Lately there has been too much travel, yes, but writings these posts is fun. I am headed toward Sundance. Here goes:
1. Author: Orson Scott Card’s The Ender Trilogy (start with Ender’s Game) is a modern landmark which will be read for years to come. Next on my list is Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose.
2. Actor: James Woods, as he plays in Casino and Virgin Suicides, two fine movies.
3. Best Robert Redford movie: Out of Africa, schmaltz yes but I love it.
4. Film, set in: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid comes to mind.
5. Novel, set in: Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song. The first half in particular is a knockout.
6. Can I have a category for kidnapping victim? Jeopardy champion?
The bottom line: I love Utah. I love its baked goods, its Mexican food, its sense of building a new world in the wilderness. I love that it has a uniquely American religion and I find Salt Lake City to be one of America’s most impressive achievements. I regard southern Utah as quite possibly the most beautiful part of the United States. That said, I had a tough time filling out these categories and of course plenty of the usual categories are blank altogether.
Agree on Orson Scott Card but it is not a trilogy but at least 8 books now (not counting short stories). So you have 5 great ones to go.
However, he lives in Greensboro North Carolina now; I think he just went to University in Utah.
Favorite Mexican Food: The Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.
Guy Tal agrees with you about the beauty of southern Utah. . .
Blatant plug for my column in National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel: Cinematic Road Trip. http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2008/03/cinematic-roa-1.html
This link is to the Utah column. It goes up every Friday.
Again, the issue arises of how you define where somebody is from. Although he was born in Utah, most people associate James Woods with Rhode Island.
Go to Granny’s in Heber City. Best ice cream parlor.
Orson Scott Card makes his home in Greensboro, North Carolina.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card
Ditto Jonathan_Hohensee. I’m surprised Tyler_Cowen would endorse such a book…
I mean, I liked it, but I can’t help but feel a lot of the love for it is for the wrong reasons…
Desert Solitaire is mostly set in Arches. I’ve been in every corner of the state, down most of its rivers, and all over the deep backcountry of Moab before it became industrial and I still don’t have much to add. It’s quite true that southern Utah provides many of the greatest vistas available on the Earth, for hundreds of miles in many directions. But there’s not much culture, there.
TC thinks The Virgin Suicides is a good movie???
Don’t quit your day job, Professor.
What a HUUUUUGE disappointment. It was just a a big Mary Sue story. One boy overcomes many woes by himself, and is — by himself — smarter (in every way) than every single individual in the military, and doesn’t need to learn anything from anybody.
Total and complete dreck.
That’s kind of what bothered me about it; it kind of feeds into a “I am sure lonely always being the smartest person in the room” mentality that I thankfully grew out of. (After eating crow about 1,000 times)
It’s quite true that southern Utah provides many of the greatest vistas available on the Earth, for hundreds of miles in many directions. But there’s not much culture, there.
Isn’t that like complaining there aren’t enough wilderness camping opportunities in New York City?
You forgot:
Best work of earth art: Spiral Jetty
For those of us who do not and have not ever had the notion that we are the smartest person in the room, Ender’s Game is not wish fufillment, but is a genuinely fun story.
Card’s brilliance is in his ability to write a character driven novel that also has a excellent plotline. His characters are often unique people, and the thing that makes his characters unique in that series is that they happen to be ridiculously intelligent, and have been trained to the point where they try, often too hard, to win at everything. In the end his characters are sympathetic, however because you see that their intelligence is a gift, but has in many cases made them miserable.
“Ender’s Game” is a genre novel, and a great one of its kind– but read it as an adult differently than you read it as a weltshmertzy adolescent. One should, at least, bring a different set of anxieties to the book. Same for Gene Wolfe, btw.
I read Ender’s Game a year or so ago, for the first time (as a 30-yr-old) and thought it was pretty darn good. Not the best sci-fi novel I’ve ever read, by a longshot, let alone the best novel of any genre, but still pretty good.
I can see how it could be read by angsty teenagers as nerd wish fulfillment, but that shouldn’t be held against it.
Interestingly, he gave an excellent depiction of the problems of a gay man in a religious setting in “Songmaster”. So much so, that I was shocked to see his political writings on the subject later.
For those of us who do not and have not ever had the notion that we are the smartest person in the room, Ender’s Game is not wish fufillment, but is a genuinely fun story.
I should had noted that I no longer think I’m the smartest in the room, not that I’m no longer lonely over the fact that I’m the smartest in the room.
Movie set is has to be SLC Punk for me. Great movie about being young and political. Also, a great soundtrack.
Best Mexican (in Provo): El Azteca.
Best Polish Hot Dog in the Universe: J Dawgs
Best Lebanese: Mazza
Best Indian: Bombay House (SLC or Provo)
Best Piano Bar: Keys on Main
Joe has it right, SLC Punk all the way. What a great film.
My wife tells me that Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series is great, but I wonder if she counts since she only went to BYU and never actually ‘lived’ in Utah.
Best Classical Music: Classical 89.1
Only Classical Music: Classical 89.1
Best Utah Geologic term:
Hoodoo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_%28geology%29
Definitely one of the most beautiful States in the USA. Take one of these along to learn more about the geology…
http://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geology-Utah/dp/0878422285
Gotta agree with Tim Gray re: Edward Abbey. Nobody has captured the appeal of living in the American Southwest as well (though New Mexico might also claim him).
I used to live in SLC too and I agree, it’s a unique place.
Best Organic/Vegetarian restaurant: Sage’s.
Best brunch: Eggs in the City and Avenues Bakery.
Best coffee shop: Coco Cafe, The Roasting Company.
Movies: yup, SLC, Punk.
And what about Big Love, folks? It’s technically a series, but it’s very much Utah-centered.
All in all, Utah’s a wonderful place to explore.
You can buy and gain very cheap kamas from our company.
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