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[fredericks]

He spoke in the abrupt, clipped tones of northern In-World, where--or so Depape had heard--reindeer-fucking was still considered the chief sport. If you ran slower than your sister, that was.

Now, if that's not a classic I don't know what is. Still making my way slowly through Stevie's Wizard and Glass. I find myself enjoying the book more this time around, especially since I'm not speed-reading in order to find out what's happening to Susannah, Eddie, Jake, and Oy. But I still have a problem with King's sexual content. Or, rather, the way that he elaborates on certain scenes and leaves others curiously bare. But maybe that's my inner prude talking. I've noticed that King has a bunch of recurring themes/character-types within his works:

• There's usually always some sort of tension between a female character and her mother/mother-figure. It's very Freudian, with the female character and her dad having gotten along swimmingly before the man's untimely demise. I'm guessing his wife and her mother weren't terribly tight.
  
• A mentally retarded adult male character that everyone has a place in their heart for. This character usually figures prominently in the climax of the novel.
  
• A wise elderly minority figure. Usually they're black, but we have the occasional Native American making an appearance.
  
• If said wise minority figure is a Native American, better believe that they're going to put some sort of curse on the protagonist.
  

I'm fairly certain their are other patterns to be found, but I'm too tired to pick my brain at the moment. Even with all of that, I like W&G, and most other King books. Call me a sucker.


Got my first paycheck today. Talk about a major downer. But by that time I was exhausted and down because I'd checked out my bank statement, so I really couldn't get any lower. Spent most of the day decorating the store. I guess the manager couldn't get any of the seasoned workers to leave the salesfloor, so he decided to stick us newer workers on the grunt work. Wanna read something funny? My manager is 3 years younger than I am. Out of the 12 workers in the store, I'm actually the second-oldest and the only college graduate (the others are in school or never finished). I'm twenty fuckin' THREE. Dunno. That just struck me as odd. I found myself mentally bitching because I've had to work three days in a row. I realize I've become spoiled from working hours I set up when at UFS. I just want to be able to sleep in one morning, stay under the covers, and read. Or watch cable. Dad got around to setting up power in my room, so all I have to do is get around to calling Time Warner for installation. I won't be in time to catch QAF, so I'm hoping I can get som-DAMN! I just remembered I have a damned meeting on Sunday from 7-10! SHIT. There go my QAF plans. *sigh*


I'm tired; does it show? As I was leaving RS I contemplated picking up something to eat. Yesterday when I came home I was met with stewed chicken and black-eyed beans, not what I wanted. I remember thinking "I work all day then come home to *this*". Then I realized I sounded exactly like my father. I shut up and decided to be happy with whatever mom had put together.

Okay, sleep time for me. Whee!

Comments

Some thoughts-

[gorzo.livejournal.com]

In order.

A. I have long suspected Stephen King of using some sort of novel-generating software. How else could he write them so fast? Just plug in some names, a couple of plot twists, and bam! A new bestseller. Just FYI, I read an article somewhere about how King had finished the final Dark Tower novel. Just in case you didn't know. There will be an end after all! As for the retarded characters, I'd venture it's to add a sort of childlike innocent perspective to the story without adding a pesky, plucky kid that's way too smart for his age. A retarded adult is also more able to harbor a few surprises.

B. Unless you were an Enron exec or a Republican, paychecks are always a bummer. It's in the Constitution somewhere, I think near the part about the government keeping troops in your house. But look at it this way- doofus manager is such likely because he was working his way up the Radio Shack heirarchy while you were attending college and actually interacting in some form with memebers of the opposite sex. And while in a few years your degree will have landed you some sweet and prestigious job, he'll still be managing that Radio Shack. It's like that old commercial about how the kid who drinks milk will eventually be able to impress that supermodel next to him. As for QAF- you work in a Radio Shack. You should be able to get a programmable VCR fairly cheap.

C: Good attitude. The last time I came home to a meal that anyone had prepared for me, I was in the fifth grade. And sure, you're tired! But it's a good kind of tired, the kind of tired that only a long, fulfilling day of satisfying New York's F-connector, unnecesary cellphone and third-rate PC needs can produce. Rest well. :)

Re: Some thoughts-

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Also in order-

A. I remember reading that King had finished up The Dark Tower set as well. When I heard about his accident one of the first things that ran through my mind was "Well, I guess he's going to give up writing. There goes my journey with Roland and the ka-tet." Yes, I can be a shallow-minded bitch on the occasion. But he pushed those babies out with speed once he was somewhat recovered. He considers the set in its entirety his magnum opus, and has basically tied in most of his written work to them. Most people in the fandom have an idea of how it's going to end, and I sincerely hope it doesn't go down that way because I'll be muy pissed.
And, about the mentally challenged individuals - I understand their point in the spinning of the yarn, but I don't understand why King doesn't vary the formula a little. Make the character a female, or make them a true periphery character. He uses the plucky kid a lot of the times as well. Dark Tower has Jake. I suppose he'd rather spend time making the overall story readable instead creating novel templates.

B. Actually, no. I was rather happy with my UFS paychecks. But I was making twice the amount per hour I'm making now. And I didn't necessarily have to be putting around all day. It was a true bummer just because I realized there was no way I could pay my loans off with that monthly without having to dip into my already sparse savings. But it was only payment for 15 hours, and I didn't make much commission (two days of work). Hopefully things will improve. Thanks for the attempted cheering, btw. I wasn't so much depressed by the age thing as weirded by it.
And I have a programmable VCR. But no cable, der freund. And I don't think the folks will be too keen on me taking over a television for QAF. I'll suck it up and make due. It'll be hard, but I think I can manage...*sigh*.

C. I know there are people that don't have it as good as I do. That's always the story for anything and everything, and so remembering that really does nothing for me. Realizing that I'm like my *father*, however, is cause for a wake-up. The guy's cool on the occasion, but most times you just end up sighing and holding your tongue around him. And my mom really and truly rocks overall. She works the same number of hours as dad and still finds the energy to take care of us and cook. I try to keep that in mind when she's annoying the shit out of me.