A Little Lower than Literature...

...but still some great reads!

I've been reading a fair amount lately, as the written word can be so wholly-engrossing, to keep my brain stimulated and to help lighten my heavy heart. I finally finished up Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, about a World War II nurse mystically transported to 1700s Scotland. If I understand correctly, this is the book responsible for popularizing the literary genre of "time traveling romance." Well, it was pretty good, although it ended a bit abruptly and without satisfaction - no doubt to entice readers to grab its sequel, "Dragonfly in Amber". I am not so excited to start that book, as the friend who recommended the series to me is presently upset with me and being intentionally distant, so...I won't really have anyone to discuss the next novel with.

Also, I've gotten myself wrapped up in another series: the Sookie Stackhouse novels, by Charlaine Harris. These books, which are the basis for the popular HBO series "TrueBlood", are a quick and captivating read. Also, having seen three seasons of the television show, it is interesting to note the many differences. In a way, it is that rare example of the transition from page to screen adding more content instead of cutting this. A lot of it has to do with the narrative structure and first-person perspective of the novels; every book is told from the perspective of Sookie, so all of the scenes involving other characters that form the numerous subplots of the HBO series are either absent altogether or are mentioned in past-tense to Sookie. But overall, they are very enjoyable - vampires, shape-shifters, and telepaths - oh my!

Well, that is what I have been up to; that and writing a couple of new songs. I guess I'll get back to it. Hopefully I'll have a good Wednesday War Story to tell tomorrow, but in the meantime, I will be enjoying Sookie's vampiric escapades.

Monday Methuselahn Musings

So I've mentioned my affinity for Vampires before, from reading about them in the novels of Anne Rice to role playing them in Vampire: The Masquerade. What I have not revealed until now is that in my strange brain, the mythical immortal bloodsucker functions as a great analogy for how I perceive myself and my close friends in relation to all of the human masses. Sounding weird? It goes like this:

• Vampires are forever mourning and trying to reclaim their lost humanity, to the point of becoming 'more human than human', loving more deeply and feeling loss more keenly than mere mortals. While I have not (yet) been accosted in a dark alley, drained of my vitae, and doomed to a life of eternal hunger and darkness...I have experienced a few major tragedies which have left me feeling, at times, distant from the happily well adjusted masses.
• Preternatural senses are usually attributed to vampires, ranging from merely heightened human sight and hearing all the way up to near god-like omniscience via telepathy. I have often been accused of being hyper-sensitive, usually with a negative connotation, but I believe this to be one of my greatest strengths and the source of my artistic insight.
• Another common ability of vampires across folklore and fiction is the ability to hypnotize or otherwise influence humans. This is a bit of a stretch, but I feel like I sometimes 'hypnotize' (or at least thoroughly confound) people with my music, or more simply when I turn on the charm.
• Being powerful immortals, fueling their great power by literally sucking the life out of others, these are creatures possessed of great physical strength. While I am not going to win any weight-lifting contests, in moments of distress or anger I am able to summon up a level of strength far beyond what my small body would suggest. Just ask my friends: you are probably only going to snap me with a towel or engage in some other variation of 'grab-ass' with me once, because doing so will bring down my altogether frightening and surprising wrath.
• Finally, vampires are usually depicting as being very well dressed, albeit in an old school way. While I am not clinging to the styles of old in an attempt to stay connected to a former existence in a bygone era, I do embrace the classics of style, and look with disdainful pity on those who get swept up in the passing trends.

Now, I want to be clear - I am not delusional, I don't desire to consume blood, nor do I (ultimately) believe that I am really all that different or better than anyone else. Rather, I believe that The Vampire is a relatable monster...a character with which I am able to consistently identify. At least the sexy, stylish, beautifully-tortured-soul kind, lamenting each kill while simultaneously acknowledging that nature is a far deadlier mistress.