October 30, 2007October 30, 2007Here's a couple demo-y songs I recorded today that might show up on my upcoming album. Let me know if you have any thoughts. (I haven't fiddled with the audio, so you'll probably have to turn up your volume a bit.)
August 25, 2007Here's another song from the "Thanks-giving Sessions."
It's an oldie but goodie I finally got around to recording.
THOUGHTS: War Is Hell (Again) - Part 2
Our primary experience of war is not as participants, but as spectators. Most of us do not fight. A war film should therefore not only reflect an intimate relationship with fighting but also with the understructure that girds up that fighting, images.
On the surface, to infuse a war film with the politics of images seems somehow anti-thema. War films have tended to be relegated to a sub-genre of the action film. But perhaps this is simply the route of least resistance, the most efficient and--judging by U.S. Army commercials--most appealing way to depict war.
The danger of metaphors is that one becomes so accustomed to the comparison, it's easy to forget the comparison is only supposed to reflect the real thing. It is not the thing itself.
Indeed, watching the second Iraq War's "shock and awe" campaign (an interesting itself)--led up by enthusiastic pre-game coverage, glittery post-production images, and an obsession with the high-tech tools of war rather than their effect--it became apparent that this was the simplest template for understanding death.
Perhaps if there is any purpose for a war film, it should be to complicate things, and reflect the mixed bag of life. It shouldn't lean on crutches: "War is good," or "War is bad," or "War is hell." It shouldn't have messages. It should do something more complicated, and more unsatisfying. It should reflect the limits of comprehension.
After all, one reason why veterans don't talk about war experiences is because, very simply, there is nothing to say.
TO BE CONTINUED!
May 8, 2007THOUGHTS: Marginalia
I get a lot of books from the library.
Unfortunately, people often write in them, underlining words, or scribbling helpful notes in the margins ("irony," "foreshadowing").
I try my best to disregard these musings.
But other times, it's hard not to wonder at the mental state of the previous owner.
This section will investigate these curiosities. And more!
The book appeared in perfect condition; especially so for a bestseller that had been read, I'm sure, more than a few times. As I flipped through the novel, I noticed something strange: A line had been cut from one of the pages.
April 7, 2007NEW MUSIC!
Hello there friends. Here are some songs I recorded on my brother's equipment back home during Thanksgiving.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on these. I'm debating re-recording some of them.
THOUGHTS: War is Hell (Again)
I watched and was underwhelmed by Clint Eastwood's latest film, Letters from Iwo Jima.
It's caused me to wonder if the war film has reached a certain end point as a genre and if -- and how -- it might continue to have meaning.
As you know, Eastwood's film follows the Japanese defense of the island of Iwo Jima. They are outnumbered by American forces and face a certain defeat. Nevertheless, they refuse to surrender and fight until every last man is dead. Blind obedience and the stupidity of war result is a fantastic loss of human life. It is made more ironic (and sad) by the fact that General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Wanatabe) is quite sympathetic toward Americans. But orders being orders, war is war.
Much of my problem with Eastwood's film is that, despite being well-crafted and fine in many ways, it serves no real purpose. The script contains no surprises or discoveries. The film delivers points; ones that its audience (fed on Post-Vietnam war movies) has already accepted.
A sampling:
THOUGHTS: Translation of Su nombre era muerte, by Rafael Bernal
Christmas comes early for my devoted readership.
It's been long in coming but here is the start of my translation of this Mexican novel detailing the secret plot of Mosquitoes to take over the world.
THOUGHTS: The Book Project
I stole an idea from someone else and am adding an ongoing list of books I am reading/have read.
You may have noticed a slight format change.
I've optimized the site for CSS, making future updates and site maintenance (hypothetically) easier.
A new thought: a list of publishing sites with job lists.
So a list of lists, basically. And that's list as in a series of items, not "a ridge thrown up between two furrows by a lister in plowing."
Anyway, I hope you're excited.
Oh how I have been remiss in updates! I sincerely apologize, my one or two viewers.
I will be better in the future.
However, for those of you who were looking, there was a secret update in November of an album I wrote and recorded in one hour.
Check it out in Arts.
There's also a review of the soon-to-be-cult-film Dangerous Men in Thoughts.
Added Slumming It film series (good people making "bad" movies).
Updated Tricking Out Your PC in Thoughts.
The song Heartbreak Surprise added to Arts.
Trona section added in Thoughts.
Added a link about me at the bottom of this page.
Tricking Out Your PC section added to Thoughts.
Also added an RSS feed at the bottom of this page (what's that?), changed some formatting.
I am pleased to announce that I now have an audio version of my story, "Three Easter Stories..." available, read by noted physicist Stephen Hawking.
Listen to it here.
Double Features section added in Thoughts...
April 13, 2005I will be reading at the San Francisco Main Library on Thursday, April 28th at 6:00 pm along with other writers featured in the Spring issue.
Email me beforehand and I'll bring you a free "Three Easter Stories..." t-shirt.
Welcome to the website.
I'm still in the process of designing it.
Suggestions/comments? Email me at: silvarobert@gmail.com
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all contents (c) robert silva