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Author Topic: Recommendations!  (Read 430280 times)

DrPhibes

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #550 on: 10 Feb 2009, 02:13 »

I'd like to recommed watching and buting FLight of the Conchords!  They have a TV show!
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #551 on: 14 Feb 2009, 13:18 »

I have to recommend Dollhouse, which premiered last night.  Of course, I am a semi-rabid Joss Whedon fanboy, so there you go  :roll:
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #552 on: 20 Feb 2009, 09:27 »

So there's this movie that kind of flew under everyone's radar called Outlander.  Supposedly this is because Harvey Weinstein cut the budget by more than half and decided to not spend any money on advertising, meaning it was only in theaters for a couple weeks. 

It's not really fascinating or anything, but it's probably one of the better fantasy movies to come out in the last couple years.  It's essentially a retelling of Beowulf with a sci-fi twist.  There are a few plot holes and things left unexplained, but this is primarily due to Weinstein's insistence that it run 2 hours at the most. 

What is cool is that it is one of the most accurate depictions of Vikings to come out of Hollywood.  It also makes pretty good use of special effects considering how low the budget was.  In all honesty, the Moorven (a kind of bio-luminescent dragon/bear) is probably one of my top 5 favorite movie monsters.  There's a totally badass sword (made from spaceship metal by the Vikings in about 36 hours (there was a sizable amount of footage cut for the theatrical version)), Ron Perlman as a totally massive Viking wielding 2 hammers, John Hurt as a Viking warlord, things on fire, etc. 

The best way it could be described would be that it is Braveheart meets Predator.  It's directed by the guy who is most likely going to be directing the new Conan movie, Howard McCain.  Basically I'm recommending this because I want to see what this guy would do with complete control over his own project, and also because the monster is really freakin' cool.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #553 on: 22 Feb 2009, 13:26 »

I hope someone already recommended him but...


Chuck PalahnIuk is an amazing writer. He wrote Fight Club and Choke. Both were made into movies. I think Choke, Lulubye, Rant and Fight Club are pretty much must reads.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #554 on: 25 Feb 2009, 18:58 »

My favorite Chuck is Survivor.  I'm not really sure why.  It just came across as awesome to me.
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PapaFrita

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #555 on: 26 Feb 2009, 13:17 »

100 Years of Solitude- Fantastic book with an epic sotryline about a family's history and the town they founded. García Márquez is an amazing storyteller in general.

Also, has anyone seen the Terminator 2 director's cut? It's got a lot of deleted scenes put back in that add a startling amount of character development to what is otherwise a pretty straight action movie.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #556 on: 02 Mar 2009, 06:26 »

holy shit Slumdog Millionaire
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Weaselon

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #557 on: 02 Mar 2009, 20:04 »

As far as TV shows go, Being Human looks like it good be a very good show indeed. The first episode was excellent.
I've got to second this recommendation, seen all 5 episodes so far and it's great. Supernatural goodness.
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dujek

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #558 on: 03 Mar 2009, 03:22 »

100 Years of Solitude- Fantastic book with an epic sotryline about a family's history and the town they founded. García Márquez is an amazing storyteller in general.

I love that book. Love In The Time of Cholera is another great book, once I pick either of them up I have to read them straight through.
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TheFuriousWombat

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #559 on: 04 Mar 2009, 15:19 »

Just pick up anything by Garcia Marquez. Most people have read those two but neglect a lot of his other stuff, especially his shorter fiction (stories and novellas) all of which are brilliant. "Leaf Storm" is one of my favorite things he's written and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is really masterful. His "Collected Stories" come in a nice volume and are almost all quite worthwhile as well.
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PapaFrita

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #560 on: 05 Mar 2009, 09:33 »

Just pick up anything by Garcia Marquez. Most people have read those two but neglect a lot of his other stuff, especially his shorter fiction (stories and novellas) all of which are brilliant. "Leaf Storm" is one of my favorite things he's written and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is really masterful. His "Collected Stories" come in a nice volume and are almost all quite worthwhile as well.
I know I've read at least one short story by him (something about a wounded angel, I don't remember the name) that was good, but I'll try to find some more.
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ADRIAN WOODHOUSE

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #561 on: 07 Mar 2009, 09:29 »

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN



warning!the trailer really shows too much.

TRAILER: http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/lettherightonein/

great movie. about childhood, friendship and vampires.





Ford Prefect

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #562 on: 15 Mar 2009, 05:01 »

I hope someone already recommended him but...


Chuck PalahnIuk is an amazing writer. He wrote Fight Club and Choke. Both were made into movies. I think Choke, Lulubye, Rant and Fight Club are pretty much must reads.

I agree that he has written some incredible books, but the quality of his stories has consistently gone downhill. Fight Club, and Survivor were stupendous, and kept you guessing the whole time. Invisible Monsters was very good, but I feel like he threw in a few twists too many. Choke didn't really have any resolution, and after that - caveat emptor. (I didn't read Rant or Haunted - They might be good).

Chuck is aware of this. I went to a reading he gave many years ago, when Lullaby was released. He signed several books for me, and on the inside of Lullaby he wrote, "Sorry about Lullaby."

My favorite Chuck is Survivor.  I'm not really sure why.  It just came across as awesome to me.

Survivor is my favorite as well. I think this may also be because it is the first book of his that I read. I find that with any author I really enjoy, I always love my first read the most. As soon as it became clear that Fight Club was a cult hit, they began to make Survivor as a motion picture. Their production start date? The beginning of September, 2001. After 9/11 the movie was shelved, seeing as the whole thing is told from the perspective of a guy on a plane which has been taken hostage.
« Last Edit: 15 Mar 2009, 07:19 by Ford Prefect »
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The Joker

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #563 on: 16 Mar 2009, 12:06 »

Anyone know if Mall Cop is at all good? Our school is taking the MAP 4 students to see it for a 'Congratulations!' field trip, and I'm wondering if I should go or not.

I saw it and liked it.  It wasn't genius, like Airplane! or Monty Python, but it was genuinely funny and didn't resort to cheap laughs.  Also: semi-subtle parodies are awesome.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #564 on: 16 Mar 2009, 12:14 »

genius, like Airplane!

I am having a really hard time seeing the connection here.  Every time I see bits of it on TV I feel like I've been hit in the head with a blunt object.
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Avec

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #565 on: 19 Mar 2009, 11:49 »

Let the Right One In was fantastic, rather confusing ending though; abrupt and kind of stagnant.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #566 on: 20 Mar 2009, 02:38 »

I don't know whether this is the right place for this, if not, well, sorry ...

http://www.beleefdelente.nl/

Dutch site, yes, but with webcams focused on the nests of birds. So you can watch birds do bird-like things. It's quite relaxing and it re-affirms my total belief in Spring.

Nature can be nice.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #567 on: 04 Apr 2009, 19:00 »

Man On Wire
Agreed. I loved this movie so much.

And it's a documentary.
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Noff

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #568 on: 09 Apr 2009, 16:40 »

Just pick up anything by Garcia Marquez. Most people have read those two but neglect a lot of his other stuff, especially his shorter fiction (stories and novellas) all of which are brilliant. "Leaf Storm" is one of my favorite things he's written and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is really masterful. His "Collected Stories" come in a nice volume and are almost all quite worthwhile as well.
I know I've read at least one short story by him (something about a wounded angel, I don't remember the name) that was good, but I'll try to find some more.

"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" from the aforementioned Leaf Storm.  I actually had to read that in a high school class but I remember it standing out quite a bit, so I should really pick up the whole collection of these days...
« Last Edit: 09 Apr 2009, 17:15 by Noff »
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TheFuriousWombat

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #569 on: 13 Apr 2009, 11:10 »

Just to clarify, 'Leaf Storm' is its own separate piece. It's a novella, around 100 pages or so, and comes in a volume with a few other stories. It's an awesome place to start for anyone interested in the less immediately popular Garcia Marquez books.
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Dimmukane

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #570 on: 13 Apr 2009, 11:39 »

I just watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang again recently.  I forgot how fucking awesome that movie is.  Gay Perry is probably one of the greatest homosexual characters ever.
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JD

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #571 on: 13 Apr 2009, 17:55 »

I'm reading The Professor and The Madman right now. It is excellent so far and I'm about halfway through
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #573 on: 14 Apr 2009, 16:33 »

*stuff about Chuck Palahniuk*
(I didn't read Rant or Haunted - They might be good).
*more stuff*

you absolutely must read both of these. not to mention his latest "Snuff"
all three are awesome (though Snuff is the weakest of the three, i think), and Rant is probably my new favorite of his.

his writing's actually gotten better with time. alot of his earlier books sort of blend together because they are all sort of similar in style and meaning so after reading them all within a short span of time and never re-reading them i'd have a hard time remembering which was which (besides the ones that became movies).

so yeah...read his newer stuff because it is really good (espescially Rant and Haunted; Snuff was good but not great).
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Ford Prefect

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #574 on: 17 Apr 2009, 19:55 »

*stuff about Chuck Palahniuk*
(I didn't read Rant or Haunted - They might be good).
*more stuff*

you absolutely must read both of these. not to mention his latest "Snuff"
all three are awesome (though Snuff is the weakest of the three, i think), and Rant is probably my new favorite of his.

his writing's actually gotten better with time. alot of his earlier books sort of blend together because they are all sort of similar in style and meaning so after reading them all within a short span of time and never re-reading them i'd have a hard time remembering which was which (besides the ones that became movies).

so yeah...read his newer stuff because it is really good (espescially Rant and Haunted; Snuff was good but not great).

Fair enough. I'll give him another shot. He deserves it.
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Skibas_clavicle

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #575 on: 09 May 2009, 11:05 »

I'm sure plenty of people have seen this movie, but I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch last night with a couple friends and that movie is phenomenal! It's a lot of fun and generally hilarious. My friends and I were talking and now I am going to try really hard to get it screened at this local theatre so it can be like a Rocky Horror Picture Show type event, where people would sing along to the songs and stuff. It just seems like that would be an incredibly fun thing to do! Highly, highly recommended.
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The_Bartender

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #576 on: 10 May 2009, 05:59 »

Alright, I read through most of this thread; my apologies for any that have already been promoted multiple times:

Books:
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman.  A review or blurb I read at some point called Gaiman a "modern fantasy writer" in that he writes fantasy in modern settings.  Good summary.  Neverwhere is a great introduction to his works.  What if fairies and trolls and witches and such did exist, but the mundanes never noticed them because they were too busy with their normal lives?  Good story, a number of plot twists and a couple of points to make you think.

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.  If you haven't read even a shred of this, you're missing out on one of the best comedy sci-fi adventures ever.  The series is one continous riot of non-sequitors, dry British humor, outrageous situations and a lot of surprisingly complex obvious and underlying moral and social topics.  SKip the rather chopped up movie, go for the books or the BBC radio broadcast tapes.

Movies:
Lots have already been mentioned, but one of my favorite "niche" movies is OUTLAND.  Sean Connery plays a "space marshal" come to one of Staurns moons to take over the local law enforcement.  However, it's not a bright shiny sci-fi future, this is wroking class industrail sci-fi, more in the Blade Runner tone.  Plus, no one in the movie is the perfect hero OR villain.  All the characters have flaws, and the science part of the sci-fi is pretty accurate.  The story line is a fairly basic crime drama, but it's well played and well cast.
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Trauco

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #577 on: 28 May 2009, 19:49 »

Strings (2004)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374248/

A movie made with marionettes, and the story of the movie builds around this concept, it's beautiful, i wish i was 10 when i saw it, in fact, i'm buying it in dvd so when i have children i can see it with them.

The "acting" is better than most of what you see on the big screen these days, and they are friggin wood carved dolls, see it and you wont believe it. In fact, when i rented it, i was convinced that i was up for a CG fest, but oh boy i was wrong, and the good kind of wrong.
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Harun

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #578 on: 05 Jun 2009, 11:14 »

I bet hardly any of y'all read sports fiction, so here is something different that I encourage anyone to read:

The Rider, by Tim Krabbe

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I'm not a cyclist by any stretch of the imagination, and am only a moderate fan of the sport in general. But Krabbé's novella, originally published in the Netherlands 25 years ago, has got to best one of the best fictional treatments of any sport. The book follows an competitive amateur rider through a half-day, 150 kilometer race over the very real Mont Aigoual in France. Krabbé is himself an avid amateur cyclist, and his ability to capture both the mental and physical aspects of the sport is uncanny. Although I've never raced a bike, I did run cross-country competitively, and many of the elements carry over-mainly the twin battle each individual faces with their brain and their body (There's one excellent moment when the rider wills his bike to get a flat so he can withdraw with honor.).

The stripped-down prose style (common to all Krabbé's work), works especially well in the context of a race where the long distances can lead to almost a trance-like state. The mind wanders all over the place, and that is captured brilliantly in the rider's musings-for example, one part describes how he tries to invent words to keep himself amused during long, boring training rides. At the same time, the race itself is very tense, and Krabbé does quite well at describing the various tactical gambits employed along the way. The main competitors emerge as distinct figures-allies and foes in both a psychological and physical sense (I especially liked the unknown in the blue Cycles Goff jersey). Interwoven with it all are tidbits of cycling history, which are intermittently interesting to the non-racer.

It's not a reach to call this a masterpiece of sports literature. The story does a remarkable job at conveying the tension and flow of a race to the outsider. At the same time, the insights into the psychology of the athlete are so acute as to be universally recognizable across cultures and sports.
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Llewellian

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #579 on: 10 Jun 2009, 14:51 »

Currently reading: ISBN 1591026997 - Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald.

Boohyaaah. Wow. Ian McDonald is getting more and more my favourite SciFi Writer. I was amazed by his Book "Desolation Road", but Cyberabad Days just outmatches that by far. Thats how SciFi has to be. He starts where William Gibson ended. The future, in the streets. Among normal, mortal men. In the dirt and rain, under Smog and swirling dust. Gibson showed us the West. Ian McDonald shows us the East. The future among the river Ganges. Mingles Artificial Intelligence a la Neuromancer with Safran-Roti and a hint of curry. Stories spawning from the Mountains of Himalaya down to the coasts of Kerala. Shows the problems of "Everyday People" caught between eon old culture and the glittering towers of light in the Cyberspace.

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StaedlerMars

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #580 on: 12 Jun 2009, 15:00 »

Guys, recommend me some good dystopian future authors.

The likes of Philip K. Dick really.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #581 on: 12 Jun 2009, 15:20 »

"The Road" by Cormac McArthy is always the first thing i recommend when someone wants something dystopian. also "World War Z" is another good one though it's not totally dystopian. it's close enough though and it has zombies.
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De_El

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #582 on: 12 Jun 2009, 15:51 »

Hey you fucks, see Wild Strawberries.

Llewellian

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #583 on: 13 Jun 2009, 02:52 »

If you can get your hands on one of the rare english translations of the Book "Yin" from the german-turkish author Akif Pirinçci (in the US mostly known for "Felidae"). Thats one crazy dystopian rollercoaster on 900 pages.

Story is about a virus that docks to the Y-Chromosome and kills over months and years all male men. The whole story spans 30, 40 years and how the last surviving women first accomplish the task of surviving, holding up the civilisation and then bringing theirself and all rest of civilisation nearly to extinction in wars for the last functioning sperm banks.



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JD

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #584 on: 14 Jun 2009, 13:00 »

Read Good Omens you cunts, it is a fantastic book that will make you laugh.
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chowburger

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #585 on: 16 Jun 2009, 12:19 »

Y'all should read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I read it last summer, and I haven't loved a book as much since then. Don't be put off by how chick lit-y it sounds (or the insipid looking film that's coming out sometime soon), it's a really excellent story.

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It is a love story about a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about his wife, an artist who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. Niffenegger, frustrated in love when she began the work, wrote the story as a metaphor for her failed relationships. The tale's central relationship came to her in a flash one day and subsequently became the novel's title. The novel, which has been classified as both science fiction and romance, examines issues of love, loss, and free will. In particular, it uses time travel to explore miscommunication and distance in relationships.
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Inlander

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #586 on: 24 Jun 2009, 08:11 »

Now everyone, please let's be nice to the new person.
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Reed

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #587 on: 24 Jun 2009, 08:30 »

But being nice isn't fun!
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #588 on: 24 Jun 2009, 09:13 »

It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #589 on: 24 Jun 2009, 14:07 »

Currently rereading (for the umptenth time):

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter (ISBN: 0465026567)

God, i wish i had  Mr. Hofstadter as Math-Teacher back in my study days at my U. If his lessons are only a tenth that fascinating like the way he writes... it would have been sooooo cool. But well, unfortunately for me he is prof at Indiana University in Bloomington - and not in Germany.

About the book, a short quote from the authors description of topics covered:

Quote
J.S. Bach, M.C. Escher, Kurt Gödel: biographical information and work, artificial intelligence (AI) history and theories, strange loops and tangled hierarchies, formal and informal systems, number theory, form in mathematics, figure and ground, consistency, completeness, Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, recursive structures, theories of meaning, propositional calculus, typographical number theory, Zen and mathematics, levels of description and computers; theory of mind: neurons, minds and thoughts; undecidability; self-reference and self-representation; Turing test for machine intelligence.

Why i like the book?

Well... hard to describe. The book is a travel through your mind, through music, philosophy, painted art and math. Fictional characters (A turtle, the greek hero Achilles, a Crab and an Anteater) discussing mathematical problems of Kurt Goedel, Zen, the art of painting of M.C.Escher and the musical works of Bach and what they have in common. And no wonder that Hofstadter won the Pulitzer Price for it - i mean: Writing complete dialogues exactly the way like works of BACH, with even the first letters on the beginning of each sentence fitting to the musical notes of the discussed canons and fugues... totally insane.

It is wonderful to read, sometimes the author talks to the reader directly and asks him to do certain things - its like he sits just over the table discussing his work with you.

By the way: It is something even really good accessible for TOTAL Math-Dummies. The first chapters are cool for that - discussing math and why it works, what the rules behind math are and how you can play with axiomatic systems and how that changes the way in setting up a calculation. What is Logic?... And from there, he takes you down the rabbit hole - from why 2+2=4 to what the works of Escher, Bach and Goedel have to do with theories behind A.I programming and neuronal computing.  A 900 pages thick page-turner.
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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #590 on: 26 Jun 2009, 20:45 »

So, I just saw The Wicker Man (the original 1973 film with Christopher Lee).  It's quite odd...in that it's billed as a horror film but is never actually scary at any point.  It's downright amusing, actually, given the amount of musical numbers that are weaved into an otherwise serious film.  I'm strangely attracted to it, though.  If Frederico Fellini made Zardoz, this would be the result, I think.  Worth checking out on a rainy day.
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Be My Head

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #591 on: 26 Jun 2009, 20:58 »

I've wanted to check it out ever since hearing Agalloch's "The White" EP.

I saw the remake, sucked bad, betting it would suck even more if I had seen the original. I mean, Christopher fucking Lee, you can't beat that.
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Thomas Edison

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #592 on: 01 Jul 2009, 01:40 »

So, I just saw The Wicker Man (the original 1973 film with Christopher Lee).  It's quite odd...in that it's billed as a horror film but is never actually scary at any point.  It's downright amusing, actually, given the amount of musical numbers that are weaved into an otherwise serious film.  I'm strangely attracted to it, though.  If Frederico Fellini made Zardoz, this would be the result, I think.  Worth checking out on a rainy day.

Watch the new one!

It's sooooo much better than the original...
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scarred

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #593 on: 01 Jul 2009, 01:42 »

God I love that video.
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JimmyJazz

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #594 on: 07 Jul 2009, 17:50 »

Guys I'm halfway through Please Kill Me and I know most of you have probably read it but man is it fucking awesome! Anyone who has any interest in punk rock at all should pick it up.
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tania

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #595 on: 07 Jul 2009, 20:20 »

i watched the documentary "dear zachary: a letter to a son about his father" last night. the cover looks like this:



exhausting, gut-wrenching, and absolutely heartbreaking. i don't think a film has ever in my life affected me emotionally as much as this one did. by the time it was over and i had finally finished sobbing i felt like i had been hit in the chest with a fucking sledgehammer. i actually did that thing where you go lie down and just stare at the ceiling/walls for a really long time until you calm down and figure out how to do normal everyday things again. honestly knocked the wind right out of me.

although the editing was a little too fast paced and over the top for my liking, it's an incredibly tragic but beautiful story, well worth watching if only because of the strength and dedication involved in finishing it given the events that took place while it was being produced. i won't reveal any of the plot here, but if you're really sensitive to sad stories you might want to look up in advance what happens before you watch it or it might be too unbearable. also, watch it only when you have the day off because you're probably going to need several hours and a good night's sleep to recover.
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Mr. Doctor

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #596 on: 12 Jul 2009, 09:33 »

Everything that Kubrick did is brilliant in my book. 2001 is such a groundbreaking movie and it was waaaaay ahead of its time

I also want to recommend Fantasia, the reason to why I love music so much lies in this film. THE masterpiece by Disney

And also for the fans of gorish or B-movies... watch some old stuff by Peter Jackson. Lord Of The Rings? No way dude, watch "Meet The Feebles", "Brain Dead" and "Bad Taste" THOSE are his masterpieces imho.

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Gridgm

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #597 on: 12 Jul 2009, 19:20 »

brain dead is amusing if only becasue it holds the record for the most amount of fake blood used in a single film

*reminices about the lawn mower scene*
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Mr. Doctor

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #598 on: 13 Jul 2009, 04:12 »

brain dead is amusing if only becasue it holds the record for the most amount of fake blood used in a single film

*reminices about the lawn mower scene*

Nothing better than fake blood... specially if it's a low quality one. Those movies  need more respect tbh. There's nothing more brilliant than "The Sodomy Song"
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satsugaikaze

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Re: Recommendations!
« Reply #599 on: 13 Jul 2009, 05:23 »

Hey guys, I've been thinking about getting Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I've read a few pages while I was hanging around at a Dymocks, but can anyone tell me if it's worth a buy?

It looks like comic gold, is all.
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