Second Anniversary
This is my second year writing the Blazing Chronicles blog. And I have to say that I’m proud of myself for keeping up with the blog and also for making friends via my blog posts. Thank you to all who read my blog and a special thank you to those who follow my blog.
Here’s to another year…
Cheers!
Naj
Blazing Words
Dear Readers,
You may notice an addition to the Blazing Chronicles blog. I am now featuring a collection of poetry, short stories and other forms of creative writing on this blog, called Blazing Words. I call it Blazing Words because they are truly the words and thoughts that blaze from my heart and soul and mind and onto the page.
Blazing Words was originally supposed to be a creative writing blog that I was going to have separate from The Blazing Star Chronicles. However, due to time constraints, I find that I don’t have time to actively add to my creative writing blog and will instead be adding those portions to this blog. I will keep the original blog just in case…and because I don’t like to let things go so easily. LOL.
I have posted the old posts under their original post months and will continue to add more creative writing to this blog. All creative writing posts will feature Blazing Words in the title to distinguish them from all other postings. Please look for them.
Enjoy!
Naj
Kid Cudi DVD Edition
So I’m finally getting around to making a musical playlist dedicated to Kid Cudi‘s second album, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mister Rager, even though I purchased the DVD version the week it came out and have had it on heavy rotation since.
What can I say about Man On The Moon II? Well, I really like it. Yes, it’s darker and more experimental than his debut album, but those are some of the things that I really like about it. The lead single, Erase Me, is evident of that as I think the sound is more rock-rap than anything else. He has some really alternative-rap songs on here and even a love ballad to Marijuana with a full orchestral sound to it (and it’s one of the best tracks). I like the entire album from beginning to end, but these are my favorite tracks hands down.
This is a live performance of Cudi at a Go Show by VEVO. I thought it was pretty cool that he did a performance at his old job in SoHo.
I chose a fan video of this song because like the song itself, it shows Kid Cudi’s affection for the green leaf. What I love about this song is that it is an intricate ballad with the full orchestra
One of my favorite songs on the album. Really unique song and definitely an anthem of sorts. I’ve played this one a whole lot, it helps me through some rough days and to help me deal with some trifling people.
Reminds me of 1990s hip hop. It just reminds me of the Golden Age of Hip Hop when good flow and hot beats made instant classics. (I’ll be blogging on this in the future for sure.) His flow is sick on this one.
This video makes me laugh every time I see it. I think Cudi has always experimented with rock and I hear that his next album may be a rock album, so I guess this is the preview. If it is, I’m excited.
Has a dark and edgy feel to this song with a strange laughter in the background. For some reason I think of Halloween and a dark smoky bar on the Lower East Side and couples chilling in the lounge and behaving badly in the loo (I mean, bathroom).
Definitely in my top 3 songs for this album. For me it speaks to our need to escape from life and it’s trials and tribulations. I think everyone can relate.
Was inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, who I think has a striking similarity to Kid Cudi in appearance and talent (Yes, I know Basquiat was a painter but he was also musically gifted). This video, composed by Steve-o-graphy does a great job of making the connection. Almost too good a job…
Absolutely love this song. It’s a little trippy, a little melancholy and has this reggae dancehall vibe to it that makes me want to move. I can also relate to this song because I’m a deep thinker and I’m always pondering something—perhaps this is why I’m an insomniac.
If you haven’t purchased this album and you’re a hip hop fan, I strongly urge that you get it.
Naj
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A few days ago I finally finished reading The Savage Detectives, a novel written by Roberto Bolano. I’ve become a fan of Bolano after reading several of his shorter works, namely Distant Star and By Night In Chile. For those who are not familiar with Roberto Bolano, he is a famous Latin American writer originally from Santiago, Chile. Known for his poetry and novels, Bolano won many literary and poetry awards during his career and some posthumously. His most famous works are The Savage Detectives and 2666 for which he was awarded the Romulo Gallegos Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award respectively.
I had read reviews of the book by critics and other readers online and had even spoken to a few friends about it. Almost everyone mentioned its unusual narrative and plot turns, but I was not deterred. As soon as I purchased my copy of The Savage Detectives from The Strand, I began reading it almost immediately. Still, it took me a little longer to finish this pretty thick novel than I had originally expected. By no means, is this novel a quick read. It is truly a literary detective novel with a long, winding and laborious approach, but I took my time reading it and truly enjoyed every minute of it. What was also interesting to me is that the novel was based on Roberto Bolano himself (Arturo Belano is his alter ego) and his friends, a group of bohemian writers from Latin America.
The Savage Detectives is an untraditional detective novel that is divided into three acts. Act One, called Mexicans Lost In Mexico, is narrated by Juan Garcia Madero, a young college student who befriends a group of poets who call themselves the Visceral Realists. This group of poets live in and around Mexico City and are followers of a movement started by a poet, Cesarea Tinajero, who disappeared from the city in the late 1970s. The poets consist of Arturo Belano, Ulises Lima, Felipe Muller, The Font Sisters (Maria and Angelica), Pancho Rodriguez, Luscious Skin, and eventually Juan Garcia Madero as well as many others.
Juan Garcia Madero drops out of school to be a member of the Visceral Realists and recounts his exploits around Mexico City with them. He becomes involved with one of the Font Sisters and also a prostitute named Lupe. Things take a dangerous turn when Lupe tries to leave her pimp, Alberto. The act ends with Lupe, Arturo Belano, Ulises Lima and Juan diving off into the night, with unknown assailants after them.
Act Two, called the Savage Detectives, is where The Savage Detectives takes an interesting turn. The reader learns about the exploits of Ulises Lima and Arturo Belano over the course of 20 years through a series of interviews of people who knew them at specific times and in particular places during this time. This section is not linear or chronological at all and these interviews are conducted in cities and towns and villages all over the world including Mexico, California, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. These interviews act as little vignettes creating a circular puzzle of stories, events and places that the reader is forced to put together.
Act Two lost a lot of people, but for myself I enjoyed reading the vignettes and appreciated that each subject (character) being interviewed had a unique voice and POV. It was also interesting to learn about the exploits of Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima. Of all the subjects, I found the voices of Maria Font, Joaquin “Quim” Font (Maria’s father) and Luis Sebastian Rosado, most intriguing.
Act Three, called The Deserts of Sonora, returns to the POV of Juan Garcia Madero and we discover what took place after the group drove off in the middle of the night leading to an explosive climax and satisfying ending. I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say that they discover what happened to Cesarea Tinajero…
What I liked about The Savage Detectives is that it is as much a detective novel as it is a novel about coming of age and the search for one’s individuality, artistry and place in the world. I also liked that the characters had such interesting experiences in different parts of the world. This was my first time reading one of Bolano’s longer works, and it was very different from his shorter works which are intensely brief. I recommend it for those who love detective novels and literary works, as it is the perfect combination of the two. I would caution readers to embrace Act Two and go along for the ride.
Naj
Naj = Nascha A. Joli
Blazing star, professional writer and editor, book worm, and basketball fanatic. Loves music, loves to dance, and a lover of the arts.
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