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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2004)
Oregon author explores eccentricity, community Chuck Palahniuk shares vignettes about human connection BRIAN SANTANA TECHNICIAN (NORTH CAROLINA STATE) The expression 'stranger than fic tion" is quite frequently used in our postmodern cul ture of reality television and eclectic nostal gia. Audiences are routinely ex posed to the bizarre and grotesque on a daily basis. Despite this fact, even the most jaded readers will be surprised by something in Chuck Palahniuk's "Stranger than Fiction: True Stories." BOOK REVIEW The tone of Palahniuk's book alternates between playful eccentrici ty and surprising profundity. The fre quently maniacal juggling act of these contrasting atmospheres should come as no surprise to fans of Palah niuk. After all, Palahniuk honed this skill in novels like "Fight Club" and "Diary." In his new book, the author's first work of non-fiction ~ other than his walking tour guide of Portland, Ore., "Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon" - the overriding theme is spelled out in the first sen tence of the introduction. Palahniuk writes, "Ifyou haven't already noticed, all my books are about a lonely per son looking for some way to connect with other people." The theme of discovering commu nity and connecting with others is at the center of each vignette the book comprises. These vignettes are organ ized into three categories: “People to gether," "Portraits" and "Personal." The section entitled "People togeth er" contains a variety of stories that cover such diverse subjects as wrestlers, psychics and rural demoli tion derbies. The "Portraits" section is a series of revealing personal sketches of celebrities like Marilyn Manson, Juliette Lewis and Ira Levin. The final section of the book, labeled "Personal," will be especially appeal ing to fans of the film "Fight Club." The majority of this section is re served for insights on writing "Fight Club," life in Hollywood and even the murder of the author's father. The book's oddest vignette greets the reader immediately as the very first entry. This story is destined to confuse and shock those not 'Napoleon Dynamite' offers its own sense of nerdy humor The film's quirky cast of characters wins the audience's affections TRAVIS WILLSE MANAGING EDITOR The probably unnecessary tagline of greenhorn director Jared Hess's off-kilter comedy "Napoleon Dyna mite" is "He's out to prove he's got nothing to prove." And although the self-contradictory mantra might ap ply well to the self-absorbed (eponymous) protagonist, it fits Hess's cre ation to a tee. The scattershot plot — wherein Napoleon (new comer Jon Heder), with the impa tient plainspokenness only a high school iibergeek could muster, cool ly navigates sun-bleached and bor ing-as-hell Preston, Idaho — is thin enough that the movie waxes docu mentarian, but linear enough that the half-conscious characters win the viewer's affections. Hess's adept (but not masterful) balancing of the two feels effortless enough that the audience can bask in his directorial coups de maitre: cap turing the sublimely clumsy interac tions of the film's memorably win some characters. To wit, a frustrated Napoleon plainly confronts his Un cle Rico (Jon Gries of "Real Genius" and, appropriately, "Twin Falls Ida ho"), who is living in with Napoleon and his 31-year-old computer geek brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) while their MOVIE REVIEW Courtesy 'Napoleon Dynamite’ is a funny, if uneven, comedy about high-school nerds. Its characters and ‘quotability’ are this film’s highlights. grandmother recovers from a dune buggying injury, about his ineffectual company: "Grandma just called ... she said you can leave now." "I didn't hear anything from her," Rico insists. "She said you should leave because you're ruining everyone's life and eat ing all our steak." All this jaw-aching silliness works because the characters are two-dimensional enough that their conduct is pleasantly campy, rather than simply unbelievable. But de lightfully, they're all too far from anything familiar to be tiresome car icatures: Kip is a hair-slicked com puter nerd, but thinks himself some thing impossibly more: "Napoleon," he chides, "Don't be jealous that I've been chatting Please see DYNAMITE, page 10 PULSE BRIEF Famed ‘glass guitarist' to play at Cafe Paradiso "Glass Guitarist" Ned Evett will ap pear at Cafe Paradiso on Wednesday, August 11. Evett is widely considered one of the most innovative guitarist currently playing rock music, and has had his praises sung by such guitarist Joe Satriani and Guitarist Magazine. "Ned plays a ffedess guitar, which is a guitar that has no interposing frets along the neck," Evett's manager and publicist Tony Harrison said. "It's sort of a cross between a guitar and a cel lo. It takes a perfect sense of pitch and an amazing amount of muscle con trol just to play the simplest chord." Evett's career has lasted for over two decades and he has performed on al bums by Maria McKee, Rosalie Sorrels and Built to Spill. He got his Please see EVETT, page 10 Courtesy Guitarist Ned Evett will play at Cafe Paradiso on August 11. Evett recently released a solo effort, ‘I Stole’. properly prepared to read a Palahniuk book. A Palahniuk book is best de scribed as a potent cocktail of visceral energy, masculinity and eccentricity. All of these ingredients are present in abundance in the subsection "Testy Festy" from the "People together" vi gnette. The story chronicles the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival, an an nual event held in Missoula, Mont. The name of the festival should be an immediate tip off to the general na ture of the festival's theme and activi ties. Be advised, the most imaginative ideas invoked by the festival name do Premier Travel • Airfare Specials! • 1 San Francisco - $141.00*' Los Angeles - $183.00*, New York - $285.00* Maui - $431.00*' ta,\ ;tiul‘ Ices not incImlcd. restrictions apply, Subject to change w itkoui notice. Email Passes issued on-site!!! E-mail: fares@luv2travel.com llOll Harlow 747-0909<-4^ ^Student Travel Expefts^*-* j Finish our pizza with a Screaming Orgasm. The only pizza joint in town with a full-service bar. 1 790 East 14th Ave. * 344-4471 not compare with Palahniuk's play by-play of events. The main drawback of this book is the lack of strong authorial commen tary. Each story is chronicled in minute detail, but escapes substan tial analysis and personal insight. This tendency is particularly disap pointing in the section that recounts the murder of Palahniuk's father. De spite this flaw, the book works when viewed as a tapestry that illustrates the universal need for community and the sometimes-strange ways people fill this void. IVi'iVlHAU Community Cantor for the Porionnho Arts 8th & Lincoln . Friday. Floater, Acoustic CD Release Party Acoustic Rock 8:30 pm, $10 advance, $12 door . Saturday. First Annual Secret House Acoustic Gathering Gref Brown, TheSufar Beets, lamieLa ValTrio, Azuqurta, The Raventones, Ghmy Mitchell, Brian Cutean, Peter Wilde, Andrew Calhoun Benefit for Community Centerfor the Performing Arts/ WOW Hall 11:00 am, $19 advance, $22 fate - Monday. An Evening with the Charlie Hunter Trio Jazz 8:00 pm, $14 advance, $16 door . Tuesday. Pedro the lion Tilly and the Wall, The Western States Singer-Songwriter 9:00 pm, $10 advance, $12 door . Wednesday . An Evening with the lanislan, Folk 8:00 pm, $18 advance, $20 door All Ages Welcome 687-2746 MAC’S AT THE VET’S CLUB Great Music Great Food MAC’S SPECIALS: Whiskey Cured Prime Rib, Indian Baked Salmon & Chicken Piccata. Also Sandwiches, Salads & Burgers Thursday.August 5,8:30 sign up.9pm start MAC S BLUES JAM FIRST COME FIRST PLAY FRIDAY. A l! 0U ST 6,1).3 0FM * $ 3 FOREST T. BLACK BLUES Saturday. August 7.9.30pm • $3 PETER GIRI PROJECT ROCK (541) 344-8600 • 1626 Willamette St.
