Shock Theater

In the past couple of weeks, I've read a couple of so-called "shocking" books: J.G. Ballard's "Crash" and Poppy Z. Brite's "Exquisite Corpse." Both are explicit explorations of where sex and violence intersect, but each approaches this taboo differently.

Ballard's novel centers around the budding affair between a car-crash survivor and the widow of a man he killed in said car crash. Having both escaped the wreckage of this fatal accident, they find that their once-latent violent desires are now thrashing to the surface. They soon come across a man, Vaughn, who shares their same erotic predilection toward road accidents and who enjoys re-creating famous car crashes of the past. Before long, a self-destructive love triangle forms that envelopes a number of fringe players, as well: the protagonist's wife, another car-crash-survivor friend of Vaughn's, and a stunt driver Vaughn uses in his crash re-creations.

The sex is explicit and plentiful, but severely clinical. Rarely is human sexuality referred to in any but the most anatomical of ways: penis, vagina, anus, fellatio, intercourse, coitus, etc. The characters do not make emotional attachments and their numerous affairs are as perfunctory and mechanical as the cars that inspire them. The characters seem driven -- pun partially intended -- toward fulfilling their own violent ends, urged forward by the rush of having precipitously walked the line of mortality. Ultimately, the protagonist (named after the author) is able to walk away from this pursuit after having witnessed Vaughn's demise in his final car crash. Ironically, Ballard's dabbling in empty sex and extreme fetishism leads to his emotional growth and the renewed closeness between him and his wife.

The author's writing style is interesting and lends credibility to bold subject matter that could have easily descended into parody and pulp. There are a number of turns of phrase and bits of lexicon that are repeated almost ad nauseum, particularly in sections that attempt to liken human anatomy to automotive anatomy. However, the repetition seems necessary to emphasize that the characters are ultimately driving a fruitless road that takes them further away from the vibrancy and humanity they had been trying to re-capture through their sexual exploits.

Though the novel is interesting and well-written, it's probably not as profound as the author would have liked, and its borderline pornographic subject matter not appeal to many readers. However, its boldness is refreshing in a way that most novels could never attain.

Brite's novel is even bolder. Essentially, it's a gay love story between two serial-killing necrophiles: Andrew Compton and Jay Byrne. In addition to their shared sexual preference towards the dead, Jay also engages in cannibalism. Compton, an Englishman, fakes his own death in order to escape prison, and he flees to America -- specifically New Orleans, the murder capital of the country -- to begin his killing anew. Jay is a rich recluse whose unusual hobbies have entwined him with the rave-driven, often derelict underground, wherein he meets a Vietnamese teen named Tran who develops a dangerous attraction to Jay. Eventually, Jay and Andrew meet and their mutual interests grow into love, of a sort. They decide that making Tran their next victim will further strengthen their bond. Tran's obsessive ex-boyfriend, Lucas, ultimately impedes Jay and Andrew's pursuit of the perfect kill.

Like Ballard's novel, the story is explicit and pulls no punches. In addition to graphic (strictly homosexual) sex, "Exquisite Corpse" contains a strong dose of splatter and viscera. Descriptions of bodily mutilation, consumption and sexual objectification of dead human flesh, and other gruesome acts are laid out naked and unfettered. Though the story is shocking, Brite's intentions are not solely the stuff of the grand grimoire: she provides a stark insight into the AIDS pandemic, particularly its status as a "gay plague." A handful of the characters, including the main "protagonist" Andrew Compton, are HIV positive and the reader gets a harsh view of the world through the eyes of a pariah.

Brite's writing is darkly poetic and she makes the subject matter about as palatable as it could be. Though the novel switches points-of-view on occasion, it mostly sticks with the first-person recollections of Compton, and he has an interesting enough personality to drive the story without having to cling solely to the sex and gore. "Exquisite Corpse" is a novel that exposes a brutal underworld, and its central locale -- New Orleans -- is well-expressed and palpable as a living, breathing city, as a perfect host for the parasitic protagonists.

Both "Crash" and "Exquisite Corpse" are interesting, off-the-mainstream takes on the deviancy of the human race, though they are absolutely not for the weak-of-heart. Brite's work, in particular, is one of the most brutal assaults on the senses that I've ever read, so proceed with extreme caution.

Artist Focus: Esao Andrews

I ran across this guy the other day. I was just searching through Google and came across his name and really was caught up in his artwork. His work is very clean, and his subject matter is very fairytale-ish, but dark. Reminds me of a schizophrenic Alice in Wonderland.

You can check out his work at www.Esao.net.

Here's a few of my favorite pieces of his, and of course, they're copyrighted by the artist:

The Art World

For over 15 years now, I've been an artist. Rather, I should say that I've been able to draw ... sort of. When I was 12 or 13, I really liked drawing, mainly in pencil and pen-and-ink, and I had aspirations of illustrating comic books. (At the time, in the early 1990s, this was actually a pretty profitable career. Popular comic book artists were making damn fine money in the 90s boom, before the entire bottom fell out of the industry -- from which it has yet to really recover.)

However, once I turned 17 or so, music and writing really took over my creative interests, and drawing fell to the furthest back-burner and I barely picked up a drawing utensil for almost a decade. In the past year, my interest in illustrating has been somewhat rekindled. It started with pen-and-ink again, but has recently blossomed into painting. I've always been interested in painting, but assumed that with my semi-color-blindness (I have trouble discerning more subtle differences in color), that I would be a terrible painter. As a result, I never bothered actually trying it. I'm not typically a person who tries something without a reasonable expectation of succeeding.

After a bit of debate, and after finally coming to the realization that I had no desire to paint anything realistic anyway, I decided to give it a whirl. I picked up some acrylic paints from the art store and set to it. (Oil painting was where I really wanted to start, but it's enormously expensive when just starting out, so it was bypassed until I proved to myself that I'd be able to stick with it.) A handful of paintings later, things seem to be working out. I'm still feeling things out, and I'm unhappy that I have no discernible individual style yet, but that's to be expected for a beginner. We always start out imitating. Overall, I have more aptitude for painting than I had anticipated, though I'm no Picasso. Here's a few examples of what I've done so far:

"Blue Nightmare" - acrylic on paper


















"He Who Eats Fire" - acrylic and ink on paper


















"Not of the Earth" - acrylic on paper


















"Stalking the Dark" - acrylic on paper


















"The Toxic Dawn" - acrylic on paper


















So yeah, the output has been okay so far, though it's all just sort of blah. Blah subject matter, blah style, blah blah blah. With time, I'm sure I'll stumble upon a style that represents what I really want to be doing, and I'll think of imaginative, non-derivative things to paint. But, at least I think I know that I "can," which is pretty important I'm sure.

Going forward, if this is going to be a fairly serious hobby of mine, I'm going to need to arrange a more permanent workspace. Right now, I'm just painting on the kitchen table, no easel or anything. I've already gotten a few small splatters of paint on the table that my wife is understandably not pleased about. However, I also don't want to invest in an easel and take up more space in an already cramped room of our house if I'm ultimately going to give up on painting. That doesn't seem like it'll be the case so far, since I've been pretty excited about it all so far. We'll see before too long, though!

Falling by the Wayside

I have trouble keeping up blogs, if you haven't noticed. I tend to run out of things I want to say, or feel are worth saying in writing, so I don't blog very often. I wish I could do a better job of keeping up with at least weekly updates, but here's how it goes: I think of something I want to talk about, but by the time I can get the free time to write it, I lose interest in the topic. That's happened three or four times in the last two weeks. I have been busier than usual, I guess, but that's not really an excuse. How can I expect to ever make a living writing if I can't find the time or will to write?

Quirky Jobs

I just finished reading Chuck Palahniuk's novel, Lullaby (in two days' time, which is the fastest I've read a book in a while).

I'm not a huge fan of the Palahniuk I'd read prior to this book -- which was mainly short stories and pieces of Haunted and Fight Club -- but Lullaby was very interesting. If there's one thing the author does well, it's finding the weirdest and most obscure vocations possible for his protagonists. In this novel, one of the main characters, Helen, sells and re-sells haunted houses. She essentially makes a double commission once the original buyers realize they have to get the hell out of the house soon after their purchase. Another character does nothing but place newspaper ads that say things like "Patrons of the Fancy Schmancy Steak House ... have you developed an anus-deteriorating fungus after eating a rib-eye steak at this establishment? If so, please call the number below to be part of a class-action lawsuit." The accusations in these ads are generally not true, but the high-profile businesses are usually willing to pay him off to drop the ad and make the bad publicity go away.

I always like characters that have unusual jobs, particularly in Palahniuk's books. The author's extensive research shines through and gives the reader a real idea of what these people do and how they do it, and the circumstances they live in usually spur along some strange events in the plot. You get a really great feel for the underbelly of humanity.

On a more general note, I really enjoyed Lullaby. As with most of Palahniuk's work, the characters and events were off the beaten path, but there was also a nice bit of sadness and human emotion running through the story, in seeing how people cope with the loss of a child. Also, the usual socio-political commentary was in place, and Palahniuk had a lot of smart things to say about the free flow of information we live with in today's culture and how it may not be such a great thing.

These info-aholics. These learn-ophobics.

Wait ... there are actually movies I want to see?

The wife and I, along with my sisters-in-law and one of their dudes, all went to see the new Harry Potter flick yesterday and something absolutely shocking happened (outside of watching Ginny Weasley bend down in front of Harry Potter to tie his shoe in a manner that not-so-subtly hinted at a knob-job): I enjoyed watching the trailers and saw a good handful of movies that looked worth spending $10 a ticket on.

The first one that caught my eye was 9, a new CGI/stop-motion animation movie produced by Tim Burton that appears to be about a

scientist who, as the world is about to enter into some kind of apocalyptic war, creates these potato-sack-looking creatures and gives them life. He then hides them away from each other. Some time later, they find each other again and have to band together to fight off these machines that have taken over the world. Outside of the done-to-death idea of machines taking earth in a grim future, the film looked like it sported a lot of interesting imagery and a fairy talesque feel, much like Burton's other forays into animation, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. It looked like a promising dark fantasy that's a bit different (i.e. better) than watching a Tracy Morgan-voiced guinea pig that's a spy.

Next up was a Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the titular detective and Jude Law as Watson. Strange that I had never heard of this one before, since it has some big stars and a pretty big director, but it looked well-made and interesting, and low on computer-generated crapitude. There were, however, a few out-of-place Matrix-ish slow-mo fight scenes that gave it a sort of hipper-than-thou feel, but I won't judge it too harshly for that. The only thing the movie felt like it was missing was Jason Statham, trying as hard as he could to find some Victorian-era way to keep his adrenaline pumping (or his heart charged) so he wouldn't die.

Finally, we saw a trailer for the movie adaptation of everyone's favorite children's book, Where the Wild Things Are. Watching the trailer left me (and my wife, who was nearly crying like a bitch) filled with a sense of wonderment in the same way the first glimpses of the Lord of the Rings movies did. The imagery looked straight out of the book, and the wild things were created using mainly suits and animatronics; I could detect very little CGI -- which I was ecstatic about (I sense a trend ...). It was a little strange when I saw it was directed by Spike Jonze, but I guess who else could pull off the surrealism of a children's story better than the man behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation? (Charlie Kaufman did not provide the screenplay, however.)

All in all, it looks like moviegoers will have some fine feasts ahead for the remainder of 2009. For a cynic like myself, it was refreshing to see some hint of creativity still clings to life in Hollywood.

The Phoenix Suns Rising

For a while there, it seemed like Phoenix Suns General Manager Steve Kerr and owner Robert Sarver had no idea what the future held for the team and were wandering around like lost, frightened children. Were they going to rebuild? Were they going to stand pat and make a feeble attempt to contend, even though the same team missed the playoffs last season? The Shaq-to-Cleveland trade and all the Amare Stoudemire trade rumors around the draft hinted not-so-subtly that a complete blowup was in the works, and fan preparation for a few years of suckitude was going to be necessary.

Then ... the draft came, and the trade rumors for Stoudemire fizzled and eventually stopped. The hot-and-heavy Golden State Warriors draft-day trade came to a stand-still, supposedly killed by disagreement about the inclusion of heavily-touted draftee Stephen Curry. The Suns front office then flipped a bitch and began talking about extending Amare, depending on how his recovery from eye surgery progressed. Associated Press and Arizona Republic stories from a few days ago paint a picture of Kerr as a GM now resigned-to/set-on giving STAT the max contract extension he so desires, provided he shows up to training camp in October and his eyeball doesn't pop out of his skull when he dunks for the first time. What ... ?

The change in direction was perplexing. It seemed so sure that a complete disassembling of the team was inevitable. Trade away Shaq, trade away Stoudemire, trade away Nash, trade away Jason Richardson, let Grant Hill wander to greener pastures in free agency. Keep the young pieces and role players (Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley, and Louis Amundson) and then work on developing the rookies, or near-rookies (Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic, and lottery-pick Earl Clark). Hope that you get a franchise-player-in-waiting back from a Stoudemire trade. If not, use the massive 2010 cap space on a marquee free agent. All was quiet on the Suns free agency front for nearly a month, and no one knew what the 2009-2010 Phoenix Suns would look like come training camp. Then, the trajectory changed.

Hill re-signed with the Suns for two years, at a raise. The front office began actively courting Nash for a two- or three-year extension, at only a slight decrease in salary. Kerr spoke about wanting to extend Stoudemire. They signed former Knick and Trailblazer, Channing Frye. Was the team now basically going to stay in a holding pattern and make another run towards a first-round playoff exit?

For a couple of years, I had been a proponent of the rebuild-now approach. Particularly following the departures of Eddie House, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell, it appeared the Seven Seconds or Less Suns were dead or dying, and it was time to put that dog to sleep and move on. While loved by many fans and still one of the best point guards in the league, Steve Nash was getting older and his contract was coming to a close, so best to make a clean break there. Stoudemire, who considers himself a max-dollar player and is one of the most unstoppable offensive players in the NBA, has obvious deficiencies as a defender and as a teammate. His lackadasical man-to-man coverage and exhorbitant ego were grinding away at any goodwill he had stored up in Phoenix. Like Nash, his contract was potentially up in 2010, so best to let him opt out and walk, or trade him for fresh talent. Blow it up. Start over. Hit re-set.

GM Steve Kerr's moves in the 2009 offseason were not the direction I had hoped for. It appeared that the Suns were again fooling themselves into thinking they had a chance for a championship. But then things started making sense for me:

- First and foremost, the Suns don't have their 2010 1st round draft pick, having given it to the Oklahoma City Thunder in one of the worst trades in Suns' recent history. With no pick, the Suns are not motivated to suck in the 2009-2010 season and give the Thunder a potential lottery pick in a strong draft. So, screw 'em ... at least get into the playoffs and guarantee some extra income for the team (each home playoff game generates a $1 million or so in revenue), and let the Thunder pick 20th or so, instead of 13th or 14th.

- Over the course of a year, the Suns had gone from being one of the oldest teams in the league -- with Nash, Shaq, Hill, and Kurt Thomas all well over 30, and Bell and Marion hovering right around there -- to being a pretty young team, with everyone but Nash (35), Hill (36), and Richardson (28) being 26 or younger.

- The bench is the deepest it's ever been. Former coach Mike D'Antoni was notorious for having a short 7-man rotation, consisting of mostly veterans that were heavily taxed by playing close to 40 minutes a game. Now, with a few trades and a rookie-friendly coach (former Suns assistant Alvin Gentry), the rotation is 10- or 11-men deep, with Nash, Richardson, Hill, Stoudemire, Frye, Barbosa, Dragic, Dudley, Amundson, and potentially Lopez and Clark getting regular playing time in the coming season. The SSOL Suns were notorious for having 4 or 5 benchwarmers who only played garbage minutes in blowout games. That number should now be limited to two or three unfortunate players. The team is finally in a position to properly nurture their rookies and second-year players with real playing time.

- The Suns have quality role players in Dudley, Amundson, and Frye -- guys who can fill the holes, either with perimeter shooting, defense, rebounding or what-have-you. Guys who know what their place is and are perfectly content to help where they're needed. Recent rosters have been feast or famine: you're either one of the stars or you're riding the pine.

- They have the right coach. Alvin Gentry should have been D'Antoni's replacement from the start, rather than wasting time with Terry Porter. Porter was probably a decent guy, but he was a terrible fit for the team's personnel. While Porter instilled a fear of mistakes in the rookies and young players, Gentry encourages their professional and personal growth with playing time and the freedom to make a mistake and learn from it. Gentry has a knack for handling the egos of professional athletes and seems able to get the best from them.

- They are developing a defensive presence. Marion and Bell were the Suns' sole defensive "stalwarts" and both of them were traded away for offensive-minded players in the past two seasons. Luckily, it appears the team has reloaded a bit on the defensive end, with Dudley, Amundson, Lopez, and Clark all having the potential to be average-to-above-average defenders, with the versatility to guard multiple positions. Lopez and Amundson are active enough big men to defend the pick-and-roll, as well.

- They drafted a promising rookie. Fourteenth pick Earl Clark has the potential to be the versatile defensive-minded swingman the team gave up in Shawn Marion. Clark is 6'10" but is able to handle the ball and pass. He can drive to the hoop or score from the perimeter. He can defend almost every position. There are questions about his drive and will to win, but he has all the tools to be an exceptional player, particularly in the Suns' system. I trust that Gentry will properly develop Clark, rather than let him languish on the bench or trade him away to flourish on a rival's team, as would have been done in the past.

Now, my optimism ends at "intrigued," rather than "ecstatic," because there are still a few major issues that need to be addressed before too long:

- The Suns need a starting point guard going forward, as Nash will likely retire after his (proposed) extension is up. Kerr pursued Slovenian guard Goran Dragic in last year's draft with the intention of his eventually taking the point from Nash. However, his development last season was disappointing and he only showed flashes of the talent the front office had apparently seen while scouting. The hope is that Dragic's trepidation and mediocrity was due to Porter's system and that Gentry will help develop some self-confidence, which seems to be Dragic's major flaw, outside of some spotty jump-shooting. Dragic is definitely a serviceable backup point guard, which the Suns have not had in recent years, but it remains to be seen if he can be a starter. If not, the Suns will have to look elsewhere before long. For years, the Suns have had the benefit of stellar point guard play (Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash, etc.). It will be a challenge to continue that tradition.

- The Suns need that franchise player, that superstar on whom the burden of success must fall. Nash has been that man, and the spotlight was shared in past years with Marion, Stoudemire, and Shaq. With Marion gone and Nash soon to retire, the Suns must look to Stoudemire, or elsewhere. Landing that franchise player is the most fortuitous and elusive of things for an NBA team. Generally, these players come via the draft and a lot of luck (e.g. Tim Duncan and the Spurs, LeBron James and the Cavs, Dwyane Wade and the HEAT, Chris Bosh and the Raptors, etc.), but the Suns have not had that kind of draft luck since Stoudemire, the 9th pick in the 2002 draft. For years, the Suns had been hoping that Amare would develop the leadership and maturity to take that role, but so far he has yet to demonstrate it. He has a tendency to shirk responsibility and blame others for his mistakes, and does not assert himself defensively. The front office must decide if Amare is the man they will depend on going forward. Stoudemire wants a maximum extension from the team, but can he be a leader? Will his surgically repaired knees and eye hold up? Those are huge questions that Kerr and Sarver are wrestling with. If they decide no, Amare is not worth extending, then they brave rough waters trying to find a superstar talent to replace him. The future of the Suns as a franchise basically depends on what happens with Stoudemire.

- The Suns also need that third banana, a guy who can be counted on to produce 15 to 20 points a night. Right now, it's Jason Richardson, but I don't think the Suns view him as a piece going forward. He's been on the trading block all offseason and is paid more than he's probably worth. Barbosa could be that guy, but I think he's better used coming off the bench to provide a spark in the second unit. If Barbosa moves to the starting line-up, then the Suns need to find a replacement for the second unit.

So, while the rebuild of the Phoenix Suns is not complete, it is further along than I thought, and the future is looking pretty bright. It could easily be darkened if things with Stoudemire don't work out, but it sounds like the Suns have come to the conclusion that he's worth re-signing if he returns to the court this coming season and plays like he's been known to play.