Author Archives: spesaeterna

Leave Las Vegas

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Yesterday I watched Leaving Las Vegas, after constantly hearing about what a great film it is.

Well, it’s not. It’s a story about Ben, a terminal alcoholic (Nicolas Cage) and Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a successful prostitute who fall in unconditional love with each other. Okay… but the problem is that although they’re both very happy with their chosen professions (he’s planning to drink himself to death in a month, she brags about how talented she is at her job), the film constantly nudges us to feel sympathy for them. Why? We’re not even given a backstory – Ben is just a random drunk, and Sera is just a random street-walker, and they both obviously have freely chosen their paths. So why do we have to feel sorry for them, or even like them? Where are the victims?

So what’s the big deal? You tell me (if you’ve seen it, that is. If not, don’t). Just because Nicolas Cage manages to do drunk doesn’t mean that we have to be submitted to two hours of watching him stumble around and smile inanely. Five minutes into the film, you get the idea. And if you are interested in inebriated twatiness, come to England on a Saturday night and see the real thing.

Who’s there?

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Yes, ok – I know. The blog’s been dead for 9 days, and some of you might not have been able to view it at all. I can explain: It was dead for 9 days because I’ve had a case of the busies and nothing interesting to write about, and if you couldn’t view it, it was because I’ve had a case of the stupids and changed the security code of the site without re-installing the actual code. No, I don’t know what that means either.

In other news – well, I’m currently in project limbo: Stuck in a vicious circle of repeating the same experiments without actually achieving anything. Pisses my supervisors something awful – I dread to think what references they’ll give me: Persistently incompetent or something like that. I should have taken gardening. By the way, if by any chance the word “immunoprecipitation” means anything to you, please do get in touch. Especially if it means something happy.

Oh, I nearly forgot: Against all rational behaviour (’cause, you know, doing a PhD is rational), I have dared to start writing again. While I’m writing my thesis. With experiments missing and incomplete. Yes, I know. I’m an idiot.

My new “opus” currently bears no title, and that’s all I’m going to say about it at this stage. That’s right. No commitments. No leaks. No press. I’m sure you’re tantalised. Yeah, you totally are.

I’ll ride my unicorn away to Never-Never land now.

Closed Doors

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In case you were wondering, the New Yorker just replied to my submission of Open Doors:

We regret that we are unable to use the enclosed material. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider it.-The Editors

Also see: “You suck”.

I just wanted to give you a little first-hand taste of the killing fields that is the literary publishing world. Ah, well. Stat rosa pristina nomine.

New York, New York(er)

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After spending a whole day in the lab, on Saturday I dared the unthinkable: I SUBMITTED A SHORT STORY TO THE NEW YORKER! Yeah, I thought for once I’d start at the top. You know, have a rejection from the top of the food chain.

And although I’ve been advised against such negative thinking, I’m not exactly keeping my hopes up. I mean, they take like 8 weeks to reply; besides, I’m not even American, so I don’t know how keen they’ll be to publish a story written by a Greek who lives in England. And in Bradford, of all places. We’ll see. In the meantime, you can read the short story I submitted here. I’ll be submitting this and other stories to various literary magazines, so if you know any good ones (if they pay too, that’d be great), and if you think my writing’s any good, please email me or leave me a comment (they’ll both reach my Inbox).

In other news, I’m still working my donkey off. This PhD doesn’t want to finish, let me tell you…

Oh, something interesting: Last night I watched Michael Moore’s documentary

Bowling for Columbine, which, apart from being hugely informative and entertaining, also shed some light as to why it is that North Americans (is that the PC way of saying it? US people) have such a tremendous tendency to turn into murderous, gun-toting maniacs. Moore suggests that it’s not the violent history (Germany anyone?), the unemployment rate (Canada anyone?), or the video games (Japan anyone?). According to Moore, the basis of horrible events like the Columbine massacre appears to be the culture of fear that the US has been increasngly subjected to (9/11 anyone?). In fact, I never thought I’d say this, but I found myself agreeing with interviewee Marilyn Manson, who said that the US media feed their audiences with a constant barrage of fear and consumption. Hand them enough guns, and boom! Columbine.

It does also include a fantastic short animation entitled A brief history of America – funny, and sadly accurate in the same time. You can watch it, and other clips from the documentary here.

Well, I don’t know if all this is true – Man’s corrupt nature easily lends itself to violence, just like any other kind of
indulgence. And maybe loose gun control regulations are also to blame – after all, like my weapons instructor in the Army used to say, you can’t shoot someone without a bullet. But I do know of a solution that does work, and it does so effectively, because it changes Man’s nature, from the inside. What is it?

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? – Jeremiah 17:9

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

No kidding, Sherlock

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Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike. – Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804)

Wow. I know that “Quote of the day” is instructive, but come on. That’s not even a quote.

So, people might not support your ideas because they’re not theirs, or because they don’t like you. Thanks, Alex. Like we said: Wow.

Here’s a quote:

“Put Common Sense in fancy words and History will remember you”.  – Me (1978-1994)