The one that really stands out in my mind is 'The Godfather' with the funeral director, Amerigo Bonasera who has come to see Don Corleone on his daughter's wedding day and his impassioned speech in broken English sums up the principal theme of the two movies (what do you mean it was a trilogy? Blasphemy!) when he says :

'I believe in America...'

Summer, for some bizarre reason, seems to be the time that all the glossy magazines make ' lists' so I thought that since my lj is pretty damn glossy in it's own sad tawdry way, that therefore I should make some really useful lists of my own.

list # 1: Things you should be reading this summer

1) WARREN ELLIS: Transmet, Orbiter, his collected Essays from avatar, stormwatch, the authority, misistry of space- pretty much anything from Warren; he's a great writer, he's funny, intelligent and he writes about things that matter.

2) GLOSSY MEN'S MAGAZINES: Esquire, Vanity Fair, GQ are the leaders of the pack- Jack is also making a name for itself of late and is available in a handy small glossy size. Forget about those Godawaful ' Pseudo-porn' girlie/men's monthlies like Maxim or Blender- they're tired, last century, ick. Esquire, V Fair and co. are smart, well-written and feature a wide range of relevant issues, articles, fiction and excellent interviews. And yes, women should also be reading these publications as the vast majority of women's magazines are appalling- stuck in a rut they established in the post 1960's fervor; it's not sexist, its just sad when most women I know are more intelligent than most males I know yet they're targeted with such blandness as to make a whole new flavor of vanilla.

3) THE KINDNESS OF WOMEN: great book by J G Ballard, it's the second autobiographical book by him, following on from events in EMPIRE OF THE SUN. It's a great read and one that is funny, smart and ultimately very very human. You will laugh, you will cry and you will definitely think.

4) STEPHEN KING: yeah yeah, don't give me that. He's a magnificent writer, one of America's best ever and far more than the stereotypical perception of him as a horror writer or a genre hack. Shawshank Redemption? Yep, Stephen King. Stand by me? Yep, Stephen King. Take a look at some of his lesser known books like ' Ballad of the Flexible Bullet' , his excellent critique of horror and semi-autobiographical tome ' Danse Macabre'; and read the two superb tie-ins to each other, the classic ' Talisman' With Peter Straub and the excellent sequel' Black House' also with Mr.Straub on board as co-writer.

5) HISTORY: Get one of the Dummies series of history books- they're great, informative, entertaining and it's always good to learn from history.