banana yoshimoto's hardboiled & hard luck
here's a good example of an author who can tell a moving and powerful story in a small space. the first novella deals with a young woman who goes hiking and feels a strange sense of foreboding; later she recalls that it's the anniversary of a former lover's death, and later still she is haunted by a tragic figure. in the second novella, a different young woman struggles with the impending death of her brain-dead sister, and becomes entangled with the brother of her sister's fiance. i wish yoshimoto's works would get translated more promptly--this one was written in 1999 and some of the cultural references are a little bit dated. also, i don't want to have to wait another six years for her next book. :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
bpal stuff
wow! i just got a huge order today (it was unexpected--i never got a click 'n' ship notification)--a 5ml of march hare, an imp set, and a TON of freebies! thank you bpal people!!! just in time for the sniff-fest this weekend, too!
and along those lines, here are a few scents i've sampled recently:
aunt caroline's joy mojo--the cap of this imp broke as soon as i opened it, which is a shame because it goes from smelling like sweet tarts to smelling like march hare.
bewitched--i didn't actually try it--i can tell by the smell it'll go all powdery on me.
lolita--this smells like lemon pledge and soap on me.
block buster--cinnamon candy! apples! thumbs up.
and along those lines, here are a few scents i've sampled recently:
aunt caroline's joy mojo--the cap of this imp broke as soon as i opened it, which is a shame because it goes from smelling like sweet tarts to smelling like march hare.
bewitched--i didn't actually try it--i can tell by the smell it'll go all powdery on me.
lolita--this smells like lemon pledge and soap on me.
block buster--cinnamon candy! apples! thumbs up.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
2005 book 113/little star
linda ferri's enchantments
this is a thin little slip of a book, a series of dreamy vignettes about a young girl's life. there's nothing earth-shattering here, or even anything that interesting, just hints at missed potential for a larger, more potent story. the narrator is an italian girl living in france in the 60s with a father who seems volatile, but that's not explored in depth, nor are any of the cultural issues. i suppose it's meant to be the child's perspective, not really understanding the deeper meanings of the things going on around her, but unfortunately this gives the book an unfinished quality. it's a pleasant read, don't get me wrong, i just wish there had been more here. certainly i've read equally small books that contained great and powerful stories.
and on that note, i also read andi watson's little star this afternoon--it hasn't come out as a collection yet, but i just got around to picking up the four individual issues. and watson really is good at packing a lot of impact into smaller stories--here, a guy struggles with the complexities of fatherhood and trying to figure out how it fits into his life. i really like watson's drawing style, how it sort of looks watercolored even though it's all gray, and it fits his family/relationship-oriented stories quite nicely.
this is a thin little slip of a book, a series of dreamy vignettes about a young girl's life. there's nothing earth-shattering here, or even anything that interesting, just hints at missed potential for a larger, more potent story. the narrator is an italian girl living in france in the 60s with a father who seems volatile, but that's not explored in depth, nor are any of the cultural issues. i suppose it's meant to be the child's perspective, not really understanding the deeper meanings of the things going on around her, but unfortunately this gives the book an unfinished quality. it's a pleasant read, don't get me wrong, i just wish there had been more here. certainly i've read equally small books that contained great and powerful stories.
and on that note, i also read andi watson's little star this afternoon--it hasn't come out as a collection yet, but i just got around to picking up the four individual issues. and watson really is good at packing a lot of impact into smaller stories--here, a guy struggles with the complexities of fatherhood and trying to figure out how it fits into his life. i really like watson's drawing style, how it sort of looks watercolored even though it's all gray, and it fits his family/relationship-oriented stories quite nicely.
hee!
woohoo! my hopes of dominating the media through my blog are starting to be realized! yesterday i was linked by the news and observer's tar heel blogwatch and today my photos of the troika festival were posted to alt.music.chapel-hill by someone who isn't me or even someone i really know (honestly, i would have posted them myself had i seen zeno's question earlier, but i was in class).
take note, media types! i'm available for book reviews, concert commentaries, columns, whatever! let me be the media whore i was born to be!
more book-related posts later--i'm still recovering from the first day of classes. ok, i only had one class, but i forgot how dang heavy my backpack gets. here's to my last year of toting around a backpack!
take note, media types! i'm available for book reviews, concert commentaries, columns, whatever! let me be the media whore i was born to be!
more book-related posts later--i'm still recovering from the first day of classes. ok, i only had one class, but i forgot how dang heavy my backpack gets. here's to my last year of toting around a backpack!
Monday, August 29, 2005
2005 book 112
george hagen's the laments
i'm feeling a little wiped out after reading this book--it drags out all sorts of emotions with its good writing and storytelling. the laments are a south african family who move all over the place, finally settling in new jersey, dealing with the ups and downs of family life in the 60s-70s--although some of their downs are actually pretty tragic. this was a really good book but i can't really process any other thoughts about it right now.
i'm feeling a little wiped out after reading this book--it drags out all sorts of emotions with its good writing and storytelling. the laments are a south african family who move all over the place, finally settling in new jersey, dealing with the ups and downs of family life in the 60s-70s--although some of their downs are actually pretty tragic. this was a really good book but i can't really process any other thoughts about it right now.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
P8270029
audubon park, bellafea, schooner, work clothes, tenement halls, and portastatic make for a pretty freakin' amazing show. it was awesome to see so many people out and having fun, eating loco-pops and funnel cake and drinking free beer and rocking out. it was also awesome to see nevin for the first time in something like two years.
and making it back to carrboro in time for last call at ocsc wasn't too shabby, either. :)
anyway, more of my crappy rock show photography has been posted at flickr--i especially like this picture of audubon park, b/c david looks like a ghost.
tomorrow: cupcakes! ;)
and making it back to carrboro in time for last call at ocsc wasn't too shabby, either. :)
anyway, more of my crappy rock show photography has been posted at flickr--i especially like this picture of audubon park, b/c david looks like a ghost.
tomorrow: cupcakes! ;)
Saturday, August 27, 2005
P8260074
yay for the troika music festival! i swear it was dance-pop night over at the duke coffeehouse--we arrived just as the sames were setting up, and if you don't think the sames are a pop band, you've obviously never seen them live. and there are no arguments about i am the world trade center or the rosebuds, i assume! yes, we danced the night away and it was just great. the rosebuds are currently drummer-less so ivan played drums while reid took over on lead guitar--and who knew ivan was an awesome drummer? they did their last couple of songs acoustic in the crowd--thanks again to tripp for getting a picture since i was too short. i predict that "leaves do fall" will be the big hit from their upcoming album, b/c kelly sure can sing!
i was sorry to miss erie choir and regina hexaphone--next year find venues that are close together, please!
anyway, a ton of pictures are on flickr, and they will be organized shortly, but for now i need to go to sleep and rest up for tomorrow--six of my favorite bands in a row!!!
i was sorry to miss erie choir and regina hexaphone--next year find venues that are close together, please!
anyway, a ton of pictures are on flickr, and they will be organized shortly, but for now i need to go to sleep and rest up for tomorrow--six of my favorite bands in a row!!!
Friday, August 26, 2005
baked goods
maybe i'll make cupcakes this weekend (if i haven't used all my food-coloring during fiber-dying experiments, anyway).
Thursday, August 25, 2005
2005 book 111
marina lewycka's a short history of tractors in ukrainian
this book has been longlisted for the booker award and shortlisted for the saga award for wit--both of which it strongly deserves. it's mostly about two adult sisters who have been feudin' since their mother's death two years earlier, and how they come together in an effort to thwart their elderly father's upcoming nuptials to a much younger (and already married) ukrainian woman. it's also about the primary character's efforts to discover the truth about her family's past in the ukraine in the 1930s and 40s before their emigration to england. anyway, i liked it a lot--lewycka takes a light hand to some potentially heavy themes and weaves a really nice story of family, love, and growing older. also it has some pretty funny bits.
this book has been longlisted for the booker award and shortlisted for the saga award for wit--both of which it strongly deserves. it's mostly about two adult sisters who have been feudin' since their mother's death two years earlier, and how they come together in an effort to thwart their elderly father's upcoming nuptials to a much younger (and already married) ukrainian woman. it's also about the primary character's efforts to discover the truth about her family's past in the ukraine in the 1930s and 40s before their emigration to england. anyway, i liked it a lot--lewycka takes a light hand to some potentially heavy themes and weaves a really nice story of family, love, and growing older. also it has some pretty funny bits.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
2005 book 110
arthur phillips' the egyptologist
well, this book at least has an interesting structure--it's told in a series of letters/journal entries, alternating between two primary narrators. unfortunately, the narrator all into archaeology doesn't get interesting until around page 200, and then it's intermittent due to all his dang technica talk, and the private detective's story starts off strong and then gets almost as annoying as the other guy's toward the end. the end is pretty funny, by the way, although i think the author was going more for surprising and ghastly. good effort, though.
well, this book at least has an interesting structure--it's told in a series of letters/journal entries, alternating between two primary narrators. unfortunately, the narrator all into archaeology doesn't get interesting until around page 200, and then it's intermittent due to all his dang technica talk, and the private detective's story starts off strong and then gets almost as annoying as the other guy's toward the end. the end is pretty funny, by the way, although i think the author was going more for surprising and ghastly. good effort, though.
Monday, August 22, 2005
textbooks
$317.42 for four books--i think that's a record for me [and god knows there'll probably be a few more i end up needing]. i miss being a liberal arts major, when the books were all like thirty dollars or less.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
pop culture saturday!
this afternoon jodi and emily and i went to see broken flowers, which i liked a lot (bill murray is the master of the middleaged existential-angst-ridden character, and all the women were great), but which had a few too many shots of the left car mirror reflecting scenery for my tastes.
then tonight was the pipe reunion show!! christina and i arrived just as the first band was finishing, which meant we were just in time to rock out to the nein! i hadn't seen them live since they added the 4th guy, and the change was really incredible. their sound has evolved so much in the last year or so and they put on really an amazing show tonight.
then, pipe!!! totally adorable! ron had the setlist written on his shirt! and he's such a cute performer, all dancing around the stage shaking his hiney. we were right up front so were showered with beer as empty cans flew overhead (i caught one accidentally when ron threw it back into the crowd)--at least until the moshing started and some creepy dudes decided moshing was a great excuse to press really close up against us, and put their hands on our shoulders, and try to talk to us, and we kept edging away and finally fled to the back. thank goodness for the tvs broadcasting the action on stage! of course mostly we were talking to people, but that did not prevent us from rocking out. and it was so nice to see lots of my favorite people there!
and then when i came home one of those tiny frogs was on my front door! christina said maybe it was good luck and i wanted to take a picture of it, but was afraid it would hop inside my house if i opened the door again. silly frog.
if anyone reading this has pictures of the show, can you send me some? at first i was sorry i didn't bring my camera, but during the showers of beer i was mostly relieved it was safe at home. :)
then tonight was the pipe reunion show!! christina and i arrived just as the first band was finishing, which meant we were just in time to rock out to the nein! i hadn't seen them live since they added the 4th guy, and the change was really incredible. their sound has evolved so much in the last year or so and they put on really an amazing show tonight.
then, pipe!!! totally adorable! ron had the setlist written on his shirt! and he's such a cute performer, all dancing around the stage shaking his hiney. we were right up front so were showered with beer as empty cans flew overhead (i caught one accidentally when ron threw it back into the crowd)--at least until the moshing started and some creepy dudes decided moshing was a great excuse to press really close up against us, and put their hands on our shoulders, and try to talk to us, and we kept edging away and finally fled to the back. thank goodness for the tvs broadcasting the action on stage! of course mostly we were talking to people, but that did not prevent us from rocking out. and it was so nice to see lots of my favorite people there!
and then when i came home one of those tiny frogs was on my front door! christina said maybe it was good luck and i wanted to take a picture of it, but was afraid it would hop inside my house if i opened the door again. silly frog.
if anyone reading this has pictures of the show, can you send me some? at first i was sorry i didn't bring my camera, but during the showers of beer i was mostly relieved it was safe at home. :)
Saturday, August 20, 2005
2005 book 109
calvin trillin's the tummy trilogy
trillin, of course, is a well-known essayist, novelist, and food enthusiast, and the tummy trilogy is a collection of three of his first collections of food writing from the new yorker (american fried, alice, let's eat, and third helpings, all written in the late 70s/early 80s). i'd count this as three books, since technically it is, but it also works well as one book, and it's in one volume, so whatever, i'll give it a pass. trillin is probably the funniest and most enthusiastic food writer out there whether he's at a crawfish-eating contest in louisiana, exploring bars in berks county, pa, expounding on the amazing arthur bryant's in kansas city, or trying to find good food in england. his chapter on tokyo had me drooling, b/c gosh do i love sushi. this book is also a sweet look at family life--his depictions of his wife and two daughters are heartwarming and hilarious. having all three books in one makes for slowish reading--i can only take so much of trillin's favorite foods at one go--but they really do form a whole picture of a man's love of food and his family.
trillin, of course, is a well-known essayist, novelist, and food enthusiast, and the tummy trilogy is a collection of three of his first collections of food writing from the new yorker (american fried, alice, let's eat, and third helpings, all written in the late 70s/early 80s). i'd count this as three books, since technically it is, but it also works well as one book, and it's in one volume, so whatever, i'll give it a pass. trillin is probably the funniest and most enthusiastic food writer out there whether he's at a crawfish-eating contest in louisiana, exploring bars in berks county, pa, expounding on the amazing arthur bryant's in kansas city, or trying to find good food in england. his chapter on tokyo had me drooling, b/c gosh do i love sushi. this book is also a sweet look at family life--his depictions of his wife and two daughters are heartwarming and hilarious. having all three books in one makes for slowish reading--i can only take so much of trillin's favorite foods at one go--but they really do form a whole picture of a man's love of food and his family.
Friday, August 19, 2005
happy birthday josh
vive la difference!
yesterday josh came over and fixed my dresser. there was a lot of drilling and it was all very exciting. now it stands all by itself and the drawers even shut!
today josh turns 30! happy birthday, josh!
yesterday josh came over and fixed my dresser. there was a lot of drilling and it was all very exciting. now it stands all by itself and the drawers even shut!
today josh turns 30! happy birthday, josh!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
nerd alert: awesome journal(s)
popular music is so my favorite journal ever. check out the table of contents on this issue (the music and literature issue). damn, it's awesome.
though to be fair to the journal of popular music studies, there was a pretty funny article in their most recent issue on the culture of jimmy buffett and the parrotheads (entitled "Parrotheads in Margaritaville: Fan Practice, Oppositional Culture, and Embedded Cultural Resistance in Buffett Fandom"). hee. it's just like i'm seventeen again, and my coworkers are giving me wine coolers and laughing at my tipsiness! at a jimmy buffett concert, i mean, not at work.
on the same note, i also like a lot of the articles in popular music and society. i'm pretty sure that's the journal that featured an article by marc faris (duke music ph.d., member of the sames) earlier this year.
basically i like reading article about popular music--just one of the reasons i love my job!
though to be fair to the journal of popular music studies, there was a pretty funny article in their most recent issue on the culture of jimmy buffett and the parrotheads (entitled "Parrotheads in Margaritaville: Fan Practice, Oppositional Culture, and Embedded Cultural Resistance in Buffett Fandom"). hee. it's just like i'm seventeen again, and my coworkers are giving me wine coolers and laughing at my tipsiness! at a jimmy buffett concert, i mean, not at work.
on the same note, i also like a lot of the articles in popular music and society. i'm pretty sure that's the journal that featured an article by marc faris (duke music ph.d., member of the sames) earlier this year.
basically i like reading article about popular music--just one of the reasons i love my job!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
bpal sniff-fest, some reviews
i got my first official order from the lab today, yay!!!! but before i comment on the first scent i've sampled, i'll let you all know that sarah and lisa and i are going to have our second sniff-fest during labor day weekend, the afternoon of saturday, september third. so if you're in town and want to smell pretty smells, keep your eyes peeled for updates. or, y'know, let me know you're interested. :)
now . . . some reviews!
black pearl
Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.
of course, i ordered these almost two months ago, so didn't know how excited i'd be by the coconut note in this one. spooky, my absolutely favorite bpal scent, which i wear every day, has a strong coconut thing going on (everyone always tells me i smell like the beach, which i take as a compliment). unfortunately, spooky is a limited edition and so i'm always searching for a backup. will this be it??
in the bottle--it smells floral, and maybe even a little powdery. uh-oh!
wet--ah, there's the coconut--it's like a floral and creamy spooky.
dry--i think i'm getting a hint of nut--i wish this was more coconutty! or tropical, or whatever.
later--oh, this is very nice. it's not as malibu-rummy as spooky, and it's much warmer, but i might get a bottle of this . . .
also, here's one i got in a swap earlier this week:
thalia
Good Cheer. Plumeria, pear and white champagne.
in the bottle--berryish!
wet, on--i think i'm getting a hint of pear and definitely i'm smelling something like wine. it reminds me of empyreal mist.
dry--really a nice and fruity floral, but might be too perfumey for me. i'll keep the imp and try it again another time.
now . . . some reviews!
black pearl
Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.
of course, i ordered these almost two months ago, so didn't know how excited i'd be by the coconut note in this one. spooky, my absolutely favorite bpal scent, which i wear every day, has a strong coconut thing going on (everyone always tells me i smell like the beach, which i take as a compliment). unfortunately, spooky is a limited edition and so i'm always searching for a backup. will this be it??
in the bottle--it smells floral, and maybe even a little powdery. uh-oh!
wet--ah, there's the coconut--it's like a floral and creamy spooky.
dry--i think i'm getting a hint of nut--i wish this was more coconutty! or tropical, or whatever.
later--oh, this is very nice. it's not as malibu-rummy as spooky, and it's much warmer, but i might get a bottle of this . . .
also, here's one i got in a swap earlier this week:
thalia
Good Cheer. Plumeria, pear and white champagne.
in the bottle--berryish!
wet, on--i think i'm getting a hint of pear and definitely i'm smelling something like wine. it reminds me of empyreal mist.
dry--really a nice and fruity floral, but might be too perfumey for me. i'll keep the imp and try it again another time.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
2005 book 108
helen oyeyemi's the icarus girl
i tried to buy this book about three times while on vacation and none of the stores had it, so yay for the regulator! and ooh, it was pretty darn good. it's about a half nigerian, half british girl who's sort of troubled and lonely, and she makes a friend while on a trip to nigeria to see her relatives, and only slowly realizes that her friend isn't at all what she appears. reading this in the middle of a sunny afternoon cut down the creepiness factor a little, but had i been reading this at night i'd have probably been too scared to sleep before seeing how it ended. really a nice take on the identity crisis of the biracial child, with a good helping of stuff on the problems with girls and friendships--and, of course, of stuff that's scary and compelling.
ps: this book was written by a nineteen year old girl, which isn't really evident until the hilariously high-schoolish acknowledgements at the end.
i tried to buy this book about three times while on vacation and none of the stores had it, so yay for the regulator! and ooh, it was pretty darn good. it's about a half nigerian, half british girl who's sort of troubled and lonely, and she makes a friend while on a trip to nigeria to see her relatives, and only slowly realizes that her friend isn't at all what she appears. reading this in the middle of a sunny afternoon cut down the creepiness factor a little, but had i been reading this at night i'd have probably been too scared to sleep before seeing how it ended. really a nice take on the identity crisis of the biracial child, with a good helping of stuff on the problems with girls and friendships--and, of course, of stuff that's scary and compelling.
ps: this book was written by a nineteen year old girl, which isn't really evident until the hilariously high-schoolish acknowledgements at the end.
Monday, August 15, 2005
P8150044
tongiht phil came over to examine the wreckage of my dresser and to take me for a ride in his new baby card (an '86 alfa romeo spider veloce, apparently). that thing handles curves sooo smoothly . . . i'd get a speeding ticket about every other day if i drove one! but man, that was one sweet ride.
in dresser-related news, since i know you're all dying of curiosity: tomorrow i go to a large chain home store to purchase wood and wood glue (i am pretty sure i own a drill) and try to repair the damn thing, which is currently upside-down in the middle of my bedroom. in the meantime, all of my clothes are mostly-neatly stacked on my bed and i'll be sleeping on the futon tonight. possibly also tomorrow night unless i have the strength to get it rightside-up again. :)
on the plus side, my trivia team won tonight by getting perfect scores in the rounds on tv character identification and board games. we are awesome.
also awesome is mike p., who bestowed a large assortment of graphic novels/anime on me so that he wouldn't have to drag it to california with him. thank you, mike; you will be sorely missed.
in dresser-related news, since i know you're all dying of curiosity: tomorrow i go to a large chain home store to purchase wood and wood glue (i am pretty sure i own a drill) and try to repair the damn thing, which is currently upside-down in the middle of my bedroom. in the meantime, all of my clothes are mostly-neatly stacked on my bed and i'll be sleeping on the futon tonight. possibly also tomorrow night unless i have the strength to get it rightside-up again. :)
on the plus side, my trivia team won tonight by getting perfect scores in the rounds on tv character identification and board games. we are awesome.
also awesome is mike p., who bestowed a large assortment of graphic novels/anime on me so that he wouldn't have to drag it to california with him. thank you, mike; you will be sorely missed.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
tv babies
so how many babies HAVE been born in elevators on tv shows, anyway? it apparently happened on night court (or so i seemed to be hearing in the background as i sliced tofu for dinner tonight) and i swear i remember it happening on law and order once (or some show like that--two guys in an elevator, a cleaning lady who doesn't speak english goes into labor, older guy/father of several is ineffectual, younger guy delivers baby) but i can find no evidence that it actually was law and order. i know i've seen it on other shows, too, although i can't remember which ones.
i mean, does this ever happen in real life? does it happen often enough to warrant such a tired tv cliche? it seems to me that there'd be plenty of other ways to instill tension and drama into a birth scene, without trapping the poor mother with some incompetent person in an elevator.
___
where's all the book talk, you may ask? well, as noted, i'm currently broke and out of books and tired of the selection at the chapel hill public library. also i'm reading calvin trillin's tummy trilogy, which is on the long side and makes me hungry so i can't read too much of it in one sitting before i have to go get a snack. probably i will get to davis library for books this week and new comics will be purchased as soon as my student loans come in. so, in summary, the book talk will return shortly.
i mean, does this ever happen in real life? does it happen often enough to warrant such a tired tv cliche? it seems to me that there'd be plenty of other ways to instill tension and drama into a birth scene, without trapping the poor mother with some incompetent person in an elevator.
___
where's all the book talk, you may ask? well, as noted, i'm currently broke and out of books and tired of the selection at the chapel hill public library. also i'm reading calvin trillin's tummy trilogy, which is on the long side and makes me hungry so i can't read too much of it in one sitting before i have to go get a snack. probably i will get to davis library for books this week and new comics will be purchased as soon as my student loans come in. so, in summary, the book talk will return shortly.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
mix cd!
i made a new mix cd tonight, one that's been bouncing around my head for a week or so. it's called the imaginary boyfriend mix! tracklisting follows. it's very random (which i strongly believe is its charm).
1. hotel lights--a.m. slow golden hit
2. hutch and kathy--in brilliance
3. crooked fingers--valerie
4. faris nourallah--fantastic!
5. comet gain--my defiance
6. portastatic--full of stars
7. lovers--peppermint
8. erie choir--epic
9. galactic heroes--all in time
10. kingsbury manx--creature of habit
11. owl and the pussycat--tigers
12. annie hayden--wait for returns
13. archer prewitt--i'm coming over
14. audubon park--blasted heath
15. radio dept.--i don't need love, i've got my band
16. sly and the family stone--stand!
17. the salteens--time you have been wasting
18. the rosebuds--leaves do fall
19. heavenly--ben sherman
20. carla bruni--le plus beau du quartier
21. the sprites--i want you back
while this cd was burning, i got my first click 'n' ship from bpal!! yay, my very first official order will be here next week!!!
1. hotel lights--a.m. slow golden hit
2. hutch and kathy--in brilliance
3. crooked fingers--valerie
4. faris nourallah--fantastic!
5. comet gain--my defiance
6. portastatic--full of stars
7. lovers--peppermint
8. erie choir--epic
9. galactic heroes--all in time
10. kingsbury manx--creature of habit
11. owl and the pussycat--tigers
12. annie hayden--wait for returns
13. archer prewitt--i'm coming over
14. audubon park--blasted heath
15. radio dept.--i don't need love, i've got my band
16. sly and the family stone--stand!
17. the salteens--time you have been wasting
18. the rosebuds--leaves do fall
19. heavenly--ben sherman
20. carla bruni--le plus beau du quartier
21. the sprites--i want you back
while this cd was burning, i got my first click 'n' ship from bpal!! yay, my very first official order will be here next week!!!
i wish i could be famous for reading books!
seriously, i could totally do what this guy is doing (assuming all the booker longlist book were ACTUALLY PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES IN A TIMELY MANNER). why don't newspapers contact me for these things??? i want to parlay my book addiction/fast reading abilities into fame (and possibly fortune)! how on earth do these people get to be on the bbc?? who can i contact in america for similar tasks??
by the way, that guy totally sucks for saying english teachers shouldn't be reading comics. there is nothing wrong with reading comics!!!!! will the stigma never end? sheesh.
by the way, that guy totally sucks for saying english teachers shouldn't be reading comics. there is nothing wrong with reading comics!!!!! will the stigma never end? sheesh.
P8110017
i came home from a busy evening of playing pool at hell and watching other people do karaoke (including masterful performances by pinky and phil, who i met for the first time. and thanks for the cd, pinky!!) to find a large package on my doorstep.
this was inside. the note reads:
Dear Alicia:
These Ham-Hams are looking for the rest of their friends. They all wish to be one big happy family once more. This time they have brought their own storage contraption and potential wall-display unit in case they have started to overrun your home.
Thank you for taking care of all of the Ham-Hams!
P.S. Sometimes the post office won't send things without a return address. Sometimes they will. Just in case you were wondering.
somehow i think this is the last of the hamsters. i got a little misty as i read the note: thank you, thank you, to whoever has been giving me these little guys for the past 2+ years. they really have made my day every single time i got one, and i was always so grateful that someone was doing something so silly and sweet for me.
and they haven't overrun my home, just one of my shelves. :)
this was inside. the note reads:
Dear Alicia:
These Ham-Hams are looking for the rest of their friends. They all wish to be one big happy family once more. This time they have brought their own storage contraption and potential wall-display unit in case they have started to overrun your home.
Thank you for taking care of all of the Ham-Hams!
P.S. Sometimes the post office won't send things without a return address. Sometimes they will. Just in case you were wondering.
somehow i think this is the last of the hamsters. i got a little misty as i read the note: thank you, thank you, to whoever has been giving me these little guys for the past 2+ years. they really have made my day every single time i got one, and i was always so grateful that someone was doing something so silly and sweet for me.
and they haven't overrun my home, just one of my shelves. :)
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
sigh
tonight's sils knitting night morphed into some show on animal planet as we tried in vain to save an injured bird. huge thanks to val and jesse for their valiant efforts, and props to the triangle pet emergency treatment center in durham (off of business 15-501's entrance ramp to 751, on the right) for their kindness. if anyone local ever has a sick or injured pet after business hours, definitely go there. their contact info can be found here.
2005 book 107
leah stewart's the myth of you and me
this book comes out at the end of the month (huge thanks to johnm for getting me an advance copy!) and i strongly urge everyone to go and buy it. for one thing, the description on the back is just right. for another, it's a beautifully written story about a woman working ostensibly as a research assistant to an elderly author; when she receives a letter from her former best friend, who she hasn't spoken to in eight years, the author urges her to reconnect. the story makes great use of flashbacks to the girls in high school and college while also making the main character's confusion and life-crisis a compelling read. it also totally nails the complexities of friendships between girls and how they change as we grow up.
stewart apparently lives in this area so maybe she'll do a reading or something--definitely keep an eye out, b/c this book was great. i was reading the last few pages through tears 'cause it's just so darn touching and awesome.
john, it'll be in your mail folder tomorrow! :)
this book comes out at the end of the month (huge thanks to johnm for getting me an advance copy!) and i strongly urge everyone to go and buy it. for one thing, the description on the back is just right. for another, it's a beautifully written story about a woman working ostensibly as a research assistant to an elderly author; when she receives a letter from her former best friend, who she hasn't spoken to in eight years, the author urges her to reconnect. the story makes great use of flashbacks to the girls in high school and college while also making the main character's confusion and life-crisis a compelling read. it also totally nails the complexities of friendships between girls and how they change as we grow up.
stewart apparently lives in this area so maybe she'll do a reading or something--definitely keep an eye out, b/c this book was great. i was reading the last few pages through tears 'cause it's just so darn touching and awesome.
john, it'll be in your mail folder tomorrow! :)
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
pop culture rambling
well, after reading 12 books over vacation, i'm a little burned out on reading. also, i pretty much made my way through my to-read pile and don't have anything to read anyway. so basically i've been doing a lot of crosswords (i love those books of just the new york times monday crosswords, since i can almost always kick butt on those, which is deeply satisfying to a nerd like me) and watching reruns of house and veronica mars (which is on fridays on CBS for the next two weeks still, for those who don't get upn! and which is on upn wednesdays at nine now!).
speaking of veronica mars, it's been kicking a large amount of butt over on the twop awards. i am SOOO excited for season two, with new recurring characters played by charisma carpenter (buffy from cordelia as the sexy casablancas stepmom) and steve guttenberg as a mayoral candidate/parent of a new kid at school. can you believe i'm excited to see steve guttenberg in something? well, i am.
anyway, i'm soliciting book recommendations again, if you have 'em. and don't think i'm ignoring your suggestion if i haven't read it yet! it's written down in my trusty purple notebook until i can track a copy down at a local library--or until i come into a windfall and can buy enough books to warrant living in an even bigger apartment. :)
speaking of veronica mars, it's been kicking a large amount of butt over on the twop awards. i am SOOO excited for season two, with new recurring characters played by charisma carpenter (buffy from cordelia as the sexy casablancas stepmom) and steve guttenberg as a mayoral candidate/parent of a new kid at school. can you believe i'm excited to see steve guttenberg in something? well, i am.
anyway, i'm soliciting book recommendations again, if you have 'em. and don't think i'm ignoring your suggestion if i haven't read it yet! it's written down in my trusty purple notebook until i can track a copy down at a local library--or until i come into a windfall and can buy enough books to warrant living in an even bigger apartment. :)
Monday, August 08, 2005
P8080004
hamsters 81-86 were waiting for me when i returned home from vacation (with the best enclosure yet--a whole bunch of my wxdu flowsheets! from like, 2003. haha!).
i'm pretty sure the one on the right is a vampire. and why does the one on the left have a see-through eyepatch? i will never unravel the mysteries of the hamsters.
by the way, hamster-giver, my mail-pickup-person thought it was pretty silly that i was mailing stuff to myself--nice touch on putting my address as the return address. and now i have a sample of your handwriting!
i'm pretty sure the one on the right is a vampire. and why does the one on the left have a see-through eyepatch? i will never unravel the mysteries of the hamsters.
by the way, hamster-giver, my mail-pickup-person thought it was pretty silly that i was mailing stuff to myself--nice touch on putting my address as the return address. and now i have a sample of your handwriting!
P8080014
everyone looks at me like i'm nuts when i ask for help in fixing my dresser, but look: it is F'ED UP. it's leaning forward, and the only thing keeping it from toppling over is the bottom drawer, which is wedged into the carpet. also none of the drawers will shut and the bottom three don't really open. these are dire straits, people! help, help! i will bake cookies in exchange for repair assistance!
P8030181
hey, i'm back from vacation! photos are at flickr, as always.
on a totally unrelated topic: do any locals know a good handyman type? my beloved dresser is having some serious issues which probably could be easily resolved by someone knowledgeable, but i'm not that sort of person. it's on the verge of falling forward and dying a horrible death, and i'd like to prevent that . . .
on a totally unrelated topic: do any locals know a good handyman type? my beloved dresser is having some serious issues which probably could be easily resolved by someone knowledgeable, but i'm not that sort of person. it's on the verge of falling forward and dying a horrible death, and i'd like to prevent that . . .
Sunday, August 07, 2005
2005 book 106
lily tuck's the news from paraguay
i forget, is the national book award the one i think goes to books that suck/don't deserve it? oh well, i'll research it later. i'm not sure this book deserved to win some big award, but it wasn't a bad read or anything. it's about the irish mistress of the dictator of paraguay in the mid-1800s--the first half is really engaging, but once the wars start the story drags a lot. yes, war is full of drudgery, but that's why i don't read (much) military history. it picks back up toward the end, but by then i was busy wondering how tuck had to tailor her story to fit the historical facts and wasn't paying that much attention.
speaking of history, the big family joke this vacation seems to revolve around the oneida cult: we came upon an oneida dishware store and i started talking about the history of the oneida cult a la one of my college history classes. i always really liked that story so i guess it stuck with me (or some mostly-factual version, anyway). my family seemed to find it both bizarre and entertaining that i would not shut up about this, and a few nights later when my dad cracked some comment about "oneida" they all started laughing hysterically. i once again tried to expound on the history but my dad was laughing so hard he was crying and couldn't get words out, so i eventually succumbed to hysterics as well. good times. see, history can be fun!
i forget, is the national book award the one i think goes to books that suck/don't deserve it? oh well, i'll research it later. i'm not sure this book deserved to win some big award, but it wasn't a bad read or anything. it's about the irish mistress of the dictator of paraguay in the mid-1800s--the first half is really engaging, but once the wars start the story drags a lot. yes, war is full of drudgery, but that's why i don't read (much) military history. it picks back up toward the end, but by then i was busy wondering how tuck had to tailor her story to fit the historical facts and wasn't paying that much attention.
speaking of history, the big family joke this vacation seems to revolve around the oneida cult: we came upon an oneida dishware store and i started talking about the history of the oneida cult a la one of my college history classes. i always really liked that story so i guess it stuck with me (or some mostly-factual version, anyway). my family seemed to find it both bizarre and entertaining that i would not shut up about this, and a few nights later when my dad cracked some comment about "oneida" they all started laughing hysterically. i once again tried to expound on the history but my dad was laughing so hard he was crying and couldn't get words out, so i eventually succumbed to hysterics as well. good times. see, history can be fun!
Saturday, August 06, 2005
2005 book 105
aharon appelfeld's the healer
i didn't really like this book much: partially this was due to a lousy translation, and partially to the fact that the entire plot can be summarized as follows: during the late 1930s in europe, a dude, his wife, and his two kids go to the middle of nowhere to see some holy man b/c his daughter has some unspecified mental malaise. the dude wants to go home. it's not a very interesting story, and despite what the back of the book says, his return to an intensely anti-semitic vienna is only covered in the last three or so pages, and thus has no emotional impact. i'm all, "what was the point of this?"
i didn't really like this book much: partially this was due to a lousy translation, and partially to the fact that the entire plot can be summarized as follows: during the late 1930s in europe, a dude, his wife, and his two kids go to the middle of nowhere to see some holy man b/c his daughter has some unspecified mental malaise. the dude wants to go home. it's not a very interesting story, and despite what the back of the book says, his return to an intensely anti-semitic vienna is only covered in the last three or so pages, and thus has no emotional impact. i'm all, "what was the point of this?"
Friday, August 05, 2005
2005 books 103 and 104
ellen gilchrist's the anna papers
man, i hate when the description on the back of a book is totally inaccurate. luckily this book was better than its description: it's not about a woman's self-discovery after her sister's death, it's about that sister and her love for her family and various men and her attempts to unify one of her brothers and the daughter they never knew he had. i mean, the other sister does have some self-discovery or whatever, but it's only in the last 50 pages. who writes those things??
shan sa's the girl who played go
this was recommended to me as a sad read, but it was really so much more than that (and no worries, i didn't cry at the beach or anything). it's about a young chinese girl in the 1930s in the midst of all that political upheaval, and the japanese officer she encounters while playing go. both characters are vividly drawn and their struggles with the situations in which they are trapped are just heartbreaking.
today we dealt with another jellyfish attack--my sister's friend got it bad across the leg. yikes! i am definitely avoiding the ocean for the next few days!
man, i hate when the description on the back of a book is totally inaccurate. luckily this book was better than its description: it's not about a woman's self-discovery after her sister's death, it's about that sister and her love for her family and various men and her attempts to unify one of her brothers and the daughter they never knew he had. i mean, the other sister does have some self-discovery or whatever, but it's only in the last 50 pages. who writes those things??
shan sa's the girl who played go
this was recommended to me as a sad read, but it was really so much more than that (and no worries, i didn't cry at the beach or anything). it's about a young chinese girl in the 1930s in the midst of all that political upheaval, and the japanese officer she encounters while playing go. both characters are vividly drawn and their struggles with the situations in which they are trapped are just heartbreaking.
today we dealt with another jellyfish attack--my sister's friend got it bad across the leg. yikes! i am definitely avoiding the ocean for the next few days!
Thursday, August 04, 2005
2005 book 102
anne fadiman's the spirit catches you and you fall down
i don't read a lot of non-fiction, but i enjoyed fadiman's ex libris and this was highly recommended to me. this work revolves around a culture clash between a family of hmong refugees in california and the doctors treating their infant daughter for epilepsy; fadiman alternates chapters dealing with the medical saga with sections on hmong history and culture, along with some meditations on how medical centers are working on treating people across cultures. not only is it a moving read, but i think it's a valuable read for any med student or doctor, to try and get a feel for how to treat patients with different beliefs or different languages.
i don't read a lot of non-fiction, but i enjoyed fadiman's ex libris and this was highly recommended to me. this work revolves around a culture clash between a family of hmong refugees in california and the doctors treating their infant daughter for epilepsy; fadiman alternates chapters dealing with the medical saga with sections on hmong history and culture, along with some meditations on how medical centers are working on treating people across cultures. not only is it a moving read, but i think it's a valuable read for any med student or doctor, to try and get a feel for how to treat patients with different beliefs or different languages.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
2005 books 100 and 101
today was the nicest weather we've had yet and we are all happily sunburned. well, i'm more tan than pink, but some of us are blotchier than others. :)
in big news of the day, my aunt called to report that she was golfing at some trump course in new york and BILL CLINTON was golfing ahead of them! she said he doesn't look great and was dressed like a nerd (with white socks), but he was really nice and waved at them and stuff. we were all very excited, being die-hard democrats and clinton fans.
oh, and i was stung by a jellyfish yesterday! i forgot to write that part.
onto the books!
j.m. coetzee's elizabeth costello
this book started off promising, got boring quickly, and was quite lame by the end.
stephen marche's raymond and hannah
i liked this one much better: it's about a pair of canadians who meet and fall for each other the week before she is going to israel for nine months to learn at a yeshiva. those of you who know me well will understand immediately that i related to a lot of this material, but i think anyone who's ever been involved in something long-distance will enjoy this. things become complicated when hannah becomes much more interested in her religion after learning about it--raymond isn;'t jewish. the format of this book is also pretty neat, with little sidebar notes like a textbook!
in big news of the day, my aunt called to report that she was golfing at some trump course in new york and BILL CLINTON was golfing ahead of them! she said he doesn't look great and was dressed like a nerd (with white socks), but he was really nice and waved at them and stuff. we were all very excited, being die-hard democrats and clinton fans.
oh, and i was stung by a jellyfish yesterday! i forgot to write that part.
onto the books!
j.m. coetzee's elizabeth costello
this book started off promising, got boring quickly, and was quite lame by the end.
stephen marche's raymond and hannah
i liked this one much better: it's about a pair of canadians who meet and fall for each other the week before she is going to israel for nine months to learn at a yeshiva. those of you who know me well will understand immediately that i related to a lot of this material, but i think anyone who's ever been involved in something long-distance will enjoy this. things become complicated when hannah becomes much more interested in her religion after learning about it--raymond isn;'t jewish. the format of this book is also pretty neat, with little sidebar notes like a textbook!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
2005 book 99
stephen sherrill's the minotaur takes a cigarette break
i think it's book 99--i didn't think to check whyat yesterday';s numbers were. if not, i'll edit it some other time!
this book was pretty entertaining--the minotaur, immortal, has taken a job working in the kitchen of a restaurant, where he becomes infatuated with a waitress, but of course being half man, half bull makes life complicated for the guy. i think neil gaiman comparisons might be appropriate here--there's a little bit of that sort of a humor, although sherrill's minotaur is also presented wistfully.
i was runnning low on books, but managed to hit a bookstore today--phew!! my sister got a pet hermit crab this afternoon, as well, which she promptly dubbed "napoleon dynamite." she plans on getting a friend for it ("pedro") when they get back to pittsburgh (the poor crabs at the store all had these garish shells--painted with baseballs and footballs and magic 8 balls, and with things written on them like "miami beach" [we're in south carolina]).
i think it's book 99--i didn't think to check whyat yesterday';s numbers were. if not, i'll edit it some other time!
this book was pretty entertaining--the minotaur, immortal, has taken a job working in the kitchen of a restaurant, where he becomes infatuated with a waitress, but of course being half man, half bull makes life complicated for the guy. i think neil gaiman comparisons might be appropriate here--there's a little bit of that sort of a humor, although sherrill's minotaur is also presented wistfully.
i was runnning low on books, but managed to hit a bookstore today--phew!! my sister got a pet hermit crab this afternoon, as well, which she promptly dubbed "napoleon dynamite." she plans on getting a friend for it ("pedro") when they get back to pittsburgh (the poor crabs at the store all had these garish shells--painted with baseballs and footballs and magic 8 balls, and with things written on them like "miami beach" [we're in south carolina]).
Monday, August 01, 2005
2005 books 96, 97, 98
martha cooley's the archivist
eh, this book was ok: it's about a college archivist who encounters a grad student who wants to see some t.s. eliot letters, which aren't supposed to be public until 2020. she reminds the archivist of his dead wife, who appears in flashback and through her journal entries. the ending is a little flat, but it's a nice story on the whole--i think to really love it, you have to be a big fan of eliot and other poets, though. i mean, sure, i wrote a high school term paper on prufrock, but i'm not generally a big poetry fan on the whole.
chieh chieng's a long stay in a distant land
this book was really, really good. it's the story of an extended chinese-american family; one of its members believes they're under some bizarre death curse, because so many of them have died in sudden, weird accidents. after his mother's death, his father obsesses over killing the other driver involved in the car accident, and his grandmother worries over one of her other sons, who has disappeared in hong long. the story is told through a series of vignettes from the points of view of different family members, which is a really effective device as their actual lives become clear. i liked this one a lot.
jennifer donnelly's a northern light
this lengthy YA novel is sort of about the same murder that apparently dreiser covers in an american tragedy, but the main character is a young girl who works at the hotel in question. she longs to go to college and study literature and learn to be a writer, but her family needs her and a young local handsome guy has come a-callin'. which life will she choose?? how will the murder and her knowledge about it change her life???? actually, this was a pretty good book--good vacation reading.
eh, this book was ok: it's about a college archivist who encounters a grad student who wants to see some t.s. eliot letters, which aren't supposed to be public until 2020. she reminds the archivist of his dead wife, who appears in flashback and through her journal entries. the ending is a little flat, but it's a nice story on the whole--i think to really love it, you have to be a big fan of eliot and other poets, though. i mean, sure, i wrote a high school term paper on prufrock, but i'm not generally a big poetry fan on the whole.
chieh chieng's a long stay in a distant land
this book was really, really good. it's the story of an extended chinese-american family; one of its members believes they're under some bizarre death curse, because so many of them have died in sudden, weird accidents. after his mother's death, his father obsesses over killing the other driver involved in the car accident, and his grandmother worries over one of her other sons, who has disappeared in hong long. the story is told through a series of vignettes from the points of view of different family members, which is a really effective device as their actual lives become clear. i liked this one a lot.
jennifer donnelly's a northern light
this lengthy YA novel is sort of about the same murder that apparently dreiser covers in an american tragedy, but the main character is a young girl who works at the hotel in question. she longs to go to college and study literature and learn to be a writer, but her family needs her and a young local handsome guy has come a-callin'. which life will she choose?? how will the murder and her knowledge about it change her life???? actually, this was a pretty good book--good vacation reading.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
2005 book 95
paul auster's the music of chance
my immediate family has all safely arrived in south carolina and the vacationing has begun! i have only read one book so far, but expect to get to at least 100 while at the beach/pool. anyway, this book is about a poker game that goes terribly awry--jim, who has recently inherited a bunch of money from his father, is traveling aimlessly around the country when he encounters poker hotshot jack pozzi and offers him his last ten thousand dollars for a high-stake poker game against two eccentric millionaires. there's also a lot of wall-building that goes on in this book. you must realize that while this sounds like a harmless, perhaps wacky, story, it's actually deeply unsettling and very dark. it's more straightforward than some of the other auster books i've read, and i liked it a lot--it was nominated for the pen/faulkner award, and i'm curious to see what beat it (but since i'm on a modem connected at 31200 bps, i think the internet search can wait for another day!).
eta: i accidentally left my cell phone in carrboro (the agony!!!!!), so don't bother calling. :)
my immediate family has all safely arrived in south carolina and the vacationing has begun! i have only read one book so far, but expect to get to at least 100 while at the beach/pool. anyway, this book is about a poker game that goes terribly awry--jim, who has recently inherited a bunch of money from his father, is traveling aimlessly around the country when he encounters poker hotshot jack pozzi and offers him his last ten thousand dollars for a high-stake poker game against two eccentric millionaires. there's also a lot of wall-building that goes on in this book. you must realize that while this sounds like a harmless, perhaps wacky, story, it's actually deeply unsettling and very dark. it's more straightforward than some of the other auster books i've read, and i liked it a lot--it was nominated for the pen/faulkner award, and i'm curious to see what beat it (but since i'm on a modem connected at 31200 bps, i think the internet search can wait for another day!).
eta: i accidentally left my cell phone in carrboro (the agony!!!!!), so don't bother calling. :)
Thursday, July 28, 2005
linkalicious
whaaaa??
i got this yesterday and it was pretty freakin' funny. apparently one of the chapel hill comics dudes laughed so hard he cried while reading it. i didn't laugh quite that hard myself, but it was definitely a good read.
speaking of comics, here's an interview w/ brian k. vaughn (writer of y the last man, runaways, etc) at the onion av club (whose latest redesign is slightly annoying).
christina already linked to this but i think it bears repeating: jon wurster is hilarious. i am pretty bummed to be missing tomorrow's superchunk show (and i have a ticket if anyone needs one!).
i got this yesterday and it was pretty freakin' funny. apparently one of the chapel hill comics dudes laughed so hard he cried while reading it. i didn't laugh quite that hard myself, but it was definitely a good read.
speaking of comics, here's an interview w/ brian k. vaughn (writer of y the last man, runaways, etc) at the onion av club (whose latest redesign is slightly annoying).
christina already linked to this but i think it bears repeating: jon wurster is hilarious. i am pretty bummed to be missing tomorrow's superchunk show (and i have a ticket if anyone needs one!).
banned books
apparently i'm feeling uppity this morning. i just received the following in my inbox, about some banned books discussion one of the many sils groups is holding:
If you are interested in attending, here’s what you need to do: Read a banned or challenged book. It doesn’t have to be Lolita or anything, King and King is also fine. Read your banned/challenged book, and be prepared to discuss why it was challenged and what you think about those reasons. It might help to do a little outside reading on why the book was challenged, but you don’t have to. If you would like to join our discussion group during Banned Books Week, just find a book you would like to read and go for it. What better way to spend the rest of your summer? You know you need something to read at the beach.*
so what did i do? i immediately wrote back asking why NOT read lolita. i mean, way to enforce the mindset of banning books! "that book is gross so you shouldn't read it!" the whole point is that it's gross--the dude is hardly heroic for his lustful activities. he comes off as creepy and unpleasant. that's one of the reasons it's an interesting book. [i didn't say all of that. i believe my email read, "what's wrong w/ lolita? nabokov is a brilliant writer." i only thought of the other stuff just now.]
i mean, it's not my favorite nabokov, but it doesn't deserve to be called out like that. i think everyone should read lolita.
by the way, here is the ALA's list of the 100 books that were most frequently challenged between 1990 and 2000. I've read 50 of them (but a bunch seem to be kid books that were written after my time and that i've never heard of).
___
*i don't mean to offend any of the scala folk who composed this email--i'm sure it was one of those early morning, spur of the moment things, and i know i'm taking it more seriously than necessary, b/c that's just how i am.
ETA: my bad! apparently the author of this email was referring to the length of the books and not their content. i don't remember lolita being that long, but it has been about 8 or 9 years since i've read it.
If you are interested in attending, here’s what you need to do: Read a banned or challenged book. It doesn’t have to be Lolita or anything, King and King is also fine. Read your banned/challenged book, and be prepared to discuss why it was challenged and what you think about those reasons. It might help to do a little outside reading on why the book was challenged, but you don’t have to. If you would like to join our discussion group during Banned Books Week, just find a book you would like to read and go for it. What better way to spend the rest of your summer? You know you need something to read at the beach.*
so what did i do? i immediately wrote back asking why NOT read lolita. i mean, way to enforce the mindset of banning books! "that book is gross so you shouldn't read it!" the whole point is that it's gross--the dude is hardly heroic for his lustful activities. he comes off as creepy and unpleasant. that's one of the reasons it's an interesting book. [i didn't say all of that. i believe my email read, "what's wrong w/ lolita? nabokov is a brilliant writer." i only thought of the other stuff just now.]
i mean, it's not my favorite nabokov, but it doesn't deserve to be called out like that. i think everyone should read lolita.
by the way, here is the ALA's list of the 100 books that were most frequently challenged between 1990 and 2000. I've read 50 of them (but a bunch seem to be kid books that were written after my time and that i've never heard of).
___
*i don't mean to offend any of the scala folk who composed this email--i'm sure it was one of those early morning, spur of the moment things, and i know i'm taking it more seriously than necessary, b/c that's just how i am.
ETA: my bad! apparently the author of this email was referring to the length of the books and not their content. i don't remember lolita being that long, but it has been about 8 or 9 years since i've read it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
2005 book 94
augusten burroughs' running with scissors
this is like the polar opposite of the other memoir i finished today. although there is some dark (very dark) humor, on the whole this is a pretty depressing read, b/c burroughs had a mightily fucked up childhood. if reading about fucked up childhoods are your thing, then this is the book for you. although it was well-written and moving, reading about fucked up childhoods is not really my thing, so i'm glad to be done with it.
this is like the polar opposite of the other memoir i finished today. although there is some dark (very dark) humor, on the whole this is a pretty depressing read, b/c burroughs had a mightily fucked up childhood. if reading about fucked up childhoods are your thing, then this is the book for you. although it was well-written and moving, reading about fucked up childhoods is not really my thing, so i'm glad to be done with it.
2005 book 93
susan jane gilman's hypocrite in a pouffy white dress
this was a pretty hilarious memoir of a woman who grew up in new york in the early 70s, was a social outcast, had a wacky family, and so on. but every time it seems about to get cliched, gilman cracks wise and it's all good again. the stuff on her childhood and adolescence is perhaps more poignant and funny than the stuff on her job working in washington, but it reads well on the whole. i definitely recommend this one for summer reading--it's mostly nice and light and laugh-out-loud-y.
this was a pretty hilarious memoir of a woman who grew up in new york in the early 70s, was a social outcast, had a wacky family, and so on. but every time it seems about to get cliched, gilman cracks wise and it's all good again. the stuff on her childhood and adolescence is perhaps more poignant and funny than the stuff on her job working in washington, but it reads well on the whole. i definitely recommend this one for summer reading--it's mostly nice and light and laugh-out-loud-y.
Monday, July 25, 2005
comics
so hey--i've read some comic book recently, and here are some thoughts about them!
love and rockets v. 2 no. 14--i especially like the day by day with hopey things jaime has been doing.
finder no. 37--the conclusion of the kidnapped baby storyline? i look forward to seeing what's next. this series never lets me down.
y the last man no. 35--trouble's brewing! the return of the bad israelis! eek!
fables no. 39--MOWGLI!! oh, that is so awesome.
plastic man no. 17--this series has grown on me in the past few issues and i guess just won two eisners, so go kyle baker.
nyx no. 6 of 7--wait, this is a miniseries now? how is this all going to wrap up in one issue? whatever.
neverwhere no. 1--i couldn't even get through this. why does door look like a balding goth wharf rat? why is everything so stilted? maybe the book is like that too, but i read it about six years ago so it's not like i remember much besides door and her door-named family. i'm pretty sure neil gaiman doesn't actually have anything to do with this series, so i can ignore it in good faith.
if you're wondering where all the regular book reviews are--i do have a huge stack of books in the to-read pile, but i'm trying to save most (or all) of them for next week's vacation! i need them for beach reading. :) although i imagine my mom will come armed with some magazines, which also make excellent beach reading.
love and rockets v. 2 no. 14--i especially like the day by day with hopey things jaime has been doing.
finder no. 37--the conclusion of the kidnapped baby storyline? i look forward to seeing what's next. this series never lets me down.
y the last man no. 35--trouble's brewing! the return of the bad israelis! eek!
fables no. 39--MOWGLI!! oh, that is so awesome.
plastic man no. 17--this series has grown on me in the past few issues and i guess just won two eisners, so go kyle baker.
nyx no. 6 of 7--wait, this is a miniseries now? how is this all going to wrap up in one issue? whatever.
neverwhere no. 1--i couldn't even get through this. why does door look like a balding goth wharf rat? why is everything so stilted? maybe the book is like that too, but i read it about six years ago so it's not like i remember much besides door and her door-named family. i'm pretty sure neil gaiman doesn't actually have anything to do with this series, so i can ignore it in good faith.
if you're wondering where all the regular book reviews are--i do have a huge stack of books in the to-read pile, but i'm trying to save most (or all) of them for next week's vacation! i need them for beach reading. :) although i imagine my mom will come armed with some magazines, which also make excellent beach reading.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
unrelated rambling
it amazes me how people LOVE to spread bad news. maybe it has to do with our own fears of dying, like people might never know, so it's our obligation to tell everyone we know about deaths in the community to make sure sad events are acknowledged.
this has all been brought on by a girl i sort of knew in college (b/c we were on the same study abroad trip and then later in the same yoga class, but haven't kept in touch, really) iming me to tell me that this one guy from our study abroad trip died of a sudden brain aneurysm this morning. it took me a second to place him--he wasn't in my core group of friends there--but now i can't get his face out of my head. i actually have a photo with him on the bookshelf behind me--from my 21st birthday potluck dinner, a big group shot--and i can feel the back of my neck burning with the knowledge that it's directly behind me, but i haven't gone over to look at it yet b/c that feels morbid.
i'm looking at my buddy list and noting that one of the few people from that semester abroad that i do occasionally talk to is online--should i assume he's heard the news, or should i im him and check? it feels like the worst kind of gossip: "have you heard that he's dead?" anyway, i'm sure that he has heard, since he seems like the sort who is good about keeping in touch with people, and i know he was friends with a lot of those guys.
this feels like especially weird timing, b/c i was just thinking earlier that i'm extremely fortunate in that only one person close to me has ever died (my grandfather, when i was 20). my sister has had a number of tragic deaths of friends her own age (including one extremely close friend) and that seems a lot harder to comprehend. who expects a funny guy in his mid-20s to suddenly drop dead? i don't even know if he was still funny--i hadn't seen or talked to or even thought about him in about six years. there's nothing there for me to mourn, you know?
i'm told that they're considering setting up a scholarship for the program in his memory--a lot of the kids from that semester apparently all live in boston and i guess keep in touch, and that seems like an appropriate thing for them to do. i told them of course to let me know the details, and of course i'd donate some money for that (once i get those good ol' student loan checks), because what else can i do?
i just went and looked at that photo--there he is on the far right, with almost a sad look on his face. obviously i'm projecting, but since everyone else in the photo is more-or-less grinning, and since he's in the front, it's sort of noticeable and a little strange and a little chilling.
perhaps this is a good time to renew contacts--i haven't talked to the kids who were my best friends that semester in literally years, b/c i'm not one of those people who is very good at keeping in touch, and i was worse about it when i was 21 and didn't think much about the future--i tended to take it for granted. [and it seems so hard: copying and pasting an email address that might not even work anymore, to email . . . what? "hey, it's been five years since we were close, but i've always been curious about how you're doing and what you're up to, and i'm not sure you even remember me, and congratulations on the wedding you apparently had last year to your boyfriend of many years--and tell him hi, too, b/c he was pretty awesome also . . . " i mean, seriously, what would i even say?]
it always takes some sudden death of someone our own age to make us not take the future for granted, i guess. and then we almost always forget.
anyway, here's to warren, and my vague memory of a funny, nice guy.
this has all been brought on by a girl i sort of knew in college (b/c we were on the same study abroad trip and then later in the same yoga class, but haven't kept in touch, really) iming me to tell me that this one guy from our study abroad trip died of a sudden brain aneurysm this morning. it took me a second to place him--he wasn't in my core group of friends there--but now i can't get his face out of my head. i actually have a photo with him on the bookshelf behind me--from my 21st birthday potluck dinner, a big group shot--and i can feel the back of my neck burning with the knowledge that it's directly behind me, but i haven't gone over to look at it yet b/c that feels morbid.
i'm looking at my buddy list and noting that one of the few people from that semester abroad that i do occasionally talk to is online--should i assume he's heard the news, or should i im him and check? it feels like the worst kind of gossip: "have you heard that he's dead?" anyway, i'm sure that he has heard, since he seems like the sort who is good about keeping in touch with people, and i know he was friends with a lot of those guys.
this feels like especially weird timing, b/c i was just thinking earlier that i'm extremely fortunate in that only one person close to me has ever died (my grandfather, when i was 20). my sister has had a number of tragic deaths of friends her own age (including one extremely close friend) and that seems a lot harder to comprehend. who expects a funny guy in his mid-20s to suddenly drop dead? i don't even know if he was still funny--i hadn't seen or talked to or even thought about him in about six years. there's nothing there for me to mourn, you know?
i'm told that they're considering setting up a scholarship for the program in his memory--a lot of the kids from that semester apparently all live in boston and i guess keep in touch, and that seems like an appropriate thing for them to do. i told them of course to let me know the details, and of course i'd donate some money for that (once i get those good ol' student loan checks), because what else can i do?
i just went and looked at that photo--there he is on the far right, with almost a sad look on his face. obviously i'm projecting, but since everyone else in the photo is more-or-less grinning, and since he's in the front, it's sort of noticeable and a little strange and a little chilling.
perhaps this is a good time to renew contacts--i haven't talked to the kids who were my best friends that semester in literally years, b/c i'm not one of those people who is very good at keeping in touch, and i was worse about it when i was 21 and didn't think much about the future--i tended to take it for granted. [and it seems so hard: copying and pasting an email address that might not even work anymore, to email . . . what? "hey, it's been five years since we were close, but i've always been curious about how you're doing and what you're up to, and i'm not sure you even remember me, and congratulations on the wedding you apparently had last year to your boyfriend of many years--and tell him hi, too, b/c he was pretty awesome also . . . " i mean, seriously, what would i even say?]
it always takes some sudden death of someone our own age to make us not take the future for granted, i guess. and then we almost always forget.
anyway, here's to warren, and my vague memory of a funny, nice guy.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
P7230086
hamsters 76-80! wow, who'd have ever thoguht that when the first two appeared in my mailbox at wxdu that i'd eventually have 80 of them--all without the giver revealing him- or herself!
i like that there's a monk to go with the nun from last time--what is the significance of the little green star on his ear?? who made hamtaro guys look like religious figures, anwyay?
i also like the little angry guy, with furrowed eyebrows and raised fists.
in other news, i am wearing a sundress and slathered with jailbait. i feel extra girly today! supershort hair is the best!
i like that there's a monk to go with the nun from last time--what is the significance of the little green star on his ear?? who made hamtaro guys look like religious figures, anwyay?
i also like the little angry guy, with furrowed eyebrows and raised fists.
in other news, i am wearing a sundress and slathered with jailbait. i feel extra girly today! supershort hair is the best!
Friday, July 22, 2005
new staple drink
my new favorite drink is the blue motorcycle. not only is it yummy, it's BLUE! (which you probably guessed from the name.)
Thursday, July 21, 2005
2005 book 92
gabrielle zevin's margarettown
gosh. just, gosh. i really liked this book. i'm not sure i can even articulate how much, or why exactly. it's narrated by a dying man, telling the story of his wife to their daughter--she was no ordinary woman, but many women at once. this book made me feel the way sharon creech's love that dog does (again, i cannot explain way), only i didn't cry as much on this one. i almost missed my stop on the bus ride home because i was reading it, and i never read on the bus, but somehow i was holding it and couldn't let it go.
plus i really liked the cover.
just a wonderful book, stark and full of love and uncertainty.
___
ETA: weird. i was just googling zevin to see if she'd written anything else (looks like she has a YA book coming out this fall), and came across this. i can't believe she talks about love that dog in this interview. that's weird, right??? since i just compared those two books, which are different in every conceivable way except for their similar size and brightly-colored covers?
gosh. just, gosh. i really liked this book. i'm not sure i can even articulate how much, or why exactly. it's narrated by a dying man, telling the story of his wife to their daughter--she was no ordinary woman, but many women at once. this book made me feel the way sharon creech's love that dog does (again, i cannot explain way), only i didn't cry as much on this one. i almost missed my stop on the bus ride home because i was reading it, and i never read on the bus, but somehow i was holding it and couldn't let it go.
plus i really liked the cover.
just a wonderful book, stark and full of love and uncertainty.
___
ETA: weird. i was just googling zevin to see if she'd written anything else (looks like she has a YA book coming out this fall), and came across this. i can't believe she talks about love that dog in this interview. that's weird, right??? since i just compared those two books, which are different in every conceivable way except for their similar size and brightly-colored covers?
pittsburgh
hmm, maybe i should think about scheduling a trip home: this installation looks really cool. plus, an american childhood is one of my favorite books b/c it evokes so much of my own childhood in pittsburgh (and probably no one else has ever taken such a romantic view of the city).
i also wouldn't mind seeing the john waters exhibition at the warhol, but that's only running through early september so i don't think i'll get the chance.
in other news . . . today's the full moon which means limited edition bpal scents! fruit moon sounds really yummy . . .
speaking of yummy, today i'm taking jodi to loco pops (i also went w/ erin just the other day). i still don't think i'll work up the courage to try the avocado one, but i'm definitely going for mango chili today. chocolate chili was awesome! and nothing provides relief from the unending muggy weather like a loco pop (or three). i'm definitely going to bring a cooler sometime next week and get some for when my family is here!
i also wouldn't mind seeing the john waters exhibition at the warhol, but that's only running through early september so i don't think i'll get the chance.
in other news . . . today's the full moon which means limited edition bpal scents! fruit moon sounds really yummy . . .
speaking of yummy, today i'm taking jodi to loco pops (i also went w/ erin just the other day). i still don't think i'll work up the courage to try the avocado one, but i'm definitely going for mango chili today. chocolate chili was awesome! and nothing provides relief from the unending muggy weather like a loco pop (or three). i'm definitely going to bring a cooler sometime next week and get some for when my family is here!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
2005 book 91
ruth reichl's garlic and sapphires
there's a massive thunderstorm going on just outside, which means it was the perfect time to finish a nice book about food. actually, this third memoir by reichl isn't just about food or food writing, it's about the experience of being an important critic at the new york times. reichl assumes a series of disguises to hide her identity as she visits various restaurants, but eventually these personalities start to take her over--which makes for a fascinating read. of course, the book is a good one anyway for those of us who enjoy food writing--some of reichl's reviews are included, rounding out her anecdotes. however, reichl doesn't always seem likable even when she's not costumed as some smarmy tweedy woman--she's totally a bitch about some of her former ny times colleagues, and actually calls one editor smelly. oh, that is just not right. although i enjoy reichl's easygoing writing and her thoughts on food, i sort of hope this is her last memoir. i'm not sure her current job as editor of gourmet would make for such a compelling read, and i personally don't want to read any more snark about her co-workers. it just seems impolitic and makes reichl a lot less sympathetic.
there's a massive thunderstorm going on just outside, which means it was the perfect time to finish a nice book about food. actually, this third memoir by reichl isn't just about food or food writing, it's about the experience of being an important critic at the new york times. reichl assumes a series of disguises to hide her identity as she visits various restaurants, but eventually these personalities start to take her over--which makes for a fascinating read. of course, the book is a good one anyway for those of us who enjoy food writing--some of reichl's reviews are included, rounding out her anecdotes. however, reichl doesn't always seem likable even when she's not costumed as some smarmy tweedy woman--she's totally a bitch about some of her former ny times colleagues, and actually calls one editor smelly. oh, that is just not right. although i enjoy reichl's easygoing writing and her thoughts on food, i sort of hope this is her last memoir. i'm not sure her current job as editor of gourmet would make for such a compelling read, and i personally don't want to read any more snark about her co-workers. it just seems impolitic and makes reichl a lot less sympathetic.
on air
hey superfans! i'm subbing at wxdu tomorrow afternoon from 4-6. locals can listen at 88.7 or anyone can listen online at wxdu.org. expect lots of technical problems since i have not used the new board yet! and expect lots of local music (including new ROSEBUDS!) since i'm not on before the local music show and can go wild. :)
requests are welcome!
and i'll try and remember to bring my knitting stuff with me, so i can swing by knitting night on the way home. :)
requests are welcome!
and i'll try and remember to bring my knitting stuff with me, so i can swing by knitting night on the way home. :)
rosebuds/teenage fanclub
i know, i know--where are all the posts about books? isn't this supposed to be a blog about books??/ well hey, look at the description up in the corner there. note the "local-music-loving" and then perhaps my latest posts will be put into context.
actually, i did start reading a book yesterday, but it turned out to be a series of vignettes (not quite short stories) about all different characters, and dammit i thought it was going to be a novel, so screw that.
the point is to let all six of my dedicated readers know that you should see the rosebuds and teenage fanclub when they come to your town--the rosebuds are playing a ton of new material, which is REALLY good--kelly even sings on one song!! actually, i'm listening to that song now (their new album is also REALLY good!) b/c it is just so awesome. reid from schooner is playing with them now, which makes them rock even harder. go rosebuds!!!
and teenage fanclub was totally adorable and full of poppy toe-tappin' goodness. i may have mentioned my dislike of encores here, but i even stayed to hear theirs (possibly b/c they revealed the whole thing is a pretense, much to my amusement). anyway, this tour looks totally awesome, so don't miss it when it comes to your town!
today i am going to the library (and possibly a used bookstore) in an attempt to find actual novels, so the book blogging should return to full force soon.
actually, i did start reading a book yesterday, but it turned out to be a series of vignettes (not quite short stories) about all different characters, and dammit i thought it was going to be a novel, so screw that.
the point is to let all six of my dedicated readers know that you should see the rosebuds and teenage fanclub when they come to your town--the rosebuds are playing a ton of new material, which is REALLY good--kelly even sings on one song!! actually, i'm listening to that song now (their new album is also REALLY good!) b/c it is just so awesome. reid from schooner is playing with them now, which makes them rock even harder. go rosebuds!!!
and teenage fanclub was totally adorable and full of poppy toe-tappin' goodness. i may have mentioned my dislike of encores here, but i even stayed to hear theirs (possibly b/c they revealed the whole thing is a pretense, much to my amusement). anyway, this tour looks totally awesome, so don't miss it when it comes to your town!
today i am going to the library (and possibly a used bookstore) in an attempt to find actual novels, so the book blogging should return to full force soon.
Monday, July 18, 2005
weekend wrapup
so after my harry-potter-filled saturday (not that the pottermania has ended--i am still exchanging flurries of emails and conversations on the topic!), i went to go see the new charlie and the chocolate factory movie. althoguh i was not feeling the whole invented daddy issues subplot, i liked that the movie was otherwise more faithful to the book (prince pondicherry's palace was priceless) and thought the kids did an excellent job. i had mixed feelings about the oompa-loompa over the top dance numbers but giggled throughout so i guess they pandered to my baser entertainment instincts. the whole thing was a visual marvel as well and once again i wished for a garden made of candy. *swoon*
then last ngiht i hit 506 for the first in a series of free shows featuring local bands and being broadcast on wxyc's local music show, backyard bbq. there actually was bbq on hand last night--also free--but there were no hushpuppies so fie on that bbq place. anyway, david nahm tells me the next show will feature north elementary (and fashion design) and i think it's august 21st.
so anyway, erie choir was doing the full band thing--i know last time i saw full band erie choir i was all "blah blah blah it's better acoustic blah" but i had to take it back last ngiht b/c they were awesome--i especially loved bob wall's guitarin' and abby's keyboardin'. ok, the drums and bass were also awesome, so props to biggers and andy as well. :) i need to hunt down the recording of their hour (the interview i think will be especially silly and worth hearing again) on the xyc website. i'm hoping it recorded well b/c it was a great live show and i want to put it on my ipod.
and let me just take a moment here to tell you all that schooner, who headlined, is really doing some amazing things these days. i hadn't seen them play in a while, and this was my first time seeing them as a 6 piece (with mark l. on viola and tambourine, and some dude on upright bass and guitar--and y'all know i love the upright bass) and i was just stunned at how much better they are. i mean, they were always a great band that i'd usually make an effort to go see, but DAMN. they were REALLY good last night. it was incredible, amazing etc, blah. in theory they'll be recording a full-length soon and maybe playing more shows, although various members of the band will be touring with the rosebuds (and teenage fanclub) for the next few weeks. speaking of which, the rosebuds (who have a new album coming out in september and will be playing lots of new stuff) and teenage fanclub are playing at the cradle tonight so everyone should come to that.
yay local music! [and yay harry potter!]
then last ngiht i hit 506 for the first in a series of free shows featuring local bands and being broadcast on wxyc's local music show, backyard bbq. there actually was bbq on hand last night--also free--but there were no hushpuppies so fie on that bbq place. anyway, david nahm tells me the next show will feature north elementary (and fashion design) and i think it's august 21st.
so anyway, erie choir was doing the full band thing--i know last time i saw full band erie choir i was all "blah blah blah it's better acoustic blah" but i had to take it back last ngiht b/c they were awesome--i especially loved bob wall's guitarin' and abby's keyboardin'. ok, the drums and bass were also awesome, so props to biggers and andy as well. :) i need to hunt down the recording of their hour (the interview i think will be especially silly and worth hearing again) on the xyc website. i'm hoping it recorded well b/c it was a great live show and i want to put it on my ipod.
and let me just take a moment here to tell you all that schooner, who headlined, is really doing some amazing things these days. i hadn't seen them play in a while, and this was my first time seeing them as a 6 piece (with mark l. on viola and tambourine, and some dude on upright bass and guitar--and y'all know i love the upright bass) and i was just stunned at how much better they are. i mean, they were always a great band that i'd usually make an effort to go see, but DAMN. they were REALLY good last night. it was incredible, amazing etc, blah. in theory they'll be recording a full-length soon and maybe playing more shows, although various members of the band will be touring with the rosebuds (and teenage fanclub) for the next few weeks. speaking of which, the rosebuds (who have a new album coming out in september and will be playing lots of new stuff) and teenage fanclub are playing at the cradle tonight so everyone should come to that.
yay local music! [and yay harry potter!]
Saturday, July 16, 2005
hp6
now that i've read the new harry potter twice (i always cry more on the second reading), it's time to go see charlie and the chocolate factory! after watching a making-of special, i've decided to see it for the squirrels, even though johnny depp looks scary and even though there is apparently an evil dentist in the movie. what-EVER! can we get a movie or book about a kindly dentist, please??
ps. has anyone else read the new harry potter yet?? i REALLYYYYYY need to talk about it with someone! please email me!!!!
ps. has anyone else read the new harry potter yet?? i REALLYYYYYY need to talk about it with someone! please email me!!!!
P7160050
man, i won't even tell you which house that talking hat put me in. the vast majority of internet quizzes have put me in gryffindor (with the occasional hufflepuff or ravenclaw) and i trust the internet way more than i trust mechanical hats. there's a sentence i never pictured myself saying . . .
anyway, with my obvious bitterness in mind, you can feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. although i admired the regulator's efficiency at dispersing the book, i don't think they did nearly enough in the entertainment arena (this hat was pretty much it, and you could only get to that after midnight). i really think for book 7, if they're going to make everyone wait outside, they should bring the sorting hat out there and bring the hogwarts trivia brigade out a little earlier to entertain the crowd. not that we didn't entertain ourselves well enough--plenty of potter-talk, along with some judy blume and v.c. andrews discussion thrown in for good measure (don't worry, there weren't young kids in our vicinity). i'm glad we killed over an hour at francesca's, which had some nice harry-potter-themed stuff, instead of standing around aimlessly for two hours.
anyway, click the photo to get to my other random shots of the evening, and see below for my comments on the book. i am obviously still too hyped from reading it to go to sleep. :)
anyway, with my obvious bitterness in mind, you can feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt. although i admired the regulator's efficiency at dispersing the book, i don't think they did nearly enough in the entertainment arena (this hat was pretty much it, and you could only get to that after midnight). i really think for book 7, if they're going to make everyone wait outside, they should bring the sorting hat out there and bring the hogwarts trivia brigade out a little earlier to entertain the crowd. not that we didn't entertain ourselves well enough--plenty of potter-talk, along with some judy blume and v.c. andrews discussion thrown in for good measure (don't worry, there weren't young kids in our vicinity). i'm glad we killed over an hour at francesca's, which had some nice harry-potter-themed stuff, instead of standing around aimlessly for two hours.
anyway, click the photo to get to my other random shots of the evening, and see below for my comments on the book. i am obviously still too hyped from reading it to go to sleep. :)
2005 book 90
j.k. rowling's harry potter and the half-blood prince
did any of you doubt that i would stay up until i finished it? it took just under three and a half hours--it was worth it. i don't want to give anything away to anyone who may see this, but i'll just say i was very pleased with this one--harry does have his stubborn moments but isn't nearly as aggravating as in book 5, and there wasn't enough neville for my tastes, and i did figure out the half-blood prince early on (and was very proud of being right!), but none of these are bad things. christina, there aren't as many lighter moments as you were hoping for--although there is some romancin' (all of whihc made me grin!). and dudes, it's dark. but the set-up for book 7 . . . wowsas. it's gonna break the mold, folks.
probably i will follow form and reread it tomorrow. now i will try and stop thinking about it long enough to sleep.
and hey! all of you hurry up and read it, b/c there is a lot to talk about and i'm ready for some talkin'!!!
did any of you doubt that i would stay up until i finished it? it took just under three and a half hours--it was worth it. i don't want to give anything away to anyone who may see this, but i'll just say i was very pleased with this one--harry does have his stubborn moments but isn't nearly as aggravating as in book 5, and there wasn't enough neville for my tastes, and i did figure out the half-blood prince early on (and was very proud of being right!), but none of these are bad things. christina, there aren't as many lighter moments as you were hoping for--although there is some romancin' (all of whihc made me grin!). and dudes, it's dark. but the set-up for book 7 . . . wowsas. it's gonna break the mold, folks.
probably i will follow form and reread it tomorrow. now i will try and stop thinking about it long enough to sleep.
and hey! all of you hurry up and read it, b/c there is a lot to talk about and i'm ready for some talkin'!!!
Friday, July 15, 2005
P7150023
here's some yarn i spun in rainbow sherbet colors!
oh, although i am planning on taking photos at the regulator tonight, don't expect me to post them before tomorrow--i am pretty sure the urge to read harry potter will supersede the urge to upload photos immediately. :)
oh, although i am planning on taking photos at the regulator tonight, don't expect me to post them before tomorrow--i am pretty sure the urge to read harry potter will supersede the urge to upload photos immediately. :)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
nerd alert
something only a devoted wordnerd would notice (how many of you caught it, too?):
just now on the daily show, they did a hilarious piece on the massive harry potter security efforts. rob corddry's line was "could it happen here??" and they answered it using book titles: stephen king's "it," the little engine that could--and for "happen," they totally used kelly link's first book! now, how many other people could identify a book from seeing one word of its cover title?? and, go daily team for choosing to use such an awesome book, even if you didn't show the full title or author or anything.
anyway, i know they rerun the daily show at various times, so you should watch, b/c it was pretty funny.
just now on the daily show, they did a hilarious piece on the massive harry potter security efforts. rob corddry's line was "could it happen here??" and they answered it using book titles: stephen king's "it," the little engine that could--and for "happen," they totally used kelly link's first book! now, how many other people could identify a book from seeing one word of its cover title?? and, go daily team for choosing to use such an awesome book, even if you didn't show the full title or author or anything.
anyway, i know they rerun the daily show at various times, so you should watch, b/c it was pretty funny.
happy alicia
i am a happy camper today. first of all, i have fallen back in love w/ bpal's jailbait and am currently slathered in the stuff, so i smell like yummy bubblebum and candy.
AAAANNNDDDD harry potter!!! TOMORROW!!! i keep reading all these snide articles and comments from potter-haters, which i have to admit leave me puzzled. i mean, sure, they're not some great work of literature, but they ARE great works of children's literature and fun for all ages. screw you, potter-haters! there is nothing wrong with liking popular stuff! and i'm a book snob, y'all. i happen to think they're pretty well-written--i've read them all like eighteen times each and only don't unconditionally love book 5 (which has nothing to do with the writing, really).
anyway, i am totally, totally, totally looking forward to this. friday night at the regulator baby!! i wish i'd thought to get a little outfit together.
AAAANNNDDDD harry potter!!! TOMORROW!!! i keep reading all these snide articles and comments from potter-haters, which i have to admit leave me puzzled. i mean, sure, they're not some great work of literature, but they ARE great works of children's literature and fun for all ages. screw you, potter-haters! there is nothing wrong with liking popular stuff! and i'm a book snob, y'all. i happen to think they're pretty well-written--i've read them all like eighteen times each and only don't unconditionally love book 5 (which has nothing to do with the writing, really).
anyway, i am totally, totally, totally looking forward to this. friday night at the regulator baby!! i wish i'd thought to get a little outfit together.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
2005 book 89
lev grossman's codex
well, y'all know i love those books about people researching things, so this was a pretty fun read. the main character is this young banker guy who's about to move to london for a new job, but somehow gets hired to catalog all these old books for a wealthy client. soon he's knee-deep in a search for a mysterious codex, with the help of a determined young girl grad student, who actually collates an old book at one point, to my great amusement (i learned collation in my rare books seminar). if ever a book was going to appeal to library nerds, this is it (not that all of that stuff is totally accurate, but it's still fun to see in a novel). meanwhile, he's also becoming obsessed with a mysterious computer game--could there be a connection??? actually, this book wasn't nearly as predictable as i expected, and the minor characters are pretty fleshed out and interesting too, making for a really enjoyable read. yes, i liked this book much more than i expected to--now i demand more novels where characters research things!
well, y'all know i love those books about people researching things, so this was a pretty fun read. the main character is this young banker guy who's about to move to london for a new job, but somehow gets hired to catalog all these old books for a wealthy client. soon he's knee-deep in a search for a mysterious codex, with the help of a determined young girl grad student, who actually collates an old book at one point, to my great amusement (i learned collation in my rare books seminar). if ever a book was going to appeal to library nerds, this is it (not that all of that stuff is totally accurate, but it's still fun to see in a novel). meanwhile, he's also becoming obsessed with a mysterious computer game--could there be a connection??? actually, this book wasn't nearly as predictable as i expected, and the minor characters are pretty fleshed out and interesting too, making for a really enjoyable read. yes, i liked this book much more than i expected to--now i demand more novels where characters research things!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
2005 book 88
ethan canin's for kings and planets
here's your typical "midwestern youth goes to new york for college, where he is seduced by the glamorous world of his rich but troubled friend" story. actually, i think in most of the books i've read with that plot, the midwestern youth is usually a poorish jewish youth seduced by the world of WASPs, but same difference. so that's the first third of the book. in the second third, said midwestern youth goes to dental school, something that is continually mocked and looked down upon by most of the other characters--which of course pissed me off to no end, b/c my dad is a dentist, and it's a perfectly respectable and normal profession. seriously, these characters go ON and ON about how terribly tragic it is to be a dentist. i would think being a proctologist would be worse, but that's just me. in the last third, things settle down a little--i actually liked the last third, but it's pretty in keeping with the rest of the book and is somewhat predictable.
here's your typical "midwestern youth goes to new york for college, where he is seduced by the glamorous world of his rich but troubled friend" story. actually, i think in most of the books i've read with that plot, the midwestern youth is usually a poorish jewish youth seduced by the world of WASPs, but same difference. so that's the first third of the book. in the second third, said midwestern youth goes to dental school, something that is continually mocked and looked down upon by most of the other characters--which of course pissed me off to no end, b/c my dad is a dentist, and it's a perfectly respectable and normal profession. seriously, these characters go ON and ON about how terribly tragic it is to be a dentist. i would think being a proctologist would be worse, but that's just me. in the last third, things settle down a little--i actually liked the last third, but it's pretty in keeping with the rest of the book and is somewhat predictable.
Monday, July 11, 2005
more bpal comments
here are some more scents i've tried recently:
empyreal mist
A hazy, soft, veiled scent: mist floating through twilit skies, curling gently towards the heavens.
in the bottle: a pleasant green sort of smell--not at all overpowering
wet--it smells like bamboo!! it's very . . . fresh.
dry--now i can also smell berries!
later--it's very nice but doesn't last that long.
spooky
A maddeningly festive blend of warm, buttery rum, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and a jolt of peppermint. It’s a sweet, decadent, slightly silly scent, reminicent of rum-laced holiday cookies.
in the bottle--it smells like candy canes and rum!
wet--it's very pepperminty with a little vanilla--nice and cool.
dry-now i can also smell coconut--yum!
later--it smells like malibu rum and peppermint--i love malibu rum, so this pleases me. i really hope they bring back this limited edition b/c i want a big bottle!
zephyr
A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla.
in the bottle--lemony!
wet--REALLY lemony. and a little bitter.
later--it's all soapy. dang, the description sounded so nice.
hellcat
A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.
in the bottle--it smells really sweet, but i'm not sure which ingredient i'm smelling. buttercream?
wet--same smell, but a little softer. yum.
dry--hey, where'd it go?
later--i can get a hint of a warm, honeyish smell, but i can't distinguish it from my lotion, or something. it just sinks right in! i'll have to try this again b/c it's definitely a nice smell.
jezebel
Biblical witch, priestess of Astarte, and general troublemaker. A true role model for today's upwardly mobile Modern Woman. A gloriously decadent blend of honey, roses, orange blossom and sandalwood.
in bottle--it's definitely floral.
wet--i'm smelling roses and orange blossom, a lot.
dry--roses and orange blossom are getting overwhelmed with powdery stuff.
shortly thereafter--it's all powder.
endymion
Selune, the Moon Goddess, fell in love with a beautiful shepherd named Endymion. She appealed to Zeus, asking him to cast Endymion into everlasting slumber so that she could be with him for all eternity. Her wish was granted, and every night the Goddess visited her love as he slept. A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk.
this was the one sarah swapped me!
in the bottle--mmm, PEAR! this reminds me of this pear juice i used to drink all the time in israel. it was called pear nectar and i drank it allll the time.
wet--the florals are a little more apparent now.
dry--i really like this--a hint of pear and musk, and it's a nice light scent.
later--hmm, it didn't last that long. but it was lovely while it was there!
empyreal mist
A hazy, soft, veiled scent: mist floating through twilit skies, curling gently towards the heavens.
in the bottle: a pleasant green sort of smell--not at all overpowering
wet--it smells like bamboo!! it's very . . . fresh.
dry--now i can also smell berries!
later--it's very nice but doesn't last that long.
spooky
A maddeningly festive blend of warm, buttery rum, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and a jolt of peppermint. It’s a sweet, decadent, slightly silly scent, reminicent of rum-laced holiday cookies.
in the bottle--it smells like candy canes and rum!
wet--it's very pepperminty with a little vanilla--nice and cool.
dry-now i can also smell coconut--yum!
later--it smells like malibu rum and peppermint--i love malibu rum, so this pleases me. i really hope they bring back this limited edition b/c i want a big bottle!
zephyr
A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla.
in the bottle--lemony!
wet--REALLY lemony. and a little bitter.
later--it's all soapy. dang, the description sounded so nice.
hellcat
A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.
in the bottle--it smells really sweet, but i'm not sure which ingredient i'm smelling. buttercream?
wet--same smell, but a little softer. yum.
dry--hey, where'd it go?
later--i can get a hint of a warm, honeyish smell, but i can't distinguish it from my lotion, or something. it just sinks right in! i'll have to try this again b/c it's definitely a nice smell.
jezebel
Biblical witch, priestess of Astarte, and general troublemaker. A true role model for today's upwardly mobile Modern Woman. A gloriously decadent blend of honey, roses, orange blossom and sandalwood.
in bottle--it's definitely floral.
wet--i'm smelling roses and orange blossom, a lot.
dry--roses and orange blossom are getting overwhelmed with powdery stuff.
shortly thereafter--it's all powder.
endymion
Selune, the Moon Goddess, fell in love with a beautiful shepherd named Endymion. She appealed to Zeus, asking him to cast Endymion into everlasting slumber so that she could be with him for all eternity. Her wish was granted, and every night the Goddess visited her love as he slept. A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk.
this was the one sarah swapped me!
in the bottle--mmm, PEAR! this reminds me of this pear juice i used to drink all the time in israel. it was called pear nectar and i drank it allll the time.
wet--the florals are a little more apparent now.
dry--i really like this--a hint of pear and musk, and it's a nice light scent.
later--hmm, it didn't last that long. but it was lovely while it was there!
bpal/rock show
tonight began with the fun and exciting bpal sniffing evening, as blogged in greater detail by sarah, lisa, and pinky. great fun was had by all, i think we made brand new addicts of erin and pinky, and i was pleased to smell lots of interesting scents and add some to my ever-expanding wishlist. sarah and i had our first swap--i'm totally excited to test endymion, which has a great pear smell! by the way, i have tried several scents over the past few days, but won't blog about them just yet b/c i would like to get some sleep tonight.
anyway, after the sniff-fest i headed to the cradle for an evening o' rock--the first band, the magic markers, was godawful--within three seconds of their start, i had put in earplugs to try and block the noise (and i never wear earplugs--along with driving fast, that's just part of my reckless rock star lifestyle. actually i just hate how everything sounds underwater when i wear them). their 25 minute performance felt like 25 hours; i surmised that they were part of a plot by the cradle to sell more beer, since everyone was fleeing to the back, and kate quipped that they must have been sniffing magic markers before they went on.
luckily superchunk came on soon thereafter, making up for the hellish opener. in an adorable tribute to dinosaur jr, they only played songs from their first three albums. i did not wear earplugs to better enjoy the AWESOME ROCK. superchunk has put on a stellar live show every time i've seen them--they are one of the most fun live bands, ever.
dino jr, of course, was also awesome. i did put the earplugs back in for them, b/c their speakers were taller than they were, and i do value my hearing a little bit. it's fascinating to watch a dude w/ long gray hair rock out--josh said j. mascis looked like albus dumbledore, and i realized that's why he kind of looks weird--anyone w/ long gray hair should totally have a long gray beard to match! speaking of hair, and confidential to the dude who was standing in front of me, if you're a dude who's thinning on top, don't let the rest of your hair get really shaggy. we all remember what michael bolton looked like in the early 90s--do you really want to make that same mistake? just sayin'.
besides the music, the highlight of dino jr was some girl getting on stage and kissing j mascis right smack on the lips. what the hell! it was crazy, man.
i actually left early b/c i like to get more than 5 hours of sleep on a work night, if it's at all possible. anyway, i was mostly there to see superchunk. :) sacrilege, i know!
anyway, after the sniff-fest i headed to the cradle for an evening o' rock--the first band, the magic markers, was godawful--within three seconds of their start, i had put in earplugs to try and block the noise (and i never wear earplugs--along with driving fast, that's just part of my reckless rock star lifestyle. actually i just hate how everything sounds underwater when i wear them). their 25 minute performance felt like 25 hours; i surmised that they were part of a plot by the cradle to sell more beer, since everyone was fleeing to the back, and kate quipped that they must have been sniffing magic markers before they went on.
luckily superchunk came on soon thereafter, making up for the hellish opener. in an adorable tribute to dinosaur jr, they only played songs from their first three albums. i did not wear earplugs to better enjoy the AWESOME ROCK. superchunk has put on a stellar live show every time i've seen them--they are one of the most fun live bands, ever.
dino jr, of course, was also awesome. i did put the earplugs back in for them, b/c their speakers were taller than they were, and i do value my hearing a little bit. it's fascinating to watch a dude w/ long gray hair rock out--josh said j. mascis looked like albus dumbledore, and i realized that's why he kind of looks weird--anyone w/ long gray hair should totally have a long gray beard to match! speaking of hair, and confidential to the dude who was standing in front of me, if you're a dude who's thinning on top, don't let the rest of your hair get really shaggy. we all remember what michael bolton looked like in the early 90s--do you really want to make that same mistake? just sayin'.
besides the music, the highlight of dino jr was some girl getting on stage and kissing j mascis right smack on the lips. what the hell! it was crazy, man.
i actually left early b/c i like to get more than 5 hours of sleep on a work night, if it's at all possible. anyway, i was mostly there to see superchunk. :) sacrilege, i know!
Sunday, July 10, 2005
the wusses!!
so, yay, i made it to raleigh and back on my spare tire! my dad had cautioned me not to drive above 50 mph, but of course it was physically impossible for me to drive that slow on 40--i did manage to stay right at the speed limit thanks to cruise control, and even managed to control my usual speeding (despite the fact that even mormons were passing me) through fear of a fiery death.
anyway, after a yummy dinner at udupi and some robot chicken reruns, jason and i headed over to king's where we ran into lots of awesome people, including several of my favorite bloggers and several of my favorite rock stars (the rosebuds were even in costume--so cute!).
unfortunately for keith, who arrived only in time to hear their last song, the wusses went on first (which was bullshit, b/c they were WAYYYY better than the hall and oates cover band, who were only notable for oates losing his mustache) and regaled us with all of our favorite 70s soft rock tunes (i still know all the words to "sister golden hair" and will sing along with impunity with only one sparks under my belt. to further point out my lack of coolness, my very first cds, purchased when i was 12, were america's greatest hits and james taylor's greatest hits. to be fair to my parents, my dad did instill some excellent musical tastes in me at a young age, but i guess i've always had a soft spot for the soft rock). the wusses, of course, consist of several rock luminaries, from bands including sorry about dresden, cantwell gomez & jordan, razzle, torch marauder, erie choir, hotel motel, and chamber corps. and if it's possible to simultaneously fall in love briefly with seven men in bad wigs and/or bad pants, then i definitely did tonight, b/c they are amazing performers (especially dave bjorkback, who is one of the most charismatic frontmen/dudes who occasionally paint themselves blue that i have ever seen). i hadn't seen them since the great cover-up, and i won't be making the mistake of missing any more of their shows (i really hope they'll be doing more shows).
a highlight of the show may have been hepler serenading his wife a la billy joel in honor of her birthday--she jumped up and down in surprised delight, and every girl in the audience went, "awwww!" it was pretty friggin' adorable.
i was kicking myself all evening for forgetting my camera--although i'm not sure i could have captured their hilarious and endearing energy anyway.
quite a good night, and worth risking life and limb for.
don't worry, i'm getting my tire patched on monday. :)
anyway, after a yummy dinner at udupi and some robot chicken reruns, jason and i headed over to king's where we ran into lots of awesome people, including several of my favorite bloggers and several of my favorite rock stars (the rosebuds were even in costume--so cute!).
unfortunately for keith, who arrived only in time to hear their last song, the wusses went on first (which was bullshit, b/c they were WAYYYY better than the hall and oates cover band, who were only notable for oates losing his mustache) and regaled us with all of our favorite 70s soft rock tunes (i still know all the words to "sister golden hair" and will sing along with impunity with only one sparks under my belt. to further point out my lack of coolness, my very first cds, purchased when i was 12, were america's greatest hits and james taylor's greatest hits. to be fair to my parents, my dad did instill some excellent musical tastes in me at a young age, but i guess i've always had a soft spot for the soft rock). the wusses, of course, consist of several rock luminaries, from bands including sorry about dresden, cantwell gomez & jordan, razzle, torch marauder, erie choir, hotel motel, and chamber corps. and if it's possible to simultaneously fall in love briefly with seven men in bad wigs and/or bad pants, then i definitely did tonight, b/c they are amazing performers (especially dave bjorkback, who is one of the most charismatic frontmen/dudes who occasionally paint themselves blue that i have ever seen). i hadn't seen them since the great cover-up, and i won't be making the mistake of missing any more of their shows (i really hope they'll be doing more shows).
a highlight of the show may have been hepler serenading his wife a la billy joel in honor of her birthday--she jumped up and down in surprised delight, and every girl in the audience went, "awwww!" it was pretty friggin' adorable.
i was kicking myself all evening for forgetting my camera--although i'm not sure i could have captured their hilarious and endearing energy anyway.
quite a good night, and worth risking life and limb for.
don't worry, i'm getting my tire patched on monday. :)
Saturday, July 09, 2005
f%$&^#!!!!
nothing ruins a weekend like a flat tire that is unable to be changed for various reasons.
anyone want to drive me to raleigh tonight, and all around chapel hill tomorrow?
sigh.
anyone want to drive me to raleigh tonight, and all around chapel hill tomorrow?
sigh.
contest winner
aaaaaand the winner of scott pilgrim 2 is . . .
jon!
jon, email me your address and i will mail scott pilgrim 2 to australia. better than a postcard, isn't it? :)
jon!
jon, email me your address and i will mail scott pilgrim 2 to australia. better than a postcard, isn't it? :)
Friday, July 08, 2005
2005 book 87
eva hoffman's the secret
hoffman is probably best known for her memoir of moving to canada from poland in the 50s with her parents, who were Holocaust survivors. she's written several other books, apparently, but this is her first novel. it's pretty good--mainly about the search for identity, only with a sci-fi twist: it takes place in the near future (the 2020s) and its protagonist grows up with the feeling that there's something not quite right about herself. as she uncovers her mother's secret, she tries to figure out what it means for her identity. the plot gets a little bit weaker toward the end, especially as some of the futuristic touches begin to ring false, but it's not a terrible book or anything. i don't really have much else to say about it, i guess!
hoffman is probably best known for her memoir of moving to canada from poland in the 50s with her parents, who were Holocaust survivors. she's written several other books, apparently, but this is her first novel. it's pretty good--mainly about the search for identity, only with a sci-fi twist: it takes place in the near future (the 2020s) and its protagonist grows up with the feeling that there's something not quite right about herself. as she uncovers her mother's secret, she tries to figure out what it means for her identity. the plot gets a little bit weaker toward the end, especially as some of the futuristic touches begin to ring false, but it's not a terrible book or anything. i don't really have much else to say about it, i guess!
gas prices
the price for regular gas at one of the stations near my house went up 17 cents yesterday (from $2.15 to $2.32)--is that some cynical gas station owner reaction to the bombings in london? i vaguely recall gas prices shooting up after 9/11 . . . like all the gas station people assumed oil would be harder to get once we were bombing various middle eastern countries, or something.
hey, who else remembers when gas was like a dollar? being sixteen in 1995 was awesome--i had my little ol' '85 corolla and could fill the tank for ten bucks. yay nostalgia.
hey, who else remembers when gas was like a dollar? being sixteen in 1995 was awesome--i had my little ol' '85 corolla and could fill the tank for ten bucks. yay nostalgia.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
unrelated nonsense/bpal stuff
i was just knitting and watching kept on vh1, when a commercial for the new hulk hogan reality show came on (didn't he have a cartoon in the 80s? with a redheaded girl and rowdy roddy piper and captain lou and andre the giant?) and, dude, THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS were playing in the background of the commercial (it was "letter from an occupant," playing as hulk planned to track his daughter to some party)--further proving the point that mtv and its affiliates have shitty contracts for bands, where they can use the songs however they want and never play the videos (not that those channels play videos).
now, onto bpal stuff:
forbidden fruit
As light and innocent as your first time should have been. The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus.
in the bottle--fruity, but not really sweet, with a hint of florals.
wet--the florals are much more prominent, but it's not the typical cloying floral perfume scent--is it the lotus that smells so nice?
dry--it's a really pretty floral with a little twist of citrus--definitely a keeper!
jack
The scent of warm, glowing jack o'lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove.
in the bottle--i'm a little scared of this one--it's strong and spicy in an unpleasant way.
wet--i can definitely smell pumpkin and nutmeg.
dry--i smell like a friggin' candle. i swear i have a candle that smells exactly like this (pumpkin pie scent!). it's kind of artificial-smelling and definitely nor a good perfume--maybe it could be a room scent in the fall.
now, onto bpal stuff:
forbidden fruit
As light and innocent as your first time should have been. The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus.
in the bottle--fruity, but not really sweet, with a hint of florals.
wet--the florals are much more prominent, but it's not the typical cloying floral perfume scent--is it the lotus that smells so nice?
dry--it's a really pretty floral with a little twist of citrus--definitely a keeper!
jack
The scent of warm, glowing jack o'lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove.
in the bottle--i'm a little scared of this one--it's strong and spicy in an unpleasant way.
wet--i can definitely smell pumpkin and nutmeg.
dry--i smell like a friggin' candle. i swear i have a candle that smells exactly like this (pumpkin pie scent!). it's kind of artificial-smelling and definitely nor a good perfume--maybe it could be a room scent in the fall.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
local celebrities on the news
so i was just flipping through the channels (a&e has some special on right now about cats, for those interested and near a tv) and came across local rock star shirle hale-koslowski (of gerty) doing a cooking segment on news 14 carolina. it was pretty cool--she made some kind of chicken thing (i missed that part) and some yummy-looking sugar snap peas.
so all local rock fans should watch news 14 carolina, in case she comes on to cook again, b/c . . . well, i don't know why really. it looks like she makes pretty good food, and she's an entertaining lady, so what have you got to lose?
i wonder how one gets on the local news (not that i would want to cook on tv--i'm pretty sure i'm camera-shy--but i just think it's an interesting thing. do they have auditions or what? did she have a cooking show on public access that they liked? it's a mystery, all right).
ps: oh, the whole segment is actually also online.
so all local rock fans should watch news 14 carolina, in case she comes on to cook again, b/c . . . well, i don't know why really. it looks like she makes pretty good food, and she's an entertaining lady, so what have you got to lose?
i wonder how one gets on the local news (not that i would want to cook on tv--i'm pretty sure i'm camera-shy--but i just think it's an interesting thing. do they have auditions or what? did she have a cooking show on public access that they liked? it's a mystery, all right).
ps: oh, the whole segment is actually also online.
bpal roundup
if you are curious about any of these scents or any of the others we've all been posting about, come meet me and sarah and lisa this sunday at 7 at driade for a sniffing party. :) [yes, you do have time to sniff pretty perfume before the superchunk/dino jr show, which i will be attending later that night.]
anyway, here's some scents i've tried recently (i've mostly just been wearing march hare, b/c i looooove it):
haunted
A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.
in the bottle: i'm really smelling the musk, if musk smells like patchouli (which i hate).
wet--it still smells like patchouli, only there's a sharper note as well.
dry--this had better change.
later--still mostly musky, or whatever. it's not a bad scent, but it's not for me.
la petit mort
Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh
in the bottle--it has a slightly herbal smell. what does myrrh smell like?
wet--a little powdery
dry--powdery with a hippie undertone--is that ylang ylang?
later--all powdery. everything turns to powder on me!!!!
katharina
A strong, willful blend with a soft, utterly lovely soul: white musk with a trickle of bright, sharp apricot and orange blossom.
in the bottle--fruity--it smells like march hare!!
wet--very fruity and light--it's nice and apricot-y, like march hare without the spiciness.
a little later--still fruity and sweet, but i can smell a teeny bit of musk too. i really like this (not as much as march hare, though!).
jester
Huckleberry and red currant with the incisive bite of neroli.
in the bottle--i'm not sure if it's currant or huckleberry, but there's a really nice fruity smell.
wet--sort of a sharp berry smell, with--oh no!--soap. i hope this doesn't go all soapy.
dry--it's strong, and i can smell a slightly bitter undertone
later--it's warm and woodsy--i think i'll save this for fall and winter--it's a nice scent but not quite right for summer.
pink moon
his Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar, carnation and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season.
in the bottle--uh oh, does this have a powdery smell?
wet--all floral-y and pretty, with a hint of powder and a little bit of sugar
dry--hee, it does smell pink! it's soooo pretty, sugary and berry-ish!
later--it's mostly powder now. but still pink . . . sigh. i am so disappointed that it turned to powder on me. maybe i'll try it again another day . . .
anyway, here's some scents i've tried recently (i've mostly just been wearing march hare, b/c i looooove it):
haunted
A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.
in the bottle: i'm really smelling the musk, if musk smells like patchouli (which i hate).
wet--it still smells like patchouli, only there's a sharper note as well.
dry--this had better change.
later--still mostly musky, or whatever. it's not a bad scent, but it's not for me.
la petit mort
Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh
in the bottle--it has a slightly herbal smell. what does myrrh smell like?
wet--a little powdery
dry--powdery with a hippie undertone--is that ylang ylang?
later--all powdery. everything turns to powder on me!!!!
katharina
A strong, willful blend with a soft, utterly lovely soul: white musk with a trickle of bright, sharp apricot and orange blossom.
in the bottle--fruity--it smells like march hare!!
wet--very fruity and light--it's nice and apricot-y, like march hare without the spiciness.
a little later--still fruity and sweet, but i can smell a teeny bit of musk too. i really like this (not as much as march hare, though!).
jester
Huckleberry and red currant with the incisive bite of neroli.
in the bottle--i'm not sure if it's currant or huckleberry, but there's a really nice fruity smell.
wet--sort of a sharp berry smell, with--oh no!--soap. i hope this doesn't go all soapy.
dry--it's strong, and i can smell a slightly bitter undertone
later--it's warm and woodsy--i think i'll save this for fall and winter--it's a nice scent but not quite right for summer.
pink moon
his Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar, carnation and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season.
in the bottle--uh oh, does this have a powdery smell?
wet--all floral-y and pretty, with a hint of powder and a little bit of sugar
dry--hee, it does smell pink! it's soooo pretty, sugary and berry-ish!
later--it's mostly powder now. but still pink . . . sigh. i am so disappointed that it turned to powder on me. maybe i'll try it again another day . . .
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
contest!!!
hey, check it out: i have an autographed copy of scott pilgrim volume 2 (note the plumtree shirt on scott!).
so anyway, now i have two copies of this hilarious and sweet graphic novel, which means i have one copy to give away to one of my six diligent readers. :)
all you have to do is email me [wordnerd at gmail dot com] and say you want it, and i will pull the names out of a hat (assuming more than two people want it--if just two people want it, i will do eenie meenie instead). deadline is friday night at midnight so get those emails in!
note that i wholeheartedly recommend reading volume 1 so that volume 2 has some context--i'm sure you can pick it up from the fine folks at chapel hill comics, or check the new book shelf at the chapel hill public library (i saw it there just this morning). as scott tells kim several times in volume two when she asks about previous events, "read the book!"
basically i want to spread the scott pilgrim love, because both of these volumes have shot up into my top five all-time-favorite comics/graphic novels/pretty-pictures-with-words sorts of things.
so anyway, now i have two copies of this hilarious and sweet graphic novel, which means i have one copy to give away to one of my six diligent readers. :)
all you have to do is email me [wordnerd at gmail dot com] and say you want it, and i will pull the names out of a hat (assuming more than two people want it--if just two people want it, i will do eenie meenie instead). deadline is friday night at midnight so get those emails in!
note that i wholeheartedly recommend reading volume 1 so that volume 2 has some context--i'm sure you can pick it up from the fine folks at chapel hill comics, or check the new book shelf at the chapel hill public library (i saw it there just this morning). as scott tells kim several times in volume two when she asks about previous events, "read the book!"
basically i want to spread the scott pilgrim love, because both of these volumes have shot up into my top five all-time-favorite comics/graphic novels/pretty-pictures-with-words sorts of things.
2005 book 86
haven kimmel's a girl named zippy
i vaguely remember reading reviews of this when it first came out--whether they were good or bad or mixed, i can't remember. i personally was never tempted to buy it until i saw the british version of the cover on sale at the regulator. i mean, check it out. plus the cover subtitle reads: "growing up sparky in an innocent world." that's just so thought-provoking on several different levels.
anyway, this is kimmel's memoir of her childhood, and since she had a lovably eccentric sort of family, it's a pretty good read. my own favorite moment came when kimmel's older sister told her she was adopted, and when she went to ask her mother about it, her mother claims they bought her from gypsies. hee! my own brother and i used to constantly tell our little sister she was adopted--considering that i was a miniature version of my mom, and my brother looks a lot like my dad, whereas my sister didn't look like any of us (which, actually, isn't true--my sister looks kind of like my brother and a lot like my dad's side of the family, she just had much lighter coloring when she was younger, and the rest of us all have dark hair and eyes), she found this easy enough to believe. of course, when she went crying to my mom, my mom never told her she was a gypsy child, and instead consoled her and said we were just being mean (which we were). kimmel's mother's response is pretty friggin' funny, though.
this whole book is pretty funny, actually. it's sort of small-town idyllic, lots of animals and romping around and things, but certainly the darker elements of childhood (dead pets, scary neighbors, new girls at school, etc) are evident as well. kimmel really is a great writer, so i'm glad i finally picked this up.
i vaguely remember reading reviews of this when it first came out--whether they were good or bad or mixed, i can't remember. i personally was never tempted to buy it until i saw the british version of the cover on sale at the regulator. i mean, check it out. plus the cover subtitle reads: "growing up sparky in an innocent world." that's just so thought-provoking on several different levels.
anyway, this is kimmel's memoir of her childhood, and since she had a lovably eccentric sort of family, it's a pretty good read. my own favorite moment came when kimmel's older sister told her she was adopted, and when she went to ask her mother about it, her mother claims they bought her from gypsies. hee! my own brother and i used to constantly tell our little sister she was adopted--considering that i was a miniature version of my mom, and my brother looks a lot like my dad, whereas my sister didn't look like any of us (which, actually, isn't true--my sister looks kind of like my brother and a lot like my dad's side of the family, she just had much lighter coloring when she was younger, and the rest of us all have dark hair and eyes), she found this easy enough to believe. of course, when she went crying to my mom, my mom never told her she was a gypsy child, and instead consoled her and said we were just being mean (which we were). kimmel's mother's response is pretty friggin' funny, though.
this whole book is pretty funny, actually. it's sort of small-town idyllic, lots of animals and romping around and things, but certainly the darker elements of childhood (dead pets, scary neighbors, new girls at school, etc) are evident as well. kimmel really is a great writer, so i'm glad i finally picked this up.
Monday, July 04, 2005
2005 books 84 and 85
j.k. rowling's harry potter and the sorcerer's stone and harry potter and the chamber of secrets
i am SO READY for book 6 to come out!!!
i am SO READY for book 6 to come out!!!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
2005 book 83
adrienne miller's the coast of akron
deciding to take a break from harry potter for the time being, i picked up the top book on my to-read pile, which was this. unfortunately, i really didn't like it much. it has four main characters: a divorced couple, their daughter, and his lover. the first half was promising--the daughter was a pretty interesting character, sort of morally bankrupt but still sympathetic, and part of the book features her mother's diaries (my favorite part)--but in the second half, the third voice in the book--that of the lover--becomes more prominent, and godDAMN is he annoying! a delusional, syncophantic, quivering mess of a man with no appealing qualities whatsoever . . . of course, the artist father of the clan is also a jackass, but he's not narrating the book. also, i think whininess is more annoying to slough through than cockiness. in the second half, the daughter becomes less appealing as well, but at least her mother is still a pretty awesome character. anyway, the point is, i had to keep taking breaks from reading this b/c it was so annoying (the worst bits are the loooong imagined articles the lover creates for himself).
deciding to take a break from harry potter for the time being, i picked up the top book on my to-read pile, which was this. unfortunately, i really didn't like it much. it has four main characters: a divorced couple, their daughter, and his lover. the first half was promising--the daughter was a pretty interesting character, sort of morally bankrupt but still sympathetic, and part of the book features her mother's diaries (my favorite part)--but in the second half, the third voice in the book--that of the lover--becomes more prominent, and godDAMN is he annoying! a delusional, syncophantic, quivering mess of a man with no appealing qualities whatsoever . . . of course, the artist father of the clan is also a jackass, but he's not narrating the book. also, i think whininess is more annoying to slough through than cockiness. in the second half, the daughter becomes less appealing as well, but at least her mother is still a pretty awesome character. anyway, the point is, i had to keep taking breaks from reading this b/c it was so annoying (the worst bits are the loooong imagined articles the lover creates for himself).
Saturday, July 02, 2005
another comic
i drew another comic today. it's goofier than the last one, and even more badly drawn!
same deal as before--click it with the magnifying glass to get it at a legible size. :)
same deal as before--click it with the magnifying glass to get it at a legible size. :)
more bpal!
i tried two more today:
goneril
White geranium, calla lily, cedarwood and black orchid. A gentle floral bouquet masks a sinister and black-hearted core.
in the bottle, this has a dark, foresty sort of smell (florals and cedar?).
wet, on me--it smells herbal, and there's definitely a clean scent.
dry--it smells like soap.
a few hours later--still soap.
a few hours after that--now it smells like cedar.
i guess this one doesn't work on me, either--i wish i could figure out which ingredient makes it smell soapy on me.
phantasm
This delicate, spectral perfume gives rise to an eerie distortion of of the senses. It bestows an ephemeral, ghostly, and truly haunting quality to your presence. Green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine and neroli.
in the bottle--i can definitely smell the citrus and i think the green tea.
wet, on me--very lemony, like lemon rind.
dry--citrus with an undercurrent of something floral--it's VERY nice!
a few hours later--still citrusy, but not as strong--it's fading already, alas.
i really liked this one and might consider getting a bottle.
goneril
White geranium, calla lily, cedarwood and black orchid. A gentle floral bouquet masks a sinister and black-hearted core.
in the bottle, this has a dark, foresty sort of smell (florals and cedar?).
wet, on me--it smells herbal, and there's definitely a clean scent.
dry--it smells like soap.
a few hours later--still soap.
a few hours after that--now it smells like cedar.
i guess this one doesn't work on me, either--i wish i could figure out which ingredient makes it smell soapy on me.
phantasm
This delicate, spectral perfume gives rise to an eerie distortion of of the senses. It bestows an ephemeral, ghostly, and truly haunting quality to your presence. Green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine and neroli.
in the bottle--i can definitely smell the citrus and i think the green tea.
wet, on me--very lemony, like lemon rind.
dry--citrus with an undercurrent of something floral--it's VERY nice!
a few hours later--still citrusy, but not as strong--it's fading already, alas.
i really liked this one and might consider getting a bottle.
2005 book 82
j.k. rowling's harry potter and the goblet of fire
i firmly maintain that the 4th harry potter book is the best one.
i firmly maintain that the 4th harry potter book is the best one.
bpal stuff
i've tried a few scents over the past couple of days, so here are my comments on those:
la bella donna mia mente
Soft, lush myrtle and dry, sweet melilot with wild rose, pomegranate juice and peach blossom against a background of deep aquatic notes and a twirl of melancholy autumn breezes.
in the bottle, this has a sort of traditional perfumey smell--flowery and fruity. i definitely can smell the peach, which is nice.
on my skin, it gets a little sweeter, but it dries to a strong floral scent. where did the fruits go?
an hour later, it's all roses.
several hours later, i finally washed it off. ugh. i was really disappointed that this didn't work for me.
march hare
A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove
in the bottle, this smells sweet and fruity--i'm actually smelling orangey things, i think, maybe something a little more tropical.
wet on skin--it's even more orangey, almost an orange rind smell, but there's a nice hint of sugar.
dry--it comes close to smelling like a cleaning product but doesn't, thanks to the clove.
a few hours later--peachy and nice! i love this one!
follow me boy
A houdoun recipe dating back almost 150 years. This blend is favored by prostitutes, exotic dancers and others in the sex industry for its power to attract, seduce, and enthrall. Ensures financial gain and increased profits.
i think i thought this was supposed to smell honeyish and pretty, but in the bottle it smells like a hippie store--i don't think it's patchouli, so maybe jasmine?
wet on skin--ugh, baby powder.
dry--still baby powder.
hours later--nothing but baby powder. not for me, oh well.
whitechapel
A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron.
although this is supposed to be a masculine scent, i liked the description--in the bottle i can definitely smell the white musk (i vaguely recall buying a white musk perfume in spain when i was 16, and it smells a little like that).
wet on skin--oooh, citrusy! i can definitely smell the lime. it's just sharp enough not to smell like furniture polish or something.
dry--lime and musk together works pretty well.
a few hours later--it's mellowed a little, but is still very pleasant. i don't think i'd buy a bottle of this, but i'm definitely keeping the imp.
la bella donna mia mente
Soft, lush myrtle and dry, sweet melilot with wild rose, pomegranate juice and peach blossom against a background of deep aquatic notes and a twirl of melancholy autumn breezes.
in the bottle, this has a sort of traditional perfumey smell--flowery and fruity. i definitely can smell the peach, which is nice.
on my skin, it gets a little sweeter, but it dries to a strong floral scent. where did the fruits go?
an hour later, it's all roses.
several hours later, i finally washed it off. ugh. i was really disappointed that this didn't work for me.
march hare
A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove
in the bottle, this smells sweet and fruity--i'm actually smelling orangey things, i think, maybe something a little more tropical.
wet on skin--it's even more orangey, almost an orange rind smell, but there's a nice hint of sugar.
dry--it comes close to smelling like a cleaning product but doesn't, thanks to the clove.
a few hours later--peachy and nice! i love this one!
follow me boy
A houdoun recipe dating back almost 150 years. This blend is favored by prostitutes, exotic dancers and others in the sex industry for its power to attract, seduce, and enthrall. Ensures financial gain and increased profits.
i think i thought this was supposed to smell honeyish and pretty, but in the bottle it smells like a hippie store--i don't think it's patchouli, so maybe jasmine?
wet on skin--ugh, baby powder.
dry--still baby powder.
hours later--nothing but baby powder. not for me, oh well.
whitechapel
A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron.
although this is supposed to be a masculine scent, i liked the description--in the bottle i can definitely smell the white musk (i vaguely recall buying a white musk perfume in spain when i was 16, and it smells a little like that).
wet on skin--oooh, citrusy! i can definitely smell the lime. it's just sharp enough not to smell like furniture polish or something.
dry--lime and musk together works pretty well.
a few hours later--it's mellowed a little, but is still very pleasant. i don't think i'd buy a bottle of this, but i'm definitely keeping the imp.
Friday, July 01, 2005
2005 book 81
j.k. rowling's harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban
despite what i said when i reread book 5 a couple weeks ago, christina has inspired me to reread more harry potters before book 6 comes out (in two weeks!!!!). i know i should reread book 2, since apparently it's important to the new book's plot, but prisoner is my favorite so it's hard to resist the temptation to start there. :) i think i'll go ahead and read book 4 and then go back to the first two . . . i've read them both myriad times in the last 6 or so years, but it's always fun to go back and see hints of things that happen in later books.
despite what i said when i reread book 5 a couple weeks ago, christina has inspired me to reread more harry potters before book 6 comes out (in two weeks!!!!). i know i should reread book 2, since apparently it's important to the new book's plot, but prisoner is my favorite so it's hard to resist the temptation to start there. :) i think i'll go ahead and read book 4 and then go back to the first two . . . i've read them both myriad times in the last 6 or so years, but it's always fun to go back and see hints of things that happen in later books.
xdu takes over the world
i hope everyone has been paying close attention to salon's audiofile column this week, as its author continues his summer playlist contest thing--yesterday, of course, featured lisa b's playlist of awesome world music (discussed here), and today, bendy's playlist appears, entitled "theme from an imaginary john hughes movie"--note the plethora of triangle bands he threw on there, along w/ some of my other favorite bands (the capricorns!).
well, i sincerely hope one of these kids wins themselves an ipod, or whatever else salon is giving away to music nerds.
well, i sincerely hope one of these kids wins themselves an ipod, or whatever else salon is giving away to music nerds.
2005 book 80
diana wynne jones' castle in the air
this cover claims that this book is a sequel to howl's moving castle, but it's really more of a companion, as its characters are entirely different people who encounter some of my favorites from howl's in the second half of the book. if jones was taking on the european fairy tale in this book's predecessor, here she's messing around with the sorts of stories one would find in a thousand and one nights. the main character is a daydreamy carpet merchant named abdullah who, thanks to a magic carpet, encounters the girl of his dreams--only to have her whisked away by a djinn. of course he's determined to rescue her and has lots of madcap adventures on the way. the first few chapters sort of plodded along for me, but then i got into it and found most of the book very funny, if a little formulaic (it follows the howl's formula pretty well, though none of the characters here are quite as lovable or interesting as any of those were). definitely it's the second half that stands out, as things come to a head and as jones' other characters get involved--abdullah, being one of the arabian nights sorts of heros, doesn't really have much personality, but luckily has some pretty entertaining traveling companions. anyway, the point is, this book is fairly entertaining, but nowhere near as awesome as its predecessor, and is mostly only great once the characters from howl's make an appearance (though at that point, the new characters get a lot more fun as well).
sorry if this is incoherent--i read this last ngiht but none of my web browsers were working (sooo weird) and it's a little early for intelligent thought on young adult fantasy novels.
this cover claims that this book is a sequel to howl's moving castle, but it's really more of a companion, as its characters are entirely different people who encounter some of my favorites from howl's in the second half of the book. if jones was taking on the european fairy tale in this book's predecessor, here she's messing around with the sorts of stories one would find in a thousand and one nights. the main character is a daydreamy carpet merchant named abdullah who, thanks to a magic carpet, encounters the girl of his dreams--only to have her whisked away by a djinn. of course he's determined to rescue her and has lots of madcap adventures on the way. the first few chapters sort of plodded along for me, but then i got into it and found most of the book very funny, if a little formulaic (it follows the howl's formula pretty well, though none of the characters here are quite as lovable or interesting as any of those were). definitely it's the second half that stands out, as things come to a head and as jones' other characters get involved--abdullah, being one of the arabian nights sorts of heros, doesn't really have much personality, but luckily has some pretty entertaining traveling companions. anyway, the point is, this book is fairly entertaining, but nowhere near as awesome as its predecessor, and is mostly only great once the characters from howl's make an appearance (though at that point, the new characters get a lot more fun as well).
sorry if this is incoherent--i read this last ngiht but none of my web browsers were working (sooo weird) and it's a little early for intelligent thought on young adult fantasy novels.
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