordic mythology.
Morpheus - a cool sounding name for the uninitiated - holds a greater relevance once a brief glance at the ancient Greek religion has been had.
Ragnarök – briefly surmised in book 4, but worthy of a book itself.

I find myself admiring Gaiman for not just inventing but taking something established and existing and moulding it to fit his own purposes - sometimes without much of a change.

The character pool is only part of the appeal. for my money it is a series of slow books, little seems to happen in terms of action or events, or even to progress the story. But it's the methodology and the meaning behind events that keeps me reading.
Gaiman flits between discussing the nature of Dream, Desire, to psychology and the nature of reality, lost histories, sexuality, abuse, and the principles of a cat rebellion.

The central character is beyond the Gods of man, the personification of Dream itself, an Endless and eternal force, but not without human emotion or feeling. A central theme of the books is how this immortal changes over the unimaginable length of time he has existed.

It is a fascinating, intriguing and disturbing tale, I confess I'm now addicted. the one bad thing: Only 6 more books to go.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1354817/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aGafKLz4cYV Tom failedidealist Tom