I decided it was time to read a book after having not appreciated a significant work of fiction for two-and-a-half years or so. It’s not that I stopped reading — I read quite a lot. However, it usually comes in the forms of websites, magazines, MSN windows, textbooks, and various other works of non-fiction.

I settled on an old favorite from Grade 12 AP English: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Let me just say that if you were required to read this book in high school and didn’t enjoy it (or have never read it), please do add it to your list of novels to read.

I finished reading it on Tuesday I believe, and enjoyed and appreciated it it much more than I did in high school. This time around I was not reading it with a deadline held to my temple, and am also at least slightly less naïve than I was back then. Both of these factors contributed to an interesting and thoughtful read.

Here is a quote of a feeling captured particularly well by Fitzgerald that I felt should be shared:

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly.  It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.  It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.  It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.

Another aspect that I found surprising compared to the first time was the development of Nick’s character. I think I glossed over this aspect originally, simply treating him as a narrator, and found the depth of his character to be intriguing and refreshing (given the shallowness of most of the other characters). I wondered if Nick’s character was Fitzgerald writing of himself and who he thinks he is.

I could probably go on for a while about other aspects of the novel (though it’s been a while since I’ve done a formal analysis and discussion as in English class), but I think I will leave it at that. I would again recommend that you read it, and then we could discuss it at a later date, perhaps over coffee?

Now, back to the books. I’ve two midterms in a week-and-a-half, and much to catch up on after missing 3 days worth of classes for Primal Instinct. Yeah!

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… and one fine morning —

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

William J. Woodrow (1910-2005)

You had a good run, Gramps.

ETA: Obituary

To avoid further chiding, the time has come to update.

First, a shameless plug:

(like the graphic?)

It’s going to be a good time. I would recommend that you all come out and join in the jungle fun.

(More to come later…)

I need to learn to take an iterative approach to life (I will discuss that interesting philosophy at a later time).
I’m often so bent on doing things right the first time that some things, even important things, never get done at all.

I feel like I’m careening down life’s highway at a billion km/h with a roadmap scribbled on the back of a napkin and smeared by a carelessly placed glass. The billboards along the highwayside advertise interesting possibilities ahead – just take an exit. I seem to be convinced that my vehicle has no reverse gear and a finite amount of gas, which are both of course absurd. Yet in the midst of careening, the reality gives in to absurdity as I’m kept busy trying to figure out that map. Was I supposed to turn, or is that just the edge of the water ring? Don’t take that exit, it might not be the correct destination.

I’ll probably get to where I’m supposed to be, and will likely be late. However, it’s going to be one dull ride if one doesn’t stop more to stretch, smell the air, and explore. As the Zen say, “The journey is the reward.”

(And that concludes this horribly drawn out metaphor for so very many things. I’ll write something more upbeat next time.)

My collection of Ben Folds EPs from Attacked By Plastic arrived yesterday, and are amazingly awesome. Speed Graphic, Sunny 16 and Super D are all quite good, as is The Bens EP, a collaborative effort by Ben Lee, Ben Kweller and Ben Folds.

Smile / Like you’ve got nothing to prove
No matter what you might do / There’s always someone out there cooler than you
I know that’s hard to believe / But there are people you meet
They’re into something that is too big to be / Expressed / Through their clothes
And they’ll put up with all the poses you’ll throw / And you won’t / Even know
that they’re not sizing you up / They know your mom fucked you up / Or maybe let you watch too much TV
But they’ll still look in your eyes / To find the human inside
You know there’s always something in there to see / Beneath / The veneer
Not everybody made the list this year / Have a beer
…

- Ben Folds, There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You (from Sunny 16)

Now if only Ben F. would have a tour stop somewhere near here…

In other news, I finally got all my marks back: the epic battle of Sedra & Smith went better than I thought.

ETA: New photos are up, from Toronto and elsewhere. Check ‘em out!

I took a good look at utools.ca with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 yesterday, and I must say that I feel sorry for the people who use this browser on a daily basis.

May I suggest:
,
the super fast, more secure, open source browser available for most computing platforms?

Happy New Year, one and all!

2004 was an interesting year (as they all are), and I hope yours went (and went out) well.

A year of adventures and amazing potential is upon us! Make the most of your 2005.

Cheers!

I’m doing my best to take and upload pictures of the Toronto goings on as they happen. Click on the link below to see pictures of the current goings on.

Adventures In T.O. In Pictures