too close for missiles; i'm switching to guns

you've seen a movie based on a book right? and maybe you've read that book. and no matter what order you did that in, you thought the book was better.. cuz there's more details n things you can't portray in film, blah blah, doesn't really matter.



i just read top gun. 'member top gun? best movie ever? yeah. here's that movie in text form (left).


equally rad in text form. kinda hard to read in that format, but you know what it is as soon as you start - then it's just the fun of realizing that yes, it is the whole movie. on one big piece of paper masquerading as a page in my esopus magazine that i've had for .. a while. 


i will now tell you two (2) things:
1. top gun is awesome in every form, and 
2. esopus is awesome in every form. (as if you didn't already know that based on my new top gun poster. but i'll go further.)


1. "take me to bed or lose me forever," or, how i learned to stop worrying and find that lovin feelin.


reasons top gun is awesome include, but are not limited to:

• great soundtrack
• jets
• rebellion and turmoil and love !
• sunsets
• beautiful people
• a surprising lack of violence ('splosions don't count as violence)
• 'splosions
• DANGER ZONE !
• boys singing to girls

but most of all, this:



i will accept no argument on this point.


further, it illustrates that christie was right, and they just don't make movies NOWADAYS that are as cool as the ones we grew up with. the fact that this movie was included as tiny-type-written, crisply-folded, perforated-for-ease-of-removal page in esopus 12 illustrates still further that this movie is freakin rad. 


it also suggests that someone thought it appropriate to include in the edition of esopus highlighting "black and white." hmmm. other thank ink on the ink on the page, what is black and white about this movie? quentin tarantino has an idea (i'll let you click on that instead of embedding the video because, obviously, it's offensive. enjoy.). but i'm not going to get into all the homo-erotica of this movie. i'll just leave it at 

take me to bed or lose me forever.

2. not a literary journal, not a magazine, just awesome.
esopus is a .. thing. that could be mistaken for a magazine, since it's called esopus magazine, or a literary journal, since it includes artsy writings and artsing, or probably a slough of other media. but whatever it is, i stinking dig it.


this is a non-profit. there's a spring and a fall edition, and they obviously cost WAY more to produce than they charge. one edition is $14, and a year subscription is $24. there are no ads. it is 100% art. art includes the aforementioned top gun story from esopus 12 (NOT the script, mind you). it also includes collages, short stories, poetry, sketches, articles, photography (sometimes even actual negatives), newspaper clippings, postcards, posters, creative images and words from any and everything you can think of. 


and each edition (i keep wanting to type 'episode' because it seems more fitting) comes with a CD of songs on the theme of the edition, requisitioned by esopus from awesome artists. for example, as previously mentioned, esopus 12's theme was black and white, artists (including lisa cerbone, sand pebbles, and sam amidon) chose black and white films (such as it's a wonderful life, to kill a mockingbird, and raging bull) as inspiration. from the editor. tod lippy:

some contributors took a direct approach, reflecting on, or expanding upon, the film's narrative; others created what are essentially post-facto soundtracks. they are all fascinating complements to their source material, not to mention compelling songs in their own right. 

i encourage you to check it out. it will challenge and confuse you, as it's not like any other media you're used to. but hopefully it will also make you grin and get excited and dig deeper and enjoy all the awesome there is to be devoured and digested in this life.