Enlightened Living

Pardon me--I am on such a "Thoreau" kick! We've been quite environmentally concerned lately, as Violetta and I have noticed how our Los Angeles Times have piled up. Mind you, we only subscribe to the Friday, Saturday and Sunday editions (I love Iams cat chow and those Sunday coupons come in handy, plus I am convinced Saturday's Calendar Section is a)superior to the clunky Sunday version, and b) one of the best roundups of culture news period), but in our small little condo, they do start to take up usable space. That doesn't even include issues of Rolling Stone, Rabbit Monthly, The Economist, Fortune, and Cosmo Girl. No feng shui master would call this clutter of paper healthy by any means.

So, as Henry T. would no doubt encourage, we found out on the L.A. city website that there is a pilot program for free recycling at multi-family properties. That way, we could help save the precious earth, recycle our periodicals and newspapers, and everyone is happy!

Violetta got a call from a city rep today and was told the pilot program is full, but within a year hopefully the city will enact the program - again, free of charge--to ALL apartment and condo buildings. Fabulous! But until then, he pointed her to the following link:

http://www.lacity.org/SAN/docs/multifamily.pdf

There is a handy brochure that alerts apartment residents to local places where they can drop off recyclables. So until we have our own precious blue bin sitting in our back parking lot, we will be "do it yourselfer" recyclers!

Pity that this information is buried in a rather unattractive (times new roman font???) website, but it must be noted that Los Angeles' recycling program has diverted quite a bit of waste away from landfills since committing to the recycling program. Their goal is to divert 70% of all waste by 2020. If just one bunny can make a difference, than my life was worth living!

PS I'm supposed to get "Battlestar Galactica" Season 2 1/2 any day now!!

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

...to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Ah, Thoreau. His words sparkle like water in a creek.

Violetta took Thoreau's advice and headed to the woods, with with her gentleman friend - let's call him "Tym" - to a lovely resort near San Luis Obispo about 3 hours up the coast, apparently, where he "popped the question." Giddy with delight, she regaled me with all the details, including the handsome sapphire and diamond ring that "sealed the deal."

What I think is even more exciting about this whole enterprise is that we will have a new roommate: A man who is easygoing, very intelligent, and who has excellent taste in graphic novels. Thus, Tym, I welcome you.

But, on to other matters. Violetta finally discovered, in a shelves-to-ceiling used book store in "SLO" (San Luis Obispo's nickname), one of the New Classics (?)--the much-celebrated debut novel by Donna Tartt, The Secret History. Since this book she seemingly has failed to reach the same heights, and the book is really more a densely intellectual thriller than a "great novel," but stops just short of overly florid prose and remains a pageturner.

Further, one of the main characters' name is Bunny. His fate is not to be desired, but his name is Bunny.

The book was written in 1994 and takes place at a fictional university, a small campus in Vermont, where 5 students study, solely, with a creepily proper Greek teacher. The allusions to great works by Dante and other classicists are just explained enough for even the barely learned reader, and the action is gripping. The students' detachment with campus life and obsession with the esoteric neatly lead them to murder, perhaps a bit too neatly, but it is gripping.

I think it would make an excellent movie. Go read the book and then review with me this cast list:

Dr. Julian: Alan Rickman or Ian Holme
Charles and Camilla (Twins, not the British royal lovers): Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal
Henry: Henry Thomas, natch
Bunny: Owen Wilson with some age-reducing makeup
Richard (the lead): Adam Scott (A wonderful and busy character actor most notably seen as JLo's gay pal in Monster in Law, but very good, dramatically speaking, in a recent episode of Law and Order, which Violetta obssessively tapes)

And that is all. It was a busy weekend devouring James Mason movies and reading, and I am looking forward to the week ahead. A cooler week, one hopes! It's hard being furry!

I Succumb!

One of my esteemed roommates, who I'll call Violetta, has been going on and on about this curious show on the "Sci Fi Channel," "Battlestar Galactica." I find that such shows about spaceships are often clumsy, broad attempts to bring on Larger Truths about Life, which is far too easy when the crew is held captive by the enclosure of the ship. (Exception: Spaceballs.)

And I resisted, time and time again, this lure of "Battlestar Galactica," protesting that the old series was absurd and full of machismo that more refined males like myself refuse to entertain. I'd far prefer watching an old Ginger Rogers "girl making it in the big city" movie or perhaps my worn-out copy of North by Northwest. No spaceships, please! (Perhaps I was spoilt for all spacefighting scenes by the dolorous ennui of the horrid Star Wars prequels. Lucas, what has become of ye?)

And yet, I succumbed. Perhaps it was the haunting soundtrack; or maybe the creepy, animatronic fearsome Cylons (who remind me quite a bit of a few cats in my younger years, barely escaping their jaws); or the sparks bursting forth between Cptn. Lee Adama and ace pilot Starbuck. Now I cannot help myself. I've watched clear through Violetta's Season 1 DVD collection and now I am dying to start Season 2. Thus, I took her credit card and ordered the first half of Season 2.

Yes, HALF of Season 2. You see, for some reason, "they" (this faceless, all-controlling corporate "they"!!) are releasing it in halves. And yet, I cannot help myself!! This was like waiting to find out who shot JR!

So I threw down $35. I'm ashamed, but I must see how Commander Adama is holding up....if President Roslin will survive another year...and so on, and so forth. What a wonderful mix of the truisms of human nature, the vagaries of politics, the excitement of a frontier undiscovered, the fierce battle for survival, and for the potential of enemies to intermingle (in the Biblical fashion, no less!).

I think my favorite relationship is that of the Mom-Dad roles played by Roslin and Adama. Naturally, Lee, who as Roslin's advisor, is torn between his crusty father and the warm, intelligent Roslin, is the do-good son with huge conflicts. Who will he choose? Often, Roslin and Adama meet halfway, like any parents worth their salt. But will Lee lose his father both physically and emotionally during this most crucial time - during a huge break in philosophies between the two leaders? Will he find his own voice, perhaps? And, will he "do it" with Starbuck?

Season 2, hurry!

I begin.

I am a bunny who adores texts - the written words - the greats. Roth, Proust, Doestoevsky... It took me a good while indeed to embrace what we call "The Internet," being as I believed filled with useless prattle. But finally, particularly at the behest of my friends, I have decided to "take the plunge." Since then, I've learned plenty about Nigerian investments, learned how rapidly I can expand my male organs by 30%, and have been sent the adage "Work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching" so much the very words cause slight nausea as I write them. Thoughtful discourse, I think not.

And yet, there many of these "webbloggers" who have fascinating and delightful ideas, thoughts, and musings on the world at large; and I feel I must join them. As an experienced philosopher who just returned from my latest Vision Quest (more on that later), I have plenty to share.

And so, I begin. Thank you for sharing your time with me.