Last week, NPI gave an overview of fiction (in two parts!) of the Aughts. Yesterday, Josh pointed out the popular economics trend in this decade’s nonfiction. Today, Josh and John are going over (in two parts!) what they believe are the biggest nonfiction books of the Aughts.

America: The Book – Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writers

I bought this book for a good friend at a surprise birthday party in high school, as did another friend of mine unbeknownst to me. My copy was not kept since I didn’t write a note inside mine. I considered frowning. But, this situation nonetheless demonstrated the book’s appeal.  America: The Book is funny and representative of the politically satirical form of comedy that Stewart engendered in the Aughts through The Daily Show. The book is filled with little tidbits like: “Were you Aware? Cloture is something all Senators seek when a piece of beloved legislation dies.” There are also asides written by Stephen Colbert and Ed Helms. But, America: The Book is insightful as well as humorous; if a scholar in a future decade wanted to understand the American political climate in the early 2000s, this is one book he should examine, particularly the chapter on The Future of Democracy.

–Josh

The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It - Paul Collier

In this book, development economist (and a former lecturer of mine) Paul Collier looks at the most impoverished countries in the world (home to about one billion individuals) and asks why they are experiencing so little growth. Explanations seem to occur in fours in the Aughts; there are four development traps that each of these countries typically suffer from: the conflict trap, the natural resource trap, landlocked with bad neighbors, and bad governance, particularly in small countries. While many of Collier’s suggestions are difficult to implement, the most promising is that trade policy needs to lower trade barriers for the Bottom Billion, giving preferential access to their exports. Another important highlight of this book is his attack on the misguided policies of NGOs and other charitable organizations. Ultimately, Collier popularized and integrated his important and informative empirical studies into one of the Aughts’ best development nonfiction books of the decade.

–Josh

Consider the Lobster – David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace’s follow-up to 1997’s A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, his (sadly) final book of essays covers topics like John McCain’s first presidential run, the AVN Awards, John Updike, Franz Kafka, Dostoevsky, 9/11, and, of course, American Usage (in an essay NPI has linked to way too many times; we’ve reached our quota). Oh, and lobsters. Wallace approaches some of these topics with humor and some with reverence. But all the essays, however, have Wallace’s trademark inquisitiveness and cerebral quality.

–John S

Everything Bad is Good for You – Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson takes a generally accepted myth—that popular culture makes us dumber—and completely annihilates it. Pointing to data that shows that the average IQ has actually increased steadily over at least the last half-century, Johnson credits this increase to the growing complexity of television, films, and video games. He highlights how these things have, on average, become much more intellectually engaging than their predecessors, and that they are actually making us smarter. In a decade that saw both television and video games become much more culturally accepted, this kind of validation showed that the rise of these parts of culture was not necessarily a bad thing.

–John S

Freakonomics – Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Freakonomics single-handedly caused the rise of popular economics. It even prominently featured the word “rogue” in the subtitle before it was hijacked by Sarah Palin. Levitt and Dubner explain Levitt’s research, which applies economic reasoning to understand a variety of different phenomena and topics. Some of these topics got a ton of publicity (e.g. Chapter 4 on legalized abortion causing crime reduction), and all were interesting, particularly Chapter 1 on cheating and Chapter 5 on naming children. Check out the Freakonomics blog for an array of intriguing posts and analysis.

–Josh

The Game –Neil Strauss

Neil Strauss’ oft-misunderstood look at the “seduction community” was one of the more revealing books of the decade. Ostensibly a look at how men (or at least a certain sect of men) endeavor to pick up women, the book actually offers complex insights into group psychology. The way men and women interact is, of course, explored, but the book’s look at how women interact with women, and men with men, are just as important. Of course, the book will probably always be remembered most as a guide to “manipulating” women, and for the great reality show it spawned.

–John S

Generation Kill – Evan Wright

Evan Wright’s account of the invasion of Iraq is written with virtually no political agenda, which makes it all the more powerful. Wright, who was embedded with the First Reconnaissance Battalion of the U.S. Marine Corps during the opening weeks of the American invasion of Iraq, gives an almost frighteningly blunt account of the soldiers at war. He gives equal time to their lust for violence and their thirst for honor and glory; they seem both like brave (and often insane) heroes, and immature kids—which, of course, they are. At the same time, Wright’s portrait touches on the bureaucratic nightmares of the invasion, and the many institutional fuck-ups committed by the Battalion’s commanders and the war’s engineers.

–John S

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

We don’t like God too much, or at least the misguided concept of God’s existence. Neither does Richard Dawkins. Dawkins, partially because of his prominence and biological background, brought more attention to atheism than it had received in the past several decades. In The God Delusion, despite what its critics say, Dawkins lays out compelling arguments justifying that belief in God is a delusion: a persistent false belief held despite strong contradictory evidence. Dawkins does a great job offering direct responses to the criticisms of atheism: that atheists can’t be happy and moral, that really smart people (like Einstein!) were theists, and that atheists ought to be moderate rather than proud. People who complain that The God Delusion is simply an extremist, angry attack on religion could not have read and considered Dawkins’ logic with any seriousness. To alter Barry Goldwater’s formulation a little bit, extremism in the (logical) defense of truth is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of half-truths is no virtue.

–Josh

Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Beatles - Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey

If you’re a Beatles fan (John S and I are), this book is awesome. Even if you’re not, it’s still interesting. Emerick was the sound engineer for The Beatles from Revolver to the White Album. Because of his position as not-quite-an-insider-but-kind-of-on-the-inside, Emerick offers a knowledgeable, but unprejudiced perspective. Perhaps the most fascinating parts of this book are when Emerick discusses how some of The Beatles’ most memorable sounds (e.g. the chaotic end of “A Day in the Life,” Lennon’s vocals on “Tomorrow Never Knows”) were created. Nearly as fascinating are his in-depth descriptions of the Beatles’ recording sessions and the dynamic between Paul, John, Ringo, George, and George Martin. But, what really makes this book great is that it’s about the music.

–Josh

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them – Al Franken

There was a time at the beginning of this decade when media bias was not taken for granted by everyone, when half the country still respected George W. Bush, when the partisanship and rancor that characterized most of the Bush Administration had not yet boiled over. This was before Al Franken published his book. It’s not that Franken was a pioneer or a trailblazer—his book actually coincided with books by Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, and Jim Conason—in the crusade against the right; he was merely the most iconic, thanks largely to Fox’s lawsuit against him. In response, of course, the right only got more closed-minded and intolerant, and the left, in turn, more hostile and critical. And while the book may seem dated and obvious now, at the time of its publication it was actually a funny and revealing look at the political climate.

–John S

Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris

David Sedaris may be the funniest writer working today. The first of three books of essays published this decade, Me Talk Pretty One Day details his childhood in Raleigh, his time as a bachelor in New York City, and his move to Paris—and subsequent trouble learning French—with his boyfriend Hugh. This book may be the best example of Sedaris’ absurdist outlook and darkly comic perspective.

–John S

So I love lists (especially of the year end variety) and thought what would be the best, most interesting kind that everyone would love? I immediately thought of a book review!, of course. Some of these books didn’t come this year but they’re new to me, so they count. They’re not rated from best to worst or anything, but in the order read (real geek alert here).
 
 
#10 Timequake –Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

“I’m wild again, beguiled again, a whimpering, simpering child again. Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I.”

Ok, so technically I read this book in 2008 but it was in December so I’m counting it b/c it was within the year. He was already one of

my favorite authors and this just made me love him so much more. It’s described as a cross between fiction and non, but there’s no real plot per say. It’s so chock full of vonnegutisms, though which makes it such a good read. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Vonnegut’s books or worldviews, he’s a Humanist. Almost all of his novels (this one included) stress the message of taking care of each other and just helping each other out in this crazy thing called life. No afterlife. Now reward. Instant karma I guess? Here are some little gems that pretty sum up why I love this man. RIP 1922-2007.

Many people need desperately to receive this message: “I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don’t care about them. You are not alone.”
 
To put it another way: No matter what a young person thinks he or she is really hot stuff at doing, he or she is sooner or later going to run into somebody in the same field who will cut him or her a new asshole, so to speak
 
Yes, and Trout harped on the human need for extended families, and I still do, because it is so obvious that we, because we are human, need them as much as we need proteins and carbohydrates and fats and vitamins and essential minerals.

 
 
 
#9 Unaccustomed Earth –Jumpha Lahiri

Right before I read this, I read Interpreter of Maladies by Lahiri so I might be jumbling up the stories/themes a bit (I was on a Lahiri roll I guess). At first I was on the fence with this book. Most of the short stories in this collection, as with her last novel, are similar in theme. Bengali or Bengali-Americans adjusting (or not) and assimilating to life in the US or Bangladesh.  By far, though my favorite is part two, the short story trilogy Hema and Kaushik. What makes this book worthy of a Top 10 is Lahiri’s characters. Even though the stories may seem repetitive, it’s worth reading for the characters alone. They’re vibrant, well rounded, smart, funny, naïve, lonely, and make me want to know them more. With Hema and Kashuik we get to see that character evolvement as there’s a time gap between each story.  I also liked the title, a phrase she got from a Hawthorne novel. Something about always putting down roots in unfamiliar places strikes a chord with me. Hmm…

Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth. (Nathaniel Hawthorne The Custom House)

 
 
 
#8 The World Is What it Is –Patrick French

I’ve been on the fence about V.S. Naipaul for some time now. Like a good Trini, I’ve read Miguel Street, The Mystic Masseur, A House for Mr. Biswas, and they were all good. But then I had to read The Enigma of Arrival for a class, combined with learning (albeit with a cursory interest) about some negative remarks he made about Trinidad, and I wrote him off as just a Nobel Prize winning old curmudgeon. But I was still interested in this authorized biography of his b/c who wouldn’t be right?! (Hello!…are you still reading this? No, alright then, I understand completely) This book made me really like Naipaul. It doesn’t shy away from anything. It shouldn’t. Naipaul gave French access to all of his records I think, even his dead wife’s diaries. But the parts that interested me most weren’t the sections on Naipaul’s affairs w/hookers and Argentineans (it’s not as titillating as you would think) but the how and why he came to hate the world. Ok I’m simplifying a bit, but French gives insight into Naipaul’s worldview and how the more he learned about the world, the more places he went and people he met, the more disgusted he felt about the state of things. Colonization, decolonization, Trinidad, England, Africa, you name it, Naipaul hates it. He just doesn’t fit in anywhere. Can’t connect to his history (both his family’s and as a Trinidadian/Indian). He’s not comfortable in his own skin (or wasn’t). Who’s never felt that way at some point in time? Just imaging feeling like that for your whole life?
 
 
 
#7 A Bend in the River –V.S. Naipaul

Since the last book made me want to read Naipaul so much more, I decided to read this, which is apparently his masterpiece: “A Bend in the River was a mature work of the imagination rather than disguised autobiography; it was the product of assimilated experience” (French).  It takes place in an imaginary country in Africa (but most likely the DRC when it was Zaire) during decolonization and written from the POV of an African Indian, Salim. Pessimistic about the whole time period, the past/present/future of Africa, its people, colonization, decolonization, European imperialism.  “The world is what it is” is the novel’s first words (title sound familiar?) This phrase reminds me of the novel Slaughterhouse 5 and the phrase used throughout “so it goes” every time someone dies. People die en masse, through war, famine, the reshuffling of borders or political restructuring of the world, and so much of it is needless that it becomes pointless to grieve for each loss. So you just have to deal with it. The world is what it is, right?
 
 
 
 
 
#6 Generation Kill –Evan Wright

Ok, this book may seem an anomaly compared to the others but what can I say, my tastes are varied. I forgot what made me pick this up, but whilst reading it I was like Hey! I’ve read this before! (funny flashback sounds)  It was my first day of college way back when in 2003 and I had a ton of time on my hands  because I’d missed my very first class. So I went the student union and bought a Rolling Stone to read. Justin Timberlake was on the cover. He’d shaved off that ridiculous mop of hair and was looking kinda good next to  Xtina dirrty Aguilera. So anyways, I got really engrossed in Wright’s article. He’s a journalist who was embedded with a reconaissance marine battalion during the invasion of Iraq. The tip of the spear he described it because often times there were no other forces in front of his unit. He writes from the marines’ pov, rather than the generals or other higher ups,  so readers get a closer look at what it’s like for the people who are fighting the war. This was a series of 3 articles that a year later turned into a book. So, there I am reading about this almost 6 years exactly to when the war started. Except now the war isn’t all shiny and new anymore. Not that Wright described it as such back then. From the outset it was messy and violent.  I’m talking more about the enthusiasm for it amongst the general populace. Also, apparently the book was made into a miniseries last year by HBO (yeah I don’t have HBO so I’m always behind on their shows. I suck. I know. I’m sorry.) So I watched it. Also very good. The creators of The Wire did it and they always strive for a high degree of verisimilitude so it follows the book very closely. No over sentimentality, no sensational action movie hero stuff.  I would recommend reading the book, then watching the miniseries. Then you’ll know what the hell is going on.
 
 
  Stay tuned for the titillating conclusion, Part deux
 
 
 
#5 wide roads
#6 government expediency (this may sound like sarcasm…it’s NOT lol)

I figured I should do some sort of end-of-year review like everywhere else does, except I thought I should do it half-arsed and un-proofread so that it’d fit in with the house style of the blog.

Stuff that I have had discovered in 2009 that is really good and stuff

The Wire: I jumped aboard the bandwagon just before I started Just Like TV, watching all 60 hours in a matter of weeks, pretty much only pausing for sleep, food and defecation. It completes my Holy Trinity of Television: Six Feet Under – The Wire – Twin Peaks. It’s going to take something very special indeed to top this behemoth of a show.

Breaking Bad: Stunning first few episodes, consistently brilliant after that until the final few episodes of the second season where I felt it all went a bit Pete Tong (sorry, this is a review of 2009 isn’t it, not 1999. Is Pete Tong still alive?). Not that it was bad, it just wasn’t as good as it could have been. And the ending was terrible. I’ll still be watching Season 3 when it arrives.

Generation Kill: My mind just read that as ‘Generation Kilt’ and I went off into a daydream about a TV show following members of the Scottish army invading a Middle-Eastern country, using bagpipes and haggis-grenades as weapons and generally making more of a mess than a Glasgow Rangers away support committee at a UEFA Cup Final. I think that’s all you need to know about Generation Kill… a damn fine and funny programme that I’ll revisit at some point.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: My current obsession which I’m sure to bore everyone about for a few more weeks. I really thought that I’d squeezed sitcoms dry but somehow this one managed to slip through the net. Genius stuff.

The Thick of It: Not entirely sure how I missed this one, started watching from the start of this series but will need to go back and buy the DVDs. Malcolm Tucker is my hero.

Coach Trip: Fucking hell what a programme.

Stuff that’s still well good innit

Big Brother: This year was the best series yet. I’m still gutted it’s ending, there will forever be an eye-shaped hole in my heart when the final series draws to a close. Yes it’s stupid and moronic and rubbish but so am I and my mum still loves me, so therefore I love Big Brother. It’s my special needs child.

Neighbours: It’s pretty alarming that the three most talked about programmes on this blog are Big Brother, Neighbours and X-Factor. Did I say alarming? I meant reassuring. Reassuring that I haven’t lost my mind and caved in to the pressures of society by not watching trash on my telebox.

TV Burp: I have a love/hate relationship with TV Burp because it takes so much of Harry Hill’s time. It’s incredibly funny and always will be but I think Harry is at his best when he’s touring, something he hasn’t done since TV Burp really took off. I’d love to see him write another novel too but that doesn’t look like happening. And I miss Stouffer. Still, TV Burp is class and it’s the only consistently good Saturday night show left standing.

Peep Show: Mixed reviews from the interweb, some think it’s lost it, some think it’s as good as ever, and some, like me, are in-between. It’s not as good as it was at its peak but it’s still one of the finest things on TV and I still think they could justifiably commission another 3-4 series. Looking forward to Series 7 next year.

Countdown: I’ve never found Carol Vorderman sexy because she looks way too much like my mum, so the arrival of Rachel, her replacement, was very welcome. Jeff Stelling is somewhat stifled in the role but he’s still great.

Flight of the Conchords: The first series was a lot funnier but the second series was still streets ahead of most other comedies, with some truly classic episodes. I’m glad that Bret and Jemaine have announced this week that they’ll definitely not return for another series because there’s no way they could keep the standard up.

Stuff that’s went a bit off and smells a bit dodgy but you’ll still eat it because you’re hungry and the shops are shut and/or more than a two minute walk away

X-Factor: [shoutyvoiceoverman] THE ALL NEW 2009 X-FACTOR, NOW WITH SH***ER CONTESTANTS, A R*TARDED AUDITION PROCESS, CHEESY MIMED GROUP PERFORMANCES, LACKLUSTRE GUEST PERFORMANCES AND TWO NIGHTS OF YOUR WEEK BEING STOLEN BY THIS SH*T INSTEAD OF ONE. Still, at least we had Jedward.

Never Mind The Buzzcocks: We all knew it wouldn’t be the same without Simon Amstell. It’s still watchable, and occasionally still very good, depending on who the guest host is, but it’s still not the same. If they can’t find a new decent host (and I can’t really think of any) then the Beeb should probably put it down.

South Park: Season 13 is the worst since Season 4, I reckon. A few stand-out episodes towards the start of the series but the second half of the run was pretty poor, bar Cartman’s cover of ‘Poker Face’. Really hope it returns to form next year.

Derren Brown: Try harder, Derren.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross: When you have decent guests on your show (which is growing increasingly rare these days) don’t mess around playing stupid fucking mini-games with them, ask them fucking questions you floppy haired wanker.

Scrubs: Why introduce a load of new interns in Series 8 only to drop most of them in Series 9? Completely bizarre. The first three series of Scrubs were great, it’s been middling ever since there but the new series looks like it could be the first truly awful one. We’ll see.

Other good stuff that’s been on this year that I can’t really be bothered writing about

Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, Screenwipe, Newswipe, Gamewipe, Genius, Electric Dreams, Last Chance to See, Lead Balloon, Psychoville, Lead Balloon, You Have Been Watching.

Stuff that’s s*it and will always be sh*t

Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Jeremy Kyle (not even good in a ‘look at these tramps’ kind of way), Lost, FlashForward, Heroes, Children in Need, Doctor Who, My Family, Big Top, that Channel 5 piece of shit with Ian Wright, ITV in general, the Brit Awards, the Four P***s and their bloody piano, T4’s Nick Grimshaw, A Question of Sport, 5/6 acts on every Later With Jools Holland, Jamie Redknapp, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, George Lamb, GMTV and Piers Morgan.

Stuff that should be on television next year

A decent breakfast-time alternative to the stuffy and dull BBC Breakfast and the scaremongering spazfest that is GMTV. It’s never going to happen, is it?

Some good Simpsons episodes. It’s never going to happen, is it?

The live execution of Catherine Tate. It’s never going to happen, is it?

A new series of Psychoville with a bigger budget. It’s never going to happen, is it?

Steph off Neighbours’ untimely death. It’s never going to happen, is it?

Me winning both Big Brother and X-Factor and being proclaimed King of the World. It’s going to happen.

Sadly as I’m now employed I don’t think the next year will have as many TV treats, discoveries and surprises in store for me but that’s life I guess.

2009: 1352 stars out of 2009 stars

HBO has been known to do some killer season finales – no pun intended, although it would be a perfectly accurate one in the case of the last episode of Rome’s first season. The lead-up to the murder of Caesar is masterfully composed and reminiscent of another plot to have a leader and father figure killed in another HBO series: Livia Soprano’s planned killing of that disappointment of a son. (Is it a coincidence that Livia was named for another larger-than-life mother from ancient Rome?)

Throughout the season I’ve been impressed with Ciaran Hinds’ layered portrayal of Caesar, a man whose fierce intelligence, pride and ambition inspire awe even when he’s at his most arrogant and dismissive. His death, even though it’s clear that it’s coming, is startling in its force and brutality – not just in terms of blood and gore, but in terms of the story and the characters. Another favourite of mine (other than Titus Pullo, of course, who’s just a big sweetie when he isn’t murdering people in a jealous rage) is Brutus, who is portrayed by Tobias Menzies with a fascinating mix of hurt pride, bitterness, self-loathing and, strangest of all, genuine love for Caesar.

Another HBO series finale that pushed all the right buttons with me was Generation Kill’s final episode, “Bomb in the Garden”. It’s rare for a series that is so documentary in its approach to manage its story and character arcs so deftly, but David Simon and Ed Burns have done a brilliant job. The final scene recalls another work by Simon and Burns, namely the ending of The Wire’s season 2, both scenes using a Johnny Cash song (in both cases making me think that perhaps, just perhaps, I ought to check out that Cash guy’s music). And yes, I am quite okay with admitting my considerable man-crush on Alexander Skarsgard.

With all these endings, it’s only fitting that I finally finished Grand Theft Auto IV. So much has been written about the game already that I won’t add anything other than this: I enjoyed the latest installment of Liberty City. If there’s a more convincing, living and breathing city in any game, I haven’t played it yet. Take it away, Philip.

I was talking to someone about Generation Kill last night. They’d never heard of it. It suprises me that so few people seem to have, even after it got a terrestrial tv airing on Channel 4. Especially since The Wire seemed to spread rapidly through word of mouth, that and The Guardian, who still keep banging on about it even to this day. We get it, it was a great tv show, quite possibly the best ever. Still best not analyze it to death eh? Anyway this person loved The Wire so I recommended they give Generation Kill a try.

Never heard of Generation Kill?

Well its another winner from HBO, a 7 part mini series co written by David Simon and Ed Burns who were also executive producers, just like The Wire. Its based on the book Generation Kill by Evan Wright, who also had a hand in the screen adaption. Wright was a writer for Rolling Stone who was embedded with the first US  Marine battalion to go into Iraq in 2003 at the start of the second Gulf War.

And that’s what Generation Kill is all about. Pretty damn good it is too. If you liked The Wire, I know, who didn’t, then you should like this too. It also features James Ransone, who played Ziggy in series 2 of The Wire. Even if you didn’t like or have never seen The Wire you should check it out. Truly good quality tv is pretty rare and if more people see good quality stuff maybe they’d make more of it. Although I know everybody will just torrent the series anyway, so there’s the rub.

All the military lingo takes a bit of getting used to, but it’ll suck you in just like The Wire did. It also features the best rendition of an Avril Lavigne song ever!

Here’s a trailer.

I usually don’t post articles that are considered old news, but I found this piece so well-written and inspiring, that I figured what the eff. 

Some of you might rememer James Ransone from HBO’s The Wire, Ken Park, or Generation Kill–and if you do happen to know who he is, congrats, you’re a cool person.  Last weekend I saw Ken Park for the first time (NOT for the weak stomach) and was completely shocked and struck by his performance as an angry teen who  (SPOILER) winds up brutally killing his grandparents because his grandfather cheated in a game of Scrabble.  It was a pretty crazy role, and he handled it greatly.

But after a Google search, I also had a lot of admiration for him too.  About a year ago, James wrote this article for Malibu Magazine, and did so with candid honesty and potency.  You’ll have to read the whole thing to really get it, but trust me, it’s a really inspiring piece.  ALSO one thing that was not mentioned in this article is that James recently saved a girl from a rapist by beating him down with a metal bar (story here).  See, what’s not to love about him?

THE STORY:

Twenty-seven is a strange age in the most Joseph Campbell sense of the number, especially for the male persuasion. It is the time when you realize you’re not 20 anymore, that whatever clever antics you may have done at a younger age now make you cringe. You’re also coming up hard on 30 and I think you start to evaluate the path that you’re on. Twenty-seven is the age when rock stars die and become legends, but to me it marked the death of my youth, when my past caught up with me and punched me in the head. 

  I weighed 115 pounds, was about 30 grand in debt and had developed a pretty healthy heroin habit. I had a few accomplishments under my belt as far as my career was concerned: I had been in some successful movies and television shows, and a few almost-successful rock bands. I was “cool” (in my mind at least) to a handful of downtown Manhattan degenerates. Things got so out of control in my head, that at one point I remember being offended when my agency would send me scripts for roles as “the junkie.” Looking back, I was far from the person I wanted to be. I was quickly on my way to being a 30-year-old adolescent. Twenty-seven changed that.

I was involved in a five-year relationshipwith a wonderful woman who I loved very much. It had run its course. Or to put it more succinctly: she got fed up with my bullshit and finally decided to leave. Let’s face it — junkies don’t tend to make the best boyfriends.

This set off a chain of events that led me to sober up and step up to the table as far as being a man was concerned. There were a lot of things going on inside me that I hadn’t faced, or at the very least, refused to acknowledge for a long time. There were a lot of hard corners in me that needed to be softened. I had no idea what the results were going to be as far as taking some responsibility for my past, but the outcome has been pretty remarkable.

It’s funny what happens to you when you decide — or are forced to decide — to make positive changes for yourself, because in my experience it starts a nuclear chain reaction. Change is painful no matter what form it takes. I’ve learned that the only constant in this weird life is, in fact, change.  If I’m not going through it, something is wrong.

I feel like I evolved into the human being I had hoped to become while living in Africa working on a miniseries for HBO called Generation Kill, based on the book by the same name written by Evan Wright about his time embedded with a battalion of reconnaissance Marines during the initial six weeks of the invasion of Iraq. The book is basically an apolitical, true-life account of what it’s like to be on the ground as an enlisted serviceman in modern warfare. Ostensibly, it’s a road-trip story. Writers David Simon and Ed Burns adapted the screenplays with Wright, and I had worked with the pair previously on HBO’s The Wire. When I arrived in Namibia — where I was to live for seven months while filming the show — I had no idea what to expect. I had landed the part of Cpl. Ray Person, the sped-up Marine who drove the point Humvee in Iraq in March of 2003. The role itself was much bigger than I had anticipated. The amount of work cut out for me had yet to sink in. 

The day I turned 28, I was participating in a simulated night mission that marked the end of a boot camp that all the actors were required to participate in before we began filming. It was kind of unreal how much had changed in a year. 
 
Part of the catalyst for growth was the job itself, but much of the credit can go to the people with whom I got to share the experience. During this time, I became acquainted with two guys who changed my life.

Eric Kocher and Jeff Carizales are two Marines who fought together in OIF1 (Operation Iraqi Freedom). They had been brought to Africa to be military accuracy advisers during production, and their input was instrumental to the credibility of the show. Not only are they Marines, but they are two of the actual guys about whom Evan Wright wrote in his book. So here are these two dudes, reliving the drama of their lives, watching actors interpret their stories so that they are portrayed as accurately as possible. I think the word “trippy” comes to mind. I had no idea that I was going to end up loving these guys as much as I do.

Eric Kocher is imposing in the most terrifying sense. Imagine a shorter version of the Incredible Hulk with Tom Selleck’s face and a brain filled with an encyclopedic knowledge of military history and modern warfare tactics. By age 28, he had served in the Marine Corps for close to 10 years and done more than five combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While on a combat mission in Iraq, his Humvee was hit by a rocket- propelled grenade that nearly blew his arm off. Another member of his team, who was in the back of the truck, lost both of his hands in this same attack. Later, he would tell me that he himself pulled out the pins that had been surgically implanted in his hands so that he could get back to combat sooner. When people ask about the insane scar on his right arm he usually tells them it’s from an old “skateboardin’ accident.” He is one of the funniest people I know. For as intense as his appearance is, he’s one of the most loyal and kind-hearted human beings I have ever met.

The other Marine I befriended was Jeff Carizales. He drove the same Humvee that Eric was in during the invasion in of Iraq. He is 100 percent Texan, through and through. He is the type of person who will insult you within seconds of making your acquaintance, only to test your resolve. It’s hard to sum up Jeff in anything short of an epic poem. When I first met him in a bar in Africa, I wanted to punch him in the face within about three minutes. He insulted my clothes, the city I lived in and my general way of life. We only started to bond after we opened up about the demise of both our long-term relationships and our mutual disdain for most actors. Certain anecdotes can paint a better picture. For example, while traveling in Europe recently, he would meet other international backpackers and tell these elaborate stories about what he does for a living. He liked to regale these people by telling them that he was a small-arms dealer training guerilla forces in northern Africa so they could overthrow their governments. The truth is, he is an engineering student at Texas A&M. When he flew home from Europe, he thought it would be funny to dress up in Chechnyan mujahedeen garb, thereby convincing airport security that he was a terrorist. Yes, this is the man I spent seven months with.

These guys introduced me to a side of life with which I had been unfamiliar. In some way, they reconnected me to myself. As a shit-bag junkie who lived in New York, I rarely came across servicemen unless they were sailors visiting the city during Fleet Week, in which case they were usually just in the way on my way to the bar. My father is a Vietnam vet, and my natural inclination towards people who would volunteer for that life could politely be described as “resistant.” I just never understood why someone would knowingly sign up for something that seemed so conformist, in my opinion. I was way off base in this assumption. 

Let’s start first by saying that I don’t support this war or the reasons why we are over there. I am of the school of thought that we should clean up our own yard before we start to clean up someone else’s. Having said that, the people I have met who are in the armed forces are doing a uniquely un- American thing. It’s unique in the sense that we grew up in a country of excess, to the extent that in this post-industrial, post-sexual-revolution age in America, my generation gets to live off the fat of the land without developing a work ethic that generations before ours seemed to have had. In the age of short attention spans and reality television, Marines are a group of people that actually strive to go against that excess. As Wright points out in his book, “they have chosen asceticism and assimilation over the idea of being an individual” who can dream big and be the next American Idol winner. Out of this, it seems, comes maturity.

There is a school of thought that seems to imply that as Westerners, we have lost a certain amount of our identity because the rites of passage into adulthood are viewed as archaic. There is no tradition for sending boys out into the wild, not to return home until they came back men. To a large extent, the Marines seem to have experienced these rites, and for a short amount of time, I did as well. While living in Africa, Eric and Jeff forced me to grow up,to look at things differently.

We forged this bond by taking long road trips while filming the series. The production itself was grueling. We had six-day work weeks, but anytime that we would have more than 24 hours off, we would plan these insane adventures and take off on a whim with little more than half a tank of gas and a change of underwear. Most weekends we would drive 10 hours to Cape Town to blow off steam. On longer breaks we would look on a giant map of the continent, pick a spot and point our car towards it. We would have made Hemingway proud.

I can’t tell you how many times Eric and Jeff got me nearly killed, whether it was while we were breaking into Botswana, nearly drowning in the Zambezi river, or avoiding getting trampled by elephants. Our road trips got to be so infamous that the producers would send out memos specifically targeted at our little tribe, letting us know that we were an insurance risk. It’s generally considered a bad thing if one of your actors dies during production — from a business perspective, anyway. In fact, Eric and Jeff always wanted to know the location of the closest U.S. Embassy in case I did die so they could fly back to the states and not get sued by HBO.

During these trips, I really felt alive. My brother (who was with us on some of these adventures) pointed out that it was because these guys have truly lived. They have been around more death and destruction than I could possibly imagine or cope with, yet their vitality is undeniable. I don’t remember a time that my stomach didn’t hurt from laughing. I dealt with more insults and put-downs from them than anyone could imagine, but after a while I came to realize that they were forcing me to examine my shortcomings and actually do something about them. They have a fraternal bond that I envy. For a little while, I got to experience it. They treated me as a brother and tenderized me like a piece of steak, because, at the end of the day, they wanted me at my strongest.

Living in Africa with Eric and Jeff was the best experience of my life so far. The art that imitated life was imitated by life again on our road trips. The irony was that after a breakup forced me to re-examine myself, some of the most romantic moments I have had in my life were with these psycho jarheads — but not in a “gay” way.

It’s been a year since we started production on Generation Kill. I recently turned 29, and by the time this article comes out, the show will be airing. I talk to Jeff and Eric regularly. I miss them and that time in my life. Regardless of whether the show is popular or not, I am a stronger human being because of the experiences I had with them and what they taught me. I will have that for the rest of my life. This August, I plan on taking a motorcycle trip in Mexico with them. There is part of me that hopes not to return, knowing that it wouldn’t be any fun if those two weren’t trying to get me killed somehow every day we’re on the road. I think I can honestly say that while I do not support this war, I do support our troops. 

SOURCE: http://www.malibumag.com/site/article/james_ransone/

As my blog’s vast legion of readers will know, this blog isn’t exactly high volume. I’d rather let my work speak for itself rather than publish every aspect of its development and my dietary habits while writing it. My Twitter followers and Facebook friends will know that I like to broadcast wordcounts, but that’s about it. By contrast, I have no qualms about gushing about my woodworking projects, but since I’ve been focused almost exclusively on my new book lately there hasn’t been much of that in recent months. Then it occured to me that what I can do is blog about what I’m reading instead of what I’m writing. So, we’ll try that for a while and see if it sticks…

My current work in progress, Far From the War, concerns a modern military conflict. To get a better feel for the modern armed forces, I’ve been doing a fair amount of research. One small part of this research was to read Generation Kill by Evan Wright. I’d seen the HBO mini-series, so I was prepped going in for a lot of it. Even so, I’m a sucker for details (one of my favorite non-fiction books is The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, which is a detail lover’s paradise), so I expected to get much more out of the book than I did out of the mini-series. I wasn’t disappointed.

A small distraction, both when I watched the mini-series and when reading the book, was that I actually know one of the people in it. Rudy Reyes, known as “Fruity Rudy” in the book (and who recently published his own book, a memoir of sorts called Hero Living), actually attended the same high school as I did. I didn’t really know him very well, still don’t. We were in a high school production of South Pacific together and that’s about it. All I remember about him from high school was that he removed his shirt at every opportunity. From reading Generation Kill, it seems like this habit has endured.

Anyway, Generation Kill is a compelling work of non-fiction that covers Rolling Stone Reporter Evan Wright’s experiences while embedded with a Marine Recon unit during the invasion of Iraq. Wright’s prose clips along nicely and keeps you engaged. I haven’t read of a lot of stuff — at least not recently — written in present tense, so it was edifying to see that style used effectively.

As I read the book, two general impressions took hold. The first was the indiscriminate killing of civilians. We’re fed a lot of stuff about surgical strikes, smart bombs and what-have-you, and I have no doubt that this technology saves a lot of lives. But it doesn’t save all the lives. The vast majority of civilians killed in Iraq were not killed intentionally. They were not executed. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In Generation Kill, Wright talks of seeing headless civilians, dead children and unimaginable gore everywhere, often with dogs dining on the corpses. It’s unrelenting and hard to believe. If it weren’t non-fiction, you’d be tempted to dismiss it as gratuitous hyperbole. As I considered how I’m going to depict this kind of violence in Far From the War, I realized that there’s not much I could conceive of, no level of pathos or gore that would be unrealistic. In fact, I felt a distinct need to understate the level of violence and gore in order to make it believable. I’m just not sure readers would take a realistic depiction of warfare as credible fiction.

The second major impression I drew from the book concerns the incompetence of officers, particularly two officers referred to in the book as Encino Man and Captain America. (Lt. Fick is a notable exception.) There are stories about Captain America bayonetting prisoners and generally freaking out as though he were acting out scenes from old war movies instead of actually participating in one. As a veteran of the armed forces myself, I personally think that if the military expects enlisted men to obey orders without a moment’s hesitation, they owe the enlisted men leaders worthy of their respect. When I read that Captain America was returned to command after being suspended several times for what amount to light war crimes and gross incompetence, I began to wonder whether or not Marine Corps officers are as elite as we’d all like to believe. Don’t get me wrong. I support the military, but anybody in a position to order people to their deaths has to be held to a higher standard. If standards aren’t enforced, they become more like guidelines. When that happens, mediocrity is sure to follow.

Overall, I think the book underscores how clueless the average American is about what these guys go through over there. We really haven’t a clue. I’ve been pretty down on “kids these days” who I’ve often derided as unproductive video game addicted buffoons doing everything they can to destroy our GDP from the comfort of their Futons. The Marines depicted in Generation Kill and by extension everyone serving in Iraq (and Afghanistan) go through things every day we couldn’t possibly imagine. We’re basically a bunch of whiny clueless lightweights compared to these guys. The contrast between these guys and the people sitting at home eating Doritos and playing Guitar Hero is striking. It makes you all the more disgusted at the idle man-boys, but at least grateful to know that they aren’t the whole picture.

As it was, A. and I were on a date, the first we’d been on in a very, very long time. It’s funny. Once you live with someone, you forget to spend time with them. Or you mistake being in the same room as “spending time with them.” It is not the case.

Last Saturday, A. and I decided to spend the night together, doing what we wanted to do. Because we are rapidly entering into old age, our night’s plans consisted of going to places “where we could use these coupons.”

It was a cold, crisp, dry night, and very, very dark. The prairies are falling into winter, into short days and long, freezing nights. This dictated our food choice, as we thought warm broth and noodles would warm our bellies, and our adjacent souls. We settled on Phobulous. We would finish the night with a cup of herbal or rooibos.

We did not expect much. A place that puns on the word pho in its title and menu items is, to our minds, trying to hide something. What else would explain it? But we had coupons, a buy 1, get another-type deal, and a bad bowl of pho would still be a hot bowl of pho, so off we went.

After a bit of driving and parking drama (honestly, Edmonton, it’s called city planning… you want to make your city alive and vibrant, freakin’ plan it!), we squeezed into a spot and settled into a 15 minute wait for our table.

Whenever I try a new restaurant, I like to try the staples. If they can’t get the basics right, I have a hard time trusting the more difficult items. I know, I know, pho is relatively simple, broth with noodles and protein. But getting broth right isn’t easy. Cooking the meat right isn’t easy. Getting the flavours from scratch is not easy. Do they use fresh sides? How do they make it worth my trip?

We ordered vegetarian spring rolls, full of onions, sprouts, herbs and, heavens be thanked, taro root. Our second course would be a shared papaya salad, classic Southeast Asian fare. I love this salad. At its best, is tangy, sweet, nutty, spicy and refreshing. At it’s worse, it’s a large, sloppy, sour mess.

I would finish with giant bowl of pho, made with brisket and rare skirt steak.

The room is very nice. Modern, clean, just enough tables to make it feel alive, but not crowded. I thought our table would be awkward, given that it backed into a long, high table, lined with stools. The height of the stools meant we’d have bum in our face all night.

But it wasn’t a problem. The spring rolls came really quick (we found out later that we had gotten another table’s spring rolls, ones they had been waiting on for 15 minutes), and we dug in. Like many simple, deep-fried, pocket-type pastries, spring rolls are easy to make, but very hard to make well. I am big believer in proper deep-frying. I think, if done with precision and care, deep-fried dishes are not only delicious, but they aren’t greasy. I’ll write a post about this some other time.

These spring rolls were perfect. They were delicious. Lightly flavoured with the fat they were fried in, stuffed with goodness, we ate them slowly, carefully, savouring each crunchy, oily bite. We were stunned. That it was unexpected was one thing, but these rolls were perfect.

The salad came eventually. Mandolined papaya, pickled carrots, strips of very dry, very tough jerky, peanuts, tiny bits of golden fried onions, dressed lightly in lime juice and finished with Thai basil and cilantro. Classic all around (maybe not the jerky – I thought it a questionable addition until I discovered the pleasure of moistening and chewing the hard, rubbery jerky with various liquids at my disposal, including lime juice, moisture from the vegetables, oil from the peanuts, etc), and very well done again. Cold, textured and refreshing, it is a great follow-up to the spring rolls. It has a satisfying crunch, a mingling of sour and sweet, and is just fun to eat. I’ve been meaning to add papaya salad to my home rotation, and this one is a good reminder why.

A. is a veteran traveller of South East Asia. She spent 10 months in Indochina, mostly in Vietnam, where she taught English and wrote for the ex-pat newspaper. I saw her falling back into her memories, smiling and remembering Hanoi’s busy streets, her favourite food stands, and the dainty little Vietnamese women who would polish of their gigantic bowls of pho in admirable flurry of gobbles and slurps. “I was twice their size,” she said, “but I could only finish half as much. Truly remarkable.”

It was in the middle of such musings that our (indeed, gigantic) bowls of pho arrived. With it, a second set of spring rolls, which were our actual order, but now got diverted to a table of probably disgruntled patrons. There was no mistaking it. It was pho, with all the trimmings. A delicious broth, white noodles and curls of beef throughout. A bit of rare meat lay above the surface, which I swirled in to the scalding broth so it would cook nicely. A hearty side of limes, sprouts, sarachi, and soy sauce followed, and we began our customization of our soup. I like mine to be as hot and acidic as possible, so in went the sarachi and the lime juice. I add the sprouts in shifts, so they don’t get soggy and lose their crunch.

“This is excellent,” A. muttered as she downed her chicken pho. “Delicious and authentic. This is the real deal.” I could not verify the latter assertion, but I agreed with the former. I wanted to swim in the bowl. The broth was perfect. It changed our moods. Where once were resigned to the cold, dark, howling night, we became defiant and joyous. As our bellies warmed, and with it our chests, limbs, and fingers. We smiled and laughed and marvelled at our good fortune, happy we were in this bright place, made brighter by the inky darkness outside. The food reminded us of other lands, stirring our desires and fantasies to visit them.

I couldn’t quite finish the bowl, which was better than A., who only got through about half. We slumped in our chairs, full, contemplating the rest of the night. We decided on tea and reading, which, again, given this city, was something we’d have to drive to.

No matter. I paid the bill (happily noting the Vietnamese women working in the kitchen), and we were off. The night had gotten even darker, if it was possible. We felt like it was 10 pm. It was, in fact, only 8:30. It made us tired.

Parking the car at home, we made our way over to Steeps. This little tea shop, the original in a now not-unsuccessful chain, is fine place to spend an hour reading or scribbling. We chose our tea (a lavender rooibos for me, which was not very good, and an excellent East Frisian tea for her), and settled in. She was reading John Hersey’s Hiroshima, soon to switch over to People magazine, and I was starting Evan Wright’s Generation Kill.

The night would’ve ended like this, uneventful, simple, relaxing, had it not been for the very obvious first date that was transpiring behind us. This guy had brought this girl to this slightly run-down, wooden, comfortable tea shop, scoring many points in the thoughtful/cool/interesting category. She was impressed, I think, and would have remained so if he had not begun bloviating on his personal history.

My, was he ever loud. I’ll admit to eavesdropping, but really I couldn’t help overhearing this guy go on about the troubles, tribulations and triumphs of his life. Some gems, most likely paraphrased:

“I grew up Christian. Really Christian.”

“I found myself if Bible college, and then I went to Kimberly. There I had an epiphany. I started questioning myself, my father. I’m not that way any more.”

“I love to read. I read as much as I can. I really like the new Ondaatje (which he pronounced “on-daat-ja”). Um. Also, I like Douglas Adams. Yeah. You know, A Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy? I think all of human philosophy is represented in those books.”

“I also like A Fine Balance. It’s Indian.”

“Oh, I can’t forget, Lewis Carroll’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I really enjoy those books.”

Really. You enjoyed perhaps the most famous Christian allegory of modern times, after telling this girl you spent considerable time and effort extricating yourself from Christianity. Quit while you’re ahead, tea-drinking cool dude. Quit while you’re ahead.

I smiled. I hooked my hand under A.’s knee, and found a comfortable angle in my armchair. I hope you get to do this, friend. I hope you get past your first date.

I feel to knackered to actually do this post any justice, but I’m forcing myself to do it anyway.  My sincerest apologies for any subsequent mistakes\crapness.

Generation Kill: Channel 4 (Recorded 18th Nov Watched 22nd Nov)

I run the risk of being the world’s worst TV reviewer, but I don’t really have a lot to say about this episode.  I only mention it at all as it was the final episode and it would be totally remiss of me not to at least say goodbye.

The final 15 minutes, including the The Wire-style montage, were incredibly moving and a fitting end to what has been a truly outstanding series.  I just hope that you were all watching.

The Greatest Ever 3D Moments: Channel 4 (R 22nd Nov W 23rd Nov)

Really?  These were really the greatest ever 3D moments?

This programme brought Channel 4’s week long gimmick-fest to a close and it brought the whole concept of 3D in to question.  Most of the clips shown were incredibly lame and the whole thing was utterly pointless.  Even the appearance of several notable “talking heads” specialists (who I actually like), including Andrew “Mitford Sisters” Collins, could do little to relieve the tedium.  Possibly the worst nostalgia/clips show ever.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 23rd Nov W 23rd Nov)

The penultimate week of the season began with a shocking episode.  It was partly shocking because there was the surprise death of one of the major characters, but mainly because it was set entirely outside Paul’s office.  It was, however, based at a funeral, and although it was a bit depressing, because it seemed very real, you can’t really criticise because it was so well done.

If you don’t want to know who died, don’t read the bottom review.

Miranda: BBC2 (R 23rd Nov W 24th Nov)

This was actually episode 3 of the series and there’s a reason I haven’t mentioned it sooner.  It really annoys me when people slag off sitcoms that they’ve only seen about 5 minutes of, so I thought I’d watch a few episodes before I decided whether I’d pass judgement or not.  Luckily, I like it, so I’m free to comment.

It’s a very silly, mainstream, studio-based sitcom, and so takes a bit of getting used to.  Once you do get in to the swing of things, though, it is very funny.  It’s helped enormously by Miranda Hart being both funny and likeable.  She’s also not afraid to make a complete fool of herself, and takes a mean pratfall.  Don’t be afraid to like it.

Lie To Me: Sky One (R 17th & 19th Nov W 25th Nov)

I had two episodes of this to watch on my planner, so I thought I better watch one.  I was shocked when, a few minutes later, I decided to give up on it.  I realised that I’ve only been half watching the episodes this season (I’m usually online when I watch it), and I found I had no enthusiasm for it at all.  I did the sensible thing and deleted them, and the series link.  If only I had learned this lesson when I endured the whole first season of True Blood.

It’s hard to say what went wrong with the show, and I’m not actually sure that it has got any worse.  I think that the gimmick probably only had a limited shelf life before it wore off and became effectively another police procedural.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 24th Nov W 25th Nov)

I couldn’t help but comment after seeing this episode, so I could praise the performance of Glynn Turman (Mayor Royce in The Wire) as Alex’s father.  It’s the day following Alex’s funeral (following a plane-based accident) and he wants to confront Paul as to his son’s state of mind.  He also brings the value of Paul’s profession in to question and it gave the episode an interesting dynamic.

Alex Sr. seemed to be relatively calm on the surface, but his grief was all too apparent.  It was an incredible, subtle performance by any standards, let alone for a ‘guest star’.  There were times when he seemed frighteningly similar to Alex, especially in the way he made some of his points to Paul, and I don’t know how much of that was due to skill or to a happy coincidence.  The performance culminated in a heartbreaking collapse, towards the end, and was some of the finest acting I’ve seen on TV.  I hope that Turman got some kind of award for it.

We got to see the other side of the man who Alex Jr. painted as a bit of a monster, and why he behaved the way he did.  An exceptional episode of a generally brilliant series.

Unsurprisingly, my earlier assumption that the rest of this week would be easy turned out to be hopelessly deluded. I pretty much crawled through Friday in a manner I can only imagine would be similar to that of a mortally wounded tortoise. Probably the only thing that kept me from collapsing/bursting into tears/screaming bloody murder at my lazy year elevens for no real reason, was the knowledge that in a few more hours it would be the weekend.

Over the past few months I have  established a routine for myself on Friday nights, which involves a tapas-style dinner (usually a combination of humous, bread, cheese, olives, and antipasti – basically, anything that doesn’t involve cooking or preparation), some form of alcohol, and a catch-up of any programmes that are shown on obscure days/too late for me to be up on a school night. It may not sound like anything special, but I love it.

This week, it was wine and anchovies, Generation Kill and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed when Simon Amstell left Buzzcocks; he is gay, Jewish, and funny – three winning qualities, if you ask me. However, some of the guest presenters this year have been inspired: Rhod Gilbert, James Corden, and, most recently, Martin Freeman. Noel Fielding is also hilarious (even if he replaced the legend that is Bill Bailey), and  in the latest episode managed to make Dappy (?) from N-Dubz look even stupider than he actually appears anyway. Impressive, considering the man effortlessly comes across as a completely imbecilic tool.

Under any other circumstances, I abhor bullying, but when it is an idiotic ‘rapper’ (I’m not really sure if that’s what you’d call it) who is filled with a false sense of self-importance, being lambasted by people who are much cooler (Fielding, Martha Wainwright), funnier (Freeman, Charlie Brooker, that geeky bloke from The Inbetweeners, Phil Jupitus, Fielding again) and cleverer (all of the above) than him, I’m all for it. It certainly made for entertaining viewing, too.

At completely the other end of the televisual spectrum, Generation Kill is even more awesome. Any programme that manages to be simultaneously funny, harrowing, gritty and ridiculous is going to be a winner. Add to that a cast full of fitties (Alexander Skarsgard and James Ransone deserving special mention), and you have got probably the best drama on T.V. this year. I’m gutted that last night was the final episode, and have now added it to the list of things I am going to buy myself for Christmas.

Perhaps I should explain… With a lack of a significant other, and a fear that consequently, Christmas may turn into a bit of a present-drought, I am spending the money I would have spent on someone else, on myself. It was Gemma who gave me this idea, and I have to say, I think it is a truly inspired one. I am going to wrap said presents up in pretty paper, with lovely bows, and then sit there going, “Ooo…I wonder who this is from, and I wonder what it could be…” in an irritatingly smug tone on Christmas morning.

Worryingly, the Christmas-presents-for-myself list is already looking pretty full: True Blood season 1, 24 season 7, the latest Harry Potter film, all the other Harry Potter films, some new boots… Add Generation Kill to it, and I’ll be spending more on myself than I would have on someone else, anyway. Mind you, at least I will know for sure that I am spending it on someone who, I am certain, wants the gifts, will use and appreciate them, and will not feel bad because the gifts they’re giving in return are sub-par. It’s a win-win situation, really. Well, for me and my conscience, if not my wallet.

Buy Generation Kill here

What do you do when you don’t want to sleep during the night?
This.

- Take a long shower, facial and hair mask.
- Do the laundry.
- Watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
- Drink a cup of tea, coffee and then tea again to stay focused and awake.
- Do your hair like this with your new curling iron.
- Do some homework.
- Listen to Kråkesølv, while you’re thinking of how great the concert on the Hove festival is going to be.
- Eat some fruit salad (consisting of grape fruit, cherry tomatoes, red chili, and lemon) and a slice of crisp bread.
- Watch the last episode of Generation Kill.
- Blog about it.

Then, when you get to school in the morning, you’ll be crazily awake and active, but once you hit the couch at home, you’ll fall asleep immediately.

Jeg har fulgt “Generation Kill” på Nrk3 i det siste. I kveld sendte de siste episode. Det er bare å legge seg ned i støvet og hylle HBO. Dette var virkelig en avslutning på høyde med Sopranos. Denne serien står nå på dvd-lista.

“Spoiler Alert”

Yam yam gimme some…

1.Johnny Depp – From 21 Jumpstreet to crazy barber and mumbling pirate, this is one beautiful man.

2.Alexander Skarsgård – Put your teeth in me mister Vampire

3.Ryan Kwanten – The boy next door

4. Eric Dane – McSteamy / Patrick Dempsey – McDreamy

 5.Gerard Butler – Every girl loves a bad guy

He’s top of my list, he is Swedish (which is almost the same as being Norwegian, especially when Norway doesn’t have anyone comparable), he’s a sometimes vampire and he’s a rather brilliant actor. We love True Blood, but if you haven’t yet seen Generation Kill yet, get on it. He’s pretty darn good in that too.

Photos: Weheartit, Tumblr, FuckYeahEricNorthman

David Simon nos vuelve a sorprender, esta vez con Generation Kill, otra joya de la HBO. Se trata de un drama de 7 episodios creado por el artífice de The Wire y basada en el aclamado libro de Evan Wright. Nos cuenta la historia de un batallón de marines en la guerra de Iraq, centrada en el relato de un reportero de la revista Rolling Stone incrustado dentro de un pelotón durante el asalto a Bagdag en el año 2003.

Entre los guionistas se encuentran, además de Wright y el propio Simon, Ed Burns, quien ya se encargara del guión de The Wire.

Jack Barrios is an American combat veteran of the Iraq War; and, according to the L.A. Times, “[his] wife, 23-year-old Frances, was illegally brought to the United States by her mother at age 6, learned of her status in high school and discovered just last year that removal proceedings have been started. Her possible deportation has left Barrios in panic as he contemplates life without her.”

Few have fared worse in my young American generation than our combat veterans who remain overshadowed by American Idols and Desperate Housewives of Atlanta; and our undocumented immigrants, who boom in the American Dream’s shadows. When husband and wife are vet and undocumented, respectively, what of their children when their mother is deported? Do we at all care that their father is unwell, psychologically maimed following our orders to kill strangers on the other side of the world?

To deport the mother is to necessitate help raising the kiddos. We could hire someone, sure — we the taxpayer could pay someone to raise young Matthew and Allana while their mother remains in Guatemala where surely she deserves to be sent like anyone else who broke the law before she could read the law, or at all.

After all, ignorance to the law is no excuse…even when you’re six years old and mama y papa say it’s okay. And it’s not like she didn’t find out in high school that she’d been a criminal all her life. Like any good citizen, the right thing to do was to turn herself in — and her parents — to Blind Justice.

But Barrios isn’t a good citizen, or a citizen, at all. She’s an undocumented military wife. The latter designation should make the former irrelevant, as any day while Jack was away, a priest might have knocked on her door to tell her that Jack had been killed in a war that never should have been waged in the first place; and that the petulant American public, enraged by Michael Vick’s dogfighting and captivated by Michelle Obama’s wardrobe, no longer notices. That same day, la migra might have raided her home, Jack’s home, and dragged her by the hair in handcuffs away from her children forever.

What then? With the kids at home and Jack at war and Frances returned by force to Guatemala for at least 10 years before she can even apply to return legally, what then?

America needs Frances Barrios, because Jack Barrios needs Frances Barrios. It’s as simple as that. Jack Barrios has earned our every reasonable accommodation; and he’s earned the same for his wife and young’uns too. Failing the Barrios (or Barrioses, as written in the L.A. Times) is a big Fuck You to “The Land of a the Brave” and yet another hard kick square in the throat of “The Home of the Free.”

***

I’ll try and write more on this later on today for posting in the Huffington Post. On Monday I lobbied for Los Barrios on Capitol Hill. I want to make sure they got the message that Los Barrios’ situation is unacceptable, and that the American people should be ashamed to the point of outrage that her deportation was ever even considered.

NOTE: I haven’t yet figured out how to insert links into posts using WordPress 2 for the iPhone. Thus I wrote out the HTML code above linking to LATimes. It was a pain in the ass, so I might be a bit lax with my linking elsewhere until I can figure this one out.

And now for your Hump Day Hottie… Alexander Skarsgard! Nothing says Halloween like a hot Swedish vampire. If you own a TV and shell out the extra bucks for HBO then you probably know Alexander from True Blood, where he plays vampire sheriff Eric, or from Generation Kill, the totally awesome miniseries in which he plays American soldier Sergeant Brad “Iceman” Coleman. Fans of addictive pop music and crazy outfits will know him from Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” video.

According to my reliable sources (a.k.a. Wikipedia) Alexander served in the Swedish Marines for 15 months. I can’t speak to the abilities of the Swedish military (the only Swedish invasion I’m aware of occured in the 1970’s and involved Abba), but I do love a man in uniform. He has been voted the Sexiest Man in Sweden an astounding five times, and he appeared as a model in Zoolander. He lists Gary Oldman as his favorite actor, which shows he has good taste, and his dad is actor Stellan Skarsgard (from Mamma Mia!), so, you know, good acting genes.

After the jump a NSFW picture of our hottie!

Hubba hubba!! That soap is following one truly happy trail!

where the hell have you been?!

my first glimspe of the o2. it did fill up.

so i went to spandau ballet in the o2. tony hadley dedicated true to stephen gately (rip). the whole crowd sang along (as much because it’s the band’s most famous song as anything else) and what was amazing was that i could still hear the band properly. maybe that was because i was two rows from the back, but anyway, i was still impressed.

Rui Da Silva – Touch Me (Samples Spandau Ballet’s Chant No. 1)

friday night i hit the button factory for the ed banger night – i was hoping so me would be kind of kooky and weird, but he wasn’t that far outside of the ed banger mould. breakbot played some cool tunes, as did busy p. unfortunately i had to leave a little bit early so missed most of feadz’s set, though what i did hear was excellent as usual – such as a bmore version of the tetris theme (!) and bangalter’s outrun.

the following night i paid a visit to oktoberfest at chq, which was, in a word, surreal. there was a big hall, there were lots of benches and long tables, and a LOT of paulaner. that much i expected. i didn’t expect the chant/refrain of german nonsense, or hearing cotton eye joe, macarena and lots of dj otzi.

what was less surreal was jokers of the scene at colortv in wax. that was just great. except for the “random” body search on the way in – i’m thinking of getting this tee in protest. but that aside, it was awesome. the boys played a fantastic set – it was full of excellent techno, most of which i didn’t recognise, but it was expertly peppered with some of their own productions and remixes. it would have been easy for them to close on the unstoppable baggy bottom boys but they just kept on going. excellent stuff.

not the best photo ever taken of jokers of the scene

so today and yesterday i took it easy. i watched some generation kill, some peep show, and finally finished watching let the right one in. i liked it, less than the book (as is generally the case), but i thought it was an interesting and faithful, if hugely condensed, adaptation. i thought the book was exceptional in its detail, while the film was impressive by virtue of its use of vague suggestion and implication – brush strokes rather than minute detail.

this weekend i’m looking forward to the juan maclean, in flagranti and the field at tripod, and then i’m supporting mustard pimp on saturday at transmission. i’d love to be hitting some of the deaf nights, but alas i’m working almost every day so i don’t want to spread myself too thin! i did this weekend and it’s tough going. i’m getting old…

final word – check out the delancey music service on east village radio tonight – or later in the week on eli’s blog. last week he and stretch played some wicked tunes, as well as interviewing amanda blank. get on it.

Wallander: BBC4 (Recorded 7th Oct Watched 11th Oct)

After enjoying excellent French drama Spiral, on BBC4,  I thought I’d give their latest foreign-language import, Wallander.  This is the (presumably) original Swedish version of the detective series that starred Ken Branagh over here.

After watching the first episode of Spiral, I wondered how much my  enjoyment was influenced by it appearing better than it was because it was in another language.  Whilst Spiral has clearly proved itself, I soon felt with this that it could be just about any cop show that you might see on ITV.  Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not really my bag.  I gave up after 25 minutes.

In Treatment: Sky Arts 1 (R 8th & 9th Oct W 11th Oct)

And so the first week comes to an end, starting with Day 4 – Jake & Amy – the least convincing episode so far.  I did’t really understand this couple, and so I failed to connect.  They didn’t just seem totally unsuited as a couple, they didn’t seem like a couple at all.  Also, their storyline is that they’ve had 5 years of fertility treatment, given up, then Amy got pregnant, and now she wants an abortion; it frankly left me a bit baffled.  The acting didn’t seem to be quite up to the standard of the previous episodes.

I followed this up immediately with, Day 5 – Gina.  In a twist, Paul goes to see his own therapist, Gina (Dianne Wiest), and it adds a whole new layer of depth to the series.  I did find it a bit cringey that he only talked about the patients that are part of the series though.  I’m interested to watch the subsequent episodes now to see how the more we learn about Paul affects the way we see him deal with his patients.

Incidentally, the music in this series makes me want to vomit.

Micro Men: BBC4 (R 8th Oct W 11th Oct)

This was a fun and informative one-off drama about the early days of British home computing, and the sort of television that the BBC does better than anyone else.  It’s the story of Clive Sinclair’s (Alexander Armstrong) business rivalry with Chris Curry (Martin Freeman), who ran Acorn computers.  It was somehow not very dramatic and yet utterly entertaining.  This was helped by an excellent cast including some good cameos from well known faces.  The main thing that I learnt from the programme was that if Clive Sinclair really went around behaving like that, then it’s a miracle that he stayed in business as long as he did.

Generation Kill: Channel 4 (R 7th Oct W 13th Oct)

Having watched this already on FX ,earlier in the year, it took me all of a nanosecond to decide that I should watch it all again.  It’s a drama based on the true-life book by Rolling Stone report, Evan Wright, who travelled with a group of US Marines during the invassion of Iraq, in 2003.  It’s also made by the creators of The Wire, which I’ve already proclaimed as the ‘best show ever’, and they prove that it was no fluke.

The cast is lead by two actors who are very different to the other TV shows that I’ve seen them in.  James Ransome plays Corporal Ray Person, an amiable and likeable guy that you’d like to hang about with; compare that to his portrayal of Ziggy Sobotka, in The Wire,  who was maybe the most annoying character in TV history.  Similarly, Alexander Skarsgard plays Sgt. Brad ‘Iceman’ Colbert, the kind of guy that you’d want on your team before anybody else; compare that to his portrayal of vampire poseur, Eric, in True Blood.   Both are startling transformations.

Like its televisual predecessor,  its strength lies in the fact that there are no easy answers.  It would be easy to portray the marines as glorified heroes or as gung ho imbeciles, but, with a few notable, intentional exceptions, the characters are drawn as real, flawed human beings.  Unlike the majority of television, the programme makers are playing with glorious shades of grey.

As nothing is ever spelled out for you, it certainly bears a second viewing; if anything, I would say that it’s designed for multiple viewings.  I really enjoyed the first episode and it may actually be better the second time around as you have a clue as to what’s going on.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 13th Oct W 13th Oct)

The third episode of the new sci-fi series finally brings the opening arc to an end; sadly, it was with a largely pointless episode set on a desert planet.  This didn’t really work for me as a stand alone chapter, but maybe it would have made more sense if it had been shown with the other two parts.  I really have no idea where this series is going, and, at this point, that’s not a good thing.

Spiral: BBC4 (R 11th Oct W 14th Oct)

Another gripping episode of the French police drama.  I particularly enjoyed the scene where they used evil lawyer Josephine’s unscrupulous informing on her clients to help set up an undercover operation; it was very cleverly done.  It also contained the understatement of the year; on discovering a young lady killed, and horribly disfigured, by gunfire, Laure informed her boss with the line: ‘Pierre, we’ve found the three bullets…’  The French are très blasé.

The main reason why I’m writing about this episode is that I was hoping that somebody could help me out with a query. When Laure was in her psychiatric review and said she lived with her partner of 10 years, was that true?? And if it was true, has it ever been mentioned before?  I know it’s been 3 years since season one was on telly, but I have no recollection of this at all.

Life on Mars ‘USA’: FX (R 11th Oct W 14th Oct)

Although I would have watched this for the concept if it was an entirely original show, I did find myself watching this primarily to compare it with the original British series.  And that kind of made it hard to enjoy it.  They kept much of it the same; the opening sequence was very similar (apart from the twin towers), Sam was transferred from Hyde, and, surprisingly, the character names all stayed the same.  Despite this, all I could notice were the differences.  I accept that they had to make changes in order to make their own programme, but the location shift makes for a huge change in tone; 1973 New York seems glamourous and exciting, 1973 Manchester felt mundane and real.  I don’t suppose that US network TV was ever going to make a 1970’s time-travel cop show that was mundane and real though.

In my original notes for this, I made lots of comparisons between the two series, but I’ve decided not to mention them now.  The original Life on Mars is considered a modern TV classic, so it would be incredibly unfair of me to overly judge the US version after only one episode.  There is one thing thing that I would bring up though: the casting of Gene Hunt.  My first thought was, ‘Harvey Keitel, what a great choice’; he’s a well respected actor who has played many tough guy roles.  The reality of the situation is slightly different though, Keitel now just come across as a frail old man and not the kind of blustery ball buster that Philip Glenister portrayed.  A previous pilot was made for this with Star Trek alum, Colm Meaney, in the role, and you can’t help but feel he would have been a better choice.

Anyway, I spent so long comparing it that I couldn’t really tell you what it was actually like.  Hopefully I’ll be able to watch episode 2 on its own merits.

Oh that’s right, I don’t just talk about regular masculinities, I talk about hypermasculinities.

In the last week or so seven of my hours were spent watching  Generation Kill - a HBO produced 2008 miniseries,  from Ed Burns et al. It’s a 7 part miniseries that tells the story of a Marine Recon Units involvement in the invasion of Iraq. On a production level, it is superb, visually impressive, well shot, acted and written. 

What was of particular interest to me, and relevent to this blog, was the depiction of masculinity in Generation Kill.  I should also point out that I am not attempting to form any detailed or conclusive analysis of masculinity in the series. It is very dense and to do it justice requires more time and commitment than I can offer at the moment, so please read my thoughts as a few notes and broad impressions relating to the series as a whole.

Now, it might be obvious, but I’ll still say it – in terms of representation of masculine identity, The exclusively homosocial world of marines in  wartime is a pretty extreme example. An archetypal hypermasculine identity.  Hypermasculinity is term used to describe a masculine identity, that is in one or more ways, extreme; marines, pro-footballers, Tom of Finland are all good examples.

And from my “extensive” research (ie – reading comments on IMDB from Marines and other service personnel/veterans) it seems that Generation Kill is a reasonably accurate depiction of events, and more importantly for us, the culture and lifestyle of marines at war (I have no objective way of verifying this, and in some ways, there is no point – but to me, it certainly feels a lot more real than other war drama).  There is a LOT of misogyny, racism & homophobia, both casual and very explicit represented in the series. My thoughts about this are mixed. One one hand it is good to see a realistic representation of an oft valourised community, a counterpoint to common sanitized representations. On the other hand Generation Kill risks further glorifying a culture of hate, oppression & violence. This is something I think true of all representations of war, including anti-war texts; Anthony Swofford, the author of Jarhead noted how movies like Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now where popular with Marines, and that their reading of those films was not necessarily one critical of war. Not much can be done about subjectivity, and if you ARE going to produce war dramas, I’d rather they were like this than say, something from Bruckheimer.

What I found particularly interesting and good about the depiction of masculinity in Generation Kill was the was it demonstrated the powerlessness, real or imagined at the core of hypermasculinity. These Marines, trained, physically and psychologically to be and believe in themselves as elite warriors, have a very limited realm in which to exercise any power. One notable scene shows some marines observing a hamlet for possible mortars, they radio in that there are only women and children in the village, only to see it blown up by artillery minutes later. In other instances the marines are shown as identifying genuine military threats, or obtaining legitimate intelligence, and are ordered not to act on it.  Their powerlessness is also demonstrated in a scene where they encounter some Iraqi farmers, naked – their clothes stolen by Iraqi soldiers. The naked Iraqis ask the  marines what the can do about it, and all they can do is give them some water and drive on. Their powerlessness is also represented on a more micro level, they are poorly equipped, for example their state of the art technology is useless without batteries. Seen in this context their aggressive masculine posturing is a veneer, a comforting and communal lie to make their lack of agency less galling.

Generation Kill also represented a few other things in notable ways; the standard trope in war dramas is for the soldiers to be traumatized or deeply affected by the act of killing, and many in Generation Kill where shown like this, especially one soldier who (perhaps not accidently?) shot some children. But refreshingly, for a representation of this type, several soldiers were shown as not only unaffected by their acts of violence, but revelled and relived their experiences, and sought more grotesque acts of violence, and treated the mutilated bodies of dead civilians and enemy soldiers as entertainment.  That Generation Kill shows a varied and complex range of reactions to sanctioned violence is a good thing, it challenges the traditional understanding of war time masculinity, and problematises the dominant understanding act during, and after war. It isn’t comfortable, but it (again) feels true.

Interestingly though, I noticed that Generation Kill did not depict or deal explicitly with rape or sexual violence. It formed a large  part of how the marines speak about women (and men) – but to my recollection no physical sexual violence is depicted. I am not sure why this is the case, as the show is not at all uncritical or glossing over the unsavoury – and the absence of this aspect of war surprised me.

Generation Kill is television, it is about war, and I’m sure a lot of people who watch it, will not do so critically, and enjoy it for the explosions, violence and tension. In this Generation Kill will not hugely promote a deeper understanding of masculine identity or gender relations.  But if someone is at all inclined to view Generation Kill critically, they will find a rich and nuanced representation of hypermasculinity, and one which, quite explicitly, expresses the powerlessness and anxiety under the muscles and bravura posturing, at times heartwarming, but for me at least, overwhelmingly sad.

  When I first started watching Castle last spring I admit I was skeptacle of it’s quirky off-kilter way of looking at crimes and murders.  Quirky cops shows hardly ever last, no matter how good they are.  Remember Life with Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) or The Unusuals with Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) & Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)?  My point exactly.  Two great shows that skewed a little left of normal that were cut down before they even reached their prime.  Now do you understand my trepidation?  I thought you would.  I mean so what if Nathan Fillion has made a name for himself being in everything from One Life To Live to Firefly to Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.  Did it really matter that he had already made a name for himself among the fangeeks with Firefly, Buffy, and Serenity?  Yeah I didn’t believe it would matter either, but I could not deny that it was a really good show.  Funny, heart warming, light, and puzzling (in a good way).  And frankly I honestly believe that if they had cast anyone but Nathan in the role of Richard Castle they would have run the risk of Castle coming off as swarmy and egotisical, instead of the charming guy we have come to know and love. 

Of course like every good show there is a possibitly of romance between the two main characters Castle and the lovely, but tough Kate Beckett played to perfection by Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace).  Luckily the writers seem to be enjoying themselves playing up the flirtation and friendship side of their relationship than any romance.  Which I must admit I am pleased about and I hope they don’t have a romantic relationship, not because they don’t have chemistry, they do, but because too often a show is ruined when the leads get together and I would like to see a male/female relationship that is strong and close without being romantic. 

  One of the more pleasing and different aspects to this show is that instead of shying away from personal and family lives this show puts a spot light on it.  But not in an over bearing way.   Come on who among us wouldn’t love to come home and find Susan Sullivan (Dharma and Greg) drinking wine and waxing poetic about being an actress?  I have to send major points out to Molly C. Quinn (The Christmas Carol) for holding her own in every scene she has with some major players.  Now they could over whelm us with Castle’s family life, but they are keen to keep it level with the on-going mystery of the day.  And it is nice to see that a guy who is so often cocky in every aspect of his life is at a complete loss at home.

  If I had to make a suggestion for the show’s writers it would only be that I would like to see more of Seamus Dever (Army Wives, GH) as Detective Kevin Ryan and Jon Huartas (Generation Kill) as Detective Javier Esposito.  Right now it seems as they are used more as side kicks and I can see their potential for so much more.  But other than that I can’t see much worng with the show and I look forward to next Monday.  On a side note I am so going to buy Heat Wave and being an avid reader I too will probably read it while relaxing in a bubble bath with a drink to sip on.

The Vault (appropriately named) has found the July/August 08 Venice magazine article in its entirety from right before Generation Kill was released:

SOURCE: www.trueblood-online.com