Cliff Pant-one

Post Secret @ Duke University

Last night, Meg and I went to see a presentation given by Post Secret creator Frank Warren.  For those of you who don't know about Post Secret, it is a project where people send their secrets to Frank on postcards.  The secret has to be something that you've never told anybody.  Most people decorate their cards with detailed artwork.  The postcards are displayed on the Post Secret blog, in books and in art exhibits.

Anyways, the presentation was very good.  Frank was an amazing speaker.  He had the voice of a man of the theater!  He was witty and eloquent!  He told about the history of Post Secret, shared "secret secrets," and then opened up the audience to share secrets of their own.  I was pretty surprised at how many people actually volunteered to share such personal stories with an auditorium full of strangers.  I will not tell any of their secrets, because they are secrets...duh.

Soooooooo.  It was a pretty good event.  I'm really glad I went, because whenever I read Frank's blog and see the list of tour dates at the bottom, I always wonder what attending one would be like.  I recommend going if one ever comes to you.

Now that that is out of the way, I have a word of advise to anybody who might be attending a performance at Duke University's Page Auditorium: do not sit on the balcony.  There is less leg room than an airplane.  There is less leg room than at a football game.  There is less leg room than you would have if you were sitting in a cardboard box.  My feet were falling asleep the entire time.  Those crazy Dukies!  They must have designed the auditorium in the olden days, back when people were not eating growth hormones in their McDonald's, making the average human much smaller.

So yes!  The night was a success!  It made me want to send in a secret, but have such a big mouth that I don't have any.  Great!

Does Duncan on The City Look VAGUELY Familiar?

Whenever Erin's long-distance beau, Duncan, makes an appearance on "The City," I get the feeling that this chap is a chap I've seen before.  Here are some photos of Dunan:

So there he is, a right good looking fellow if I do say so myself.  Anyways, for some reason, all I can think of when I see him is this:

Yeah!  Charles Manson, cult leader responsible for a string of unthinkably cruel murders. 

But then when I thought about it more (I wasted A LOT of my time thinking about this), I thought maybe Duncan looked like this:

The late Chris Mccandless, of whom the book and movie Into The Wild are based upon.  (And PS: you can really see how think Mccandless got in pic numero uno!)

Upon close inspection, Duncan doesn't really RESEMBLE either of these characters.  I mean, MAYBE they could pass as relatives.  But I guess all of this does say one thing: Duncan has an unkempt loony-eyed mountain man look to him, and I kind of like it!

PS: If they ever put up the screencaps from LAST night, I will update this blog!  Duncan wore a toboggan, and it proves my point further.

Cliff's Most Fascinating People: Michael Pitt

Michael Pitt is an actor.  Over the last few weeks, I've grown increasingly fond of him.  I was reading Girl Boy Girl, the memoir of Savannah Knoop (one of the women behind the infamous  J.T. Leroy literary hoax), and Michael Pitt was mentioned as a friend of "J.T." 

In Knoop's book, it was said that Pitt had been a regular on Dawson's Creek.  The book also said that the producer's of Dawson's Creek weren't happy about Pitt being in The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (movie of J.T.'s book) and some other films. 

Well...I'll admit, I was a fan of the creek.  Shocking, I know!  I guess I just had a soft spot for Pacey Witter.  Who could resist?!  Anyways, I didn't recognize Pitt's name, and I wanted to know which character was doing all these unwholesome movies, so of course I IMDBd him.  Turns out that Mr. Michael played Henry, Jen Lindley's freshman football boyfriend.  OH HENRY!  The innocent little guy, falling victim to Jen's cougar like charms. 

So blah blah blah.  Just a bunch of background!  Why is Michael Pitt fascinating?!  I'll tell you why! 

NUMBER ONE: He is in some really great movies!  Some of them are pretty edgy and controversial. It's hard to conceive Pitt is the same buck who tossed pigskin for Capeside High.  I loved The Dreamers(although not recommended for those without open minds, strong stomachs or appreciation for full frontal nudity).  I also enjoyed Deliriousimmensely.  He also has like a million other movies that I still need to check out. 

NUMBER TWO: He looks like Leonardo DiCaprio circa Basketball Diaries.  For me, just that is reason enough to be one of CP's most fascinating.  I read that book (and pretty much anything my good friend Jim Carrol wrote) and watched that movie a million times throughout my youth.  Maybe that's saying something... Besides looking like Leo/my personal image of Jim, he is just really beautiful.  Not in a conventional way...he's very...ok, I'm going to stop before I throw up just listening to myself.

NUMBER THREE: He's an Aries.  Enough said.

NUMBER FOUR:  He plays guitar in a band called Pagoda.

So yes, I find Michael Pitt to be very fascinating.  He's a great actor, and from what I've read, he is really serious about his craft.  It seems to me that he may be a fan of the good ole' Stanislavski Method!  I'd like to think that'd be my method of choice should I ever decide to give it a go in the acting world, but that's besides the point.  On top of that, he doesn't seem to feed into the Hollywood junk, and he seems like he'd be a cool guy to know.

Here are some trailers for the aforementioned films:

Twilight & New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

I have just finished reading Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.  They are the first two books in her Twilight Series.  Currently, there are four books total, and they are all the rage.  It's rumored that they will become as big as Harry Potter.  I never read Harry Potter, but I CAN'T put these books down!

The Twilight Series follows Bella Swan though high school as she falls in love with a vampire!  It sounds really stupid and like something I would avoid at all costs, but it is REALLY good.  The vampire's name is Edward and I am obsessed with him.  He is such an amazing character!  It's sad, but I have found myself listening to songs on the radio and thinking, OHMIGOD BELLA AND EDWARD WOULD LOVE THIS SONG!  I feel like I know them.  The characters just come alive. 

On top of having great plot lines, suspense and romance, there is some teen angst!  I love it!  And even though the book is about vampires,  I feel myself relating with the characters.  Ehhh.  That did not sound good.  I just meant that a lot of the high school feelings and experiences that Bella went through are universal, and Meyer describes them in great detail.  AND bestsellers are bestsellers because readers relate to them and empathize and feel like the story is meant for THEM! 

Anyways, I can't wait to read the next two books.  And I really can't wait until December, because that is when Twilight the movie is coming out.  I hope it is portrayed well (I can see it getting corny if they aren't careful).  Get ready, because I'm pretty sure Twilight mania is about to be bestowed upon us! 

Twilight and New Moon BOTH recieve MMMMM (5 out of 5 Ms)!!!

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius vs. Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

Here are two books with long titles, but only one can be the winner!  It's an all-out battle for the Ms!  Just to remind you, Cliff Pant-one's highest rating is MMMMM (5 out of 5 Ms)!  Some sink.  Others swim.  Who will win tonight?!

I read amazing reviews for A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.  The synopsis sounded amazing; the story of a 20 something raising his eight year old brother after the death of his parents.  The book was even nominated for a Pulitzer.  Well, I finished the book.  The main reason- I was searching for the staggering genius. I just did not like this book at all.  The book starts off fine, but then the focus is shifted from Eggers' relationship with his brother to a  zine he starts with his friends.  There is also a lot of talking about MTV's The Real World...and it's all sandwiched in between him whining and preaching about how everybody in the world owes him something because of his situation.  So basically, I didn't enjoy this book.  It kind of made me mad that he would give it such a high and mighty title.  Maybe people thought it was so great because they were blindsided by the name.  Whatever.  In my opinion, I give it MM.

Now, I'll move onto the second contender: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn.  This title seems like it's trying a little too hard, and from that, I really didn't expect to be overwhelmed by the book.  But I was surprised.  In my opinion, Flynn should be the one with the Pulitzer nomination.  Maybe he and Eggers should just go ahead and switch titles???  So anyways, this is the memoir of Nick, a man whose father has never been a part of his life.  Nick begins working at a homeless shelter, and eventually his father comes in as one of the guests one night and their relationship evolves.  There is more before and after that, of course, but that's just a general idea.  Flynn writes beautifully, without taking unnecessary detours that have nothing to do with anything.  Unlike Eggers, he keeps things relevant.  I was caught up in Flynn's journey, and was able to sympathize.  It is dark but witty.  At times it was intense, but never uncomfortably so.  It didn't beg.  It was just right!  I give it MMMMM! DING! DING! DING! We have a winner.  Bravo, Flynn! 

Bright Shiny Morning

Earlier, I said that James Frey's new book had mixed reviews.  After reading some of the them, I was afraid that I wouldn't like the book- but I loved it.  The book went back and forth to focus on 4 different main stories with a bunch of little stories in between.  Whenever I got to the end of a chapter, I'd get mad that the story was switching back to another character.  But then I'd get sucked into that story and get mad when that chapter was over.  The the whole cycle would repeat itself over and over.  I thought it was great.  It's a pretty long book though- about 700 or so pages.  But I read straight through in about a week, so I'd say it held my interest. So yes, I recommend this!  And the LA Times reviewer who said the book is "a literary train wreck without even the good grace to be entertaining" must have been on crack.

My overall rating: MMMM (4 out of 5 Ms)

Augusten Burroughs: A WOLF AT THE TABLE

So, I have decided that my blog is going to be dedicated to things that I LOVE.  No negative energy here!!!  I think it's stupid when people put all their time and effort into focusing on things they hate.  For example, why do people get bumper stickers that say things like "Hillary Hater" or "Even Bill Doesn't Want Hillary"?  Shouldn't they be promoting who they like rather than who they hate?  Why not get a bumper sticker that says, "I Love Obama"?  I don't know...I'm just sayin'. 

So onto my first topic...I LOVE Augusten Burroughs!  I just finished his latest memoir, A Wolf at The Table.  It was amazing.  I know a book is good when I buy it on a Sunday and have finished by the end of Tuesday!  Just when I thought  Augusten had written his best memoir ever, he came out and did it again!!!  I've read so many of his books that I feel like I know him...like realllly know him.  I like to think of him as "my good friend Augusten."   Maybe I am crazy.

The book is the story of Augusten's relationship with his father, and it was heartbreaking.  I wanted to fly to NYC, find my good friend Augusten and give him a hug.  I don't want to ruin the book by giving anything away, but let me say that I never thought I would be sobbing over a guinea pig.    I just can't get over it.  Don't think this is a depressing sob-story.  It is just as witty and sarcastic as all of his work.   I love everything by Augusten!  I am compelled to go buy all his books that I've yet to read.  You should do the same.  Here is a picture of the book, so you will know what you're looking for:

So go buy it!

And now to close with a quote from Mr. Burroughs that I think sums up the book:
"Maybe, I thought, I didn't need a father to be happy.  Maybe, what you get from a father you can get somewhere else, from somebody else later.  Or maybe you can just work around what's missing, build the house of your life over the hole that is there and always will be."

My overall rating: MMMMM (5 out of 5 Ms)

Augusten's Website/Blog