_Crimson Peak_

I saw Crimson Peak today (I don't have any very strong opinion about it - it wasn't boring, but it wasn't all that memorable for me either, although it might appeal more to those with more visual interest than me.), and. . . well, it was obviously meant to be deliberately reminiscent of Rebecca.  It was obviously meant to be deliberately reminiscent of Rebecca because my friend sitting next to me whispered at one point that it was just like Rebecca, and because, look, it's a story about a young woman who marries a more experienced man who takes her back to his creepy mansion (among other elements that are also reminiscent of Rebecca).  Rebecca is a fairly well-known story (my friend has never even read the book or seen the movie, but he still recognized the references), so I do think that references to it are pretty clearly intended to be picked up on by viewers.

However, I couldn't really focus while watching on the similarities to Rebecca, because the story was just so reminiscent of The Portrait of a Lady.  The protagonist is a young woman with some money from upstate New York (albeit Buffalo instead of Albany).  Four of the characters match up pretty clearly to specific characters in The Portrait of a Lady (there was one character whom I just spent the entire movie thinking of as Caspar Goodwood).  There's even one specific scene where a character is introduced playing the piano which really must be a deliberate reference to the introduction of a certain character in The Portrait of a Lady.

I was, therefore, glad to find this interview with Del Toro where he specifically says, "One of the guys that I love and revere is Henry James."  Although of course he explicitly mentions Turn of the Screw, he says enough that I'm pretty convinced that the references to Portrait of a Lady are entirely deliberate.  Good to see my intertextual recognition skills are still on-target!

Is It Just Me, Or Is This Hilarious?

Wikipedia on Johnny Thunders:

"With Thunders leading the band, the Heartbreakers toured America before going to Britain to join the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned on the now-legendary Anarchy Tour, replacing the Ramones, who had quit the tour due to a lack of organization."

Bassem Sabry

The first song from of Montreal's next album, Aureate Gloom, has dropped.  I must like it, given that I've replayed it multiple times today.  I'm kind of surprised by the rather explicitly political title and lyrics (and, for that matter, not even on American politics but on the Arab Spring, unless the Arab Spring is being used as a metaphor for American politics?), though.  That isn't really what I would have expected from Kevin Barnes.

Self-Forgiveness for Repetitive Water Imagery

On the other hand, I should keep in mind that I wrote all of those poems at boring meetings (etc.) where it is literally the case that I was genuinely writing poetry at least in part to keep myself from falling asleep.  Honestly, it's pretty understandable that oblivion was kind of on my mind.

Water Imagery Count

Poems posted today: 4
Poems without water imagery: 1

At least only two of them have water imagery that's being used for exactly the same purpose. . . .

I have a problem.

Unfinished

Oh, yes;
He is waiting.
I had nearly forgotten him, darkness in a hollow cylinder,
A firm body, a slight sword, something I want.
I had nearly forgotten.
Earlier it was his hand on my skull, gripping my head,
Keeping me in place, but then some stranger stole his space
And something else was holding me down in its grasp
So that only one point was in my line of sight,
Only one tune echoed in my brain.
Some things are caves,
Some things cover up caves.
Everything I want is empty.
Substance can just leak out now -
I want to be taken over,
And, whether it is enthusiasm or ecstasy,
I want to lose myself.
Sometimes you are subsumed in a pool,
Sometimes you rush out as the wind.
Either way, it is suspension.
I want to jump in the pool right now,
Because the water is warm and could
Protect me - I want to even if I can't.

If Only In My Beginning Weren't My End!

Imagine tying up all of the strings
Into one tight rope -some scattered ones
Would hang loose of the bundle,
The waving flags of imperfection,
But the rope remains more important.
This is the season to sow and not to reap.
Perfection is a star sometimes hidden by a cloud.
The light is dimmed, and then the cloud passes.
It shines again, and, like starlight,
Something very far away illuminates what is present.
We are submerged in a bath from a source
We can never reach; the tap switches on and off
Of its own accord.  We have no power
But must accept the light and the shadow.
Tie up the rope in a season of darkness;
Trim all the threads only when the stars appear.