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Lost Highways

Forgive me, Alkemia, but this perfume smelled to me like.... public restroom soap. Not that shitty pink soap, mind you. Like, not gas station soap but... maybe state park visitor center bathroom soap?

Here’s what Alkemia says about this scent:

Roadtrip around the U.S. in a bottle. A botanical peregrination of Saw Palmetto Palm leaves and Southern cypress from the Southeast bayous; New mown hay, Lemon basil, Wild bergamot tea from the Great Plains; Linden blossom and Acadian pine from the Northeast; Night flowering desert flowers from the Southwest; and Spicebush and Incense cedar from the West and Northwest coast.

I don’t know if it’s just a result of there being SO MANY scents in this perfume... like, is public bathroom soap just the mid-point of all other scents?

UPDATE: I’m trying this months later and oh my god, it smells like bubblegum. My dad described it as “purple/pink” and “little old lady perfume.”

Okay, a minute or two into the drydown, it is turning into that (almost smoky???) rest stop bathroom smell. It’s sweet and kinda smoky and maybe a little grassy and.... somehow all of these things combined make it smell so soapy.

Eh, not a fan of it, to be honest. It’s certainly interesting, but it’s definitely not something I intend to keep.

#lost highways #alkemia

MOVIES THAT I WANT TO GIVE A SECOND CHANCE TO

(or movies that I didn't watch until the end but I intend to)

I'll start with a clarification: I do believe that a great part of how I react to a movie is much influenced by my humor, how much patience, excitement and attention I have that night;

There have been movies that made me cry just for the fact that I needed to cry at that moment, and others movie that I enjoyed only because they were short enough to not let me become bored

Also, I get bored of everything, and quite easily too, so be aware that many movies of this list are actually movies that I would have enjoyed very much if I've watched them on a different night, and that's the main reason why I'm giving them a second chance

Clarification done, let's start

EL TOPO (1970) by Jodorowsky:

this is the perfect example of what I was trying to explain before. I love Jodorowsky, I love his movies and his style, he's really one of a kind, one of my favorite directors of all time and I've watched and finished all of his movies (even though they're not a lot), but El Topo. I've watched the first 30 minutes and I was getting bored and tired and sleepy, which is quite a peculiar reaction of mine with his films, but I know that I'm gonna love it if I watch it till the end that why I'm listing it here, only to remember myself THAT I HAVE TO WATCH IT AGAIN because Alejandro is just too good to make a boring and slow movie.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (2008) by Kaufman:

I Probably had too high expectations, since it's a very recommended movie usually compared to some of my own favorites, but it just didn't click with me. I'm still going to give it a second chance because I blocked it when there were like 20 minutes left and some movies (like American beauty) only make sense because of the finale. Anyway, I'm quite convinced that I won't love it still though, but I don't wanna judge it without watching it all. I don't hate it though, the message and overall meaning is exactly what I wanted, it's just that sometimes the movie should tell other than just show. Some films are masterpieces because they let you see and understand other than just telling you what the movie is about, and those are probably the best movies but synecdoche didn't show enough or as effective as it should have done. Hoffman's performance was magistral though.

THE GREAT LEBOWSKI (1998) by Coen Brothers:

Okay, this one will probably get me hate but, whatever, I don't care. Anyway, do I think that this movie is iconic? Hell yeah! Did I find this movie funny? Barely. Do I think that the movie had a strong message? Nah. Do I think that TGL's fame is deserved? Not sure. I mean, I know it's a cult and even though I didn't love it, I get why it is such, but sometimes I just think OF ALL THE MOVIES WHY THIS HAD TO BECOME A CULT? and I'm sure not to be the one who's wrong so it's either that it's just not a movie for me or people just like it because everybody else does. But why am I giving a second chance if I didn't like it? Right. Let's start here: I don't like Coen brothers movies. I'm ready for the hate. I've watched at least five of them and none of them really stayed with me. With no country for old men I can kinda see why it's so famous, but like Fargo, tell me everything you want, but apart from the parody of American stupidity, it was garbage. BUT, a very close friend of mine, whose opinion I trust very much, love Coen movies. I'm an Aries, so it's quite impossible for me to change my mind but I want to give AT LEAST one of Coen brothers movie a second chance, and The big Lebowski is the one I feel I might enjoy a little bit more than I previously had. I still find it iconic though, and I'm excited for the much awaited sequel.

IL CONFORMISTA ( 1970) by Bertolucci:

Another movie from a director I love. I actually enjoyed this movie and I've watched it all but I was easily distracted after the first half an hour and while I've loved the directing and photography, the plot was good but weak at the same time. So I'm putting it under this list to remember myself to watch it again so I can check if there are some details that I might have missed, so I can like it more, I hope

LOST HIGHWAYS (1997) by Lynch:

I have a problem with Lynch, and that is that I love his style, mind and darkness way too much, but I hate his rhythm and times and slowness just as much; so, every fucking time I watch a movie of his, I get bored to death but excited and thrilled at the same time. And many times I force myself to keep watching because I know how good it's going to turn out. Sometimes I found that immerging inside of the story and Lynch's world helps to go with the flow of the story without hoping that it will end every minute. So I saw lost highways 3 times, and EVERY time I've fallen asleep, which usually doesn't happen to me, always at the scene in jail. It's almost a joke at this point and last time when I woke up, I was so done with it that I just went online and read the whole plot. AND I LOVED THE PLOT, and it's a movie that I recommend a lot and probably my favorite from David, when though, funny enough, I didn't really watch it. But for once I wish to actually WATCH IT other than just knowing what it is about and the theories behind it. So it's a movie that I don't really need to give a second chance to, because I already love it and it would be a fourth chance actually, but is a movie I gotta watch again, hopefully without falling asleep

BRAZIL (1985) by Gilliam:

This one, is a mystery to me. Not because I didn't understand it, but mainly because I have no idea why I do not like it. It had everything I search into a movie: it was weird, it had amazing costumes, had a political and social awareness and criticism, it was sarcastic... but I still don't like it, surprisingly. The explanation I give to it is that I've seen some movies that resemble this one but they are definitely better made. but I still want to give it a second chance because as I said it has everything I know I love in movies so maybe this time I'll figure out why I didn't like it or, hopefully, I'll love it.

#movies #movies that i should give a second chance to #el topo #alejandro jodorowsky #lost highways #david lynch #the big lebowski #coen brothers #the conformist #il conformista #bernardo bertolucci #synecdoche new york #charlie kaufman #brazil #terry gilliam

Review: Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road, edited by D. Alexander Ward

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Traveling long stretches of a dark highway it's easy to imagine the horrors lurking in the dark, some of them all too real. Drunk drivers, car crashes, vehicles flipping and sliding along the asphalt, glass breaking and sparks flying as metal meets road and the smell of gasoline perfumes the air. The black hidden world beyond the lane markers and past the guardrails is more ephemeral, the secrets hiding just past the road darker and wilder. In Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road, D. Alexander Ward has compiled fresh writings from more than twenty authors (only two are reprints, Joe R. Lansdale's "Not From Detroit" and Rio Youers' "The Widow") who have reached into the darkness of the highway, a darkness that travels upon the road beside you, or maybe follows behind you just a bit too close for comfort, or hides just off the exit or in the woods beyond the stretch of road, hoping for some unsuspecting soon-to-be victim to come their way. Two writers, doungjai gam (writing with Ed Kurtz) and Jess Landry, managing editor of JournalStone, make their fiction debuts with "Crossroads of Opportunity" and "The Heart Stops at the End of Laurel Lane," respectively. Both deal with elements of personal loss, tragedy, death, madness, and the ghosts we carry with us in wildly different ways. These themes occur time and time again throughout Lost Highways, with veteran writers like Joe R. Lansdale and Christopher Buehlman tackling similar concepts of death and the carriage he rides in that could not have been handled in ways more different than here. Throughout Lost Highways there exists certain plays on a theme, particular notes that are reinforced thanks to Ward's organization of these stories, and elements that are echoed in various and striking ways across the book. Yes, there are stories of cannibals and killers, of urban legends and people grappling with madness, but it's the overwhelming amount of heart that resonates and overlaps the stories here, creating miniature story arcs of emotion that are strengthened or that chafe against one another. Kristi DeMeester's "A Life That is Not Mine" is an excellent story of madness, but it's all the things that aren't on the page that ring the most true and provide a powerful examination of depression and self-destruction. Schoolteacher Hannah has forgotten what morning looks like, all the light in her life having left. She lives a solitary existence in the dark, one with no happiness, no joy, only drudgery and an escalating insanity. "The Widow" by Rio Youers takes a similar tack, but one that is strikingly different as his protagonist, Faye, grapples with the roadside death of her husband and stumbles upon a centuries old supernatural mystery while those around her constantly worry about the state of her mental health. Michael Bailey's "The Long White Line" is an exquisite paradox of a story, albeit one with a very simple premise. Still, it's difficult to discuss without veering sharply into spoiler territory and revealing the catch. This one is all about the concept, and it's the stuff of urban legend. Kelli Owen sharpens her blade with her own bit of urban legend involving a small, sleepy town past a Northern Michigan highway exit in "Jim's Meats." Owen hit a lot of sweet spots for me with her story of a wrong turn gone seriously awry, and one character's early mention of the film Deliverance provides a glimpse of where things are headed. I love these types of B-movie pulps, and Owen delivered one of my favorite stories in Lost Highways. Speaking of movies, it feels safe to say that Matt Hayward found some inspiration from John Carpenter and Stephen King with his story of a roving fog that demands the worst memories of those that drive through it. "Where the Wild Winds Blow" ends on a satisfying note that makes one's imagination run wild at the prospect of what comes next, and I certainly wouldn't mind it if Hayward opted to explore this story further somewhere down the road. Lost Highways is also notable, at least for me, in presenting a return to prose fiction from Rachel Autumn Deering, who depicts one of the most honest stories of heartbreak I can recall, in "Dew Upon the Wing." I was a fan of Deering's 2016 debut novella, Husk, so it was terrific to find her traveling the dark passages of Lost Highways. Of particular note, too, is Cullen Bunn, a scribe best known for his work in comic books, particularly his Bram Stoker Award-nominated Harrow County, whose "Outrunning the End" makes a nicely apocalyptic short story involving a man on the run, chased by demons both personal and otherwise. At its best, Lost Highways presents some truly engaging, mysterious, and unique stories to captivate. At its worst...well, frankly, there isn't really a worst to be had here. Lost Highways is the rare anthology that even when it's not running hot with its pedal to the metal, it's still pretty damn good. With a line-up that includes a number of outstanding authors, like Jonathan Janz, Bracken McLeod, and Damian Angelica Walters, and a number of strong works from its lesser-known and debut contributors, it's truly hard to go wrong. Lost Highways offers a number of trips, and more than a few satisfying detours, across the nation's highways and byways that you'd be remiss not to take. Just make sure you've got enough fuel in the tank - you don't want to have stop at some small Podunk gas station late at night in a place you've never heard of, or stall out alongside the road, your cell phone's signal mysteriously lost, with no help in sight. You don't know what's out there...lurking...waiting...and thirsting for blood. [Note: I received an advance copy of Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road from Crystal Lake Publishing.] View all my reviews

#Lost Highways #D. Alexander Ward #Crystal Lake Publishing #anthology #anthologies #horror #book reviews

Lost Highways Edited by D. Alexander Ward #BookReview

Lost Highways Edited by D. Alexander Ward #BookReview #CrystalLakePublishing #horror

Lost Highways: Dark Fictions from the Road

It’s dangerous out there…on the road.

The highways, byways…

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#books #Crystal Lake Publishing #horror #Lost Highways #reading #road horror