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Archive for the ‘Short Story’ Category

Periodical: Esquire

Posted in Authors, Barry Sonnenfeld, Books about music, Books about writers, Chuck Klosterman, Dudes, Esquire, Film & TV, Food, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Military, Music, Politicians, Religion, Sex, Short Story, Technology, Video Games, Violence on April 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

esquireI don’t recall why I started getting Esquire. I think it was because I got some kind of discount magazine subscription card. And since Sarah gets lots of women’s magazines, I thought I’d try a men’s one.

I’ve been quite delighted with it since I subscribed. And one thing that I like about it is that I don’t feel compelled to read everything in it. I enjoy the letters, although my favorite part of the letters page is the “Context-free highlight from a letter we won’t be running” which always contains a random sentence or two from a letter. This sentence is always weird and it’s awesome to imagine what the rest of the letter contained. An example: “Our prime minister is pretty harmless, but he licks his lips a lot when he speaks.”

As the Man at His Best section starts, I enjoy “The Vocabulary” which defines the words they will introducing in the section. And of course this section has The Rules, a randomly selected number assigned to a rule that should be followed. Example: “Rule No. 815: Of the clocks in the house, the coffeemaker is the least likley to be accurate.”

This section also contains the usual line-up of media reviews: books, music, film and TV. These are all short and sometimes I agree and sometimes I don’t, and that’s fine. Usually the books and movies they like are too “butch” for my taste, and that’s a general note about the magazine that I’ll get to shortly.  But the music section tends to introduce me to stuff I don’t already know.

There’s also stuff about food and drink, and I always want to try the food advice, because it’s mostly about foods I try to make, but I never save the pages so I always forget the clever suggestions. (more…)

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Tessa Hadley–“She’s the One” (New Yorker, March 23, 2009)

Posted in 21 Jump Street, Bon Jovi, Books about writers, Canadian Content, Dear Mr President, New Yorker, Pearl Jam, Ratt, Robbie Robertson, Short Story, Suicide, Tessa Hadley on April 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_3_23_09_09.inddSOUNDTRACK: DEAR MR. PRESIDENT-Dear Mr President (1988).

dearSo, I mentioned these guys in a previous post about The Airborne Toxic Event.  I said maybe I’d listen to the disc again (it’s been at least ten, maybe fifteen years since I listened to it).  Sarah walked in and said it sounded like Bon Jovi, which may or may not be true.

The band is a weird amalgam of things.  They look like Ratt, almost exactly like Ratt, in fact.  And yet musically they are all over the place.  The opening, rather cool, track is “Hey Daddy Have You Ever Been Arrested?”  It starts slow with the singer’s weird, sort of whiney, but almost bitterly angry voice reciting some lines over bass.  A distorted guitar comes in and the chorus rocks out.  There”s some heavier stuff as the song ends, including a rocking solo.

What’s most notable about the song, and the disc though is the lyrics.  Certainly not the first or even the most “political” band, but for the supposed genre they are in, lyrically they are thoughtful if not thought provoking.  And, even with doses of humor, they’re a lot more than a sex drugs and rock n roll band.

But after that first track the album diversifies.  “Fate” is a ballad, with the singer’s hesitant voice opening the track.  “Love and Violence” sounds like a late 80s metal song, but with a twist: the singer’s voice is just off-kilter enough to keep it interesting.  Meanwhile “Where is the Love?” is positively funk-filled, with a slapping bass line and big horns.  And then there’s “Flesh & Blood” which has something of a smooth jazz trumpet solo as it winds down.  It also seems to get more mellow as the track progresses.  Keep a mental note about this song title.

As the disc continues, things get really weird: horns start featuring in the songs with more and more frequency.  And at one point there’s something of a disco vibe.  There’s even a song about wanting to dance like Fred Astaire. (full of sizzling keyboard blasts!).

“Reality” is  slow ballad with era-appropriate keyboard splashes in the chorus.  And “Fatal Desire” sounds not unlike a Pearl Jam track (except for the vocals of course). The last three tracks on the disc have their track number in red (the others are in white) which leads me to think that maybe they were bonus tracks?  They include an 8 minute song “Get It Together” that sounds like it could be a background soundtrack to a 80s show like 21 Jump Street, especially the atmospheric guitar washes.  This disc ends with a weird little 1 and a half minute thing called “Who Killed Santa Claus?”

Whats amazing is that even with the internet’s omnipotence, there is virtually no information about this album, or even the band, anywhere.  Nor what happened to them (I discovered that two of the members played on other bands’ records).  You can’t even find anything about their other band name.  For some reason, the powers that be didn’t like the name Dear Mr President, and they had to change the band’s name to Flesh & Blood.  They released the album as Dead White and Blue.  I’ve never actually seen that disc though.

But after some searching around, I found one article about the band.  It answers some questions, like about their name change.  And evidently I have one of the few copies of the original disc.  Huh.  And to think that I bought it on a whim back in college when I bought bands without knowing anything about them.

So, for all of your Dear Mr. President needs, check out this article.  There’s even two downloads, too!

[READ: March 27, 2009] “She’s the One”

This story is one of the few stories I’ve read that is about writing and writers in which the main character isn’t a writer.  Ally works at a writer’s workshop as the secretary.  She encounters all kinds of writers, but in this particular term, she encounters a Canadian woman with short, white hair named Hilda.  Hilda is in her late fifties, has lived a pretty full life, and since most of her faimily is in England, she has settled down there too.

Ally runs into Hilda at the supermarket and casually asks how her novel is going. Hilda is very guarded and quite rude, until a few minutes later when she apologizes and takes a keen interest in Ally and her life.  Ally, caught off guard, reveals a family secret that she never feels comfortable talking about.  And, she soon finds comfort in this off-putting stranger’s cozy cottage.

Ally also learns more details about Hilda’s novel, and her fascinating family story about a Canadian folk singer’s impact on all of their lives.

I really enjoyed this story both for its unconventional look at writers, and for its interesting dealing with family crises.  A very strong story.  Although I have a quibble.  Ally and her coworkers can only think of one Canadian folksinger: Robbie Robertson.  Now, I realize that I’m a Canuckophile and all but, come on.  At least include Neil Young in the list.

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Woody Allen–“Tails of Manhattan” (New Yorker, March 30, 2009)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), New Yorker, Short Story, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Church, Woody Allen, WRFF 104.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on April 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

newyorker3SOUNDTRACK: AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT-“Sometime Around Midnight” (2009).

ateI’ve been hearing this song on the radio a lot lately (WRFF especially seems to play it a lot).  But they never said who it was!  I liked it, but I was sure it sounded like an old song.  Ack, but what was it?  I kept coming up with a band called Dear Mr. President.  And then I heard the truth.  It was the Airborne Toxic Event.

I’m still not sure that Dear Mr President is who I’m thinking of, but their song “Fate” has a similar vocal style at the beginning…it morphs into a different song altogether, but maybe that is what  was thinking of.

As for this ATE song, I really like it.  It’s got this weird quality that I find appealing.  It’s  a slow builder, but the vocals are what’s so intriguing about it…very understated with a whispered feel, until the big stadium chorus comes in.  And yet, there’s no chorus.  The song builds and builds to a chorus that never arrives.  Nice trick, guys.

Heh, I was just looking back over my previous post about Airborne Toxic Event, and I see that I do know this song from when I first listened to it on MySpace back in June 2008.  At that time I compared them to the Church.  I guess I can’t let them be their own band.

I’m certainly going to have to check out their CD

[READ: March 26, 2009] “Tails of Manhattan”

I don’t always include the one page pieces from the New Yorker, but since I like Woody Allen, I figured I’d include this one.  It also gets a special mention because in Allen’s collected essays he often has jokey pieces that are topical, and it’s rather rare that I am completely aware of the topical reference.

This piece is about two old Jewish men who are reincarnated as lobsters (funny in itself), but it also concerns Bernie Madoff.  And since it’s unavoidable, I know who Madoff is an what he did.  I assume this piece would be funny in even you didn’t know who that was (or in 5 years when we forget), because the idea of lobster revenge is always funny.

Allen’s New Yorker pieces aren’t always funny, so it’s nice to see that he can still do a concise little piece like this that really hits the mark.

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Robert Coover-“White-Bread Jesus” (Harper’s, December 2008)

Posted in Black Sabbath, Demons, Eric Clapton, Harper's, Jethro Tull, John Lennon, Marianne Faithfull, Marriage Trouble, Religion, Robert Coover, Short Story, Taj Mahal, The Beatles, The Dirty Mac, The Kids Are Alright, The Rolling Stones, Tony Iommi, Unreliable narrator, Wikipedia on April 2, 2009| 1 Comment »

harpersdecSOUNDTRACK:  ROLLING STONES-Rock and Roll Circus [DVD] (1968).

stonesProbably the most interesting thing about this DVD was seeing Tony Iommi, future guitarist for Black Sabbath playing guitar for Jethro Tull!  Let me repeat: the guy who played “Iron Man” was playing on a song with a flute solo!

Okay, with that out of the way, I’ll talk about the DVD.

The idea behind this event was to promote music in a new way, and the idea of a circus makes sense, so why not.  Wikipedia gives a pretty lengthy explanation of the whole thing, so I won’t bother with all of the details.

Anyhow, I had heard about this DVD in context of The Who.  I had read that The Who totally blew away the Stones at this event (apparently Mick Jagger agreed, which is why this was not available until 1996). Much of the Who’s performance is available in The Kids Are Alright movie.

But now with this DVD available, we get to see all of the acts in the circus:

Jethro Tull-“Song for Jeffrey.” Evidently they mimed their performance, but it’s still Tony Iommi.

The Who-“A Quick One While He’s Away.” Just amazing.  Fantastic rollicking, amazing.  It’s a crazy song, and it’s so full of energy.  Yes, they blow everyone else off the stage.

Taj Mahal, a band I’m not familiar with, plays “Ain’t That a Lot of Love.”

Marianne Faithfull sings a surprisingly quiet rendition of “Something Better.”  Her trademark voice hasn’t quite developed yet.

The Dirty Mac, who are John Lennon (vocals & rhythm guitar), Keith Richards (bass),  Eric Clapton (lead guitar) & Mitch Mitchell (drums).  They perform the Beatles song “Yer Blues” and then a jam called “Whole Lotta Yoko” which features Yoko Ono doing what she does best…caterwauling for what seems like much longer than 4 and a half minutes).

Then the Rolling Stones come out.  The story is that they had been up playing for hours, and their set was finally recorded at 5AM.  Whether or not that’s true, the set is really lackluster.  I’m not a huge Stones fan, but I do love many of their songs.  In fact, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Sympathy for the Devil” are two of my all time favorite songs.  Sadly, the versions on this DVD are totally substandard, especially compared to the originals.  Even “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” a song that I don’t particularly love but which has a great opening riff sounds tired.  I don’t know if it’s the amps, the sound board, or if they’re just really tired, but the set just doesn’t have it.

So, yeah, there’s not much to see with this disc.  You do get Brian Jones jamming with the Stones.  And of course, “A Quick One” is great.  It’s also cool to see Tony Iommi, but since he’s not actually playing, it’s not that exciting.  And, in fairness, Mick Jagger is a very good host, and he keeps his spirits and excitement level up pretty high throughout the show, especially when goofing around with John Lennon and the fans.

As a curiosity, this DVD was okay…I actually enjoyed the talking bits in between songs rather than the songs themselves.

[READ: March 25, 2009] “White-Bread Jesus”

It has taken me a very long time to read this story.  I had been putting it off because it was kind of long.  Then I started it and put it aside, and then finally I read most of it but didn’t have a chance to finish it.  I found it again today under a pile of magazines and decided it was time to finish it up.  None of that reflects on the story, though, honestly.

I was very intrigued by the story right from the get-go.  In it, a preacher (Reverend Wesley Edwards) who is losing his faith, and really his mind, has something of a breakdown in church.  He begins a dialogue with Jesus in which Jesus admits that the Bible is nonsense, and that he, Wesley, is really a prophet. (more…)

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David Sedaris–“Author? Author” (New Yorker, March 30, 2009 )

Posted in Books about writers, Canadian Content, Consumerism, David Sedaris, Funny (ha ha), Neurotics, New Yorker, Short Story, WRFF 104.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on March 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

newyorker2SOUNDTRACK: WRFF 104.5 FM.

1045I stumbled upon this station by accident one day.  I was working outside, trying to tune in a radio station, and, although I was near a classic rock station from New York, I heard a very cool alternative song.  So, I tuned in this staticky station and later learned that I was listening to 104.5, WRFF out of Philadelphia.

It’s weird to me that these “90’s” stations are popping up, and that it’s a retro sound, but then, there is a market for those of us Lollapaloozers.  This station plays a great selection of 90’s rock, with an occasional dip into the 80s and of course, new music by any of these bands.  They don’t go too heavy, although they’re not afraid to really rock out.

Now if only I could get that signal a wee bit clearer.

[READ: March 26, 2009] “Author? Author”

This was a very short, but very funny piece about Sedaris’ book tours.  He started and ended this tour in a Costco…and trying to picture Sedaris in a Costco is about as funny as anything he wrote about.  Having said that, the bit about condoms and strawberries with optional olive oil had me laughing all day.

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Joseph O’Neill-“The World of Cheese” (Harper’s, February 2009)

Posted in Airlines, Band of Horses, Chuck, Fleet Foxes, Harper's, Joseph O'Neill, Marriage Trouble, My Morning Jacket, Religion, Short Story on March 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

harpersfebSOUNDTRACK: BAND OF HORSES-Cease to Begin (2008).

band-ofOur friends Eugenie and Jarret introduced us to Band of Horses.  We liked the first one so much we couldn’t wait for the release of this follow up.  And it doesn’t disappoint.

The songs are so poppy that it’s shocking to me that they’re not everywhere (of course, I have limited exposure to the world, so maybe they are).

A funny thing is that even though BOH will always be associated with our friends, the song “No One’s Gonna Love You” is now linked with an episode of Chuck (a great resource for music these days).  In a very romantic scene, they used this mostly romantic BOH song. It fit very well, and now the song makes me think of the show.

Cease to Begin isn’t very different from their debut, although overall it is stronger and more complex.  The vocals are a high tenor, something that has become somewhat fashionable lately, and there are times when it’s not always easy to immediately tell BOH apart from say Fleet Foxes or My Morning Jacket, but since I like all those bands that’s okay.

The songs vary through a small sonic palate, from rocking numbers to more subtle, shimmery tracks.  There’s even some humor in the disc, on “The General Specific.”  All the tracks are really good.  I’m very thankful to Eugenie and Jarett for introducing them to me.

[READ: March 26, 2009] “The World of Cheese”

This is a sad but tender story about Breda Morrissey and the strained relations between herself and her husband and herself and her son.  As the story opens, we learn that her son Patrick has called her persona non grata.  All of this stems from her grandson’s upcoming bris.  Clearly, the Morrissey clan is Irish.  But her son has married a Jewish woman, and with the impending birth of their son, the talk of circumcision has raised its head. (more…)

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Sheila Heti–The Middle Stories (2002)

Posted in Boredom, Coldplay, McSweeney's, Sheila Heti, Short Books, Short Story, Unlikable main character, Virginity (Loss of) on March 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

hetiSOUNDTRACK: COLDPLAY-Prospekt’s March EP (2008).

prospecktThis EP was released hot on the heels on Viva La Vida. So hot, in fact, that since our copy of Viva was lost, I listened to this EP first.

If you absolutely love Viva La Vida, and wish it were longer, than this EP is perfect for you.  It has three remixes of songs from Viva.  I find the “Lovers in Japan [Osaka Sun Mix]” to be more satisfying that the original.  The opening track “Life in Technicolor ii” fleshes out the instrumental from Viva into a 4 minute song with lyrics.  And then there’s “Lost+” which tacks on an ill-fitting rhyme from Jay Z.

The rest of the disc is new songs in the vein of Viva.  They all contain that orchestral feel of the disc, especially “Glass of Water.”  Although the last track, “Now My Feet Don’t Touch the Ground” the a title that you would think would be over the top, is a more acoustic style ballad.

None of this is essential listening, but as a fairly cheap EP, it’s a not a bad addition to the Coldplay collection.

[READ: March 19, 2009] The Middle Stories

This seemed like it would be a fun little book. The cover (hand vandalized by Canadians, the website promised) has a photo of a man (see above). [In my picture, he is adorned in with a birthday hat, balloons and candles. I bought this from McSweeney’s recently (for a $5 sale, I believe) even though it was one of their first published titles.

Heti has two stories in McSweeney’s issues (#4 & #6), which are included here, but which I didn’t remember from before.  And that’s enough introduction. I really didn’t like this short story collection at all. (more…)

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Italo Calvino–“The Daughters of the Moon” (New Yorker, February 23, 2009)

Posted in Constellation Records, Consumerism, Dystopia, End of the World, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Italo Calvino, Life, New Yorker, Outer Space, Short Story, Silver Mt. Zion, Supernatural on March 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

ny223SOUNDTRACK: THEE SILVER MT. ZION ORCHESTRA & TRA-LA-LA BAND-Thirteen Blues for Thirteen Moons [CST051] (2008).

13-bluesI’ve enjoyed most of the output by (A/Thee) Silver Mt. Zion (Orchestra (& Tra-La-La Band)) over the years.  So, I naturally picked up this one when it came out.  And I’m torn by the record.

This disc contains 4 lengthy tracks.  But unlike fellow Constellation label mates Godspeed you Black Emperor, they are not orchestral pieces that ebb and flow until they reach a climax.  Rather, they are almost punk-orchestral pieces.  They have different sounds throughout the disc, sounds that are powerful, tender, angry and very raw.

And musically I think the album is pretty great.  The problem I have, which I hadn’t noticed on previous releases, was how much I don’t like singer Efrim’s voice.  He simply doesn’t have a very good or strong voice.  It sounds weak and exposed, and, given the content of what he’s singing about, that is either perfectly appropriate or wildly off base.  It seems to work well on “1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound” and yet for “blindblindblind” I just want him to be quiet and let the gorgeous backing choir take over.

And that’s the thing about SMZ, the backing vocal chantings are sublime: whether they are beautifully supportive or disconcertingly discordant, they are perfectly apt to the songs.

I guess when I think of SMZ I think of them as a collective band, an orchestra who works together to create their sound, and in many instances on Thirteen…  Efrim just stands out too much.  And who knows, maybe that’s the point, maybe that’s the punk aesthetic they wanted to bring to the album, I just think it takes a little something away from the beautiful noise they make.

[READ: March 4, 2009] “The Daughters of the Moon”

This is the first piece I have read by Italo Calvino.  Calvino’s name has been around for ages, but I honestly didn’t know a thing about him.

This story was written in 1968 (and was just translated into English) and as soon as I began reading it, I knew that it was a dated piece.  Not because of things like mentioning Life magazine, but because the naked women that populate the story were all referred to as “girls.”  And there was something about it that made my pop culture references hit upon Woody Allen’s early 1970s movie where he calls all the women that he’s interested in “girls.”  It seems strange that that stood out to me so much, but it just came across as something that a writer wouldn’t write anymore, or even pre 1960s.  At least as far as naked women were concerned.

And, about the naked women…

The story concerns the disintegration, capture and removal of the moon.  It is told by Qfwfq, who fills in the details of this extraordinary event.  Despite the fact that the narrator is named Qfwfq and it concerns the destruction of the moon, the story is set in Manhattan.

The moon is off course, it is wobbly and disconsolate.  And so are the residents of Earth.  One night, when Qfwfq is passing Central Park, he sees a naked woman in the park; she has removed all of her clothes and is lying prostrate to the moon.  She climbs on to his car and they race across the city to a large junkyard, where she and many other naked women support the moon with their power.

But soon a crane comes and tries to add the moon to the junkyard’s pile of old, discarded materials.

The story is a thinly veiled allegory of consumerism and disposable culture.  And I suppose that the allegory is so thinly veiled that I found it a little too obvious.  Maybe, it’s because the story is nearly 40 years old, and the topic is always in discussion now, but it seemed very obvious to me.

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McSweeney’s #2 [Blues/Jazz Odyssey? “Pollyanna’s Bootless Errand.”] (Late Winter/Early Spring 1999)

Posted in Adventure, Amanda Davis, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Ana Marie Cox, Bill Clinton, Brent Hoff, Colleen Werthmann, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, Flash Fiction, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Glasgow Phillips, GQ, Graphic Novel, Heidi Julavits, John Hodgman, Jonathan Lethem, McSweeney's, Mekons, Meta, Neal Pollack, Paul Collins, Paul Maliszewski, Politicians, Sarah Vowell, Short Story, Sigur Rós, Smarty Pants, Supernatural, The Baffler, The Believer, Zev Borow on March 17, 2009| 3 Comments »

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SOUNDTRACK: SIGUR RÓS-Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (2008).

sigurSigur Rós are nothing if not ethereal.  Their music is constantly floating up in outer space somewhere.  So imagine the surprise when the first song of this disc opens with some thudding drums.  And, there are acoustic instruments aplenty this time around.  Their previous disc Hvarf/Heim had them playing a number of acoustic pieces in various unexpected settings.  And clearly the experience must have been a good one.

“Illgresi” is largely played on an acoustic guitar and “Ára Bátur” opens with a very pretty piano melody.  But lest you think this is Sigur Rós unplugged, “Ára Bátur” turns into a nearly 9 minute epic complete with orchestra, choir and as much ethereal sounds that you can cram into one song.  Indeed, a few songs before that is “Festival” another nine minute epic.  Although like in the beginning, there is a lot of bass, and a lot of drum.

But despite all of the musical changes, the band is still clearly Sigur Rós.  Jon Thor Birgisson’s voice is still unmistakable, and his lyrics are still inscrutable.  In fact, the final song, “All Alright” is sung almost entirely in English(!) and I didn’t realize until I just read about it recently.

In some ways this disc is not as satisfying as previous Sigur Rós releases as it doesn’t take you to quite the same planes of existence as past discs have.  And yet, in other ways it is more satisfying as it shows an earthbound side of them, allowing us to see their craft in action.

Despite any criticisms, Sigur Rós is still an amazing band, and this is an amazing record, too.

[READ: March 14, 2009] McSweeney’s #2

McSweeney’s 2nd issue retains some of the features from the first, and yet, some things have changed.

Similarities:

First: The cover retains that very wordy style that the first issue had.  There are more jokes (a good pun about Big Name authors).

Second: The letters column is still there.  What’s different is that in addition to some unusual letters (including the complete address of a letter writer), there are conversational letters between Gary Pike and Mr. McSweeney.  There’s also several small entries from Brent Hoff.  We are also treated to a letter from Jon Langford of the Mekons, Sarah Vowell, and a piece from Jonathan Lethem (the last of which was put in the letters column because they didn’t know what else to do with it). (more…)

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David Bergen–“Saved” (The Walrus, March 2009)

Posted in Boston, MA, David Bergen, Drinking, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, Violence on March 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrus1SOUNDTRACK: MORPHINE-Like Swimming (1997).

morphineMorphine was always a pretty weird band.  They were very different even in a climate when alternative was the norm.

Their difference began with their instruments: Mark Sandman played a 2 string electric bass, Dana Colley played a tenor or bass sax and Billy Conway played minimal drums.  In fact almost everything they did was minimal.

Their sound was smooth and sexy; dirty, almost skanky, and yet they were so cool.  I got to see them live once in the Hatch Shell in Boston and it was great experience.

While their first couple of records, Cure for Pain and Yes were amazing, this record, their first major label release, seems to disappoint some.  And yet I find it endlessly rewarding.  You take that bass heavy, smooth, near-jazz and you throw tales of sex (“Early to Bed”)  “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man or woman miss our on the night life”  or just elliptical stories “Eleven O’ Clock”: (The whole lyrics are “Every night about eleven o’clock I go out” or just weird choruses ” Oooooh French Fries with Pepper.”

And through it all, that glorious slinky bass.

I could listen to Morphine all day.

[READ: March 3, 3009] “Saved”

The Walrus got something of a makeover for this issue.  I rather like the new logo, and it seems easier to read overall too.  I’m bummed however that they’ve gotten rid of the puzzles pages as that was always a favorite for me.

Anyhow, this story was okay.  The content itself wasn’t that exciting, but it was the telling that was pretty enjoyable.  In Vietnam, a teenaged boy is being questioned in the death of a 19 year-old American girl.  The first section shows his in custody of the police; the second section shows his encounter with the girl; the third shows the boy’s life before meeting the girl and the fourth shows his very first encounter with her.

I wasn’t particulalrly blown away by this piece.

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