well, i am officially jumping on the bpal bandwagon, since i finally retrieved various packages from the ups plant today, including a shipment of imps. of course the first one i tried was jailbait, described as Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume.
on opening the bottle, my first reaction was "whoa, cough drops!" the cherry smell was definitely prominent, though there was some floral going on too. a few minutes after i applied it, the cherry faded a tiny bit and a little bit of cinnamon came through--it smelled like red hots, jsut before the really hot part starts. that's not a bad thing--i couldn't stop sniffing my wrist!
after a half hour or so, the cherry had pretty much gone, and a warm spicy scent was left--very nice!
8 hours later there's an indistinct pleasant smell, if i sniff my wrist really hard. :) i think i like this one a lot, though obviously i haven't got anything to compare it to. luckily i have a little tin full of imps to try out!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
P6290017
hey, i got a(nother) new haircut today! this photo is all blurry, for which i apologize, but i'm in a hurry to get to dinner and bewitched with christina and chelcy (shut up, i like nicole kidman and will ferrell, and maybe it will be funny). i had planned to go mia-farrow-in-rosemary's-baby short with this haircut, but chickened out this morning (i think i need to be skinnier to pull that cut off--i'm not going for a butch sort of look) and thus got cute new highlights instead. despite its blurriness, you can totally see the awesome cut and color here.
by the way, for fellow moshi moshi customers: due to a rent increase, prices for cuts will be going up to 35 dollars in the nearish future--still a perfectly reasonable price for a great haircut, so it shouldn't pose a problem for anyone (i hope). i've paid much more money than that for some pretty awful haircuts, so i'm always grateful to mary and the other ladies of moshi moshi for their reasonableness and their skill. plus they're fun.
now: dinner-and-a-movie time!
by the way, for fellow moshi moshi customers: due to a rent increase, prices for cuts will be going up to 35 dollars in the nearish future--still a perfectly reasonable price for a great haircut, so it shouldn't pose a problem for anyone (i hope). i've paid much more money than that for some pretty awful haircuts, so i'm always grateful to mary and the other ladies of moshi moshi for their reasonableness and their skill. plus they're fun.
now: dinner-and-a-movie time!
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
P6250139
this is a better picture of barack than the one i posted below. just thought y'all should bask in his glory a little bit more!
by the way, i have been sitting at my computer almost non-stop since i've been home (barring the whole unpacking thing and a brief excursion to harris teeter). i thought that 4 and a half days away beat back my computer addiction, but i was wrong. so very, very wrong.
by the way, i have been sitting at my computer almost non-stop since i've been home (barring the whole unpacking thing and a brief excursion to harris teeter). i thought that 4 and a half days away beat back my computer addiction, but i was wrong. so very, very wrong.
P6250141
so, i'm back from chicago and happy to be home!
chicago was pretty fun and all--highlights included seeing barack obama (pictured! drool!) and david sedaris (hilarious as always!), catching the tail end of the pride parade, going to some pretty cool ALA sessions, wandering around the city, getting a photo with people in cat outfits, and eating lots of yummy food (especially at the vegan/vegetarian chicago diner)--not necessarily in that order. there were a bunch of things stef wanted me to write about in my blog, but i don't really remember them all now. stef's kind and hospitable brother, who lives near oprah's studio, was nice enough to host us for many days, so big props to john.
we spent friday afternoon at the museum of science and industry, which besides being sort of lame was obviously cruel to animals (i swear one of the chicks in the hatchery was dead, and erin raised the important point of "where do they take the chickens when they grow up?"). i think we were too tired from walking in the hot hot sun to fully enjoy the place, or maybe it was that the good exhibits cost an extra 12 dollars. screw you, science and industry museum!
other things we did this weekend were mentioned above, more or less, and maybe i will write more later, or maybe my travel companions will add comments of their own.
anyway, photos are here. sadly, some of my pictures from the weekend (like the waiters serenading maureen last night b/c it was her birthday) did not turn out, and flickr apparently had some issues uploading 84 pictures at once so some tags and titles are missing. be sure and scroll through to see several pictures of mr. obama, who was an amazing speaker, and to see erin with a sword.
chicago was pretty fun and all--highlights included seeing barack obama (pictured! drool!) and david sedaris (hilarious as always!), catching the tail end of the pride parade, going to some pretty cool ALA sessions, wandering around the city, getting a photo with people in cat outfits, and eating lots of yummy food (especially at the vegan/vegetarian chicago diner)--not necessarily in that order. there were a bunch of things stef wanted me to write about in my blog, but i don't really remember them all now. stef's kind and hospitable brother, who lives near oprah's studio, was nice enough to host us for many days, so big props to john.
we spent friday afternoon at the museum of science and industry, which besides being sort of lame was obviously cruel to animals (i swear one of the chicks in the hatchery was dead, and erin raised the important point of "where do they take the chickens when they grow up?"). i think we were too tired from walking in the hot hot sun to fully enjoy the place, or maybe it was that the good exhibits cost an extra 12 dollars. screw you, science and industry museum!
other things we did this weekend were mentioned above, more or less, and maybe i will write more later, or maybe my travel companions will add comments of their own.
anyway, photos are here. sadly, some of my pictures from the weekend (like the waiters serenading maureen last night b/c it was her birthday) did not turn out, and flickr apparently had some issues uploading 84 pictures at once so some tags and titles are missing. be sure and scroll through to see several pictures of mr. obama, who was an amazing speaker, and to see erin with a sword.
2005 books 76, 77, 78, 79
andrea levy's small island
winner of the whitbread and orange awards this past year, this book is about two jamaican immigrants to england just after wwII and their british landlady. great look at the immigrant experience, war, racism, love, sex, etc. very moving and highly recommended.
rachel cusk's saving agnes
also a whitbread winner but from several years ago. depressive, restless girl in england with wacky roommates and stuff. not bad but i'd recommend cusk's later novels instead.
umberto eco's the mysterious flame of queen loana
man, whoever designed this book should win a big major award b/c it's stunningly beautiful. it does drag in spots--it's about a guy who loses his emotive memory after a stroke and tried to remember his life by reading his old books and comics and things, and so there are a lot of a passages where he's just reading and stuff, whihc isn't necessarily a riveting thing to read about. still, pretty awesome, and you can't go wrong when there are pictures!
nick hornby's a long way down
a pretty stupid premise, a not-terrible execution.
winner of the whitbread and orange awards this past year, this book is about two jamaican immigrants to england just after wwII and their british landlady. great look at the immigrant experience, war, racism, love, sex, etc. very moving and highly recommended.
rachel cusk's saving agnes
also a whitbread winner but from several years ago. depressive, restless girl in england with wacky roommates and stuff. not bad but i'd recommend cusk's later novels instead.
umberto eco's the mysterious flame of queen loana
man, whoever designed this book should win a big major award b/c it's stunningly beautiful. it does drag in spots--it's about a guy who loses his emotive memory after a stroke and tried to remember his life by reading his old books and comics and things, and so there are a lot of a passages where he's just reading and stuff, whihc isn't necessarily a riveting thing to read about. still, pretty awesome, and you can't go wrong when there are pictures!
nick hornby's a long way down
a pretty stupid premise, a not-terrible execution.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
click click click
hey, i made a comic.
you should click on that link, and then click on the picture with the little magnifying glass so that you can actually read it.
you should click on that link, and then click on the picture with the little magnifying glass so that you can actually read it.
chicago
well, i'm gearing up to head to the big ol' ala conference (i'm leaving friday morning!) and now am trying to decide which authors (pdf file) i want to see. i feel disloyal even thinking this, but i'm probably going to skip terry moore's table. sure, SiP is one of the comics that got me into comics, but i've only been reading it out of habit for about the past year.
anyway, i mostly am going just to hear barak obama and david sedaris. :)
anyway, i mostly am going just to hear barak obama and david sedaris. :)
Monday, June 20, 2005
2005 book 75
diana wynne jones' howl's moving castle
after reading this pretty negative review (via bookslut) of the movie, i decided i had better reread the book and see what i'd forgotten (it was book 6 last year, and obviously i've read a lot of other stuff since then!). sigh. miyazaki did sort of make a mess of things by taking out sophie's sisters--in jones' version, the family drives the plot and makes it much more entertaining than all the war stuff miyazaki threw in. sophie is also a lot funnier in the book, more rash and hardheaded and not so fluttery.
not that i didn't enjoy the movie, but it doesn't quite do justice to the book. i can't really understand some of the changes he made--there were plenty of adorable things in the book, so why did he change some of the major characters to make them so cute? and i can see why he left out the black door stuff from the book (though i'd have loved to have seen his take on it) but to leave out all the fairy tale stuff with the three sisters? i guess they have very different sorts of stories in japan so maybe it wouldn't have translated well, but that was one of my favorite parts of the book . . .
oh well--here is my original review from last year:
i read somewhere recently that miyazaki is working on his latest film, an adaptation of this book. a quick check on amazon revealed that it was probably a book i'd like, plus i totally trusy miyazaki's taste in fiction! and the day after i picked it up, neil gaiman mentioned the author in his blog, so i knew it would be high-quality. i love the large number of amazing young adult books coming out lately, and i'm glad i can still enjoy a good fairy tale. or in this case, a twist on the fairy tale world. the main character, sophie, is the eldest of three daughters and knows full well that the eldest of three daughters never fares well. sure enough, she gets cursed by a witch shortly after the book begins, leading to a story full of magic and adventures, curses and fire demons, and so on. it had a good number of surprising twists and although the last couple of pages bordered on the cheesy, it was ultimately a satisfying read. and it'll be a GREAT miyazaki movie. man, i wonder how long those take to get to america.
funny--the end hardly seems cheesy at all after seeing the movie version. :)
after reading this pretty negative review (via bookslut) of the movie, i decided i had better reread the book and see what i'd forgotten (it was book 6 last year, and obviously i've read a lot of other stuff since then!). sigh. miyazaki did sort of make a mess of things by taking out sophie's sisters--in jones' version, the family drives the plot and makes it much more entertaining than all the war stuff miyazaki threw in. sophie is also a lot funnier in the book, more rash and hardheaded and not so fluttery.
not that i didn't enjoy the movie, but it doesn't quite do justice to the book. i can't really understand some of the changes he made--there were plenty of adorable things in the book, so why did he change some of the major characters to make them so cute? and i can see why he left out the black door stuff from the book (though i'd have loved to have seen his take on it) but to leave out all the fairy tale stuff with the three sisters? i guess they have very different sorts of stories in japan so maybe it wouldn't have translated well, but that was one of my favorite parts of the book . . .
oh well--here is my original review from last year:
i read somewhere recently that miyazaki is working on his latest film, an adaptation of this book. a quick check on amazon revealed that it was probably a book i'd like, plus i totally trusy miyazaki's taste in fiction! and the day after i picked it up, neil gaiman mentioned the author in his blog, so i knew it would be high-quality. i love the large number of amazing young adult books coming out lately, and i'm glad i can still enjoy a good fairy tale. or in this case, a twist on the fairy tale world. the main character, sophie, is the eldest of three daughters and knows full well that the eldest of three daughters never fares well. sure enough, she gets cursed by a witch shortly after the book begins, leading to a story full of magic and adventures, curses and fire demons, and so on. it had a good number of surprising twists and although the last couple of pages bordered on the cheesy, it was ultimately a satisfying read. and it'll be a GREAT miyazaki movie. man, i wonder how long those take to get to america.
funny--the end hardly seems cheesy at all after seeing the movie version. :)
2005 book 74
j.k. rowling's harry potter and the order of the phoenix
i caught part of the second harry potter movie on tv yesterday and somehow felt compelled to reread harry potter book 5 (some mention of the defense against the dark arts teacher reminded me of how harry teaches stuff to his friends). i had been planning to reread all five of the books before book 6 came out, but really, i've read them all so many times now that it seems moot. probably i will read book 3 or 4 if i feel inspired, since those are my favorites. 5 is actually my least favorite, which i forget between readings--i'm not a huge fan of surly teenage harry as a character, and am crossing my fingers that his attitude will be sorted out (mostly) in book 6 and he listens to hermione like a sensible guy, b/c hermione is always right and also always awesome. i also look forward to more ron/ginny/neville, especially neville, who is shaping up to be quite a heroic little character.
i caught part of the second harry potter movie on tv yesterday and somehow felt compelled to reread harry potter book 5 (some mention of the defense against the dark arts teacher reminded me of how harry teaches stuff to his friends). i had been planning to reread all five of the books before book 6 came out, but really, i've read them all so many times now that it seems moot. probably i will read book 3 or 4 if i feel inspired, since those are my favorites. 5 is actually my least favorite, which i forget between readings--i'm not a huge fan of surly teenage harry as a character, and am crossing my fingers that his attitude will be sorted out (mostly) in book 6 and he listens to hermione like a sensible guy, b/c hermione is always right and also always awesome. i also look forward to more ron/ginny/neville, especially neville, who is shaping up to be quite a heroic little character.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
2005 book 73
nancy richler's your mouth is lovely
i think i would have loved this book based on the title alone (it's a great title--and also a line from the song of songs), but the story itself was vivid and interesting as well. it takes place in russia in the early 1900s, around the time of the first russian revolution, and it's being written by a young jewish woman in prison (in siberia!) to her daughter, who was taken away from her at birth. miriam, the narrator, tells of her own tragic birth, her upbringing in a small town, and her growing involvement with socialist activities, leading to her eventual life imprisonment. bits and pieces of the book are based on real people and events, but the heart of the story is purely richler's creation.
i think i would have loved this book based on the title alone (it's a great title--and also a line from the song of songs), but the story itself was vivid and interesting as well. it takes place in russia in the early 1900s, around the time of the first russian revolution, and it's being written by a young jewish woman in prison (in siberia!) to her daughter, who was taken away from her at birth. miriam, the narrator, tells of her own tragic birth, her upbringing in a small town, and her growing involvement with socialist activities, leading to her eventual life imprisonment. bits and pieces of the book are based on real people and events, but the heart of the story is purely richler's creation.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
an evening in cary
some things are worth driving for, and that includes yummy indian food and seeing HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE!
my evening with keith and kate started off at cool breeze, an awesome vegetarian east indian restaurant (whihc also serves ice cream). we shared several amazing dishes, including a chutney sandwich, which consisted of spicy green chutney, onions, beets, tomatoes, and potatoes--on white bread. our more traditional choices were great too, especially the malai kofta. i'm getting hungry again just thinking about it--i will have to venture over to cary again soon.
then it was time for the movie, which is playing at the crossroads 20, a huge mega-theater type place. the place was pretty packed with an interesting combination of teens with unnatural hair colors, nerds, families, young couples, and old ladies. i'm not sure which category we fell into, since i hesitate to label either keith or kate as nerds. they're very athletic, after all.
so anyway, throughout howl's moving castle, i was breathlessly thinking, "this might be my favorite miyazaki movie ever!" it was just gorgeous and adorable and occasionally dark. and i really liked the voice actors (especially billy crystal, surprisingly, and of course christian bale has the sexiest voice ever). then came the last three minutes, where the cheese factor was suddenly cranked up to 11, and i was forced to rethink things in a slightly more critical manner. i did really like the movie, but the war subplot (whihc i'm pretty sure wasn't in the book, although i don't really remember) didn't always work for me. i guess it added to the dramatic tension, and miyazaki does like to be heavyhanded about current events (there are some plugs for the environment on a lesser scale), and it did add some interesting things . . . but all in all, it might not quite edge out spirited away for magnificence, heartwarmingness, etc. definitely he did some really neat things w/ the character of sophie, the heart of the movie, and there were tons of other lovable characters who i'm still "awww!"-ing over. i will have to see it again (perhaps several times) to really take it all in, i think!
tomorrow: hitting that loco pops place y'all keep talking about, along w/ the other kate. :)
my evening with keith and kate started off at cool breeze, an awesome vegetarian east indian restaurant (whihc also serves ice cream). we shared several amazing dishes, including a chutney sandwich, which consisted of spicy green chutney, onions, beets, tomatoes, and potatoes--on white bread. our more traditional choices were great too, especially the malai kofta. i'm getting hungry again just thinking about it--i will have to venture over to cary again soon.
then it was time for the movie, which is playing at the crossroads 20, a huge mega-theater type place. the place was pretty packed with an interesting combination of teens with unnatural hair colors, nerds, families, young couples, and old ladies. i'm not sure which category we fell into, since i hesitate to label either keith or kate as nerds. they're very athletic, after all.
so anyway, throughout howl's moving castle, i was breathlessly thinking, "this might be my favorite miyazaki movie ever!" it was just gorgeous and adorable and occasionally dark. and i really liked the voice actors (especially billy crystal, surprisingly, and of course christian bale has the sexiest voice ever). then came the last three minutes, where the cheese factor was suddenly cranked up to 11, and i was forced to rethink things in a slightly more critical manner. i did really like the movie, but the war subplot (whihc i'm pretty sure wasn't in the book, although i don't really remember) didn't always work for me. i guess it added to the dramatic tension, and miyazaki does like to be heavyhanded about current events (there are some plugs for the environment on a lesser scale), and it did add some interesting things . . . but all in all, it might not quite edge out spirited away for magnificence, heartwarmingness, etc. definitely he did some really neat things w/ the character of sophie, the heart of the movie, and there were tons of other lovable characters who i'm still "awww!"-ing over. i will have to see it again (perhaps several times) to really take it all in, i think!
tomorrow: hitting that loco pops place y'all keep talking about, along w/ the other kate. :)
2005 book 72
kate walbert's our kind
i read this series of interconnected short stories, which discusses the lives of several rich, aging women, all married in the 50s and divorced in the 70s, while pat de-virused my computer all the way from washington state. it was narrated in first person plural which i thought worked really well to show their unity and similarity--besides lending it a slightly sad, slightly sinister tone. they reminisce about their weddings, their children's early days and sullen teen years, and the "beginning of the end" of their various marriages, all while engaging in book clubs and suicides. it was a fast read, but i think i liked walbert's gardens of kyoto better (i only have the vaguest memory of that book, which is telling, i suppose). it was a national book award finalist, for the record.
i read this series of interconnected short stories, which discusses the lives of several rich, aging women, all married in the 50s and divorced in the 70s, while pat de-virused my computer all the way from washington state. it was narrated in first person plural which i thought worked really well to show their unity and similarity--besides lending it a slightly sad, slightly sinister tone. they reminisce about their weddings, their children's early days and sullen teen years, and the "beginning of the end" of their various marriages, all while engaging in book clubs and suicides. it was a fast read, but i think i liked walbert's gardens of kyoto better (i only have the vaguest memory of that book, which is telling, i suppose). it was a national book award finalist, for the record.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
scott pilgrim!
i know i mentioned scott pilgrim volume 2, like, two entries ago, but dude, check out this article because it rocks [i have read scott pilgrim 2 three times in two days and love it more and giggle over it more each time]. also, YAY MIKE P!!! scott pilgrim is TOTALLY named after that plumtree song!! thank you for spreading the joys of canadian music to my apartment. :)
summer cookbooks
there's a great article over on npr about summer cookbooks (written by heidi swanson of 101cookbooks fame--check out the link to her blog on the sidebar, b/c her blog is yummy). she even has a shoutout to local lady sara foster (of foster's market), who adds to the great chapel hill cookbook tradition (apparently mama dip's cookbook will keep unc press in the black for eternity).
i don't know why i'm obsessed with cookbooks lately, but i am.
i don't know why i'm obsessed with cookbooks lately, but i am.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
P3170004
hamsters 65-69 arrived in the mail today, along with some hello kitty candy (also pictured)!
also in the picture is scott pilgrim volume 2, which finally came out today! it is totally adorable and awesome just like volume one. man, i love scott pilgrim.
speaking of comics, i think i've decided that i don't really want to see the new batman movie--i do like christian bale, but the trailers and the story seem pretty lame. unless i hear otherwise, i'm just gonna skip it--i want to save my movie money for howl's moving castle and bewitched!
also in the picture is scott pilgrim volume 2, which finally came out today! it is totally adorable and awesome just like volume one. man, i love scott pilgrim.
speaking of comics, i think i've decided that i don't really want to see the new batman movie--i do like christian bale, but the trailers and the story seem pretty lame. unless i hear otherwise, i'm just gonna skip it--i want to save my movie money for howl's moving castle and bewitched!
cupcakes
i currently have a lot of books about cupcakes on my amazon recommendations, so out of curiousity, i typed "cupcakes" into the search field to see just how many such books are out there. the answer is: a lot--but the most surprising result is that a box of hostess cupcakes turns up. it's part of their beta gourmet food store.
i'm hardly a gourmand, but . . . huh???
note that i already have the philosophy vanilla cupcake body wash--it's more portable than the cake frosting body wash from hella good (i am dying to try their lemon cake version, but can't really justify buying more shower stuff right now. on that note, does anyone know of a good lemony cakey lotion? jacqua's lemon cake stuff seemed to have been discontinued).
i'm hardly a gourmand, but . . . huh???
note that i already have the philosophy vanilla cupcake body wash--it's more portable than the cake frosting body wash from hella good (i am dying to try their lemon cake version, but can't really justify buying more shower stuff right now. on that note, does anyone know of a good lemony cakey lotion? jacqua's lemon cake stuff seemed to have been discontinued).
2005 book 71
elizabeth kostova's the historian
did this book just come out today, and did i read all 642 pages in one sitting? yes and yes. i love books about scholars researching stuff, what can i say? anyway, this one is about a young girl who discovers a mysterious book and some letters in her father's library, leading to all sorts of research about dracula, who her father believes is still alive. needless to say, it gets tense and skin-crawly at parts, although it wasn't as bad before-bed-reading as i feared. it is a teeny bit slow at parts (scholars discovering and reading manuscripts and all) and the end is hardly unexpected, but i think kostova did an excellent job on the whole (i especially liked all the stories-within-stories, and all of the endearing scholar characters. well, all the characters, really). plus, there are lots of librarians and libraries--of various sorts--so all the library-affiliated people and wordnerds out there should definitely check it out. one character is constantly referred to as "the evil librarian," but it's ok, there are lots of nice librarians as well.
did this book just come out today, and did i read all 642 pages in one sitting? yes and yes. i love books about scholars researching stuff, what can i say? anyway, this one is about a young girl who discovers a mysterious book and some letters in her father's library, leading to all sorts of research about dracula, who her father believes is still alive. needless to say, it gets tense and skin-crawly at parts, although it wasn't as bad before-bed-reading as i feared. it is a teeny bit slow at parts (scholars discovering and reading manuscripts and all) and the end is hardly unexpected, but i think kostova did an excellent job on the whole (i especially liked all the stories-within-stories, and all of the endearing scholar characters. well, all the characters, really). plus, there are lots of librarians and libraries--of various sorts--so all the library-affiliated people and wordnerds out there should definitely check it out. one character is constantly referred to as "the evil librarian," but it's ok, there are lots of nice librarians as well.
Monday, June 13, 2005
2005 book 70
david sedaris, ed. children playing before a statue of hercules
david sedaris has pretty great taste in short stories. this anthology, created to raise funds for 826nyc, is basically sedaris' random assortment of favorite stories--i picked it up because some of my own favorite stories (the ones by lorrie moore, jhumpa lahiri, and jincy willett) appear and i figured if i already loved three of the seventeen, odds were high i'd enjoy the rest. and i did. i was especially pleased that richard yates appeared--i've been haunted by his novel revolutionary road since i read it a couple years ago--and by the pairing of katherine mansfield and alice munro (whose selection references mansfield's). i haven't been in much of a short story mood over the past few months, but i plowed through this book and really, really liked it.
david sedaris has pretty great taste in short stories. this anthology, created to raise funds for 826nyc, is basically sedaris' random assortment of favorite stories--i picked it up because some of my own favorite stories (the ones by lorrie moore, jhumpa lahiri, and jincy willett) appear and i figured if i already loved three of the seventeen, odds were high i'd enjoy the rest. and i did. i was especially pleased that richard yates appeared--i've been haunted by his novel revolutionary road since i read it a couple years ago--and by the pairing of katherine mansfield and alice munro (whose selection references mansfield's). i haven't been in much of a short story mood over the past few months, but i plowed through this book and really, really liked it.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
P3070185
ok, this really is the last one for today! [you'll have to forgive me--i haven't been able to upload photos for a few weeks].
these are the cupcakes i made for robin's party last weekend, and i just wanted the top thing on my blog to be a picture of cupcakes, at least for a little while. :)
these are the cupcakes i made for robin's party last weekend, and i just wanted the top thing on my blog to be a picture of cupcakes, at least for a little while. :)
2005 book 69
bruce campbell's make love! the bruce campbell way
in this autobiographical novel, campbell discusses what happens when he gets cast in a (fictional) movie called let's make love! as the comedic doorman to richard gere in a movie also starring renee zellweger and liz taylor, and it's seriously hilarious, in that goofy bruce campbell way. campbell brings his b-movie attitudes to the a-movie set and chaos ensues; along the way, campbell discusses the ins-and-outs of hollywood, his family life, etc. the print is very large and there are silly graphics throughout, so it's a fast read--perfect for an airplane back to north carolina. :)
in this autobiographical novel, campbell discusses what happens when he gets cast in a (fictional) movie called let's make love! as the comedic doorman to richard gere in a movie also starring renee zellweger and liz taylor, and it's seriously hilarious, in that goofy bruce campbell way. campbell brings his b-movie attitudes to the a-movie set and chaos ensues; along the way, campbell discusses the ins-and-outs of hollywood, his family life, etc. the print is very large and there are silly graphics throughout, so it's a fast read--perfect for an airplane back to north carolina. :)
Saturday, June 11, 2005
2005 book 68
sam lipsyte's home land
erm. a lot of people have read this book, talked about how funny it is, etc. i didn't really like it much, though--i thoguht it was depressing and annoying. it's narrated by this angry and miserable asshole/life failure in that ironic/clever tone that i HATE, so getting through the whole thing was quite a chore. the end was somewhat entertaining but it couldn't really save the rest of the book, which was meandering and pointless.
erm. a lot of people have read this book, talked about how funny it is, etc. i didn't really like it much, though--i thoguht it was depressing and annoying. it's narrated by this angry and miserable asshole/life failure in that ironic/clever tone that i HATE, so getting through the whole thing was quite a chore. the end was somewhat entertaining but it couldn't really save the rest of the book, which was meandering and pointless.
Friday, June 10, 2005
2005 books 66 and 67
ann brashares' second summer of the sisterhood and girls in pants: the third summer of the sisterhood
the continuing adventures of those pants-sharing teens make for more compelling reading. hey, i actually like these books a lot--i guess i will class them as guilty pleasures, since i'm all set to write a defensive entry here about the worthiness of popular young adult fiction. whatever yo, i love harry potter, i love the his dark materials books, and i love plenty of other YA books, and i don't feel like i have to justify myself about those. i really like these characters--their foibles and vulnerabilities are charming, and brashares clearly remembers how it feels to be a teenager. i even sort of hope for more movies in the series and can't believe i have to wait for the 4th book to come out!
the continuing adventures of those pants-sharing teens make for more compelling reading. hey, i actually like these books a lot--i guess i will class them as guilty pleasures, since i'm all set to write a defensive entry here about the worthiness of popular young adult fiction. whatever yo, i love harry potter, i love the his dark materials books, and i love plenty of other YA books, and i don't feel like i have to justify myself about those. i really like these characters--their foibles and vulnerabilities are charming, and brashares clearly remembers how it feels to be a teenager. i even sort of hope for more movies in the series and can't believe i have to wait for the 4th book to come out!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
2005 book 65
david plotz's the genius factory: the curious history of the nobel prize sperm bank
well, this book was pretty friggin' fascinating. it raises discussions of eugenics, racism, genetic engineering, and the issues faces by the children of sperm donors--and their mothers, all through the lens of an analysis of the california sperm bank that purported to only use the sperm of nobel prize winners. plotz, an editor at slate, wrote a series of articles on the bank, through which he was contacted by some of the children produced by the bank and by their mothers. he focuses mainly on a few families and donors, but there's plenty of historical background on sperm banks in general, this one in particular (and its bizarre founder and its first notable donor), and their cultural significance. i don't generally read much non-fiction but plotz is a really great writer and really brings these people and their somewhat unusual situation to life.
well, this book was pretty friggin' fascinating. it raises discussions of eugenics, racism, genetic engineering, and the issues faces by the children of sperm donors--and their mothers, all through the lens of an analysis of the california sperm bank that purported to only use the sperm of nobel prize winners. plotz, an editor at slate, wrote a series of articles on the bank, through which he was contacted by some of the children produced by the bank and by their mothers. he focuses mainly on a few families and donors, but there's plenty of historical background on sperm banks in general, this one in particular (and its bizarre founder and its first notable donor), and their cultural significance. i don't generally read much non-fiction but plotz is a really great writer and really brings these people and their somewhat unusual situation to life.
2005 book 64
isabel allende's zorro
this epic sort of story was perfect airport (and later, staying-up-to-finish) reading. there's plenty of swashbuckling for justice, really interesting characters, and even a little romance (in fact, some scenes were reminiscent of that pirate-related romance novel i read for class, only much less dirty [in fact the language was a little overblown on more than one occasion, which can be blamed on its epic nature, or perhaps on the translator]). there's plenty of european history thrown in for the history buffs, and honestly plenty to enjoy for anyone who'd read this. i enjoyed it immensely, although i was very curious about their further adventures. anyway, definitely recommended for summer!
by the way, the senior olympic games are currently going on in pittsburgh, leading to awesome headlines about 103-year-old men who bowl a 120. this article on the badminton players was also pretty great.
less great: being woken up by my parents' greyhounds at 8 am, one of whom came into my bedroom barking and whining. i jumped up, thinking something was wrong, but it turned out they just wanted to go outside and bark at some joggers. the little cat was much more understanding--as soon as i turned over she clamored to be petted, but when i fell back to sleep she just curled up next to me again. of course, the price of letting the cat sleep in my bed is waking up with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose (i'm allergic to cats), but i guess it was worth it.
this epic sort of story was perfect airport (and later, staying-up-to-finish) reading. there's plenty of swashbuckling for justice, really interesting characters, and even a little romance (in fact, some scenes were reminiscent of that pirate-related romance novel i read for class, only much less dirty [in fact the language was a little overblown on more than one occasion, which can be blamed on its epic nature, or perhaps on the translator]). there's plenty of european history thrown in for the history buffs, and honestly plenty to enjoy for anyone who'd read this. i enjoyed it immensely, although i was very curious about their further adventures. anyway, definitely recommended for summer!
by the way, the senior olympic games are currently going on in pittsburgh, leading to awesome headlines about 103-year-old men who bowl a 120. this article on the badminton players was also pretty great.
less great: being woken up by my parents' greyhounds at 8 am, one of whom came into my bedroom barking and whining. i jumped up, thinking something was wrong, but it turned out they just wanted to go outside and bark at some joggers. the little cat was much more understanding--as soon as i turned over she clamored to be petted, but when i fell back to sleep she just curled up next to me again. of course, the price of letting the cat sleep in my bed is waking up with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose (i'm allergic to cats), but i guess it was worth it.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
music library book of the week
it's been a long time since i did this, but the book i have in front of me right now is so visually stunning and totally awesome that i felt obliged to bring it to your attention. plus, best cover ever.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
life's little mysteries
life is full of little mysteries, and today i encountered a few:
--why is the logo for great clips [i pass their new carrboro location on a daily basis and they just installed a sign a day or so ago] a boat?? i get the whole "clipper" thing, but unless they solely cut the hair of yachtsmen, it doesn't seem to fit.
--why does the bagger at the supermarket always put all the heavy things in one bag (today: spaghetti sauce, 2 lb bag of flour, and 5 lb bag of sugar, plus some plastic cups)? you know, in some other countries they make the customer do their own bagging, and i prefer this method, b/c a) i know how much i can carry in one bag; and b) then i only have myself to blame if and when the bag rips.
--another mystery arose at the supermarket when the guy in front of me bought six packs of fudge brownie mix, and nothing else. my imagination is still running wild over that purchase. not that i don't buy plenty of bizarre products at teeter, but i like to think i'm a little more well-rounded than that guy.
--why is the logo for great clips [i pass their new carrboro location on a daily basis and they just installed a sign a day or so ago] a boat?? i get the whole "clipper" thing, but unless they solely cut the hair of yachtsmen, it doesn't seem to fit.
--why does the bagger at the supermarket always put all the heavy things in one bag (today: spaghetti sauce, 2 lb bag of flour, and 5 lb bag of sugar, plus some plastic cups)? you know, in some other countries they make the customer do their own bagging, and i prefer this method, b/c a) i know how much i can carry in one bag; and b) then i only have myself to blame if and when the bag rips.
--another mystery arose at the supermarket when the guy in front of me bought six packs of fudge brownie mix, and nothing else. my imagination is still running wild over that purchase. not that i don't buy plenty of bizarre products at teeter, but i like to think i'm a little more well-rounded than that guy.
2005 book 63
ann brashares' the sisterhood of the traveling pants
yeah, the book was better than the movie.
yeah, the book was better than the movie.
Monday, June 06, 2005
2005 book 62
michael ondaatje, ed. lost classics: writers on books loved and lost, overlooked, under-read, unavailable, stolen, extinct, or otherwise out of commission
well, the title is pretty self-explanatory--here is a collection of short essays by about a zillion authors on books they've read and loved that are hard to find or were lost to them or whatever. some of these essays are really great--i especially liked the ones with more of an autobiographical slant, but some of the more book-focused essays were good too--and some are a little boring (i'm just not that into poetry) but it's at least a way to get more additions to the ol' reading list. :)
well, the title is pretty self-explanatory--here is a collection of short essays by about a zillion authors on books they've read and loved that are hard to find or were lost to them or whatever. some of these essays are really great--i especially liked the ones with more of an autobiographical slant, but some of the more book-focused essays were good too--and some are a little boring (i'm just not that into poetry) but it's at least a way to get more additions to the ol' reading list. :)
Sunday, June 05, 2005
sunday night summer shenanigans
well, that was a fun night!
first i headed to robin's for her 27th birthday bash, a lovely outdoor potluck full of yummy food, fresh fruits, and little children in tents. i got to spend time with some of my favorite sils students and some of my favorite bloggers, especially pinky (who was joined by the also-hilarious mr. pinky) and james (who i finally got to meet). definitely a good way to spend a summer evening.
of course, i had to bail early to go catch sisterhood of the traveling pants with christina. although i don't usually go in for movies about friendship, it was a lot better than i was expecting (though, at time, was way too heavy-handed and went for the easy tearjerker a few times too often for my tastes). i had some mixed feelings about the lena subplot--reaching self-awareness through the love of a dude isn't necessarily the best way to go about the whole coming-of-age shtick--but christina assures me it's different in the book (which she's letting me borrow and which i should read soon, unless i save it for the plane to pittsburgh on wednesday). i wonder if alexis bledel will always play prigs--she was even sort of priggish as a gun-totin' prostitute in sin city.
christina left the movie a little depressed, and i was somewhere between numb and nostalgic. intetestingly, i decided my own summer-of-being-16 was most like the lena/bridget plots, and yet those were the two i found least interesting. we were both all about american ferrara as carmen--christina said she was the prettiest of the girls, and i think she was the awesomest actress (though amber tamblyn is a great little crier--seriously, whenever i see her cry, i start weeping along with her).
by the way, it has the WORST soundtrack EVER. seriously, the melodrama was cranked up to 11 with those song selections, making even the more heartfelt scenes seem extra-ridiculous. good job, soundtrack directors! *sarcastic thumbs up*
mystery of the day: as those of you who have been in my car can attest, the clock in there is totally wacky, and is always running about 19 minutes ahead; even when i reset it, it will creep back up to being 19 minutes fast. but when i left robin's tonight, it was only ten minutes fast! when the heck did it lose nine minutes? like the whole tootsie pop question ("how many licks does it take?"), the world may never know.
first i headed to robin's for her 27th birthday bash, a lovely outdoor potluck full of yummy food, fresh fruits, and little children in tents. i got to spend time with some of my favorite sils students and some of my favorite bloggers, especially pinky (who was joined by the also-hilarious mr. pinky) and james (who i finally got to meet). definitely a good way to spend a summer evening.
of course, i had to bail early to go catch sisterhood of the traveling pants with christina. although i don't usually go in for movies about friendship, it was a lot better than i was expecting (though, at time, was way too heavy-handed and went for the easy tearjerker a few times too often for my tastes). i had some mixed feelings about the lena subplot--reaching self-awareness through the love of a dude isn't necessarily the best way to go about the whole coming-of-age shtick--but christina assures me it's different in the book (which she's letting me borrow and which i should read soon, unless i save it for the plane to pittsburgh on wednesday). i wonder if alexis bledel will always play prigs--she was even sort of priggish as a gun-totin' prostitute in sin city.
christina left the movie a little depressed, and i was somewhere between numb and nostalgic. intetestingly, i decided my own summer-of-being-16 was most like the lena/bridget plots, and yet those were the two i found least interesting. we were both all about american ferrara as carmen--christina said she was the prettiest of the girls, and i think she was the awesomest actress (though amber tamblyn is a great little crier--seriously, whenever i see her cry, i start weeping along with her).
by the way, it has the WORST soundtrack EVER. seriously, the melodrama was cranked up to 11 with those song selections, making even the more heartfelt scenes seem extra-ridiculous. good job, soundtrack directors! *sarcastic thumbs up*
mystery of the day: as those of you who have been in my car can attest, the clock in there is totally wacky, and is always running about 19 minutes ahead; even when i reset it, it will creep back up to being 19 minutes fast. but when i left robin's tonight, it was only ten minutes fast! when the heck did it lose nine minutes? like the whole tootsie pop question ("how many licks does it take?"), the world may never know.
the icing is pink!
me: mm, i made cupcakes
Jon: Awesome.
me: they're yummy
Jon: Are you eating leftover frosting as well?
me: right this very minute!
me: you know me so well
Jon: Hehehe.
____
this post probably would be better alongside a picture of the cupcakes i made for robin's party--but oh well! :)
Jon: Awesome.
me: they're yummy
Jon: Are you eating leftover frosting as well?
me: right this very minute!
me: you know me so well
Jon: Hehehe.
____
this post probably would be better alongside a picture of the cupcakes i made for robin's party--but oh well! :)
Saturday, June 04, 2005
shows and photos
it hardly seems worth writing about the awesome show i went to at nightlight last night when i can't post my pictures! look for tons of photo-entries when i get a card reader next week. :)
Friday, June 03, 2005
the return of the hamsters
HOLY CRAP!
i got a little package in the mail today, with a picture of one of the hamtaro hamsters in place of a return address. in the package was a note reading, "you seem to have stopped coming to us so now we must come to you!" along with six adorable little hamsters!
unfortunately, my camera's cord is no longer working in either of my usb ports, i haven't gotten a card reader yet, and my internet connection keeps going down so i couldn't upload the photos anyway. but trust me: hamster pictures are forthcoming!
and: thank you, hamster-giver!!
oh, two more discoveries of the afternoon--i went into the kitchen to make a sandwich and saw this insanely large bug that looked like a cross between a spider and a cricket [i looked it up in my field guide and it seems to be a spitting spider]. of course i sprayed about a half a can of raid on the thing, and that's when i came upon the hundreds of dead ants by the back door. EWWWWWWWWWW. i guess summer's here . . .
i got a little package in the mail today, with a picture of one of the hamtaro hamsters in place of a return address. in the package was a note reading, "you seem to have stopped coming to us so now we must come to you!" along with six adorable little hamsters!
unfortunately, my camera's cord is no longer working in either of my usb ports, i haven't gotten a card reader yet, and my internet connection keeps going down so i couldn't upload the photos anyway. but trust me: hamster pictures are forthcoming!
and: thank you, hamster-giver!!
oh, two more discoveries of the afternoon--i went into the kitchen to make a sandwich and saw this insanely large bug that looked like a cross between a spider and a cricket [i looked it up in my field guide and it seems to be a spitting spider]. of course i sprayed about a half a can of raid on the thing, and that's when i came upon the hundreds of dead ants by the back door. EWWWWWWWWWW. i guess summer's here . . .
Thursday, June 02, 2005
hey local folk!
don't forget that mika bomb is playing tomorrow at nightlight with des_ark and crimson spectre! it is going to be awesome, so you all should come.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
2005 book 61
matthue roth's never mind the goldbergs
aw, this book was cute. it's about an orthodox girl in new york who gets hired as the only jewish actor on a show about an orthodox family (the titular goldbergs). lots of orthodox-girl-in-the-big-city sorts of things, as she struggles to fit in with her castmates and the other hollywood sorts, but even when she has trouble maintaining her integrity, she's still very likable. the supporting characters, particularly her best friend ian, her classmate and wannabe filmmaker moish, and her coworker evie, are also pretty enjoyable. i can't figure out if this is supposed to be a YA novel or not--i think it would appeal to middle- and high-school-age girls, for sure--but i think there's a lot a nearly grown-up jewish gal like me can get out of it too . . . and possibly (probably) non-jews of all ages, since it's got the whole coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water thing going on. anyway, it was totally cute, so i give it a rave.
aw, this book was cute. it's about an orthodox girl in new york who gets hired as the only jewish actor on a show about an orthodox family (the titular goldbergs). lots of orthodox-girl-in-the-big-city sorts of things, as she struggles to fit in with her castmates and the other hollywood sorts, but even when she has trouble maintaining her integrity, she's still very likable. the supporting characters, particularly her best friend ian, her classmate and wannabe filmmaker moish, and her coworker evie, are also pretty enjoyable. i can't figure out if this is supposed to be a YA novel or not--i think it would appeal to middle- and high-school-age girls, for sure--but i think there's a lot a nearly grown-up jewish gal like me can get out of it too . . . and possibly (probably) non-jews of all ages, since it's got the whole coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water thing going on. anyway, it was totally cute, so i give it a rave.
cable tv
now that regular season tv has ended, i have resorted to watching bizarre cable programming while i sit at the spinning wheel. so far, my favorite cable show is probably that jeri hall one on vh1, where she's trying to pick out a boy toy. this is actually a really funny show, b/c jeri makes fun of the idiots who managed to get on (and some of them don't seem to either have a personality or be a babe, so i don't see how they'd be successful boy toys). in the episode i saw, each dude was given L20 (i don't know how to make the pounds symbol, sorry) to buy jeri a present. one dude gave her a book called "the joy of ex" with a picture of jeri and mick jagger. KLASSY! and then they all had dinner, and one guy told jeri he was into pain, "kinky pain" as a matter of fact. this same guy was wearing a fuzzy white messenger style hat. you could just tell jeri wanted to send about four of them away, but alas, it's apparently a one-a-week deal.
another awesome show that i caught was on animal planet--it was called animal precinct, and featured animal control officers rescuing mistreated/malnourished animals, and then the animals get nursed back to health and get adopted (sometimes by the same officer who rescued the animal initially). i am all about happy endings and shows featuring dogs, so this one is a winner.
sadly, sports kids moms and dads (on bravo) is not nearly as entertaining as either of these other shows (or its predecessors on bravo--i was a big fan of showdog moms and dads, but again, that's b/c i like to watch shows about dogs). in the first fifteen minutes, a failed football player stated that he wants his son to live out his dream, and an eight year old cheerleader shook her booty in an altogether un-eight-year-old way. there are a bunch of other kids too--a basketball player, a 16 year old boy figure skater, some teen equestrians, and i think some others, but there are too many to keep track of, and none of them are cute dogs, so i'll be avoiding this one from now on.
thank goodness for tv shows on dvd! pete and pete has really been a godsend!
another awesome show that i caught was on animal planet--it was called animal precinct, and featured animal control officers rescuing mistreated/malnourished animals, and then the animals get nursed back to health and get adopted (sometimes by the same officer who rescued the animal initially). i am all about happy endings and shows featuring dogs, so this one is a winner.
sadly, sports kids moms and dads (on bravo) is not nearly as entertaining as either of these other shows (or its predecessors on bravo--i was a big fan of showdog moms and dads, but again, that's b/c i like to watch shows about dogs). in the first fifteen minutes, a failed football player stated that he wants his son to live out his dream, and an eight year old cheerleader shook her booty in an altogether un-eight-year-old way. there are a bunch of other kids too--a basketball player, a 16 year old boy figure skater, some teen equestrians, and i think some others, but there are too many to keep track of, and none of them are cute dogs, so i'll be avoiding this one from now on.
thank goodness for tv shows on dvd! pete and pete has really been a godsend!