A sad, glitzy take on the one percent

Mario here:

What I'm reading:

Desperado by Manuel Ramos.








Here's pimpage from writer pal Rudy Ch. about one of his favorite authors, Ernest Hogan:


High Aztech, the novel of mind-altering viruses running amok in a futuristic Mexico City--renamed Tenochtitlán--is available again. It’s only $0.99 from Amazon for your Kindle. $0.99 also can get it to you just about any e-format you want from Smashwords.



And, until August 2, 2013, if you use the coupon code TV57H at Smashwords, you can get it for free!





And more pimpage! Film producer and Lighthouse instructor
And still more pimpage.





The Great Gatsby, the movie.

I went to the theater worried the movie would disappoint. I'm glad I fretted for nothing. I freakin' loved it. 

Sure the nags bitch that the movie isn't 100 percent faithful to the novel. Well, duh. One is a book, the other a film. Different mediums require different storytelling techniques. Unlike the 70's adaptation of this story--a real snoozefest with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow--this movie captured the kinetic, bipolar mood of the Roaring Twenties. From the opening credits to the dazzling landscapes, to the wild parties, the speakeasy scene, the hoodlums and high-rollers, the filthy down-and-out vs. the downright filthy rich, to the gorgeous Art Deco fadeout, director Baz Luhrmann delivered the cinematic goods.

A lot of wags rank on the acting. They either hated Leonardo DiCaprio or tossed him air kisses. As for the other actors, here is what Elizabeth Weitzman of the NY Daily News says about Joel Edgerton playing Tom Buchanan.

"And Edgerton’s Tom all but twirls his mustache in cartoonish villainy."

I disagree. If anything, Edgerton's portrayal isn't anywhere coarse enough to play the brutish Tom Buchanan. Here's how F. Scott hisself introduced the priviledged bully:<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style></div></div></div></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: 27.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; mso-tab-count: 1;">   </span>"He had changed since his New Haven years. Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body--he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous leverage--a cruel body."</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">  </span><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tell me if such a man is capable of anything subtle.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rARN6agiW7o" width="560"></iframe></span>