thecanon - jerlich2

The Canon

Media that has defined or influenced me or that i just feel like sharing

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WALL-E, Pixar: Reminds me in a way of American Beauty. Everyone should see this.
Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis: I'm putting this first because Spider Jerusalem is my hero. But really, this new site was partially inspired by him. I think, maybe, I would like to be a journalist. So that I can take down fuckers like GWB. But there are so many journalists and they are critical of the administration and it doesn't seem to make a lick of difference. We'll see, i suppose whether the republicans win the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut: Vonnegut is one of my favorite writers of all time. My first experience was reading Breakfast of Champions in 1999, when i was nearly 25. It was a strange and wonderful experience. I felt like he was writing to me. I could hardly believe that I had never read any of his work. I love all of his writing (almost without exception) but cat's cradle certainly has a special place in my heart and mind. It has the best argument against nihilism that i have ever come across.
VALIS, Philip K. Dick: What if you woke up from a dream that your son had a life threatening illness? And you take him to a doctor to check and it turns out that indeed he does and the early diagnosis saved his life? Would you simply write it off as coincidence? What if you also began to speak ancient latin and had other information 'beamed' to you? Would you go crazy? These are some of the questions that VALIS grapples with. Philip K. Dick is one of these authors that everybody has heard of but relatively few people really know. The reason for his widespread fame is that several of his stories have been made into movies. The most succesful is Blade Runner, which is based on the story 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'. Minority Report was also based on a PKD story. However, I didn't really get into PKD until i read 'The invisibles' by Grant Morrison. I've now read 5 of his novels. I plan on reading more. But VALIS is a good start. It isn't easy, but i think it is worth it. It is part of a trilogy which includes 'The Divine Invasion' and 'The Transmigration of Timothy Archer'.
The Invisibles, Grant Morrison: A graphic novel crash course in the occult. Gave me a whole new perspective on Clockwork Orange (another Kubrick masterpiece). Also led me to read VALIS. I'm still working on the background reading that influenced Morrison for this work.
The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky: When I finished reading 'The Idiot', i was depressed for a week. This book asks the question "Can the perfect man live in an imperfect world?" In this case, the perfect man is naive, unpretentious, and kind : an idiot. When i read the Idiot, i immediately noticed a similarity with The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand, like Dostoevsky, is Russian, but emigrated to the US in the 1940's. Howard Roark, the protagonist of The Fountainhead, is quite the opposite of 'The Idiot'. But both books ask, "Can the perfect man thrive in an imperfect world?"
Genesis: The book of genesis , or 'Bereshit' in hebrew, is the first of the five books of the Torah. It contains many excellent, if disturbing, stories: creation, expulsion from eden, Noah's Ark, the binding of Isaac, the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, soddom and gemorrah, and others
Gödel, Escher, Bach, Douglas R. Hofstadter: Possibly the book that had the most influence of me by introduing me to so many amazing ideas. My mother, a book of the month club member, ordered this for me while I was in high school because she knew I liked Escher. Little did she know that this book is a journey through some deep concepts like recursion, incompleteness, cognition, creativity. This book is probably why I majored in computer science.
Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco: The ultimate conspiracy theory book. It's been 10 years since i read it, so i can't remember details. But it involves the holy grail.
Harper's Magazine,: Harper's has been around since 1850. I introduced to it in my college years. It contains fiction, non-fiction, 'Readings', and the famous Harper's Index. The 'Readings' section in a way is the first version of 'digg' or slashdot. It is a collection of media from other sources, that might be of interest (often because of how absurd they are) to Harper's readers. A lawyer friend of mine actually used a Harper's article from the turn of the century as evidence that environmental pollution was public knowledge.
Franny & Zooey, J.D. Salinger
Autobiography of Red, Anne Carson
Art & Lies, Jeanette Winterson
Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson
McSweeney's, Edited by Dave Eggers

2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick: My favorite film of all time. A meditation on discovery, technology, and the human condition. Kubrick is, in my opinion, the greatest director. All of his films are worth seeings (although he certainly matured... his early films are not as good). Barry Lyndon, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining.... see them all.
Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick: Peter Sellers is brilliant in this satire about the cold war. Subtitled: 'How i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb'. Peter Sellers should also be checked out in Being There, The Mouse that Roared, Casino Royale, and of course, the Pink Panther.
Brazil, Terry Gilliam: Made in 1985, Gilliam presents a terrifyingly prescient dystopia.
Blade Runner, Ridley Scott: Based on the Philip K. Dick novella, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", this film investigates the classic theme of what separates man and machine. The intricate visuals of a future Los Angeles that both frightens and amaze, serve as the perfect backdrop for this neo-detective noir story. Note: there are several versions of this film. The newest version was just released (2007) and i have yet to see it.
Zelig, Woody Allen: I think Woody Allen is a genius. Sleeper, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, Annie Hall.... the list goes on. But for some reason Zelig spoke to me even more than the others.... maybe it was just my mood.; You can find out all the movies I love and hate by becoming my netflix friend!

Prélude op. 3 Nr. 2 cis-Moll, Rachmaninov: A moving solo piano prelude. I enjoy a rendition by Alexis Weissenberg, but I am always interested in hearing different interpretations.
Ritual de lo Habitual, Jane's Addiction: The intelligent, in your face, lyrics of this album still resonate with me, over a decade after first discovering it. "True hunting is over. No herds to follow. Without game, men prey on each other."
Zooropa, U2: U2 is one of the greatest bands of all time. From the beginning of their collaboration, with boy, october and war, there was a raw energy that was aching to break out. With the Unforgetable Fire they reached their peak and sustained it with Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung and Zooropa. I chose Zooropa for the canon because i think it is their most underated album and it is the one i listen to most often. Stay, Lemon, Some Days are better than Others, etc. You should also check out Passengers