Pop Culture Roundup

I've been reading Dark Night of the Soul. Like, actually reading it! For real, you guys! I must say that the language is quite a lot to wade through, and the points he tries to make seem to blend into each other. I don't know if I'd do better with this book in a few years or what. Anyway, I have been getting a lot out of St. John of the Cross' basic points about purgation of sensual religion in order to gain a deeper trust in and love for God. This is a lifelong journey, I would think, as what pleases and comforts the senses can so easily be returned to as something familiar and safe. My point about this book, I suppose, is that for me trying to read too much of it in one sitting tended to cause my eyes to glaze over, but I do like the ideas at its heart.

We went to see Pirates: Band of Misfits the other week as a family outing. We meet Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant), who has for years wanted to win Pirate of the Year. Rivals such as Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) and Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) make fun of him for it, as he's never been an especially successful pirate. After meeting Charles Darwin, Pirate Captain concocts a plan to enter a science competition to show off his pet dodo bird in hopes of winning great treasure and gaining respect in the pirate community. Queen Victoria, who hates pirates, gets involved, and hijinks ensue. The film is done by the same people who do Wallace and Gromit, so they get points just based on that. The movie certainly doesn't take itself too seriously, and the soundtrack is filled with classic punk songs. Coffeeson didn't especially like it, but I found it amusing.

A new show debuts on HBO in late June called The Newsroom. I plan on tuning in:



Also, have I mentioned that I really like Abney Park? Because I really like Abney Park. They're a band deemed "steampunk," which means they really like the alternative fictional late-1800s reality with airships and goggles and steam-powered things with lots of gears. Think Jules Verne, or the type of technology in Wild Wild West with Will Smith. The music itself is industrial/folk/goth/a bunch of stuff.

Here's "End of Days," off their album of same name: