Cultural Stuff 1.0

Seeing as apart from the riots there is very little to discuss in popular politics, I thought I'd offer words of cultural wisdom, ie what I have been doing culturally, the past few weeks.

Book-'100 years of solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This is like no book I’ve ever read, it makes me hate it and enjoy it at the same time. Its about a mystical village in Post-Columbian South America full of 'insomnia outbreaks' and esoteric references to 'flying carpets'. Considerably, Marquez has a great talent for managing to involve multiple themes and storylines whilst keeping the whole novel in the same village and 'Buendia' family. The imagery is also brilliant, especially the thought of a Spanish vessel marooned deep in jungle, which I can't seem to get out of my head. Only drawback here is that Marquez takes many pages to explain seemingly minor developments, obviously this only further cements his literary skill, but in my opinion it does start to make some sections a chore. Moreover, the book, for the most part, is almost entirely direction-less, until one reaches the end. Nonetheless, it is a book that will not leave for long.

Music-The Miserable Rich

For the last year or so, I have been religiously listening to this band with a weird mix of indie-folk and rejigged classical music. Though recent attempts to make classical 'cool' are rather tiresome, these guys have really pulled it off. Highly recommended, especially 'Pisshead' and 'The barmaid's canon'.

Game-Dragon Age Origins

I got this game about a year ago but never had the time to fully play it until this long summer. Its essentially the same Bioware fantasy RPG we've all played before but done to almost total perfection. Somehow, in spite of the typical and dull 'save the world from evil monsters' setting, it really makes you care about the game world and the characters, who are for once, not mindless killing drones. Its also a rare game in modern times as it actually requires tactical thinking to succeed rather than most fps or even 'action rpgs'. On top of that it is a 'mature fantasy' meaning lots of blood and sex and is actually remarkably long for recent gaming history.