SON OF ROSEMARY.

Was it worth the read? OH MY GOOD HELL...(pun intended)... right up to the LAST FIVE PAGES I thought it was GRAND!!!

Oh, and by the way... if you ever read the book, don't fret too much about "Roast Mules." (it's an anagram in the book, which is so inconclusive, it's laughable.) IT'S SOMERSAULT. Trust me, it makes about as much sense here as it does in the book. (Which I'm sure to all of you... is no sense at all. My point exactly.)

Anyway. I loved the ending... right until the very end.

Someone, please read it, so I can compare notes!

ALICE in WONDERLAND

TIM BURTON needs to HURRY UP and FINISH this movie!!!! I could give or take Anne Hatheway... but I'm most looking forward to Helen Bonham Carter as the Red Queen! She's hot & nasty!!! And who doesn't love Johnny Depp? Christopher Lee is also in the film, and I can't wait any longer. I know... 2010. I can't understand why some people don't like Tim Burton's re-inventions of older concepts. I thought "Chocolate Factory" was SO inspired! No, it wasn't true to the book, but I think it was true to Dahl. And if anyone could be true to Lewis Carrol, it's Tim Burton! I think if you go to the theater not expecting the movie to be like the book, you'll find you love the movie better. I seriously almost wet myself every time I see photos of the film-in-progress. Damn... time to change my undies.

The Latest Books!

I've finished TWO whole books, and a third is almost done! Granted, they are easy reads, but still very interesting! All three are by writer Ira Levin, who also wrote the play "Deathtrap!"

First on the list is "The Stepford Wives." I know! "A novel?" you ask. I said the same thing when my Madre told me she'd ordered the book. What an interesting read, though. The movie that was made in the 70's is almost a carbon copy of the book, whereas the newer film (kinda funny, though full of plot-holes) pretty much has the same character names, and that's it. The few differences are spoilers, so I can't really disclose them here.

My favorite part in "The Stepford Wives" book is when Joanna is playing hostess to a few members of the Men's Association, and she is in the kitchen, when "Diz" ("Mike" in the new movie) comes in and looks at her. She tells him that it's odd that he worked at Disneyland, because he didn't seem like the type of person who liked to make other people happy. To that he replied, "You don't know me very well at all, then."


Secondly, was "Rosemary's Baby." Now, I've seen the movie made in 1969, and again, I was hoping to find there were some things that the book had to offer that the movie didn't. Like the first "Stepford Wives" movie, the "Rosemary's Baby" movie was pretty much everything the book was! Again, there were a couple of things the movie left out, but they were things at the VERY END of the book, so I can't really divulge those plot points. It was an intriguing book, and it helped me realize some things that kind of didn't make sense in the movie. Good book, though! And since it was written in 1967, there are a couple of racial slurs that I don't think would fly by today's standards...



And finally, the book I'm working on right now is "Son of Rosemary." I, like my mother, was surprised to find out there was a sequel to "Rosemary's Baby." This book, however, was written in 1998. It's also a very interesting read, and so far, parts of it make me squirm a little. The story picks up later on in Rosemary's life, when her son is 33 years old. (Do you get the biblical reference? It's the same age Jesus was when he died... and I also realized the similarities in names: Mary and Rosemary.) The book starts off with Rosemary waking up from a 20-something year coma, and she finds her son is this great celebrity, a "great uniter." The whole world loves him. I won't go into any more detail, or I might start to give away the plot. It's not really scary, but it is intriguing!

Poor Chakra Has Died :(

Ma got home last night, and found little "Shocky" had passed away. I know I always made jokes about how it was "time to put him down," but now that he's gone, I'm kinda sad!

I got him when I was 20 years old, and I think he was about 2 then. I remember that I had to bring him from Salt Lake to St. George on the bus. Only they wouldn't ALLOW him on the bus. So my brother Taylor and I took everything out of my backpack, and Chakra fit RIGHT INSIDE. (I know. Someone call PETA, right?) But he was so quiet, and pretty much slept the whole time. Every time the bus stopped, we'd take Chakra out and he'd run around and play until it was time to hide again.

The guy who sat in the seat on the aisle across from us kept noticing my backpack would move occasionally. Luckily, he didn't alert the bus driver.

When my dad saw Chakra, he told my mom, "There's no way in HELL we're keeping that dog!" Who would have known that not much later, Chakra and Matt Sr. would be inseparable. Everywhere Matt went, Chakra was sure to follow. Whenever Matt kicked back in the recliner to watch some TV, Chakra had to be on his lap. Matt even taught Chakra a cute trick: Dad would yell, "Where's Timmy? Is Timmy in the well?" and Chakra would RUN to show you where Timmy was! (Timmy happened to be where Dad kept the dog treats. Still... it was hilarious.)

Chakra thought sneezing was a trick. He'd sit in front of you and sneeze and sneeze in hopes of receiving a treat. It was funny/cute/annoying. I'll miss that hay-fevered pooch.

Chakra was even in a play with Laura and myself. In "Midsummer Night's Dream" he played Theseus's (my character) lap dog.

He was the best watchdog. Even though he'd be no match for an intruder, he always alerted us to anybody's presence. Chakra was a little punk, it's true, because he only cared about treats. But, he was my little punk, (or rather, my Dad's little punk) and I'll miss him.

My "Bedfull Costume"

Cute, huh?

Ooops! I FORGOT ONE!!

I FORGOT TO ADD MY FAVORITE PICTURE TO THE BLOG-POST BELOW!!!

I got dared to jump off the rocks and do a belly-flop. Who could resist a dare? NOT ME! So I did, and yes, it hurt. But it made me all the more MANLY. Please continue on to the previous post, to see all the other pictures from our pool party! *kiss* (By the way... the bellyflop you are seeing here, is actually the second one I did. The first one wasn't quite caught in time by the camera... you may wonder if I'm invincible... I wonder that often myself.)

Thesbians at the Pool

VIEWER WARNING!!!

THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS PHOTOS OF HALF-NAKED ACTORS, AND NOT THE KIND THAT ARE FUN TO LOOK AT. ESPECIALLY YOURS TRULY. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

These pictures are in no particular order. Today, we had a little get together, all the casts of the three shows playing this summer at Dixie State. We gathered at the home of Jessica's in-laws, and ate and swam, and made inappropriate jokes. The slide was truly rad.

Some of the pictures are a little blurry, but this one had to be shown. Bryan's eyes match the pool! And he's so cute, he should play Heidi.

Another wacky blur-tastic picture, this one with sweet Kate. We rode over together in her convertible! I am SO rad. Almost as rad as Katie!

Miss Dani. I don't know what to say about this picture, exactly. She's... wrapped up in some sort of styrofoam tube! That's... super!

Ahhh, miss Katie! Enjoying the spoils of the slide. The slide was a bit painful if you went on your tummy, though.

Josh and the little one, sittin' poolside, takin' it easy, livin' breezy, in that Hawaiian shirt fo'sheezy.

Here's Bryan. If that's not the visual of a girlish scream, I don't know what is.

Ohhhh... the DRAMA of it all!

It's the gang! Splashing and splashing and splashing. Aren't we so friggin' cute?

Bryan havin' a little slippity slide with li'l miss Portia!

Brooke and the baby. Who trusted her to hold that little one?? Someone call Family Life Services!

Yes, that oddly shaped human is ME, going full-speed down the slide, backwards and head-first. Needless to say, the sudden impact of the water on my trousers made me close to sans-pantaloons.

Spotting Crystal on the trampoline. There were back-flips galore! And a little girl pooped on the trampoline. I won't go into details, but we all had a good cringe/laugh about it later!

Waterslide time for me! I wanted to see how bad of a wedgie I could give myself.

The front flip was awesome... the onlooking cheer... awesomer.

....And the Bald begat the Bald.

Jessica trying to have fun with/scare Josh's kids

Yummy! Munch munch. Who's watching your children? Eh... who cares?

I asked Jess to try to be beautiful, if she possibly could. I've never been more proud.

The women are eating, the men are talking about vampires and zombie spears. I'm not sure, so don't ask.

Rehearsal time! No pool party here, but still. So lax!

Four happy players ready to be played.

AND FINALLY... don't miss our show! Fridays through July 17th at 7:30pm. Tickets only 10 bucks, or I can get u a deal! (Maybe...)

Random Pictures From My Phone!

I have all these pictures that I take with my phone, but nobody really sees them except me... so I thouht I'd share them with the world. Here we see the beautimous sky in southern Utah. This was one of the days where we thought it might rain... but it didn't. The sky was a tease. I wish I could spank the sky. But, alas... I cannot.

This is supah-cute payson. You may ask, "why does he have rubber bands on his wrists?" And to that I answer: "He doesn't. That's just his arm-chub."

And look at those teeth! He's off to build a dam.

Look at me lookin' manly and scruffy! I love that hat. It's a Fidel Castro hat. I feel dictatoresque in it.

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Thank heavens for this sign! I almost broke the law!!

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I knew we shouldn't have put vodka in that sippy-cup.

SCOUT! My lovey dovey. She's the bestest damn dog in the whole wide world. LOOK HOW CUTE SHE IS!!! Wook at dat face! She's so pwitty! What a gewd guwl you is! Yes you is! *kissy noises*

I told Payson that the government is spending all of America's money, and that his generation will be stuck with an 11 trillion dollar debt, and he passed out.

That night was so rad. We laughed so hard, and ate sandwiches, and bothered the cookie girl behind the counter. And I like my blond stripe feux-hawk. Laura is wearing my glasses, by the way... that's why she looks like a rockstar.

This super-trendy Thai restaurant was super-yummy. This is Matt and Laura, so happy because the food was so good. Too bad none of us can remember the names of our food.

Taylor knows how to look extra handsome. This is the picture that pops up on my phone when he calls.

Awww! Ma and Sistah. Look how cute they are! As Mom would say, cuter than a weenie-dog's left eyelid!

I love my Rubber Soul shirt. And here, I look sly. "How so," you say? If I told you, I wouldn't be sly. "Make sense," you demand? "No," I reply.

And finally, Mom and Grandpa passed out on chair and couch. So cute!

Here's a little game you can play. Go back and look at the pictures, and then look at the color of the text. See how I found a prominent color from the photo, and used it as the color for the caption? Aren't I clever? Oh... the cleverness of me.

I FINISHED ATLAS SHRUGGED!

So I actually finished "Atlas Shrugged" a little while ago. What an interesting concept. In an earlier post, I said that I would forever attribute Barack Obama to James Taggart in this book, but I take that back now. The character in the book is a sniveling little weasel who doesn't know what he wants. I don't think that's the case with our president. But that's a whole different topic...

The book was SO long, but well worth the read. Ayn Rand's libertarian manifesto is so intriguing! It captures what the world would be like with unprecedented government rule, and with a world that frowns upon accomplishment, and tyrannically forces society to conform. There are a few problems with the book, though. Ms. Rand is the queen of the 10+ page monologue. The first and second monologues by separate characters were so redundant, that on each monologue following, I just skipped to the end. I found I didn't miss a thing. There were no plot points that I hadn't picked up, because when these characters start talking, their entire speeches are summed up in their first and last paragraphs. Everything in between are just reiterations; making the same point in different ways.

Another reason I had to skip through these pages and pages of monotonous speech, is because they are blatant lectures to the reader. The only problem is, the type of person who is actually reading her book, is not the type of person who needs to hear those lectures.

The other night, my Ma and I watched "The Fountainhead," the movie based on her first novel. Incidentally, the screenplay for that movie was also written by Ayn Rand. It was funny to watch, because the character composition is almost parallel to the characters in "Atlas Shrugged." EXTREME characters, on the far left or right of the norm. Each has a political view, and a deep-rooted psychological issue of some sort. They all seem to be mad ALL of the time, and participate in, how shall I put it... angry love?

I think Ms. Rand had some serious inner-turmoil. Both stories have very VIOLENT parts, (although the violence in Atlas Shrugged is far greater.) I only found one other thing about her stories that I didn't like, and that is that there were no characters that could be swayed. There was nobody who could listen to reason and change his or her point of view. There were those who had the point of view the reader should hold, but didn't identify it as such, until later. But there were no "bad guys" who would change their minds about any subject whatsoever. I thought it would be interesting if Ayn would write someone who was capable of change for the better.

LONG POST, I KNOW! The book is great. If you have like, 3 months to spare, I highly suggest you read it... not for the political or philosophical views, but for the amazing story, and what would happen to the world if the great thinkers went on strike. (By the way, "The Strike" was Ayn Rand's first choice for the title of the book.)

Time for a NEW COAT...

PAINTING GRANDPA'S HOUSE!!

Here's Grandpa's super wood panelled wall. I was putting primer on it, and decided to put up one of Matt Sr.'s favorite "driver's license number," (which he always wrote on his checks) in primer on the super groovy wood paneling. Here, we also see Madre in her super-painting frock, and Payson, playing near the open paint on the hearth! The fumes were AMAZING.

Ahh, the wood-paneled wall looks a little better, now. This color really opened the room up. It's a shade darker than the paint on the rest of the walls, because I decided it would make a good accent wall. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

And I'm almost done painting his hallway a very bright white. At the end of the hall is a painting I did when I was 19. (So about 9 years ago.) Should I paint over it? It would brighten up the hallway A LOT if I did.......................

FEET

First of all, here's the giant banner that's hanging in the Foyer of the Eccles Theatre. Yes, that's my show, if you've forgotten. And now... onto the feet.

The foot. We all have them .(hopefully... if not... my deepest sympathies to you) Why am I taking pictures of feet? Well, it started out as some stupid artistic project I was working on, until I realized that my camera sucks. Well, I realized that a long time ago, but I was reminded of it now.

You may ask, "Does he have too much time on his hands?" The answer is, "No." I'm currently engulfed in a very compact Humanities class, and rehearsal for "Bedfull of Foreigners," but I couldn't handle that my blog hasn't been updated.

I think when I get a better camera, I'm going to revisit this project, and maybe do them in black and white. I was thinking about maybe also doing the same idea with hands and mouths, too.

Like, wouldn't it be cool to have a little book, all of black and white pictures of different mouths? Some smiling, some frowning, some chewing, some with tongues sticking out, maybe one with a fat lip... one laughing, one kissing... and maybe a poem every 3rd or 4th page?

These are my feet, which are the only male set here, (although some would dispute that) Now you are asking, "Is he some kind of artistic genius?" The answer is, "Yes." The pictures may not be great (because of the camera) but the idea is solid. Oh, by the way, this is copyrighted. See?

(c) Matthew James Jacobson 2009

SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT STEALING MY IDEA!!!

seea :)