childhood book love

i was walking home from class tonight and glanced in the window of that used bookstore on franklin street (i never remember its name). anyway, they had this whole easter/spring sort of display up, and one of the books in the window was this--which, in keeping with my loveof bunnies mentioned below, was one of my faaaaavorite books when i was a kid (i don't remember learning math from it, but maybe the math lessons are subtle?). i almost ran in and bought it, but i really wanted to get home. i think i might wander by there tomorrow, or at least call my mom and see if she thinks we still have it somewhere . . . i can't believe i forgot that book existed.

also, an unrelated meme, but if jason and rossi are doing it, it must be cool.

How to make a wordnerdy

Ingredients: 1 part friendliness 1 part silliness 5 parts empathy

Method: Layer ingredientes in a shot glass. Add a little cocktail umbrella and a dash of caring

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

grrr!

becky b. just forwarded me this article explaining how knitting is not just for grandmas anymore! it is a hip new hobby!

seriously, what the fuck. i was complaining about that lame attitude in articles at least two years ago. the new york times really needs to hire better writers, or at least ones who are both more original and more clued-in. between this article and the ones on "omg! comics are for grownups!" or "omg! girls read comics!" i am starting to hate the new york times. even if you want to write an article on the (not very new) trend of 20-something knitters, must you frame it with a discussion of the golden girls? anyway, sophia rocks. this girl obviously has no idea what she's talking about.

chapel hill comics

here's an awesome article on the new chapel hill comics store from tuesday's paper. the author was obviously sympathetic--it's one of the better articles i've read about comics in any paper--none of that stupid "grownups read comics! and girls read comics!" crap. plus, there's a nice bit on local middle schools getting comics for their students, and the teacher talks about how awesome andrew is about recommending stuff. it's true, too. whenever i go in there i ask him or matt "hey, what else is new that i might like?" after they give me the stuff i have on hold. i actually was talking to andrew about reader's advisory when i stopped in on tuesday, b/c our popular materials class will eventually be reading graphic novels.

anyway, i'll stop rambling--go read the article though, it's great.

a new friend, courtesy of pinky. bunnies are my favorite! 

2005 book 34

shalom auslander's beware of god
i heard auslander on this american life a couple weeks ago, telling a story about how in high school he made money by working at a jewish funeral home and sitting with the bodies overnight. i figured his stories would have a dark sense of humor and jewish themes, which are things i like in stories. and sure enough, they do! highlights are the ones where god and death try and kill a guy who's inadvertantly not-died a few times, and the one w/ hamsters, and the one w/ the golems. i didn't really like the one where god goes to an ad agency and is a big asshole, but otherwise they were all entertaining and bleak and hilarious.

2005 book 33

jonathan safran foer's extremely loud and incredibly close
first things first: i loooved everything is illuminated. but when i heard jsf was doing a book centering in 9/11 and a precocious little boy, i had absolutely no intention of reading it. then salon gave it a good review so i succumbed to curiosity--which i regretted almost immediately, having read several other reviews that all boiled down to "this is just like his wife's book, only hers is way better." and i have to say, i spent the first 3/4 of the book muttering, "this is so fucking annoying!" the precocious boy, oskar, is the world's most unbelievable character. his bizarre mannerisms and habits and fears are reminiscent of the kid in curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, only oskar isn't autistic, and he's just as precocious and annoying before his dad dies on 9/11. the only parts that made this worth reading at all are the parts that focus on his grandparents, both survivors of the dresden bombings. i actually liked the end, too, mainly b/c there are fewer moments where oskar is being a prat about something, and b/c the grandparents find some closure.

veronica mars

thank you, salon!

there is a lovely article on veronica mars today. (they also have an interview with its creator, rob thomas--though of course it's not as indepth as the one on television without pity.)

new episodes start again tonight-at 9, on upn! [this makes me so happy, i hardly even mind that my car is in durham getting a new battery.]

when we last saw veronica, she had finally tracked down her mom--but that creepy security guy who stalked veronica and pinned lily's murder on abel koontz, clarence weidman, was just around the corner looking pissed! total cliffhanger!

anyone who calls me b/w 9 and 10 tonight will receive a stern talking-to. anyway, you should all be watching this show yourself.

2005 book 32

sarah waters' tipping the velvet
well, all of the praise this book (and its bbc miniseries) received was definitely on target. this was a really engrossing (and sexy) story, set in england in the 1880s and 1890s, focusing on a small town oyster-girl who falls in love with a girl who dresses in drag to perform at music halls, and who takes the oyster-girl with her when she goes to london. lots of dramatic events unfold, which i am loathe to give away, so trust me when i say the characters here and their relationships are really compelling, and at times surprisingly graceful. i am definitely netflixing the miniseries!

happiest girl in the world/local music

so here i am, making a mix cd of local music just for fun and b/c i can (it was harder than i thought--i had 40+ local bands on my itunes) and just in case people are curious about the local music scene or whatever and now i will be able to say "here are 21 of the bands i love." i wanted to put the nein's "paid in the escalade" on there, but they took it off their website and it's not on their new cd. WHYYYYYYY. it's my favorite song of theirs!

but in AWESOME local music news! while i was burning this cd, i noticed that two of my favorite band-guys are playing a show on my birthday!! at the conveniently located nightlight! now my birthday will be awesome. just like the time work clothes and crooked fingers and superchunk saved my 23rd birthday with an amazing show--this completely erases the trauma of turning 26! audubon park/dave nahm and erie choir, i love you!!!!!!! (also everyone should come to the show on the 1st at the duke coffeehouse--me and my compadres will all be there.) (also, david, if you read this: where the hell is goldie's?)

anyway, here is my mix cd's track listing. i tried to put songs i hadn't put on mix cds before, but i can't always remember every mix cd i make, ya know?

1. shark quest, rosetta barrage
2. audubon park, green refuge
3. bellafea, while we are still young
4. ben davis, blue-hearted sleeve
5. omerta, blind date
6. chamber corps, ora e sempre resistenza
7. comas, all over the school
8. des ark, send jolly raleigh
9. hotel motel, waitresses of the avant garde
10. erie choir, ballad of erie choir
11. hotel lights, you come and i go
12. kingsbury manx, fixed bayonets
13. regina hexaphone, ice
14. schooner, who let the cat out
15. rosebuds, waiting for the carnival (demo)
16. sames, i wish you'd written this song
17. portastatic, drill me (acoustic version)
18. shallow be thy name, maxi-yow-mini
19. work clothes, song i don't know the name of
20. natasha, struck out
21. superchunk, slack motherfucker

if your band is not on here and you are sad, please don't be. maybe i don't have your cd yet, b/c i am poor, or b/c i spent all my money on alcohol when i came to your show (which is more likely). :)

i realize this isn't the point of the article

they're making a movie "based on the writing of" in cold blood?
and sandra bullock is playing harper lee????

who else remembers that outland book when berke breathed talked about getting a letter from harper lee? typed on onionskin paper . . .

i'm sort of shaking my head and going "what the fuck" right now.

on the other hand, i do agree with the article's comment that there aren't many female buddy comedies out there. not that i am planning on seeing miss congeniality 2, b/c i saw ms. bullock do enough pratfalls in the first one to last me for a good long while.

P3270067

P3270067
Originally uploaded by wordnerdy.

today hamsters 53 and 54 were in my mailbox at the station--hamster 53 is taller than the usual hamsters, but has the same size arms, so resembles a t-rex (also, he has an x on his abdomen). hamster 54 is another princess-y hamster--i now have 6 of those, i think.

mr. romance

i'm not even ashamed to admit that i've watched this show twice now--it's incredibly hilarious. not just b/c of the silly competitions (the hot buns contest, the posing-with-a-bow-and-arrow contest) but b/c there are these three guys (adam, the personal trainer, tj, the actor, and justin, the graphic designer) who aren't at all taking it seriously, and are playing the funniest pranks on the muscle-bound lunkheads. they got one to pose in front of a mirror (and eventually take off his pants--and he was going commando) in front of all the competitors for like ten minutes while they all laughed at him--and he never even noticed they were making fun of him. and whenever the ones who do take it seriously do badly in something they thought they'd be awesome at (i.e., the "alpha male" photo), they just crack up. i love it. plus, fabio does commentary.

other great things i've caught on tv in the past couple of days:

--a special on the travel channel about israel where the narrator pronounced "yarmulke" the way it's spelled.
--crud, i forget the other thing. i'll edit this post if i remember.

2005 book 31

carol emshwiller's carmen dog
this book has a really interesting premise--all the women in the world are becoming animals, and all the female animals are becoming women. the main character is a dog (named pooch) becoming a woman who dreams of singing opera. she runs away w/ the baby of her family after its snapping-turtle mother bites it, and gets caught in the middle of a freaky doctor's experiments and the events of various other pseudo-political groups. the book is pretty short and is a quick read, but definitely provides food for thought, especially re: the expectations of society when it comes to women (and animals).

today jodi and i baked hamentaschen for purim--probably close to 6 dozen cookies all together. :) you can see our wacky baking adventures here, assuming i linked to the ofoto album correctly (i only have space for 11 more pictures on flickr, so ofoto it was!). it was a very yummy day. 

more famous friends

oh man, this might even be awesomer than the popstrology book. no, i don't know the count [oh my god, how cool would it be to know the count?!]--but i do know his companion. :)

there is some weird drumming thing going on right outside my class right now. and possibly some fireworks. or maybe just fireworks.

eh, just click the link! ITS COOLNESS WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.

popstrology

this book is featured in the new yorker's talk of the town section this week.

i kind of think it's the awesomest thing ever. get the new yorker this week if you don't believe me.

yeah . . . that one's going on the ol' amazon wish list for sure!

2005 book 30

frank peretti's this present darkness
gag. this week's assignment for popular materials was to read a work of inspirational (i.e., christian) fiction. now, let me be clear: i have nothing against works that are heavy on the christianity--i looove c.s. lewis--or that involve demons and angels--i looove good omens--as long as they're well-written. this book isn't. but kate suggested it, saying that it's what all the evangelicals were reading back when she was in college, so i figured i'd get down and dirty with a really popular evangelical work (it's been checked out from davis 108 times since 1990). anyway, basic plot summary: demons are plotting to take over a small college town and are corrupting its inhabitants, the good guys/host of heaven are plotting to prevent this, and there are also a bunch of human characters both good and bad being used as pawns/catalysts/whatever. there is also a hell of a lot of praying.

for those just tuning in, i have a master's in religion/biblical studies (NERD!), so i take this stuff pretty seriously--hence some of my (many) problems with the book. here is a brief list of some of the things that annoyed me while i was reading:

--on the first page, a carnival is described as "a wild time, a chance to get drunk, pregnant, beat up, ripped off, and sick, all in the same night." i knew right then i wasn't going to really like this book. (i happen to think carnivals are good clean fun!)

--most of the non-demon villains are professors and administrators at the town university. the main human villain is a professor who more-or-less brainwashes her students.

--one of the main characters, a good pastor, talks about "the Word" a lot. also, his catchphrase is "let's pray!" he doesn't really have much of a personality beyond that.

--i got annoyed that although the demons consisted of a warrior sort and the embodiments of bad traits (complacency, lust, sorcery--which meant drunkenness for some reason), the angels are just warrior types. why can't they have little minions running around spreading charity or goodwill or whatever? these things should be balanced. also, one of the head demons has the title ba'al--b/c of course all ancient pagan religions were actually all about demons!

--speaking of the demons and angels--peretti seems unaware that there's an established judeo-christian mythology re: the host of heaven. you should see the insane names he creates for his angelic characters. kate tells me that for evangelicals, if it's not in scripture, then it doesn't matter, so actually he probably is unaware of all the stories about angels--or knows his audience isn't aware of them, anyway.

--the villains are described as "vampirish" and mostly all have jet-black hair and/or eyes. surprise, the heroes are all blondes and redheads.

--pagans of all sorts are evil. karma and reincarnation are evil ideas. the villains here are heavily influenced by eastern thought: "It's all a con game: Eastern meditation, witchcraft, divination, Science of Mind, psychic healing, holistic education--oh, the list goes on and on . . . " (315). any non-evangelical-christian ideas are part of the villainous demonic plot. mention is made of pagan blood sacrifices on more than one occasion.

--also communism is evil--one of the evil things the villains are doing is abolishing private ownership! those bastards!

--the day is predominantly saved through praying. all the non-pastor heroes accept jesus into their hearts. the end. (i think they all end that way.)

P3220009

P3220009
Originally uploaded by wordnerdy.

these are the books in my to-read stack--rewards for finishing the "inspirational fiction" i am reading for class.

spring holidays

my favorite conversation of today (so far) involved this weekend's holidays. it turns out unc has off for easter weekend, as an official university holiday--so friday is not one of the days where the library is closed but i'm there working anyway. this is awesome timing, b/c of course purim starts thursday night and this means i can spend friday making hamentashen! [and as jodi just pointed out, thursday night i MUST go to happy hour, since it IS a mitzvah to drink. no excuses this week, kids! it's a religious thing!]

to back up a little: i only just figured out today why easter is a full month earlier than passover--b/c it follows the regular lunar calendar, whereas the jewish calendar is modified so that the harvest holidays stay in the correct seasons, and of course that extra month adar II was added in this year, pushing everything back a month. i always thought easter did that too, since it makes sense to have easter and passover at the same time, but i guess not.

which i think is sort of a shame--b/c now easter is the same weekend as purim (or as i affectionately call it, "drunk jewish halloween") and purim really doesn't have the same gravity as easter does. passover and easter--obviously!--fit together thematically, but this year, all the christian kids will be all reverent while the jewish kids are getting drunk and eating dessert. (i almost want to say: "ha ha, suckers!" except that passover is my favorite holiday--besides the whole no corn syrup hassle, and the occasional lack of birthday cake--and i'm sad that it's still a month away. and yes, i probably will be having a seder again this year. i have four jewish or part-jewish friends to attend now!)

and that brings me back to hamentashen--jodi and i will be baking a bunch on friday, probably of the cherry, apricot, and chocolate chip varieties. let me know soon if you want some and i will try and accomodate your request. jews and part-jews get first dibs! :) door-to-door delivery of these mashloach manot is also a possibility, since they're supposed to be given out on purim day.

now, back to reading my christian book for popular materials. sigh. it will be a purim miracle if my head doesn't explode while reading it.

satanic mark

i kind of think it looks more like bowser.