I tried to make confetti cupcakes from scratch--as you can see, the colors didn't last--next time I try this recipe i won't mix after adding the sprinkles! (The colors ran almost immediately.)
Luckily they're still pretty tasty!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
2009 book 154
Mary Yukari Waters' The Favorites
I suspect at least parts of this novel are autobiographical, as one of the main characters resembles Waters quite closely (physically, at least). Anyway, it starts off focusing on a young half-Japanese girl and her mother visiting family in Japan, then sort of expands to be about all the women in the family and their tangled relationships. I loved the first half but thought the last bits could have been fleshed out more. Still, great characters and descriptions. B+.
I suspect at least parts of this novel are autobiographical, as one of the main characters resembles Waters quite closely (physically, at least). Anyway, it starts off focusing on a young half-Japanese girl and her mother visiting family in Japan, then sort of expands to be about all the women in the family and their tangled relationships. I loved the first half but thought the last bits could have been fleshed out more. Still, great characters and descriptions. B+.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
2009 book 153
Jennifer McMahon's Dismantled
This is kind of an I Know What You Did Last Summer for the literary set, as the death of a friend ten years earlier--and its cover-up--comes back to haunt a married couple and their daughter. The resolution was pretty good, but I wasn't impressed with the rest of the story. B/B=.
This is kind of an I Know What You Did Last Summer for the literary set, as the death of a friend ten years earlier--and its cover-up--comes back to haunt a married couple and their daughter. The resolution was pretty good, but I wasn't impressed with the rest of the story. B/B=.
Monday, July 27, 2009
P7260115
Night five of xxmerge was a great wrap-up to the weekend (and I especially enjoyed sitting down by that point). Wye Oak rocked as always, Mark Eitzel did some amazing torch song-esque versions of his songs accompanied only by a piano, and She and Him has the crowds (mainly the young women of the crowds) dancing in the aisles. I was actually impressed by Zooey Deschanel live--she can belt it out for sure! We also enjoyed mocking her back-up vocalist's crazy prairie ensemble, but I don't have a picture of it as we weren't supposed to take pictures.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
P7250089
Night 4 of xxmerge was AMAZING! (And I say that having missed the first two bands due to my work schedule--apparently Telekinesis and Erectus Monotone both rocked.) Still, I got to see four GREAT bands perform--Ladybug Transistor, who are always fun live, M. Ward, who put on an incredible set w/ a full band (and an encore featuring Zooey Deschanel on the Beatles' "Birthday", which I did not get a picture of), a solo Destroyer set (check this awesome photo!) punctuated by drunk Christina shouts, and Imperial Teen, who were my favorite band when I was 16, and who played several songs from the album I almost wore out back then ("You're One" was like the third song in their set and when I realized they were playing it I almost started crying, but twittered about it instead). Also they had adorable color-coordinated clothes. An amazing end to the Cat's Cradle shows, and tongiht we get to rock out w/ Wye Oak (and American Music Club and She & Him of course!).
Plus the show ended early enough for a trip to OCSC, where I discovered my new staple drink (Firefly and Coke) and then to Time Out for cheddar biscuits and boxes of bones. Awesome.
Plus the show ended early enough for a trip to OCSC, where I discovered my new staple drink (Firefly and Coke) and then to Time Out for cheddar biscuits and boxes of bones. Awesome.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
P7240078
Night three of xxmerge was AMAZING. It started off strong with one of my all-time favorite bands, the Essex Green, playing several of my all-time favorite songs. (We all jumped and danced quite enthusiastically b/c they are awesome!) Then Spent came on (Jon Wurster hilariously claimed they hadn't played live in 22 years, whcih people totally bought. Do the math, Merge has only been around for twenty! heh) and they were totally great live.
THEN! Lambchop came out! And performed one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen! They brought the funk. They played some jamz--with a Z! Two dudes were overwhelmed with the awesome and danced frantically right next to us! They covered "Once in a Lifetime" in the most amazing way and Kurt Wagner even stood up. The crowd was totally into it, too. Just awesome.
Polvo and Pipe were up next, but it was hard to follow such a great set (Though Pipe is of course great to watch live--beer cans were flying) and Spoon headlined, though were beset by technical problems (I left during their set since I have work today).
It will be hard to top that show--though by process of elimination we have figured out which bands have to play tonight--and it should be pretty sweet.
THEN! Lambchop came out! And performed one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen! They brought the funk. They played some jamz--with a Z! Two dudes were overwhelmed with the awesome and danced frantically right next to us! They covered "Once in a Lifetime" in the most amazing way and Kurt Wagner even stood up. The crowd was totally into it, too. Just awesome.
Polvo and Pipe were up next, but it was hard to follow such a great set (Though Pipe is of course great to watch live--beer cans were flying) and Spoon headlined, though were beset by technical problems (I left during their set since I have work today).
It will be hard to top that show--though by process of elimination we have figured out which bands have to play tonight--and it should be pretty sweet.
Friday, July 24, 2009
P7230065
I probably should stop taking photos of the xxmerge bands--I can't seem to get many good ones from my vantage point (but if I go closer, I can't see anything, so it's worth it!). Anyway, here's a shot of Broken West, one of my Merge faves! Also playing last ngiht: Richard Buckner, Guv'ner, Versus, 3Ds, and Superchunk! Old school Merge ngiht FTW!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
P7220098
xxmerge night one was amazing! Things started off w/ Pure, who I'd never even heard of, but quickly picked back up with a Lou Barlow-Oakley Hall-Clientele-Magnetiic Fields-Rosebuds lineup (I left before Conor Oberst came on. I am not a fan of him or his wacky hat). Anywya, it was a great show. Lou Barlow is still one of the only dudes with a guitar who can make me pay attention, Oakley Hall has such awesome energy live, the Clientele and Magnetic Fields played all their hits (though the latter was attacked by a huge flying bug of some sort--I kept hoping someone taped that for youtube!). And y'all know I love the Rosebuds. They're great live b/c instead of just playing stuff from whatever their latest album is, they play the songs that are best to dance to! And closed things off with an audience singalong to "Nice Fox"--such a great end to the evening.
This photo is of Ivan Rosebud about to rock out. Excuse the poor quality of my photos; I was too busy enjoying myself to take the time to get good photos too! Also excuse the photo below this--I was testing the flickr to twitter thing and apparently sent it to my blog instead. You can see that my cameraphone is kind of sub-par anyway.
Can't wait for tonight!
This photo is of Ivan Rosebud about to rock out. Excuse the poor quality of my photos; I was too busy enjoying myself to take the time to get good photos too! Also excuse the photo below this--I was testing the flickr to twitter thing and apparently sent it to my blog instead. You can see that my cameraphone is kind of sub-par anyway.
Can't wait for tonight!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
2009 book 152
Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife
At this stage in my life, I should honestly know better than to read a good book in bed, b/c I'll keep on reading b/c I HAVE to know what happens--even when I already know what happens b/c I've read it before. (I keep seeing the trailers for the movie and was compelled to reread the book. The trailers are pretty great and maybe Eric Bana won't be a terrible fit for the role after all.) So yeah, it's past my bedtime and I have work tomorrow and xxmerge starts tomorrow and I'll be a zombie! But I really like this book, so it's ok.
At this stage in my life, I should honestly know better than to read a good book in bed, b/c I'll keep on reading b/c I HAVE to know what happens--even when I already know what happens b/c I've read it before. (I keep seeing the trailers for the movie and was compelled to reread the book. The trailers are pretty great and maybe Eric Bana won't be a terrible fit for the role after all.) So yeah, it's past my bedtime and I have work tomorrow and xxmerge starts tomorrow and I'll be a zombie! But I really like this book, so it's ok.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
2009 book 151
Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden
I loved Morton's The House at Riverton and was psyched to see she had another book out--and it didn't disappoint. It's similar to her first one, with people unraveling a mystery from the past, only it flashes back and forth in time a bit more. Anyway, it's about a woman whose grandmother dies, and she takes on the task of unraveling her grandmother's identity after discovering she was shipped alone from England to Australia at the age of four with no papers or clue as to her identity. The flashbacks encompass the grandmother's search, the granddaughter's, and the initial events to great effect, and the story is totally riveting. And yes, there is a reference to The Secret Garden. A.
I loved Morton's The House at Riverton and was psyched to see she had another book out--and it didn't disappoint. It's similar to her first one, with people unraveling a mystery from the past, only it flashes back and forth in time a bit more. Anyway, it's about a woman whose grandmother dies, and she takes on the task of unraveling her grandmother's identity after discovering she was shipped alone from England to Australia at the age of four with no papers or clue as to her identity. The flashbacks encompass the grandmother's search, the granddaughter's, and the initial events to great effect, and the story is totally riveting. And yes, there is a reference to The Secret Garden. A.
Monday, July 20, 2009
2009 book 150
Jennifer Brown's Hate List
I somehow got an ARC of this in the mail--thanks, folks at Little, Brown!--and had read a few reviews, all positive, and it seemed a fitting read for a rainy afternoon. It centers on a teenage girl who is returning to high school following a school shooting--where her boyfriend was the shooter. She and her classmates have to come to terms with the shooting and her part in it, which Brown manages to make believable. I had some mixed feelings about the end, but will admit to getting teary. A-/B+.
I somehow got an ARC of this in the mail--thanks, folks at Little, Brown!--and had read a few reviews, all positive, and it seemed a fitting read for a rainy afternoon. It centers on a teenage girl who is returning to high school following a school shooting--where her boyfriend was the shooter. She and her classmates have to come to terms with the shooting and her part in it, which Brown manages to make believable. I had some mixed feelings about the end, but will admit to getting teary. A-/B+.
catching fire
The first chapter is available online! (Scroll down a bit.) I'm off to read it right now! Seriously, September 1st is too far away. The wait to read this is making me nuts!
2009 book 149
Kathleen George's The Odds
It's interesting that the words "a mystery" appear right on the front cover of this book when it's not a mystery at all (unless wondering how soon the police officers will solve the case counts as a mystery, as the reader is given all other information). Anyway, George's Pittsburgh cops are back, trying to solve a murder that's linked to a major narcotics ring. Meanwhile, a kind man with ties to the drug ring gets involved with four local children living on their own (and they're GREAT characters). But yeah, not actually a mystery, though still a fairly compelling read. B+.
It's interesting that the words "a mystery" appear right on the front cover of this book when it's not a mystery at all (unless wondering how soon the police officers will solve the case counts as a mystery, as the reader is given all other information). Anyway, George's Pittsburgh cops are back, trying to solve a murder that's linked to a major narcotics ring. Meanwhile, a kind man with ties to the drug ring gets involved with four local children living on their own (and they're GREAT characters). But yeah, not actually a mystery, though still a fairly compelling read. B+.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
2009 book 148; hp6
Hyatt Bass' The Embers
A fairly run-of-the-mill book about a family with a tragic past and the grown-up daughter on the verge of marriage. Fairly boring. B/B-.
I also saw the HP6 movie today, and had mixed feelings about it. I'm not entirely a purist for the text--I understand the need for changes to get the story to flow in a short amount of time--but some of the changes they made just baffle me. The visuals were amazing, the teen romance stuff was great, but the backstory was sorely lacking and there wasn't a lot of intensity. It felt pretty choppy, actually. Everyone else I was with liked it, so take my negativity with some grains of salt. :)
A fairly run-of-the-mill book about a family with a tragic past and the grown-up daughter on the verge of marriage. Fairly boring. B/B-.
I also saw the HP6 movie today, and had mixed feelings about it. I'm not entirely a purist for the text--I understand the need for changes to get the story to flow in a short amount of time--but some of the changes they made just baffle me. The visuals were amazing, the teen romance stuff was great, but the backstory was sorely lacking and there wasn't a lot of intensity. It felt pretty choppy, actually. Everyone else I was with liked it, so take my negativity with some grains of salt. :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
2009 book 147
Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Haven't gotten much reading done--it's family time!--but did reread this book, which is still GREAT.
Haven't gotten much reading done--it's family time!--but did reread this book, which is still GREAT.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
