Because I'm too lazy to write a regular blog entry, I thought I'd just list some of the sites and blogs that I frequent on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly/centennial or millenial basis. I don't read all of these blogs every day or even every week, but they hold my interest from time to time, and feel free to click on the links to check them out for yourself. (And if you don't like them, blame me. I'm serious. Send me emails and postings stating why you think these websites suck. I'll cry, but the truth hurts.)
Sites I sometimes read:
www.moviecitynews.com -- Compiles articles and interviews on anything and everything related to the film business.
www.peterdavid.net -- The website of comic-book writer Peter David. His daily observations on the industry and life.
www.artsandlettersdaily.com -- Compiles articles and interviews on anything and everything related to the world of arts and, um, letters. Kind of high-brow and intellectual stuff.
www.nytimes.com -- Always has interesting stuff. And a well-written Sports section. And a well-written Movies Section. And a well-written Books section. And a...
www.thestar.com -- Toronto's daily newspaper.
www.cnn.com -- International news. It also has transcripts of its programs, so I can read what happened on Larry King the night before without having to stare at his suspenders for extended periods of time. (Have you seen those things lately? The man is getting out of control.)
www.khmer440.com -- Discussion groups and articles on life in Cambodia. I know, I know -- you're tired of hearing about Cambodia on the news, in the classroom, at work, in your evening papers. But just in case you're not getting enough, there's lots of goofy discussions here for your entertainment pleasure.
www.japantimes.com -- One of Japan's daily English-language newspapers. In the 'Arts' section, check out Donald Richie's book reviews. He's an American who has lived in Tokyo for fifty years, and is an expert on Japanese cinema, and always writes well on all aspects of Japanese culture.
www.moviepoopshoot -- Irreverent articles on the movie industry. Owned and run by Kevin Smith of Clerks fame (or infamy).
www.newsarama.com -- I gave up collecting comics when I was twelve, thirteen years old, but glancing at this site every now and then has me itching to get back into it.
www.frankstallone.com -- The website of Stallone's musician/actor younger brother. (Don't try and tell me that you don't already frequent it whenever you can.) Churchillian in his intellect, Clintonian in his eloquence, Frostian in his poetic grace, Browkawian in his delivery, Romanoian in his humor, Albrightian in his seriousness, and, it almost goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, Stallonian in his Stalloneness. (Does 'Stallonian' have an 'e' or not? I always got that one wrong on school tests.)
www.christiansciencemonitor.com -- I'm not sure what 'christian science' actually is. I don't remember taking a course like that back in high school, though I might have. I'm also not exactly sure what they monitor, or why, or how much they get paid. But it's a good newspaper, regardless.
www.drudgereport.com -- Slightly tabloidy right-wing news agency from the States (run by a dude named Matt Druge). Always has a scoop, real or imagined.
www.rushlimbaugh.com -- Most Americans despise Rush or love him. I, being Canadian, am impartial. I thought he was a very entertaining radio host, not as rabid or delusional as his detractors claim. He's satirical, and satire requires distortion, and a lot of people don't get that. I disagree with most of what he says, but his website does a good job of highlighting his interesting opinions of the day, and, if nothing else, he's an apt critic of the American media establishment (while simultaneously being part of it.)
www.newyorker.com -- Sometimes snooty, but very well-written articles about arts and cultures and occasionally politics, too.
www.friendster.com -- This is the website where you can link up with everybody all over the world and exchange messages; it's always free, forever, and there are very few other things in life that kill an hour or two like this website does. Please feel free to drop me a line to add me as a 'friend' if you're already a member and so inclined, or post a comment on this blog if you want me to 'invite' you. (I think you have to have somebody 'invite' you to become a FRIENDSTER member. Not that I'm expecting an onslaught of willing participants, but you never know.)
Sites that are named after me:
www.scottspencer.com -- This has nothing to do with me, but it does offer 'creature and character design'. Make of that what you will.
www.scottspencer.net -- This also has nothing to do with me, but it does feature a Boisie, Idaho businessman who shares my humble little name, and it offers, and I quote, "North America's largest corporate ballooning operation." And hey, I've always said that if I could have my name associated with corporate ballooning, my life would be complete. And so now it is.
www.scottspencer.ca -- In the process of being built. For this Scott Spencer.
Blogs I read:
www.amandaberlin.blogspot.com -- A well-written, sharp and witty take on one woman's life in New York City by a talented young writer. Honest, good-with-a-phrase, and including almost as many movie references as this blog, so it had-me-at-hello right there.
www.1ljenn.blogspot.com -- The random thoughts and musings of a funny, sometimes-stressed, artistic lawyer-in-the-making in D.C. (With nice postings of interesting pieces of art, paintings and photography, every week or so.)
www.oddmuse.blogspot.com -- Life in Thailand (soon to be the States, then Halifax) as seen from the perspective of a poetic and ribald young Canadian woman. (I think I used 'ribald' correctly.) Observant and unique.
www.shewhoeats.blogspot.com -- For something completely different, try this food blog written by an old friend in Japan; it was nominated for 'best-food blog' last year, and this site was what gave me the idea of starting a blog in the first place. (Not that this blog is food-related, but you can still blame Chika, not me, for the blog you're now reading -- direct all hate mail to her.) Interesting observations, well-written, and with photos of various kinds of delicious-looking food so clear and lifelike that you will feel stuffed just from reading it.
www.lexablog.blogspot.com -- One family, one small town, one writer in western Canada. Good stuff, like a Canadian Dave Barry.
www.jesterinjapan.blogspot.com -- Written by my old running buddy and member of the I-survived-Cookie-Jarvis's-jokes-support group, now (permanently?) ensconced somewhere in Japan. ('Ensconced' is another one of those words I'm not sure I've used correctly, because you never hear it out loud, but I thought I'd give it a shot.) Not updated frequently, but he's teaching the youth of Japan, and the children are our future, so I cut him some slack.
www.wilwheaton.net -- The writer from 'Stand By Me' is now, um, a writer. Interesting blog about family and acting and writing, and he gets about, like, 100 posts a day. (I'm aiming for 100 posts total in the next, oh, ten years.
(For anyone whose blogs I may have forgotten to list, my apologies; my brain is tired...)
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
LET IT RAIN
Last night I awoke to a strange and surreal sound.
Rain.
I almost thought I was dreaming. So familiar a sound, and yet it had been almost six months since I had last heard drops hitting a roof, rain falling in erratic, slender sheets, puddles rapidly forming. Even the crackle of thunder had a familiar but foreign feel, as if it were not a memory but merely a remnant of one, dredged up from the basement of my subconscious.
Wonderful, to have the commonplace become mysterious and alluring.
The rainy season is about to begin, I guess, which is always ironic in Cambodia, because it happens to coincide with the hottest months of the year, April and May, months that scorch and slay any belligerent fool who opts to minimize what the merciless heat can and will do.
But last night, for a moment, hovering between the waking world and dreams-now-forgotten (though I wish I could remember, I do, I do) a modest form of majesty crept into my world, a natural cascade of water doing its rhythmic dance.
I fell in and out of sleep, waiting for the rain to stop, but it didn't, not until daybreak. Not until I'd been reminded of what had been lost for months on end and had now returned, unannounced, like a stray and forgotten pet finally finding its way home.
Rain.
I almost thought I was dreaming. So familiar a sound, and yet it had been almost six months since I had last heard drops hitting a roof, rain falling in erratic, slender sheets, puddles rapidly forming. Even the crackle of thunder had a familiar but foreign feel, as if it were not a memory but merely a remnant of one, dredged up from the basement of my subconscious.
Wonderful, to have the commonplace become mysterious and alluring.
The rainy season is about to begin, I guess, which is always ironic in Cambodia, because it happens to coincide with the hottest months of the year, April and May, months that scorch and slay any belligerent fool who opts to minimize what the merciless heat can and will do.
But last night, for a moment, hovering between the waking world and dreams-now-forgotten (though I wish I could remember, I do, I do) a modest form of majesty crept into my world, a natural cascade of water doing its rhythmic dance.
I fell in and out of sleep, waiting for the rain to stop, but it didn't, not until daybreak. Not until I'd been reminded of what had been lost for months on end and had now returned, unannounced, like a stray and forgotten pet finally finding its way home.
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