Ruminations

Regarding the red beans and rice...

2009-11-01T00:02:00.001-07:00

Yes, I did make red beans (or pintos) and rice from scratch. It's a fairly easy recipe, though cooking the beans takes forever. Got it from the Gracious Plenty cookbook or something like that. Didn't use sausage of course.

Was wanting something non-pasta. So count it however you want. :).

Happy Halloween..

2009-10-31T23:56:00.000-07:00

Fluffy black gothy cat + devil duckies= insta Halloween card. And this is the extent to which can really go to the pet costume route since well, cats and my tendencies. He's a fluffy sort of evil.

Maybe next year, I can get him sitting on the Aubrey Beardsley book.

Barbara and the Moosewood Collective.

2009-10-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is a long one.

With intended homagery to Julie and Julia, the book and the movie. I saw the movie and meant to read the book, and it’ll happen at some point. I also did a variation of this starting from 1998-9. However, instead of doing a recipe everyday, I figured that one recipe from scratch a week was a realistic goal. I also started doing this because I had friends who were extremely good at concocting meals from ingredients at hand. I was not. I was good at baking and some stuff. I got sort of a Mary Tyler Moore complex about cooking for other people and parties. Like too much pressure. However, I think my thought was “I’m like 29; it might be time to figure out how to cook for myself.” I had moved to a new apt, so it seemed like a good time to start something new. I had been to the Moosewood Restaurant up in Ithaca when I was taking a Medieval Latin extensive course at Cornell. Which is another story altogether. I got the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook since I figured it was likely probably easier and started going through it, based on mood and ingredients. Keep in mind that my kitchen in my apt wasn’t big. It needed more counter space than it had, but it was a gas stove, which spoiled me for electric cooking. So, I wasn’t doing this in a big kitchen with an island and all of the foodie acoutrement. And I am pretty sure there were kitchen stuff I was missing. I was doing it in a real 20 something kitchen. Some of the things turned out better than others and some I probably wouldn’t make again. The ones that I remember making and working out fairly well:

--Guacamole with Cottage Cheese
--Vegetables in Mint Vinaigrette
--Pad Thai (It worked out okay, but I remember it being messy. Lots of strands of noodles.)
--Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables
--Cauliflower Paprikash with Spaetzle. (Was okay. Not wow.)
--Some of the Quesadillas.
--Udon Noodles and Vegetables that was righteous with cucumber and was what I did when I wanted the Peanut Noodles and couldn’t find it anywhere. At the moment, the only time I buy peanut butter is when I’m making Thai Peanut Stuff.
--Feta Spinach Pizza
--Mushroom and Smoked-Cheese Pizza
--Baked Peaches Marsala
--Coffee Ricotta Mousse. Though it was grainier than I wanted it to be.

Ones that didn’t work were
--The Six Minute Chocolate Cake. Maybe you needed an electric oven.
--the Guacamole with Silken Tofu. Ick.
--The Risottos were okay, but always seemed to mess up my pots.
--The Pancakes were okay, but didn’t work as well either. I think maybe switching pans has helped.

Also, at this time, I had the Sheila Lukins Around the World Cookbook and some recipes for spanikopita. I tried using phyllo dough and I think I overdosed it with olive oil. Was tasty, but messy as hell. I have never used phyllo dough again and I think it’s one of those you have to have more patience than I do. I don’t know if I should keep the Lukins cookbook or not, as it seems to exist in a different cookbook reality than I live in now. And maybe I was also deluding myself then. The Moosewood ones and the Fanny Farmer seem to be friendlier. I also made some kickass Jamaican Banana Bread which has become one of those I always made for potlucks and bring food to your grad. seminar day. I think I also made it for my students in the mystery class during our last day along with the blueberry gingerbread. I usually didn’t do such a thing, but they were a pretty good class and I remember well enough what it’s like being undergrads around the end of the semester. We watched Murder by Death.

The things I learned while doing this is that there are a lot of annoying little ingredients that you need and that you only use so very little of. And a good chunk are expensive. Like Tumeric and of course saffron. I have never used saffron in any of my recipes, because of the price and the little amount needed. Or when, I used currants for a recipe, I think it took forever to use them up. After a certain point, I say screw it. Also, one can’t tell what’s absolutely necessary or just recommended. Like sour milk kind of works as a substitute for buttermilk in the gingerbread recipe, but does it work in all of them? And what do you do with buttermilk besides pancakes, biscuits? Am not going to drink it. I was considering making buttermilk scones with currants, but fear that I would have way too many currants again. Also, no matter how long they say it’s going to take, it’s going to take longer for me to make. Particularly if there is chopping involved. And when there is chopping involved, I like it at the beginning and then about ¾ of the way, I’m done with the chopping, thank you very much.

I also made turkey lasagna at this point and it worked out pretty well. I got tired of it though as it felt like I was eating it for two weeks. I foisted some of it off on Todd who was visiting and liked it.

And I have limitations as a cook and baker. There are things that are too futzy, like lamingtons which involves cake and rolling the cake in chocolate sauce and coconut. I didn’t use wax paper at the time, which I now know to do. I swear the chocolate/coconut mixture hardened like diamonds. And if I’m making cupcakes, I usually figure I’ll do either the cake from scratch or the frosting from scratch, not both. Doing both is too much.

I went through most of the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home and Moosewood Low-fat Cookbook, though not all of them. Some of them I figured I wasn’t ever going to make, like some of the dressings, sauces and stuff involving tabouleh or barley or other weird stuff like that. I still have that belief with other cookbooks I have. I don’t cook as much as I would like to. The joys and sorrows of grad. school and work. And I can’t cook all the time. I fortunately or unfortunately keep collecting recipes I think are intriguing and hope to get to someday. And I fear some of them are the same ones, like guacamole, and variations on gingerbread. And then there are ones I’m pretty sure am never going to make, but look good, like the one with fennel confit. I went through some of Martha Stewart Living and Body and Soul and clipped out ones I was curious about. I keep wanting to make trifle, but it always seem just too timeconsuming enough and I have no good reason to make it. Half of me knows that I would just like someone to make some of the recipes for me more than I want to make it myself.

Recently, I made Chicken with Mushrooms and Riesling with Noodles and Green Beans. I was listening to Deutsches Pop like Falco and Alphaville. Perhaps not pretty and my first attempt to cook with wine. Probably would get better upon repetition. Was fun. Was like my mood cooking. Or like when I want to eat Chinese food when watching Joy Luck Club and want Southern food when watching Fried Green Tomatoes. I have made chicken with dumplings. I think I brought some to Steph.

I also clipped out wienerschnitzel and spaetzle recipes, because it’s Octoberfest. Know that I wouldn’t likely get veal, though pork could work as an equivalent. I remember loving it in Germany.

The AZ Republic was talking about how German food was complicated to cook at home. I take issue with that some. It usually involves breading and meat and such. It’s not like it’s French food with timing and everything. Like Cassoulet seems like a casserole with airs. I made sauerbraten in my late high school years/early college years and while I can’t claim it was the piece de resistance (sp?) it was good enough.

One of the ones that I think I neglected amidst the cookery and bakery was learning how to make drinks of the martini kind. Have martini glasses, though no set. Haven’t used them. I remember being amused about seeing vodka and tonic mix at the liquor store. Vodka or gin and tonics are one of the first things I learned how to make. It’s the liquor, tonic water and lime. Oh well. I don’t suppose it’s all that tragic. It’s one of those I “think that you might learn if you were part of a couple” or not. Though, I still want a mojito. Seems like a Latin-based mint julep.

The Books that I'm still reading as of Oct. 2009

2009-10-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

I had started some of them in May 2009 and I'm still reading them in October 2009. To be fair, the ones I haven't finished aren't light and take a while.

The ones I finished
--There's No Place Like Here by Cecilia Ahern
--Statements by Amy Borowsky
--Stiff by Mary Roach.

The Borowsky one was better in theory than delivery. Was amusing, but liked the first one better. The Ahern one is good in the set-up, but the follow-through is so-so. And Stiff is good, but way intense and well, grody.

I also finally finished Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, which I think I started in 2007 or so. It's okay, but it has the same problems that all pop. cult essay books do. Some essays are really on, some are okay and some are one step away from rough drafts. As this is the third one I've read, I am pretty aware of this tendency. I think the ones that occasionally work better are ones that are a collection of essays on different books, movies and shows as opposed to a book of essays on one subject.

The ones that are still lingering.
--Baudolino by Umberto Eco
--Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H.Lawrence

I have read other ones, but am not sure I fell like listing them right now. They are certainly a motley crew of chick lit, cruddy medieval mysteries, good, intense mysteries and feminist fantasy.

Allie's Cativersary

2009-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

was this week. Now, he is three. Here he is sitting on my Diana picture. Yep, he is still the prettiest boy. He enjoys sitting on black things, (camouflage), crunchies, 'nip and chasing the purple cloth ball with silver stars on it. He is a happy, goth boy. New Order as opposed to Joy Division.

Barbara's Book Corner.

2009-09-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Can't Remember where and why I composed this line. But I still like it.

Which sounds like I should be on the network that has book chats and should have on some sort of sweater twinset and pearls. Which is of course not what I'm wearing. I'm wearing my old Tori Amos t-shirt from her 1998 concert and leggings, thank you very much.

Best of Quotes from Entertainment Weekly.

2009-09-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

I have collector tendencies. I collect recipes, books, dvds, magnets, cute coffee/tea mugs and quotes. I was the person who was writing down the quotes from the Celestial Seasonings tea boxes and tea bags. I started this probably 20 years ago and am still doing it now. Now, it's sprung to Entertainment Weekly. I get them, read them. copy the quotes I like, make cool cards and recycle them. I have saved maybe five of them so far. Clearly, the ones I like tend to be idiosyncratic.

(About the Great Man by Kate Christenson) You may discover some droll bits of drawing-room comedy in Christenson’s fourth book, but that will involve venturing, machete in hand, through a jungle of overripe prose.—Troy Patterson, EW.

(About Smallville) Is it just me or does every Smallville episode seem born of 3 a.m. tacos and tequila-fueled debates of who’d kick whose ass in a death match?—EW.

(About the Writer’s Strike) The Golden Globes are cancelled and the Oscars may be next. I want no part of a world that refuses to congratulate itself.—Conan O’Brien, EW.

Wait a minute. . . words in the prompter? Script on my desk? Vending machine upstairs out of Funyuns?? The writers are back! –Jon Stewart, celebrating the writers post-strike return on the Daily Show.

(About Mannequin 1 and 2)
When “Emmy” inexplicably pulls a Pinocchio (becoming Kim Catrall, dolled up like Sex and the City’s Samantha if she shopped at Merry-Go-Round) the pair take to doing displays, which saves the store from the wrecking ball.

The saggy 1991 sequel Mannequin 2: On the Move has a near-identical plot--Hollywood, Prince and Starship are back, alongside a new leading man (William Ragsdale) and magical mannequin (Kristy Swanson)—but it can’t capture the charm or finesse of the original. (Yes, we just said Mannequin has “charm” and “finesse.” And no, there isn’t a “Fashion with Hollywood” featurette—or any extras—on either disc.)—Tanner Stransky, EW.

(About Princess, the ABC Family movie) The modern fairy tale of Princess Ithaca. They’d have named her Princess Utica, but that just sounds dumb.—Alynda Wheat, EW.

Bill Maher serves as guest programmer tonight (of My Fair Lady). What’s more shocking: Bill’s love of musicals or classy women?—Jessica Shaw, EW.

I watched Boston Legal nine times before I realized it wasn’t a new Star Trek—Tracy Morgan, EW.

(About Love Songs) A musical about threesomes, death, bed-hopping and bisexuality. Or, as the French call it, l’amour.—EW.

(About Exteme Trains on History channel) I can personally guarantee the NJ Transit Local to Philadelphia shouldn’t qualify.—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About Brazil) Extras include a 10 year-old director’s track and the studio’s sunnier, shorter cut--Timothy Gunatilaka

(About the Mermaid Chair) She also gets busy with a Benedictine monk (CSI’s Alex Carter) who sadly wears street clothes when the sin occurs. The robe would’ve been hotter--Mandi Bierly.

(About Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski) Needless to say, comprehension is attained on ly impressionistically. While masochistic grad. students might flip out over Revolutions’ gimmicky demands, most will find it impenetrable.-Gilbert Cruz.

(About Gossip Girl) In the interest of a Happy Humphrey Thanksgiving, an open letter to Jenny: Little J, wipe off that circa ’91 eyeliner, grow out the Joan Jett haircut and stopp pretending magenta crinoline equals couture—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh) Henry Winkler guest stars in the boys tv-movie. And if you’re thinking “Hey, the Fonz!!” then maybe you’re too old to watch it—Clark Collis, EW.

(About I want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown) Featuring Snoopy’s brother Spike, and Luch and Linus’s brother, Rerun, a.k.a. the Scrappy-Doo and cousin Oliver of the Peanuts gang.—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About Masterpiece Theater) Tonight’s the season premiere of Foyle’s War. Watch host Alan “Nipple Glitter” Cumming magnificently fill Dame Diana Rigg’s sensible shoes.—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew). Thing No. 217 I never thought I’d write. If only Kenickie would listen to the Baldwin Brother.-Entertainment Weekly.

Mira Sorvino: if it’s a choice between The Last Templar and quitting acting, might we suggest a sequel to Romy and Michelle?-EW.

Suge Knight in Scottsdale, Ariz. hotel scuffle with alleged Akon associate. Guys, when Arizona is the setting of your new rap war, it’s time to rethink the whole concept of rap war.—Scott Brown, EW.

The Fray-for people who think that Toad the Wet Sprocket are too edgy--EW.

(About Lipstick Jungle) This week on my favorite show that I don’t admit to watching but will be devastated if it’s cancelled: Victory introduces Joe Bennett to her parents.—Jessica Shaw, EW.

Scar Jo releases an album of Tom Waits covers. The move accelerates fears that Tara Reid would finally complete her long-feared Leonard Cohen encomium.—Scott Brown, EW.

We’ve watched the trailers for this month’s horror newbies, The Unborn and The Uninvited at least 22 times and we still can’t tell them apart.—EW.

Tom Hardy stars in part 1 of Wuthering Heights, an adaption of the Kate Bush song. (Oh, all right, it was a book, too—Clark Collis, EW.

I would tell you how Wuthering Heights ends, but I don’t want to spoil 11th grade for all of our y oung readers out there—Jessica Shaw, EW.

Dear Feminism: We apologize. Love the cast of Bride Wars.—EW.

Ione Skye gets married in India. I don’t really think this is how Lloyd Dobler saw things going-Scott Brown, EW.

Amazing Race contestants fail to identify Chekhov. Russian-U.S. relations at lowest point since Ivan Drago killed Apollo in Rocky IV,--EW.

(About Lost) Tonight we meet young Sayid and young Ben, making this week’s episode the Lost version of Muppet Babies.--Jessica Shaw.

Brandon Routh’s role cut from a new Bret Easton Ellis adaption. Turns out noone wanted to see Superman explore his bisexual-nihilist side, which, frankly, surprises me. –Scott Brown, EW.

One Tree Hill can be described in many ways: unflinching cure for insomnia, worst show to take place on a hill, and inexcusable misuse of Chad Michael Murray would all work—Joel Mc Hale, The Soup.

(About the Mysteries of Pittsburgh) Jon Foster plays Art Bechstein, the son of a Jewish gangster (Nick Nolte), but he comes off as the dullest of WASP preppies. His fascination with a young couple-heartfelt Jane (Sienna Miller) and her pretentious, chopper-rdiing bisexual boyfriend, Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard)- plays like Gossip Girl written by a bad F. Scott Fitzgerald imitator.—Own Gliebermen, EW.

(About Adam Lambert) Adam’s personal life remains shielded. He was apparently made by the Hand of God and left in a basket backstage of Wicked, where he was discovered, bestowed with a lifetime supply of black nail polish and raised by musical-theater queens.—Mark Harris, EW.

(About the Tudors) King Henry lusts after sisters and a French chick. When did the Tudors turn into a really bad issue of Maxim?—Jessica Shaw, EW.

Alt-rock band Placebo cover “Wouldn’t it be Good” from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, which came out 23 years ago. But, no you’re totally not old.—EW.

(About Mercy) A medical drama about students who are both cynical and innocent, crossing Grey’s Anatomy with Third Watch. This could be utterly insufferable.—Ken Tucker, EW.

(About Extreme Towns) You want Extreme? The restaurant in my hometown, Scotch Plains, N.J. sometimes served dinner as late as 8 p.m. That’s p.m., mofos! Do the Dew!—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About DMB: Live from the Beacon) Watch with a frat boy who thinks he’s sensitive because he’s wearing mandals and you’ll have the complete DMB experience—Jessica Shaw, EW.

(About True Blood) This show is at the forefront of the baffling “sexy vampire” trend. When did vampires stop being horrific blood sucking monsters and instead become misunderstood metrosexuals?—Andy Richter.

Why do I have to follow CNN on twitter? If I want to follow CNN, I can follow them on CNN.–Jon Stewart.

Nia Vardalos on Hollywood’s double standard: “Russell Croswe is fat and noone ever talks about it.” But, Nia, we in the press like him fat. It slows him down and impairs his aim.—Scott Brown, EW.

(About God Help the Girl by Stuart Murdoch) The sheer amount of next-level twee showcased on the Belle and Sebastian frontman’s latest project--positioned as the soundtrack to an imaginary movie-no less--may send listeners screaming for the nearest Black Sabbath box set—Leah Grenblatt, EW.

You know that Sex and the City movie? It’s a hit—no, not just a hit. Surprise! A long-running TV series that generated hundreds of millions of dollards in revenue and an extremely lovyal following turns out to be popular. Surprise! Women apparently can find a local multiplex without the assistance of men. Surprise! Sometimes two women, or three or four or five, will go to a movie together, even if they’re not lesbians. Surprise!—Mark Harris, EW.

A Brooklyn take on Sex and the City is reportedly in the works. It’ll center on four very different friends with one thing in common: They can’t afford to live in Manhattan.—Scott Brown, EW.

(About Dirty Sexy Money) Here’s what happens when you burn off new episodes of a cancelled series in the summer. You have your Thanksgiving episode air in the middle of July.—Jessica Shaw, EW.

Janet arrested on suspicion of DUI. Was repeatedly overserved at the Regal Beagle.-EW.

After success of Desperate Houseplants, Sesame Street to launch Mad Men Parody. I’m not so sure I want to see Elmo drink, smoke and have an extramarital affair with the letter S. –Scott Brown, EW.

A professor claims rap “battles” originated in medieval Scotland. I think this guy’s research consisted of a half-pint of Glenlivet and an accidental late-night broadcast of Highlander on BET.—Scott Brown, EW.

Showtime and the BBC are developing a contemporary retelling of Camelot. Sword-wielding Arthur hooks up with Guinevere, a high-priced call girl who sells weed to make ends meet.—Scott Brown, EW.

(About Merlin) After Arthur kills a unicorn, a curse is put on the kingdom. Who knew PETA was powerful in the middle ages?—Jessica Shaw, EW.

Books that Have Left the Building.

2009-06-18T04:45:00.001-07:00

Occasionally, I do manage to get rid of books that I've outgrown, hated passionately, was meh about, or someone else might appreciate more. Here are some. You will notice that I got rid of a bunch of theory books, some mystery, humor and fiction. I read a good chunk of them. Less so with the theory books. And I couldn't make myself read Burroughs. I got a copy of New Yorker cat cartoons for it.

The amount of books that I've brought into the place: probably double the amount of books that I've found homes for, are being borrowed or gotten more books for.

--Atherton, Nancy. Aunt Dimity’s Death
--Baker, Ed and Busick, Chris. Is He Gay?
--Borkowsky, Amy. Statements
--Bornstein, Kate. The last sex
--Burroughs, Augusten. Running With Scissors.
--Canin, Ethan. Emperor of the Air.
--De Lauretis, Teresa. Practice of Love
--Easthope, Anthony. Literary into Cult. Studies.
--Ferguson, Ian and William. How to be a Canadian
--Girard, Rene. Violence and the Sacred.
--Gordon, Alan. Thirteenth Night
--Heimel, Cynthia. Sex Tips for Girls,
--Harris, Joanne, Holy Fools.
--Harrison, Jane. Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion.
--Hess, Joan. Mortal Remains in Maggody, Maggody and the Moonbeams. Roll Over and Play Dead
--Hornby, Nick. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
--Irigaray, Luce. This Sex which is not one.
--Jung, C.K.
--Poems from the Underground
--Levi-Strauss, Claude. The Savage Mind.
--Karry, Mary. Cherry
--Marsh, Ngaio. Death of a Fool
--Murder under the Mistletoe
--Malinowksi, Bronislaw. Malinowksi book
--Oates, Joyce Carol. Solstice.
--Paolini, Christopher. Eragon.
--Paretsky, Sara. A Woman’s Eye
--Ricouer, Paul. Symbolism of Evil.
--Sedaris, David. Barrel Fever.
--Tremayne, Peter. Absolution by Murder.
--Wells, Rebecca. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (audio-tape)
--Wodehouse, P. G. World of Jeeves
--Women of Mystery.
--Wojnarowicz, David. Close to the Knives

Counting, Ah Ah Ah

2009-06-16T02:31:00.000-07:00

With all due respect to the Sesame St. character, Count von Count, this will be a counting post. He is probably counting snowflakes in the pic above. And did you know, the Count has a wikipedia entry? I did not. Here it is, as well as the Muppet wiki entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_von_Count
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Count_von_Count

--Years between reading Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: 3.
--Shortest distance between reading Harry Potter and seeing the movie based on it: 1 month.
--Next shortest distance between reading HP and seeing the movie based on it: 1 year.
--Books read this year if I count from January-June: 13.
--Books read this year if I count from June-June: 36.
--Number of movies that were nominated for Oscars that I saw this year: 0.
--Next lowest number of movies nominated for Oscars that I saw the year they were nominated: 1.
--Number of movies I have seen in the theater this year (2009): 3
--Number of times I have seen Mamma Mia (counting both movie and stage show): 4.
--Number of times have read Hamlet in both undergraduate and graduate: 9.
--Number of filmed versions of Hamlet have seen: 4.
--Number of staged versions of Hamlet have seen: 1
--Number of times I have read The Book of Margery Kempe for a grad. class: 3.
--Percentage of time that Callie is lap surfing: 50.
--Percentage of time that Allie is lap surfing: 10.
--Percentage of time no cat is lap surfing: 40.
--Number of times I have read Gaudy Night: 3.
--Number of times I have read Possession: 2.
--Number of times I have read Henry V: 0
--Number of times I have seen Branagh's Henry V: 2
--Pairs of boots I have: 5.
--Pairs of black shoes I have: 9, at least.
--Pairs of shoes I wear on a regular basis: 6.
--Number of blue mugs that died this year: 1.
--Number of blue mugs still left: 5.
--Number of mugs that are not blue: Quite a lot.
--Number of cats currently on the desk: 2.

Probably enough counting for now.

Wish I said this. Smarty Pants on Reduced-Fat Wheat Thins.

2009-05-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

I totally agree with Mimi Smartypants about the Reduced-Fat Wheat Thins. I have a box of them and they look exactly like she says. And okay, I do have a journal that I keep long-hand. Could it be more female demo-graphed? My office is not that neat. Wish I was still teaching 105 or 102 so I could bring in the box as a visual aid. My fave part is about the Chuck Norris/Martha Stewart not compromising about snacks. The wheat-thins are perfectly fine. Also, thanks A. for introducing me to her.

Mimi Smartypants writes:
6. The back of the Reduced-Fat Wheat Thins box curiously depicts a lovely-looking home office setup, all seafoam walls and beige linen organizer boxes. There is a vintage-style wall clock and a charming little green ceramic pitcher being used as a pencil cup. Also: a full cup of coffee, a clothbound book with a blurry one-word title that looks a lot like a personal journal, and a bulletin board with post-its saying "Lunch @ 11:30" and "Call Corinne." And the box of Wheat Thins, of course. So we can deduce that this person likes Wheat Thins, is probably female (based on the Pottery Barn-ness of the desk accessories), and that she doesn't work too terribly hard.

Then there is the box copy. Tagline: "My space, my snack." Below: "You don't compromise in your daily life; you shouldn't have to in your snacks. Reduced Fat Wheat Thins are the best of both worlds: Full of crunch and the amazingly delicious taste of Wheat Thins---all with 35% less fat than Original Wheat Thins Crackers"

a. Yes, there is no end punctuation in the original. Odd, especially since someone bothered to use a semicolon correctly.
b. MY SPACE, MY SNACK. Well! You go, girl! Own those low-fat crackers!
c. Could this be more blatantly chick-targeted? You've got the luxurious Real Simple-styled desk scene. You've got the me me me, my space, my snack, perfect for that whole "time to myself" marketing focus. Which strikes me as particularly ironic because the woman with that perfect-looking office---who has lunch dates and who apparently keeps a journal in longhand---probably has no trouble whatsoever with the time-to-herself thing.
d. The more I think about that first line, the more it makes me laugh. "You don't compromise in your daily life; you shouldn't have to in your snacks." Who is this take-no-prisoners, make-no-compromises snacking woman? A combination of Martha Stewart and Chuck Norris? Damn it, no! I will not compromise my snacks!
e. I have not investigated yet, but I doubt the full-fat Wheat Thins box is this conflicted. I buy the low-fat ones because they are saltier, and nothing is salty enough for me except maybe a salt lick garnished with French olives. I did not expect the box to have all this baggage about compromise and claiming one's space.

http://smartypants.diaryland.com/

Callie gets her close-up

2009-05-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, finally, Calliope gets a picture shout-out. So, I can assuage my guilt that Alistair has gotten more pics on the blog. Got a new camera obviously. Am still getting used to it. But, this one did turn out quite well. Callie is a punk rocker, Callie is a punk rocker now. I know, awww. And no red-eye either. This is not a staged picture; she does like napping on my chucks.

The books that I'm 3/4 through...

2009-05-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

And yes, I am aware that the 'way' I read books is not necessarily 'normal.' It's sort of one of those things that somehow happened and has become one of my 'things/quirks.'

--The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
--Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevera
--A Stolen Tongue by Sheri Holman
--Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
--San Francisco Short Stories. Ed. John Miller
--The Unburied by Charles Pallister
--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling.

And no, these aren't all the books I'm reading as they would also include:
--There's No Place Like Here by Cecilia Ahern
--Statements by Amy Borowsky
--Baudolino by Umberto Eco
--Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H.Lawrence
--Stiff by Mary Roach.

So, it's kind of a reading slump, where I'm almost, but not quite, done with a bunch of them. Those of you who have been checking out the blog for abit will remember that I've been reading Eco, Pallister and Rowling for about a year. They are both intense enough for that to be true. I only have 6 more chapters left on Rowling, but as they are sad chapters, am having difficulty making myself finish them.

Am almost done with Guevera, Fforde and the San Francisco collection. Am running out of humorous essay people, like Sarah Vowell, Laurie Notaro and others. Any suggestions?

Six Books that Made Me Happy

2009-04-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ooops, as I realize Anne tagged me about this one. Oh, right. And I can't get blogspot to line up the links for the books, so you'll just have to muddle through. If anyone who's reading this knows how, let me know. Maybe I should switch my blog to wordpress.

The premise is, six books that made me happy. Here they are in no particular order.

--The Dragon Series: Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons and Talking with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Am counting these as a unit, even though they are more than one book. I was teaching the mystery class in 2004, I think, and tres distracted. Zach O, one of my students from class and from my old 105 class, lent me his copies. I read them fairly quickly, and really, really liked them. They would've been awesome to read when I was in my teens, but as they came out in the '90s, it wouldn't have occurred me to read them. I ended up getting multiple people hooked on them, and so forth. I loved Morwen's sign, "No nonsense, please" and was very tempted to put it in my office.
--The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I had listened to the second one, Pigs in Heaven, on audiobook, and I bought this one on an semi-impulse buy. I know that I really, really liked it. I liked its descriptions of people, it resolved well, and I liked the Tucson descriptions since I was here by that time. Apparently, it's become one of those assigned in high school and I can live with that.
--Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I know, kind of a given considering me. And I don't mean when I read it the first time, in 1992-3, but when I re-read it in 2001. I had moved out here, and all I had was an inflata-bed and some books. I can't remember why I had P. and P.; I probably figured a re-read was as deep as I could handle at the time. It was the perfect book for that time; I could enjoy the humor and remember why I liked it so much. And, Darcy!
--Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. Melanie had leant me her copy and I think it had gotten slightly spilled on, so I replaced it. This of course meant that her copy became mine. It was a particularly good book to read 2 chapters of before bed. It was a very good fairy-tale like book that had some fun linguistic and political and magical things. I am not doing it justice, but it's cool.
--I Love Everybody and Other Atrocious Lies by Laurie Notaro. I have to include at least one humorous essay book in here and I choose Laurie's third book. I've been reading her stuff since I moved here and she was writing for the AZ Republic. While her first two books are good, in the third, it just gels together. She has phrases like "angry jazz hands" and she has a whole chapter of dealing with the idiocy of people. Also, she was local at the time, so I could read it and share the feeling of being stuck behind a Valley Metro bus in traffic since I always seemed to have that problem.

Okay, I'm cheating. I can't think of another book and I'm not going to force it to make the 6 books. Because, that's apparently how I do things. I'd rather have 5 good books than 5 books and 1 book that's merely ennnhh. Call me whatever you want, but if I can't think of one, I'm not going to phone it in.

Iowa Stubborn.

2009-04-07T01:36:00.000-07:00

One of the bloggers posted a clip of "Iowa Stubborn" from the Music Man to express his thoughts about the passing of gay marriage in Iowa.

It's a local theater production, so those expecting the movie will be disappointed.

I love the term Iowa Stubborn and apply it to situations and people as needed. But yay

Designing Women on DVD.

2009-03-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

And yeah, this falls into the kinda care dept. I loved DW at the time, but thanks to multiple, multiple viewings on Lifetime, I probably don't need to own it. Because, I know it way too well.

And yes, in the which Designing Woman are you quiz, I am mainly Mary Jo, and in Golden Girls, I am most likely Dorothy. I already did those quizzes in the '90s, thank you very much.

I've never understood buying some shows on dvd. Like Everybody Loves Raymond, or others that are always, always on. Also, like Punky Brewster or other remnants from the '80s that aren't going to age terribly well. Yes, I watched a lot of Blossom, which is now out on dvd, but that doesn't mean I terribly need to re-watch it either. And also, tv. dvds are just slightly too expensive to buy all of them.

I recently bought Voyagers on dvd, with a gift cert. Of course, Retro Television Network, which is the local equivalent of Channel 69, or a lamer version of Tv Land, is rerunning it. They are also rerunning Buck Rogers, Simon and Simon and the original Battlestar Galactica. Those are the good shows they're running. So far, am enjoying re-watching some of them, though I saw a Buck Rogers that was just strange.

And in the category of things you can't make up, here's this tidbit from imdb.

(About Simon and Simon) The show was filmed in San Diego. During the run of the show, CBS tried to get the locale of the show switched because they felt San Diego wasn't "sexy" enough. The effort failed.

And this is how the '80s were different from say now or the '90s, because likely most everybody would want to have things set in CA now. And, also, this is CBS, the channel that brought us Murder, She Wrote, so being like Miami Vice wasn't part of their mission statement.

The other thing that strikes me in re-watching shows from that time and I guess now too is how much longer the shows ran than they should've. Facts of Life should've at least ended when they graduated high school, and most shows start to lose it after say 4 years. Simon and Simon lasted for 8 years; I stopped watching somewhere around 1987, which isn't that surprising. And it ages okayish.

Ok, I am amused

2009-03-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Because, probably, I would do this. Or would if I had the appropriate car and motorcycle. Which I don't and that's probably a good thing. But, yes, naming the new mini-cooper Larry after Laurence Olivier to go with the motorycle which is named Vivien appeals to my warped sense of humor. And it's the color of car I would likely get. Green. And I like Larry and Viv's picture.

Sadly, my Saturn never found a name since I wasn't around people who would've encouraged me to do so. And it didn't occur to me. But, considering the elaborate names my cats wound up with, I think we can call it a draw. And naming my coffee pots would just be naming for no good reason. Which I do not believe in.

Movies seen 2004 versus 2008.

2009-02-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

This one was inspired by Anne commenting on the multiple movies she had seen in '04 versus the very few movies she had seen in '08. Which of course prompts me to figure out just which movies I did see and how I fit into that. And, yes, I went through the movie stubs which I keep. And if I remember correctly, '04 was a surprisingly high movie going year. In order to keep it from becoming hyper-clustered, am only marking the ones I saw by myself. Presume all others were seen with people. And there is a mix of art, mainstream and other movies. Yes, I really did see Sponge Bob Square Pants in the theater; it was better than anticipated, though I had very low expectations,

Movies seen 2004
--Love Actually
--Calendar Girl (by myself)
--Starsky and Hutch
--Hidalgo
--Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (by myself)
--Intermission (by myself)
--Mean Girls
--13 Going on 30
--Connie and Carla
--Shrek 2
--Van Helsing
--Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabhan
--Raising Helen
--Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (by myself)
--Chronicles of Riddick
--The Terminal
--Saved
--Around the World in 80 Days
--Stepford Wives (by myself)
--Bon Voyage (by myself)
--Love Me if You Dare
--Fahrenheit 911
--King Arthur
--De Lovely
--Scooby Doo 2
--Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabhan (imax)
--Spiderman 2
--Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
--The Notebook
--The Village
--A Home at the End of the World (by myself)
--Garden State (by myself)
--We Don’t Live Here Anymore (by myself)
--Vanity Fair
--Shall We Dance
--Bright Young Things (by myself)
--The Motorcycle Diaries
--The Grudge
--Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (by myself)
--Team America: World Police
--Alfie
--Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason
--The Incredibles
--Sponge Bob Square Pants
--National Treasure
--Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
--The Aviator

Number of Movies Seen 2005: 28
Number of Movies Seen 2006: 14
Number of Movies Seen 2007: 26

Movies seen 2008
--Enchanted (by myself)
--Fool’s Gold
--Juno (by myself)
--Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
--Mamma Mia
--The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants II (by myself)
--Brideshead Revisited
--Marley and Me

Tag, you're it.

2009-02-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

From Kerry M, this is the game whereby you post the sixth photo in the sixth folder on your computer. Then you tag five more blogs. My picture is above. The explanation is as follows. No, I do not know the emo boy. I think one of my students took a picture of said emo boy, and I saved it because well, he seemed striking. (My photo folders are like this) I do have other pictures, some more random and some less so.

I tag:
Xo's Music Blog
House of Infomania
Rolled up in Colorful Carpets
Finding Balance
Midnight Garden

Where in the World is Calliope?

2009-01-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

Thanking of course the PBS program Where in the world is Carmen Santiago? Which tried to teach kids about geography. Can't say for sure whether it was successful or not, but it was a valiant effort. And it did provide a good title and a woman in a fedora, neither of which cannot be overlooked. This is not to imply that Callie's gone missing, missing, but she's gone hiding somewhere around the place. The options of late are
--sitting by the laundry basket in the linen closet. Perfectly contented.
--In one of the tubes under the dining room table.
--In various boxes about the house.
--If I am at the computer, below the computer
--the basket by the printer which contains printer paper.

Alistair does hide, but doesn't seem to vary as much. Choices are more likely
--on top of the bed, particuarly if there is sunshine to bask in.
--under the bed, if it's cloudy.
--occasionally in the linen closet on top of my jeans.
--on top of the couch.
--by the coffee table.

Cats, hours of anthropological entertainment.

I've gone over to the Michaels' dark side and is there a way back?

2009-01-20T01:38:00.000-08:00

Or things that have been looking for at Michael's which might pull together projects: (And I don't think am ruining any possible gifts here)

--Little metallic boxes or plastic even, but not wood. Theory is to attach tiles from a bracelet that died. Would probably need new glue too.
--Barring that, a plain picture frame to do the above.
--Blank notecards with colors that are deep and cool and funky, but not too so. Burgandys and greens good; funky neons not so good. Pass on the embossing and the scalloped edges. Purpose: to make notecards using pics. from magazines that I have gotten.
--Picture frames to possibly put my postcard of the Kelmscott Chaucer in (Arts and Crafts style) and one of the pictures from an Art Deco calendar that is sehr pretty.
--Be nice to find some dried flowers (or something less toxic for the cats, but still nice) to put in one of my vases. I may have to accept that this is a lost cause.

Also, I have some jewelry that needs fixing.
--pins that need better clasps.
--Bracelet that probably needs restringing.

Which might not be a Michael's thing. The bracelet might be. And maybe the dollar store would have good notecards, or Tar-shay.

Though I fear that I'm a weird mix of a Michael's/Bust craftster. Like narr on the pink and the pastels, and not quite to the level of neon colored notecards.

And yes, this is the person who did very badly at some of the art projects in school. And I promise that if I start making lanyards or ribboned barrettes or friendship pins, I will warn everyone so they can move to a more safe location. Though Callie would love if there were more ribbons about the place.

I suppose occasionally books and movies should be experienced in a particular order.

2009-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

--In addition to my theory that there are certain times when you could read the best book or see the best film and not be in the mood to experience it, I have a theory about the ordering of the experience of films or books. (And I know, I sound pretentious) Like sometimes there should be an order to them. And am not referring to book series where you discover something terrible if you read them out of order. No, I mean that if you read an author's third book and then go back to his/her first one, you have a different response to the book than if you read the first one first and then progressed in a vague sense of order. The problem being of course that I usually start somewhere in the middle and go backwards. I do this with tv. shows too. I got hooked on Buffy in third season and had to go back.

The most recent example is David Sedaris's Barrel Fever. I started with his stuff around Me Talk Pretty One Day after hearing "Youth in Asia" on NPR while driving around the Vestal Pkwy. So, I think I read Me Talk and Holidays on Ice mostly back to back December of 2001. And then in 2004, Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim. Haven't read the most recent one as it's hb. and all my others are pb. I finally get around to reading Barrel Fever and discover that it's mostly odd short stories that are a shade too dark even for me and it only has a few humorous essays. Like three. And they're ennhh. So this leads me to the statement that if you're going to read Sedaris, either start with Barrel Fever and go that way or if you start at Me Talk, go only as far back as Naked. Unless you accept that it's not going to be as good.

Sometimes, it's good to go back before you go forward. I read Chabon's Adventures of Kavalier and Clay a couple of years ago, so I just read Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which is his first novel. In case you haven't read them, Kavalier is a very good, but EPIC, novel that starts in the 30s and goes up to the late 50s/early 60s. It addresses pretty much everything, high/low art, comic books, gay identity, jewish identity, suburbs, war atrocities, and so forth. It's very, very good, but it's very exhausting. So, when I read Mysteries of Pittsburgh which deals with one's twenties, gay identity, mob stuff, and Pittsburgh, it was nice to read something that was lighter. I don't think I could've read another novel like Kavalier. And when I say mob stuff, I don't mean Godfather; I mean his dad is a mob boss. It's hard to explain. He doesn't use quite as many words that I feel like I need to look them up. And he wrote it in his 20s, so it is refreshing to know that you don't land up at Clay-level writing at 26. Well, it is. If one was teaching an intro. to creative fiction, Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Ethan Canin's Emperor of the Air aren't bad ways to go. It's not like assigning some author who has a completely different style than you do you. So I'll read the Final Solution (and others) at a later date.

And while we're here, a word about Charles Kauffman movies. If you're going to be watching Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, watch Being first since Eternal builds upon nicely what Being does. Watching Eternal first and then going back to Being doesn't work since it's not as cool.

And does anyone know what is the rule regarding italicizing titles and then using a shortened version later? Do you then italicize the shortened version or is if by italicizing once you don't have to do it anymore? Look over my entry. It's all over it.

Apparently, this is the process by which I re-discover music.

2009-01-05T02:08:00.000-08:00

--Watch tv. See an ad for a Ford Mercury Mariner. (I checked the name as cars and car ads tend to blur)
--Realize that the ya-ya-ya song is used in Grosse Pointe Blank which I've seen countless times.
--Pull out the DVD to check the scene where it's used to make sure I haven't merged the scene with another movie. Because that is entirely possible.
--Check the credits and imdb for the possible ones. Narrow it done to the ones I know that are not on the soundtrack and hence,are possible.
--Type the possible options on i-tunes and rule out the ones that it couldn't be. And discover that the song in question is "Go" by Tones for Tail.
--Realize it's probably one of those I recognize as '80s, but don't specifically remember hearing it then.

100 Movies am embarrassed to say I haven't seen.

2008-11-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

From Whitney M's Pop. Cult Blog...

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/11/talk-back-what.html#more

Sean C came up with this list,100 Movies I’m Embarrassed To Admit I Haven’t Seen Yet, and I had to check which ones I had seen. I of course probably have my own list of shameful cinema. (Of ones I haven't seen and which ones I have seen in the theater.) But yes, am pretty impressed that I've seen a good chunk of 'em. In the theater, no less.

So, italics equals video, bold equals theater, and paranthesis equals saw it on tv. Also, a lot of these came out when I was seeing a lot of movies.

1. 12 Angry Men
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. 4 Little Girls
4. The Accidental Tourist
5. An Affair to Remember
6. The Age of Innocence
7. Alien
8. All The President’s Men
9. American Graffiti
10. Angels in America
11. The Apartment
12. Apocalypse Now*
13. Babe
14. Back To The Future III
15. The Battle of Algiers
16. A Beautiful Mind (airplane)
17. Ben-Hur
18. The Big Chill (tv)
19. Blazing Saddles (tv)
20. Bonnie and Clyde
21. Born on the Fourth of July
22. Brazil
23. Citizen Kane
24. A Clockwork Orange
25. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
26. The Crying Game
27. Dances with Wolves
28. The Deer Hunter
29. Doctor Zhivago
30. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
31. Ed Wood
32. Fargo
33. Field of Dreams
34. A Fistful of Dollars
35. The Five Heartbeats
36. Fletch
37. Four Weddings and a Funeral
38. The French Connection
39. Funny Girl
40. The Godfather Part III
41. Gone With The Wind
42. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
43. The Grapes of Wrath
44. The Green Mile**
45. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
46. Hamlet (1948)
47. Hannah and Her Sisters
48. Harold and Maude
49. An Inconvenient Truth
50. It’s A Wonderful Life
51. JFK
52. The King of Comedy
53. King of New York
54. L.A. Story
55. The Last of the Mohicans
56. The Last Temptation of Christ
57. Lawrence of Arabia
58. Life Is Beautiful
59. The Maltese Falcon
60. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
61. Manhattan
62. Marathon Man
63. MASH
64. Midnight Cowboy
65. Mississippi Burning
66. Moonstruck
67. Moulin Rouge!*
68. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
69. My Left Foot
70. Network
71. The Neverending Story (tv)
72. The Nightmare Before Christmas
73. North by Northwest
74. Once Upon A Time In The West
75. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
76. Ordinary People
77. Rashomon
78. A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
79. Rear Window
80. Rebel Without a Cause
81. Saving Private Ryan**
82. Scent of a Woman
83. Schindler’s List
84. Sense and Sensibility
85. The Seven Samurai
86. Sid & Nancy
87. Singin’ in the Rain
88. Slacker
89. Some Like It Hot
90. The Sound of Music (tv)
91. The Sting (tv)
92. A Streetcar Named Desire
93. Taxi Driver
94. Terms of Endearment
95. The Thin Red Line
96. Tootsie
97. Waking Life
98. The Way We Were
99. West Side Story
100. Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

So, according to my calculations, have seen about 46 of them. (15 in the theater, 24 on video and 5 on tv and 1 on airplane) Not bad.

(Based on his list, these are the ones I feel I should watch. Many are ones that haven't seen yet because of their sadness or intensity. Dr. Zhivago is one of them and I'm still traumatized by the Masterpiece Theater version of it. And it's Russian. And Nightmare and Fields are biggies.)

An Affair to Remember
Angels in America (I did see the stage play.)
The Apartment
Doctor Zhivago
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Field of Dreams
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Rebel Without a Cause
Slacker
Taxi Driver
Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

On my own personal list, the ones I am chastened I haven't seen are
My Dinner with Andre
Purple Rose of Cairo
Scotland, PA
Zelig

Overburdened by books....

2008-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

---Will begin this post with a quote that captures nicely the problem at hand.

There are far too many people born into the world, and far too many words written. Millions and millions of them pouring from the presses. It’s a horrible thought-The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

There are just too many to read and sometimes they are just a bit too similar. For example, medievally mystery books like

--The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
--A Stolen Tongue by Sheri Holman
--Ex Libris by Ross King. (Okay, technically 1660s)
--The Canterbury Papers by Judith Koll Healey

and other intense thought books like
--Baudolino by Umberto Eco
--The Unburied by Charles Pallister.

Am currently reading Baudolino, A Stolen Tongue and The Unburied among other lighter ones. And I think the main problem is that I read Eco before I read any other medieval mysteries and he's hard to top. And he also needs to be spaced out too. Which is why the last one of his I read was Foucault's in the '90s. And yes, my sister, I remember you not being as wowed by Baudolino as others of his, but as it's in the apt, and it's got to be better than A Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon, I figured I'd try it out. But what this means is will not be in the mood for Ex Libris (which also contains a labyrinth and a mystery) or The Canterbury Papers which is set around the time of Eleanor of Acquitaine. And at what point do I admit defeat, that I'm never going to read the King book? Which has potential but may not deliver.

Well, at the very least, it's not going to be read right now. And we'll re-evaluate the situation later. And yes, should probably re-read Name of the Rose since it's been long enough, and I probably would get different stuff now. But maybe not for awhile.

Yes, overthinking reading again.

The Wondercats at this juncture....

2008-11-09T01:36:00.000-08:00

--Alistair is sitting on the desk lying leisurely.
--Calliope was sitting on top of the stereo and has stretched to look at or pounce at or whatever at my Picasso's Flowers print. Yay, fleurs! Now, she's sitting in the basket for printer paper.
--And I'm thinking that it's insane to have two French movies with similar names released within a year of each other. There's Un Couer en Hiver which involves a violin virtuoso and her dysfunctional love affair with a cold dispassionate man who makes violins which came out in 1993. And then there's Conte d'hiver about a man and a woman who have a passionate affair and lose touch until five years pass and they meet again in winter. At which point, the woman is torn between her old and current lover. That came out in 1992. The main difference that I can tell is that the second one might have some happy moments in it as opposed to the first one which seems to be drifting along in a sea of ennui and snow. And that I saw Un Couer en Hiver around that time. Don't remember too much about it except it being not happy and the relationships not being oh terribly sunny.
Yes, I get the winter as metaphor thing. I do, I really do.
--And this would be why I space out watching French films as though they can be good, they tend to move slowly.

Stuffed Artichoke contest

2008-10-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

--So I'm watching Rachel Ray's show, which might perhaps be the first problem here. But, moving on from that part, she had a taste-off with Mario Bartali determining whether the mother-in-law or the wife of a very stupid male made better stuffed artichokes. 'Cause of course, the guy prefers the way his mom makes it and the wife makes it the way her mother makes it. And all of the tradition things that go along with that.
--Secretly, I wanted the wife to win. Sadly, she did not. The mother-in-law did.
--I personally don't think it's a particularly wise move for the husband to go on a tv. show to settle a cooking debate between two women, particularly his wife and his mother-in-law. The fact that everyone's Italian makes it even less advisable in my opinion. But, you know, they didn't ask me which as usual is perfectly fine.
--While watching the background on the piece, I am struck by how unbelievably time consuming and futzy stuffed artichokes looks. Not to mention, messy. Basically, am thinking that if the person you love is making you stuffed artichokes, you should like them just because they put an awful lot of effort on them. Which is slightly problematic on my part. 'Cause am pretty sure that there's an equivalent out there for me that is doesn't matter how it's made it tastes off. Don't know what it is; I'll let you know when I think of it.
--But, the thing that confuses me is that I've never had or heard of stuffed artichokes until today. And I lived in PA and NY. Okay, I get why I never had it at a restaurant in PA since most of them I went to were comfort foody PA. Dutch. But, I went to Marinelli's in upstate NY on a regular basis and don't remember seeing this. Maybe, it's one of those foods that you only get inside the house. But, still, seems odd somehow. Maybe if I'd gone to fancier dinners or something as opposed to pizza or lasagna nights.
--So, is this one of those things that I just somehow missed or if I'd been part of the family, I would've had this multiple times?
--And I have made stuffed mushrooms. Not recently, but I have made them.

I think I'm good on Joyce Carol Oates' books for awhile.

2008-10-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

--Having finished her book Solstice, I think I will take a break from her stuff. It was interesting to read about the sort of toxic friendship between two women, Monica and Sheila. Didn't change my life, but sometimes that's okay. Wasn't sure how I felt about the ending.
--I have also read her short story collections: Where are you going, where have you been? and Crossing the Borders. Where had some interesting stories including the title story which is still as creepy as when I first read it in college. Borders had also some good stuff with the borders between Canada and the USA, metaphorically and physically. I also liked some of the locations she was featuring in the stories, like Michigan, New York State, and Canada. However, there were a few stories that were very, very strange and I didn't know how I felt about them.
--I gave to my student Megan Sawyer, one of my many Megans, Wonderland and Them. I think I decided that they were too depressing even for me to read and thick, so I wouldn't ever get to them. Looking over the descriptions I stand by that claim. Her darkness is hard enough in short stories, but even worse in longer stories.
--And she's just too prolific to really invest in as an author. And now, they've published her journals. Though she is interesting and am interesting what academic stuff she knew about, I think I'll wait on that for a very long time. Maybe after I read the journals of Sylvia Plath. And have recovered from them and read something happy in between.

Alistair's Birthday or Adoption Day or whatever you want to call it.

2008-10-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Is today. Was going to have a celebration, but that didn't really happen. Would've meant cleaning.

So, the bubbeleh will be settling for lounging about on the futon and chasing the sparkly balls and becoming one with the bed. I'm sure he'll suffer through the lack of festivities.

As it was, got cat food and groceries. Cat food or the kind mine have requires getting to the Petco/smrt peoples before 7 p.m. which did not happen. Went to Fresh and Easy which is such a English, Tedesco (sp?) place.

And yes, I will get better pics of the cats as soon as I upgrade the camera. And Callie has very few pics. Which must be remedied.

Today's oddities:

2008-09-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

--Or the mix and match version of a blog entry.
--Again, my I-tunes keeps calling up the Christmas music. I didn't realize I had that many christmas tunes. Apparently, I do.
--May need to forage outside for some necessities like t.p, and detergent and so forth. Was hoping not to, but it's kind of
needed.
--Finally did laundry. (Woo!) But of course, it's been so long that I ran out of detergent. So, I bought the 50 cents dry powder stuff from the laundry room. Hey, it's clothes. And I still seriously need to buy clothes. All kinds, mainly everyday pants. A zipper broke on a goodish pair of capris that I will probably try and get fixed somehow. Sigh.
--I bought at Tar-shay a new fitted sheet and some pillowcases because many of my fitted sheets seem to be dying or what have you. I got a deep red to match the sheets I already have. I have opened them and put them on the floor with the theory that I will wash them tonight before I sleep on them since they'll be too scratchy otherwise. Ali of course sees this as his new place to lie luxuriously. To be fair, it is the color of the sheets of the bed. so it's semi-natural.
--Watched Back to School which is one of my surprisingly favorite comedies. Or one of those that I will always watch if it's on. And yes, it's got some dumb stuff, but it holds together better than one would think. Was odd to see Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo doing "Dead Man's Party" at the party scene. And yes, because it's me, got distracted by the casting as Sally Kellermann is still Hot Lips, the annoying professor is the neighbor from Mad About You and the kid who played Jason is the guy from Christine. (Which I have only seen in parts.)
--And I need a new lamp for the study since I busted the one I had there in a "crash into it" way.
--And my hair needs cutting since it's not as bad as it was in June when I got it cut, but is approaching that way. And I can make a tiny ponytail with it. Or two pigtails should I want to. It can curl up. Oh well, it will happen.

Calliope (cat update)

2008-08-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

--Or as I like to call her, my folk rocker cat, ala Ani or Dar or the Indigo Girls or Mary Chapin or Joan or Carole, etc. I played Mary Chapin, the Indigo Girls, Ani and so forth while I was getting her used to my apt and me and Alistair. Alistair is still of course the Glam Rock, Pretty Vacant Boy, Superstar Cat.
--She is sehr, sehr sweet, though seems to have some abandonment issues and other types of stuff that I need to be dealing with. I swear I wasn't trying to cause Alanis, Fiona type problems in calling her my musician cat. And okay, yes, internalization is problematic as usual. I.e., mine. And okay, she was found, and she's a Calico/Short Hair/Siamese mix. The Siamese is less obvious than in other Siamese, but still there.
--So, she will be going to the vet soon, soon, soon.
--And her songs are Ani's "Not a Pretty Girl" which seeped out of me one day, "Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies, and "Sunday Girl" by Blondie.
--Ali's latest song is "Glamour Boy" by Living Color in an ironic way. Particularly the lyric, "I ain't no glamour boy; I'm fierce" since he is a fluffy black cat who is afraid of bubbles.

Okay, enough burbling about the cats and enough computering. Time to get off the chair.

I have seen a scary amount of Brian de Palma movies...

2008-08-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I have. And all the way through too. And am italicizing ones that I've seen a good chunk of.
And all I can say is that he can be a twisted fuck. The violence and the sexuality and the icky imagery.
Just watched the Black Dahlia which sums up his tendencies. I hated Carlito's Way a lot. And having looked at the extras, he looks way normal. And I think the only one I saw in the theaters was Mission Impossible; the rest were rentals. I have seen a lot of movies of a guy that I don't particularly like. Go figure. But some are classics and worth seeing once.

The Untouchables: Capone Rising (2008) (in production)
Redacted (2007)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Femme Fatale (2002)
Bruce Springsteen: The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000 (2001)
Mission to Mars (2000)
Snake Eyes (1998)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Carlito's Way (1993)
Raising Cain (1992)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Casualties of War (1989)
Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988 (1989)
The Untouchables (1987)
Wise Guys (1986)
Body Double (1984)
Scarface (1983)
Blow Out (1981)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Home Movies (1980)
The Fury (1978)
Carrie (1976)
Obsession (1976)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Sisters (1973)
Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972)
Hi, Mom! (1970)
Dionysus (1970)
The Wedding Party (1969)
Greetings (1968)
Murder à la Mod (1968)
The Responsive Eye (1966)
Show Me a Strong Town and I'll Show You a Strong Bank (1966)
Bridge That Gap (1965)
Jennifer (1964)
Woton's Wake (1962)
660124: The Story of an IBM Card (1961)
Icarus (1960)

Barbara's Book Corner.

2008-08-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

In honor of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited coming out (heh) as a movie with Emma Thompson and other assorted people, here's my book review for it. I will be seeing it anon. I also saw some of the miniseries in the'90s when they re-ran it on A.& E. Broken up to show transitions as opposed to the free-floating prose I usually do.

Read it July 19, 2002.

--Found it at one of the book sales at Binghamton University Library. Pretty much liked it. Loved Sebastian and his response to Charles's love of the chapel: "Who cares who made it if it's pretty?" Also good was his bit with his injury. Loved their time in Venice and the halycon days of Oxford. Some of Charles's responses to his father were amusing and vice versa.
--I liked Julia. I was a bit annoyed with the fact she looks so much like Sebastian, so Charles's transferring his love for S. to J.And when he marries his wife, it's so unromantic and quick.
--Was sad when Sebastian leaves for Africa and the line "I'm the saddest person in Oxford as Sebastian's been sent down."Still wounds me.
--The prose is overwrought and I tend to agree with Jeff that Charles is a dry prick.
--Felt sorry for Julia in parts and sort of liked when Julia and Charles get together.
--Thought the end was anticlimactic with the father recanting and the whole debate whether he would or wouldn't was dull.
--Still, there were some good lines about how the house was formed and hwo lived there before. Passing on the traditions and such. Still, it was fun Edwardian stuff. And the bit at the end where Brideshead is now a haven for the soliders and the liight is a symbol of hope for them isn't too bad. I mostly liked the beginning.
--Seminal (no pun intended) piece of British Literature.
--Makes me want to sip scotch on the porch. Had to xerox some of the pages which was a bit annoying.

What I'm currently coveting from L.L. Bean

2008-08-12T18:08:00.001-07:00

The very cute messenger bag in black.

Books Read: July Edition.

2008-08-01T02:54:00.000-07:00

Finished.
--The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
--Holy Fools by Joanna Harris
--Frank Lloyd Wright's Glass Designs by Carla Linda
--The Simpsons and Philosophy
--Women of Mystery (coll. mystery stories)

Have started:
--Baudolino by Umberto Eco
--Berlin Travelbook with photos.
--The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
--Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jennifer Lancester
--Think Pink by Lynn Peril
--The Unkindest Cut by Joe Queenan
--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling
--The Unburied by Charles Pallister
--Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
--The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Notes. Really liked the Wonder Spot. It was sort of similar to parts of The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, and there were parts I liked and want to think about more. And some good descriptions of New York. Am so happy to finish Holy Fools as it was so long and annoying. I was really disappointed by it and all that got me through was imagining John Malvovich as La Merle. The last 20 pages were good, but that's not enough. Am wondering if she was in a bad patch or it reveals a deeper problem in her writing style. If anyone knows, let me know. The Simpsons and Philsophy also could've been better as it was 3/4 philosophy and 1/4 Simpsons. And some of them seem to have been tweaked from someone's dissertation. But they had a few really good essays. The Frank Lloyd pictures of the stained-glass were really beautiful and I learned some stuff about his design style. But it wasn't too heavy or involved and pretty pictures.

The others are percolating nicely, though am not a big fan of Absolution of Murderr by Tremayne. It's a mystery set in Celtic Britain where Christianity has been accepted and they're fighting over the date of Easter. Haven't found a good medieval mystery out there yet. Maybe Umberto Eco's the Name of the Rose ruined me for other medieval mystery writers. Maybe it's not enough of a separation from the job, or I know too much. But there are ones I've found that have sucked mightily.

Okay, getting offline now. My fingers are hurting.

I-tunes mini-rant..

2008-07-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

What happens when you have your i-tunes set on shuffle by song, not album or artist. Which maybe I am the only person who does this. And there's probably stuff I would never hear if I didn't do this.

But oy, enough with the Christmas music (in July), Rockapella or acapella both, Poi Dog Pondering, Reliant K, Oingo Boingo, or any of the other weird shit that has found its way onto my computer. Or like stuff that you can deal with in small doses, but in large doses, not so much. Also have heard too much Barenaked Ladies too. So have probably been on computer for far too long
and am getting off now.

Indigo Girl's "Iko Iko" is on which is much better.

Have changed the template...

2008-07-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Obviously, to those who are actually checking this out. The blue and white was starting to bother and I couldn't find a good contrast color that was readable.

And I have to say that I like this color, and the green is somewhat soothing. And goes with my profile picture. :). Though am afraid that the color is very similar to a pajama top that I have from LL Bean. Went with plaid and it's still pretty comfy.

Feist on Sesame St.

2008-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

Gotten from xol of course. And I am swooning from the cuteness. There are other good Sesame St. ones But all I could find was the one with Spin Doctors and Two Princes. So yeah, enjoy. There are a lot of ones I missed.

Two Princes

Books read.

2008-06-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

Got from Anali who got if from Musical Perceptions, I found this meme of LibraryThing books that were tagged unread. The job is to bold those books I have read, underline the titles I read for school , and italicize those I started but didn't finish. I am also noting what I had to read for high school because my high school English in retrospect exposed me to a good mix of lits.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22 (hs)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights (hs)
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: A novel
The Name of the Rose (and yes, I read it before I had really taken medieval classes. Still haven't re-read it.)
Don Quixote
Moby Dick (am pretty impressed that considering my career, have managed to side-step that one)
Ulysses (though finished it on my own shortly after the class was over)
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey (hs)
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov (haven't really read the Russians either. The only thing I think I read was Solzenitschen (sp. who knows) and have seen Dr. Zhivago)
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations (hs)
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver (sadly, not yet)
Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales (As a medievalist, yes. But do they mean the whole ones? 'Cause I think I have, but there are a lot of random ones that are hard to get through. )
The Historian : a novel (it's on the deck.)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (first in hs and then in college)
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault's Pendulum (Read, yes. Understood all of, no. But liked parts)
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984 (hs)
Angels & Demons
Inferno (though I've only read the Hell section and that's all that was assigned. )
The Satanic Verses (though have read Haroun and the Sea of Stories which I highly recommend. Very good.)
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park (this would be one of those where I got almost to the end like the last chapter, so I'm counting it as read.)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse (hs. on my own for an oral report)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes: A memoir (During the summer, no less)
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere (keep meaning to read Gaiman; hasn't yet happened.)
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved (I tried; I really did. I eventually gave up)
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey (these last two are the Austen I mean to get to.)
The Catcher in the Rye (hs)
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood: A true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield

(I have issue with some of the things that they have left out, like Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye and Robber Bride. Or like some of the Faulkners. Like Absalom, Absalom, or As I Lay Dying. (the first I've read; the second I haven't, so Sound wasn't the first Faulkner I read. And yes, I did read jane Eyre on my own, but that was after I had read WH. And hi, I _do_ have a master's in English. And regarding all the Joyce, I took a seminar in him in college. )

Watching Conan on the Couch...

2008-06-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

--O'Brien of course, not the Barbarian. And OMG, they just used "What's the Buzz" from Jesus Christ Superstar to introduce the latest guest. Tres random song cue. Not the most random song cue they've ever had. They've had the Clash's "Spanish Bombs" and others that I'm not remembering right now.

--Have been doing some cleaning tonight, like the sink, some hand-washable glassware and assorted cat stuff. Have cleaned the cat carrier, the light purple catbox, and one of the cats, Calliope. Both cat and I have recovered from that water-soaked, squirmy, unhappy process. My hands are all like pruny and like the cleaning-fluids have leaked into my hands. Must get to lotion; must rub the lotion on the skin.

--Did much running around yesterday, so have been fairly wiped out today. So hazy and so needed much, much coffee.

--Speaking of coffee, saw some of Off-Beat Cinema last night that was "doing" Reefer Madness. It's not quite MST3k, but it has some possibility. It came out in 1997 from Buffalo, which amuses me as I was trolling the java joints in Buffalo and upstate Binghamton in the '90s. Here's the link if anyone's interested. http://www.offbeatcinema.com/ It's all a hep-cat holiday, man. That I should be seeing it now while am nowhere near any of the locations is even more surreal. They had 10,000 Maniacs on last night in a very appropriate way.

--And is there a place to get pasta with vodka sauce in this 'burg? In Bing, I used to get it at the Lost Dog Cafe and I began to like it every once in awhile. The Lost Dog also had a really good chicken muffaletta as well as profiteroles. A nice mix of ice cream, raspberry/choc. sauce and flaky pastry.

--Watched Swingtown last night and began freaking when they brought out the pudding packs and realized that one of the women was wearing a shirt my mother had. (Not one of the swingers, the more strait-laced one.) Am torn about the clothing and the music and well, the swinging. I was alive in the '70s and I don't remember all of the hits lining up so well on the radio. Though i was probably not listening to the usual stuff anyway. That is my main beef about shows that reduplicate the past soundtracks as filled with all of the hits and none of the duds or something from another generation. Well, it's a rant that I've done before, so will not rehash it now.

--And Happy Days is such an odd, odd show. Such a weird mix of comic stuff and unexpected seriousity. Supposedly, Happy Days the musical is coming to Gammage this tour. I am deeply scared and might want to go to see what it us with that. Not to spend a lot for, though.

--Well, I'm going to get something to eat and call it a day.

Alistair's first shots....

2008-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

--Happened today finally. And he seems to be allright. Found a goodish place nearby. So I think that's done for now. Though might follow up briefly. Got him into the carrier with minimal angst actually. And he complained briefly, but wasn't too bad. Even when he's in the car, he is far more quiet than other cats I have known and have taken to vets and emergency rooms. The only issue I have with the place is that it's very warm as it's a fish-friendly place and I think that's part of it. But it was very quick. So I can let go the "I'm a bad momma guilt coupons." The other guilt coupons are still far more present than they should be.
--So, now I need to deal with the computer next and get it fixed before the warranty expires. Trying again tomorrow. :).
--Should I keep Hard Times by Charles Dickens or let it go?
--Oh dear, "Sour Times" by Portishead; am not sure am in the mood for such a surfeit of self-pity.

Okay, come on...

2008-02-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

--So, as those who may have been actually reading the blog know, I had the flu when I got back from the hols. Very bad flu that I would really prefer not to have again. So, I get up and start puttering about the apt. and doing sorting or whatever, and I realize by like 4 that I feel hot, possibly feverish and generally out of sorts. Check my temp; it's a bit high, but in the realm of normal. I figure that if I'm sick, I've gotten it very suddenly, as I had a headache last night at bed and still had one somewhat today. But, the flu specifically and colds are going around. Am feverenly hoping it's the latter because having the flu twice in a two-month span just seems cruel.
--Threw off my vague plans for today. Was going to run errands and rent the Beatles Strawberry movie (Across the Universe) and With Honors. So, I settled with sitting on the couch watching baddish, mindless tv (One Tree Hill and Cashmere Mafia). I have to say that CM is either getting more watchable or I am in serious entertainment drought here. Both possible. OTH is insane in so many ways it's not worth discussing. And I think that they are recycling plots from 90210, not that I'm surprised.
--So I'll get back to my honey lemon chamomile tea and get some sleep which will hopefully help. And the cat can either decide to be back on the desk chair or somewhere else in the domicile.
--And I think it's time to find socks. My feet are cold.
--Speaking of the Beatles, I finally watched A Hard Day's Night, which is pretty much what it is.

Books Read. May Edition...

2008-02-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

Have finished.

--The Midas Murders by Margot Arnold.

--Murder under the Mistletoe. (Christmas murder mysteries. Which okay are odd.)

--Don't you Forget about me: Writers on the John Hughes movies. (Which could have been a lot better, but wasn't.)

--Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry. (Which I loved. Deeply. Though some of the Britishisms elude me)

--So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson (Surprisingly fun and a good bit of stuff)
--Behind the Scenes of the Museum by Kate Atkinson (Good but intense)
--Maggody and the Moonbeams by Joan Hess
--The Celtic Riddle by Lyn Hamilton.

--People of the Silence by Kathleen O'Neal Gear.

--Things I overheard While Talking to Myself by Alan Alda. (Sentimental, but reminded me of why I like him)

(and a lot of others that will take too long to write and overwhelm the post)

Still, still reading
--The English Reader: What every Literate Person Needs to Know.

--Holy Fools by Joanna Harris

--The Simpsons and Philosophy

Have started:
--The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
--The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
--Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jennifer Lancester
--Frank Lloyd Wright's Glass Designs by Carla Linda
--Think Pink by Lynn Peril
--The Unkindest Cut by Joe Queenan
--Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K.Rowling
--The Unburied by Charles Pallister
--Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne
--The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
--Women of Mystery (coll. mystery stories)

Oh the dreariness...

2008-01-28T21:27:00.001-08:00

--It's raining and I've decided to stay in for the evening. The plan was to clean my apt. and restore it to a semblance of normalcy. The reality has been watch some tv. and put stuff into an anything book. So I can get rid of the book that I got the poetry from.
--And maybe just maybe watch a movie.
--Sorry, all. It's been a cranky day over here due to the rain, sleep patterns being odd, and a general lack of control in my life. Which stemmed the plan of the first.
--Or, it's the try again tomorrow approach to life.
--And am not surprised by the following, but am saddened. The Mocha Ganache by Russell Stover chocolate is deeply disappointing.
--And I watched Shampoo the movie, which was also disappointing. Maybe it worked better in the 60s or not.
--So, yeah the weekend has gone and I had weird dreams this morning. And getting up was quite difficult. So, see above.
--And I'm really disappointed with Holy Fools by Joanne Harris who did Chocolat. Maybe, she's only got one book in her, but this is one of the most slow-moving fiction books I've read in I don't know how long.

Am going offline for the night...

2008-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

--Which I guess is not terribly urgent or anything. I am going offline as I think I've got the "should probably stop looking at the computer" and decompress and go to bed as well, I should.
--Am thinking this because I've got a slight headache probably from being up for a while and not getting quite enough sleep. Or sinuses.
--Don't have any thoughts on the Heath Ledger thing, but wtf?? I go to work and major movie stars are found dead.
--Am leaving before I find another tangent. Spater...

Feeling pensive or tired, who knows?

2008-01-17T21:04:00.000-08:00

--Have had the flu over the weekend, so have had a lot of weird, weird dreams. Weird, pop-cult laden ones, ones where things and people are crashing into each other. I gave up trying to determine what was reality and fantasy afterawhile.
--So, I've only been like really functional since Wednesday with errands and work and so forth.
--There's a lot that happened before xmas and after. And am only just beginning to process strands of personal history, mine and others.
--Have been doing with school stuff some. The bill is just slightly more expensive than I feel a 1 credit research hour should be. Call me stingy.
--Other events of the last 2 days have just increased the surreality even further than it already was.
--Think I've got one of those bouts of nostalgia or the feelings that you get where you feel everything is changing around you. So two songs that I've been having in my head are Madonna's "This Used to be my Playground" (which is my go-to-one for these situations), "Our Last Summer" from Mamma Mia and Expose's "Seasons Change." So, my sappy side is ascendant. And I also heard U2's "All I Want" which is a very good song, but it's also such emotions laid bare. And was used prominently in Reality Bites. Which leads back to some of the nostalgia.
--Well, I think I'm going to stop before subject anyone further to my mood, and before I suffuse in sappiness some more. Am not sure that I've used suffuse correctly. Am probably just tired from the day.

Groggyish Wednesday...

2007-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

--Because for starters, am out of coffee, so am having tea with my cereal for breakfast. It is very strong tea, but it does not produce the adrenalin rush that coffee does. And have only had one cup. so I'm hoping that my body kicks in soon.
--Am beaten down by the holidays man and all that I have to do before I go on a plane. And the stuff I have to do when I come back. And the less time we have off than usual.
--Like for example, do laundry and pay bills and the like. And get prescriptions. And haven't even done christmas shopping. Or really have had a moment to think that much about it.
--The Writers' Strike. I say that they should give into their demands as they don't want all that much and it seems pretty reasonable. And it's been 20 years since the last one which is a sign that new contracts need to be drawn up. I wish I could remember what shows were even on in 87-88 and what shows actually got cancelled because of it. I have a feeling Moonlighting was somehow affected. I suspect it's one of those things you could find out on google. I want to see new Conans or at least ones I haven't seen five times.

There's probably more, but am not thinking of anything right now.

Oh, update on the cat. While checking my email, my cat perched on my knee and put his head on the desk. It clearly requires more balance than I will ever possess. And it's high on the digustingly cute scale.

And oh bliss, we have I-tunes at work now.

Oh well, I should probably go watch some tv and had more tea and then head out the door.

Oh look, rampant cuteness of the cat abounds

2007-12-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gents, Alistair Assissi, aka Alli, boyo, bubbeleh, kitty, goth cat, (other assorted nicknames to follow).

having sustainance

By the couch.

on the floor, giving us a raspberry

He is way cute, though am biased. He is sleeping on the floor, using my Riverside Chaucer as a perch/pillow.

Other places that he has decreed his:
--Uncle Henry's bookcase near the couch
--the bookcase, next to that one, on top of my Aubrey Beardsley book
--the couch, particularly on top of my multi-colored afghan (with cool texture)
--windows
--bed

Pressies from the aunts:
From Amy
--tunnels (!!), catnip pouch, lighty ball and other balls, more bowls.
From Lisa
--laser pointer, scratching post,
From Stephanie
--bowls and carrier,
From Jasmine
--the pics that we have thus far.

Songs sung to:
"I'm too Sexy." by Right Said Fred
"Alison" (changed to Alistair" by Elvis Costello. (Sorry all those who cherish Costello.)
Various folk/60s music.

Happy Halloween, all

2007-10-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

--No ghosties or ghoulies or costumes for me. I have decided to lay low as usual and maybe watch some Halloween themed shows or movies and that's probably about it.
--Didn't get candy and the Halloween cupcakes at the store looked a bit too frightening, in a bad way and some had blue icing which is about where I draw the line.
--Peace out, y'all.

Yes folks, it's my very first ever "cute things my cat is doing post."

2007-10-23T01:19:00.001-07:00

Which may or may not amuse the populace. I fear that cute things that pets do are similar to the cute things that children do, far more interesting to the parent than anyone else.
--He has decided that my Riverside Chaucer (hardback of course) is an ideal pillow/resting place as it's near my desk and probably by extension near me.
--He is attacking the feather bed on the futon and is perplexed when it bounces back. He has declared war on it. The feather bed seems to be winning as he's run away.

--Am still getting used to this owner thing and am perplexed by the amount of pet swag you could buy and am overwhelmed with choices. Suspect it will all eventually even out. And kitty litter is heavy to lift. Oof.
--Well, I'm going to go get into pjs and wind down.

The latest additions to my life...

2007-10-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

--A new DVD player to replace the el crappo one I bought at Tar-shay for 40 and died outside of the bounds of the warranty and didn't get enough use out of. I have a Sony which was the same one I had before.
--A new vacuum that I have not completely put together because I do not have the right Phillips screwdriver. It's a light mauve or deep purple. It's a lighter version of a lipstick I used to have in college.
--A new car battery as mine died on Friday night. Got it attempted to jump and nada. And then called Triple AAA and while the guy was getting it hooked up, I tripped the alaram and couldn't get it off. Lasted three years. Had to go up to Scottsdale on a Saturday. Way the fuck up the 101.
--A black fluffy cat with a white diamond on his chest. Was a rescue and was probably abandoned as he is definitely not feral and is likely neutered. However, I thought he was a female, so named him tentatively Emily Rose. After the vet visit where I found out that he was a she, I figured I should begin looking for a slightly more butch name. Alistair at the moment is in one of the ones I'm considering. He is way mellow and I've been calling him my stoner cat. Can't think of any good "stoner" names. The only one that springs to mind is the lead singer from Crosby, Stills and Nash and am not going to go there.

And things that have left the building:
--my old dead stereo that would have donated to Goodwill, but the cd thing wasn't working and it is 12 years old.
--the dvd player mentioned previously
--the vacuum that has gone into the light

Ack Fumes...

2007-10-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

Am cleaning and the fumes are starting to make me loopier. I blame the cleaning supplies I'm using. And of course the meds am on. Which seems to kick-up the senses among other lovely side effects.

Inundated with address labels...

2007-09-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

--Yet again, am perplexed by something available online that one probably doesn't need. Was googling address labels and I got hits that says that you can buy them, and customize them, and so forth. Whatever, all very lovely and I'm sure I'm not their demograph. But why would you pay for address labels? I have a stack of ones from the various charities I've given to and am not going to use all of them even if I send out Christmas cards for three years straight. Which is not terribly likely. I even threw out some I thought that were particularly hideous yesterday. They were for Gay Men's Health Crisis, and a place that supports women with breast cancer. What happens when you give to both the HRC and NARAL, I guess. But that I got them on the same day just seemed too amusing. I don't idly throw things away, but these were hideous. The Breast Cancer address labels were all floral with loud, bright flowers that even stereotypical grandmothers might think were too much. And very big. And the Gay Men's Health Crisis had AIDS ribbons, but even they were poorly done. Like the reds were dingy against the off-white. In contrast, the Nature Conservancy has nice purple flutterbies and Amnesty International are pretty decent, too. And the Sesame St. have muppets on them. :). So, maybe I need to get together on mailing massive things out that I've been fixing to do so. Though, I fear even if I send a letter or something to everyone in my address book, I'll only get through a quarter of the address labels. If random things pop up in your mail cubby, you'll know why...
--Found the Cornish Pasty Company which is pretty good. Their banofee pie is quite good: caramel, whipped cream and graham cracker crust. I was at the Art Museum to look at the museum and the museum shop. They had a cool exhibit with lps on record players that you could play at the same time. They had a DJeed event tonight which was cool where they mixed various records. What it involved and how it works, I have only like half an idea. But it was neat. Didn't find anything at the museum shop that called out for me to buy. Gasp...What is this world coming to?

--Oh no, it's Nickelback...No....
--Now, it's Bon Jovi's "Lost Highway," and unfortunately, all I can think of is David Lynch's Lost Highway which I'm pretty sure wasn't his plan. Maybe it was, but I sort of doubt it.
--The oddness known as online radio.
--Well, I think my pajamas are calling.

Today's musings...

2007-09-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

--Feeling a bit off for probably no good reason. So am having some cucumbers to increase the vitamins in my system. And probably a pear and tea. Yes, I seem to eat like am at a poetry reading. Crackers, cut-up veggies and fruit and cheese.
--Had a killer anxiety dream yesterday that involved me taking a math test, and trying and trying to approach it logically, but failing miserably. And erasing and erasing and starting again. And time flying. Not hard to interpret the salient points of that dream. But I'd really like it if my subconscious left math out of my dreams. Really.
--Have been reading Don't You Forget about Me; writers muse about the John Hughes movies. I really wish it was slightly better than it was. It has the problem that most writing about pop culture does and collections have: some I really, really like and some I don't get why they bothered. And I have a feeling that the editor asked all of his friends to write an essay. Or so how it feels. And am peeved that these people have jobs. Not all in great places, but still. Yes, that would be my bitter and cynical moment du jour. Basically, it makes me want to watch the movies for the countless times. Have been having problems getting through the chapter in the Simpsons and Philosophy that determines whether Bart is Nietschean or not. Good premise, but it's the longest one so far and am not doing well with it. I have a good enough collection of these types of things, and the John Hughes one and the Prime Times one are the only ones I actually bought. The latter one seems also like he or she invited his or her friends to write essays as they were all from Bennington College, I think. Or most were.
--And I need somebody else to see Across the Universe for me and tell me if I should bother. A true Beatles fan. Because it reminds me of Tommy and that's not a good sign to begin with. And Julie Taymor, no... If it's going to make me cringe and so forth, I don't need to go through that. Robert Wilonsky (sp?) from the Village Voice, was way harsh and cool about it on Roeper and Ebert last Sunday. Am starting to crush on him for his snarky reviews.
--And I will see the Jane Austen Book Club likely. But, my main problem with it is as follows: the women who are playing the women are way too young. Like Kathy Baker who plays Bernadette is probably closer to the age of the characters in the book and Bernadette should probably still be a good 10 years older than she is. Maria Bello is way too young. But, it's got Amy Brenneman who I deeply love.
--And quasi-heresy. I kind of like the Vera Wang ads for Kohl's that uses Iggy Pop's "The Passenger." I really, really like that song. I think it's Iggy; it sounds like Iggy. The version I know is Siouxsie and the Banshees. Would like to know how pricey they are. And the new Target ads, too, where the women are in cool suit-dresses. Which I'm probably not describing right. You've either seen them or not.

Must get groceries...

2007-06-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Forgive all. No time for a longer post. I need to get groceries in a major way. Okay, I probably should've gotten them about a week ago, but I really need them now. Am housesitting for a friend which is a longish story and while there are things in the house, there is first of all no chocolate or ice cream or anything that makes a chick happy. Particularly a chick with a sweet tooth. C'est moi.

Finished a book. May gripe about it online. It's one of those things that I feel a good rant forthcoming.

Books Read: Spring/Summer Edition.

2007-04-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

Oh right: blogging. Here's a little one I've been working on for a bit.

Have left out possible things that might become gifts. Or are gifts. And yes, these are a motley crew. And have left out some of the other ones.

Have finished.

--Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton. I finished it and am irritated by it. I think this one is mixing too many genres for me: supernatural, cozy, and romance. Like pick one. And gasp, I think I might be too young for its readership. And Lori like irritated me.
--a bunch of beat poetry.
--Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir by Joyce Johnson. Very good. Bought in SF and was impressed by how much I liked it. I still want pictures. I liked her friends Elise Cowen and Hettie Jones.

--The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. Good, but intense. Epic.
--Where are you going, where have you been? Short Stories by Joyce Carol Oates. Liked it, but hers are as stated supremely intense
--Crossing the Border by Joyce Carol Oates.

--A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Which I liked but is intense. And some of the Britishisms were even bothering me. And somehow I have read a good chunk of his without trying to.
--Three Men on a Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, a follow up to Three Men on a Boat. Best way to describe him is a travel-logue that's just subtle English humor and filled with sly digressions. (Which really is an acquired taste.) He's in Germany in this one which has some fun digs on laws in Germany and other stuff. My sister gave it to me and it's a good just "humour" book.
--Magic by the Lake, Time Garden by Edward Eager. His stuff rocks my world and he's very excellent and comic.

--Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Book, number 4. Sad that it's ending. Not my fav.
--Dark Horse by Tami Hoag

Have started:

--The Midas Murders by Margot Arnold.

--Murder under the Mistletoe. Christmas murder mysteries. Which okay are odd.

--The English Reader: What every Literate Person Needs to Know. Ed. Diane and Michael Ravitch. Am liking the poetry more than the prose. We're stuck in the 18th century. Ugh.

--Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry. Which I like a lot, because I love his stuff. But it's good in small doses.

--Holy Fools by Joanna Harris

--The Simpsons and Philosophy. Not bad. Some are better than others.

--Don't you Forget about me: Writers on the John Hughes movies. Which frankly, I'm torn about. I want it to be slightly better all around. And like I've gone through the really good ones.

I don't know. I think I have high expectations for essays written about pop. cult stuff. Or high-ish. And like I could probably do better.

Am still reading
--People of the Silence by Kathleen O'Neal Gear which is a historical novel on Native Americans in the Southwest and was a gift. Seems to be her gimmick. It is improving, actually and am enjoying it. Though am having difficulty keeping track of people.I think I'm in B-list bookland. Whereby some of them might be super good and some may be less than good. And I think I need an edgier mystery as am in cozy-land.

"Everybody Wants Some; I Want Some Too."

2007-04-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

In the words of Mary Catherine Gallagher, from SNL, my life as of late can be expressed by a Van Halen song used prominently in a John Cusack movie, Better Off Dead. And animated with sandwiches from the burger joint that Lane worked at.

(In retrospect, I am surprised that they actually have a Van Halen song on the soundtrack as 80s movies are notorious for getting no-name people on it because they couldn't afford the rights for the popular hits. Or if they do, they can only use one song. Which is why the 80s movies that they do in the 00s annoy me as they include all of the hits. And there was a lot of non-80s music in there. Case in point, the Better off Dead soundtrack: the only other vaguely recognizable 80s songs are Hall and Oates's "She's Gone,"and Howard Jones' "Like to Get to Know you Well." The other songs are either by unknown people or not 80s songs like Hendrix's "Foxy Lady," Sedaka's "Breaking up is hard to do" and Simon's "50 Ways to Leave your Lover." And apparently, it also has a Lou Reed song, "Street Hassle" sung by the Simple Minds, which I probably wouldn't have realized as I think the only Lou Reed song I knew at the time was "Take a Walk on the Wild Side.")

But yeah, it's been the couple of weeks whereby there's always something to be do. Bills to be paid, taxes to be paid, groceries to buy, laundry to do and so forth. Cupcakes to be made, which isn't all that urgent, but was tasty nonetheless. Haven't done the laundry yet. And okay, might've sent out coolish Easter thingies, but probably won't now. Also, it's getting to the stage where sending out chocolate is not a real good plan. :).

And apparently, it's also the week where I use movie quotes to express my feelings regarding my life, which is probably not just a weekly thing. But, on Tuesday, when I went into campus for reasons that are far too long to relate, I did in fact say the following to one of my colleagues: "In the words of Dante, from Clerks, "I'm not even supposed to be here today." It was true enough. and it was somewhat annoying as the stuff that I might've done had I known I was going to campus I didn't have with me. Or the stuff I was going to bring in. Not that these things were all that urgent anyway. But more chances for the clutter to leave my house.

And speaking of movies, if any of you see Grindhouse, particularly if you're female and/or have opinions that I trust, not knee-jerk Tarantino and Rodriguez fan-people, and think it's worth seeing, will you let me know? Because I ain't bothering otherwise. Am fed up with their interviews on the talk shows, particularly Tarantino. Rodriguez I also have issues with, but they are more recent, whereas Tarantino's have been present for a good ten years. Or, as I said to someone, "If I go see the movie, will you stop talking about it?" Which is the main problem with Tarantino for me. If that made any sense to anybody.

Well, it's probably late enough that I should go. And it's freezing in this coffee shop and they might start playing Red Hot Chillipeppers again. At the moment, it seems to be more Cure-like.

Okay, this one's on request...

2007-03-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

--As verdaderra pointed out that I haven't posted for a month and since the coffee shop is going to close and kick me out soon, here goes. I'm surprised I haven't posted in about a month. I'm regular enough I guess as far as the blogiverse goes. Where did February go? How is it now March? If we're going with that question, the greater ones go"How is it almost spring and getting warmer as we speak, what did I think I was going to be when I was 36? How off was I?"
--Was watching the news and they were discussing the "Phx Lights" which are the supernatural/alien lights in Phx that may or may not be alien lights and it was the 10th anniversary of them. They were all onto the anniversary and while calculating I realized I didn't know what they were 10 years ago 'cause I was in upstate New York at the time.
--Watched the Oscars and was fairly happy all things considered. I've given up much hope for the people winning that I want to because my heart has been broken long, long ago. Around the time when Unforgiven won over The Crying Game, The Hours lost, and Fargo didn't win best picture, and so, so many other 'are you freakin' kidding me?' moments. Braveheart, Apollo 13, and others I'm forgetting. By the time Brokeback was shafted for Crash (which I hadn't seen at the time), I wasn't all that surprised that the depressing, slow-moving, Ang Lee, heavy on the scenery and the repression, movie didn't win. Okay, granted we've come a long way from Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Crying Game, but there are ways still to go. I'm still not sure which one I wanted to win last year. I was happy when Alan Arkin won, as well, I just was. I wanted Ryan Gosling to win, but didn't think he would, and was happy when Melissa Etheridge won for the best song. Not that I love her stuff unilaterally, but I wasn't crazy about the Dreamgirls stuff. The things that I liked were the foreign film montage, the Oscar they gave to Ennio Morricone, who does many great film scores, and seeing some of his stuff, and some other stuff like that. I am a sucker for a good montage. I could've lived without Eastwood trying to translate what Morricone was saying in Italian. In a morbid way, I always have to see the "In Memoriam" montage to see who died this year. (I seem to have to do this with the award shows, the Emmys and I can't remember if the Tonys does it because I've stopped watching that one.). This year was sad for me because the kid who played the Artful Dodger in Dickens' Oliver, Peter Boyle and the creator of Scooby Doo and many of the cartoons I loved as a child also died. Okay, there were others, but I'm not remembering them right now.
--I fall into the film geek of the movie soundtrack variety. The scene in Holiday where Jack Black is breaking out all the movie soundtracks, like The Mission, Gone with the Wind, and Blade Runner, at the Blockbuster for Kate Winslet who's amused. When I saw the movie, I knew all of the soundtracks he mentioned. So Morricone did the music for Cinema Paradiso and the Mission and other movies I can't think of right now. In cataloguing my music, a good chunk of it are the soundtracks, the semi-classical ones like The Hours and Howards' End and the compilations of good tunes, like Sid and Nancy and Rules of Attraction.
--And speaking of movies, while checking my movie stubs which I keep, which I know odd, I realized I haven't physically gone to a movie in the theaters since I came back from the winter holidays. And okay, for me, that's a really long time. I kept having difficulty making up my mind what to see, none of them were ever at the right time, or I wasn't in the right mood. But, that's a long time for me. I have seen movies, but I've rented them. And while we're at it, my Dvd player has decided to die, which isn't all that upsetting so much as annoying. Like it's not playing any dvds or cds. Argggh.
--That about wraps it for right now, as I've hit a pause and the other coffee shop that I'm at is about to close. But I got some stuff done. And the other post am thinking about is more involved than I've got right now.
--And as a final ender, can anyone who's a Cameron Crowe fan or who isn't can explain why Almost Famous is so good? 'Cause I like it okay, but it's not one of my faves. My attempt at explanation is it's a guy flick, late Boomer, early Gen-x movie, fanboy of 7os rock, with bad 70s moustaches. And enough with the freakin' Elton John. I love Frances MacDormand, but she's always good. I re-watched and I like it, but it's not "my movie." Maybe it's a gut 70s reaction or something.

Am better.

2007-02-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Am slightly less angsty than previous entry. And have done two loads of laundry. And have used my Barnes and Noble Gift card on Old School Sesame St, so now I can write thank you card and tell person who gave me it what I bought. Too tired to post further. Besides, I need to watch Gilmore Girls before bed.

Wigging....

2007-02-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

Wigging out; back later. Maybe by then, I'll be more tranquil. Or at least, have done laundry. :)

Thank you, Ms I-tunes. (Rant)

2007-01-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

--I have to say that listening to "Psycho Killer" is providing some sort of catharsis for my crankiness. Yes, sorry, we're in a little "anger-ball moment" right now. Just in short, I'm feeling 'beaten down by the man' and I'm pissed at the annoyance of bureaucratic stuff like various hoops and forms and all of those lovely things that grad. school is known for. Which is the reason I took this year off in the first place. So, I've tried to flow the way that is good and some of it's working, but the residency forms and so-forth are vexing and I couldn't sidestep it by re-applying, which I was hoping for. Which means, now I have to apply and the forms are "promise your first born, your kidney" bad and are definitely composed with the undergraduates in mind. Okay, I feel bad for them, but this is insane. We're past the milennium now and I've been here for 7 years, I have been paying taxes in AZ, I've voted, I'm not relying on my parents for support, my car is registered here, but because I didn't account for 6 months of employment, as I wasn't employed, and other insanity that's too long to get into, I'm still not a resident. It's never enough. Who can I complain to? Not that it'll necessarily help. But seriously folks, come on.
--I thankfully talked to a sane person named Joan in the Dean's office, so yay Joan. Joan was very practical even though she'd had a bad day herself. So, one part done. And I have already had enough mumps, measles, rubella shots, since I've applied to two grad. programs. So, thank the gods that that's on track.
--So I've been trying to figure out what to spend my 30 buck gift cert from Barnes and Noble. I'm leaning towards Old School Sesame St, though it's slightly too much for the cert., like 3 bucks worth. Which is annoying, but as it's something I can tell my cousin that I bought and something I deeply want, I might just do it.
--Have also been looking at my undergrad bookstore online and they have a mud-brown t-shirt available. I might be a little harsh in that assessment, but not by much. Who looks good in brown, particularly that brown? I may attach the link if I get to it later. I also found a forest-green t-shirt which would be appropos as I was and still am a chica who likes green, particularly in college. It's a little lighter than I'd like. There's also a lovely-pair of red plaid pajamas from Eddie Bauer that's on sale.
--Yes, I'm very aware when my retail therapy moments occur. Usually, when I feel like hitting my head against a table at the futility of it all. So I've bought Ellen, Season 3 and various other things, some for me, and some for others. Ellen was very cute and funny.
--Oh, and I'm pretty sure that my toaster is going to go up in flames soon. I have English Muffins in the fridge, which is a major switch, as I tend not to buy a lot of bread. I've been toasting them, and there's that odd smell, that maybe something's burnt on the bottom and my crumb tray needs to be cleaned out.
--Am feeling slightly more even now. As I've had some food, which probably helped. And like most of the major food groups were there. Had an adhoc egg mc muffin, with egg and cheese, carrots, and yogurt with kiwi fruit.

Oh crap, not again...

2007-01-28T01:15:00.000-08:00

Or my latest "I Feel Old" moment. I've been holed up in my apt and watching Ellen the tv series, her first sitcom as opposed to her talk show, which I also like. I used to watch it semi-regularly on primetime and I caught some of the re-runs on Lifetime. I had graduated from college at the time it and Friends came on and was in grad. school for most of it. So I'm looking at imdb. which is filled with the usual love it/hate it reviews and I discover that it's the tenth anniversary of the famous puppy episode where she comes out as a lesbian. I remember watching it and discussing it with many of my friends. And it's ten years since. Okay, that it's been 20 years since I've seen some shows and movies is also depressing, though I can't think of any examples right now. Like I think Ferris and Some Kind of Wonderful were about 1986-1987.

I bought the third season as I figured I would probably watch it enough and it holds up pretty well. Some funny stuff and I like Jeremy Piven as Spence and Peter and Barrett, the gay couple, have some fun moments. And the usual thing for me still happens. The first role in which I really noticed them is who they'll be no matter if they do other things. The actor who played Barrett went on to play the Mayor's aide in Buffy and I was upset when Faith kills him. Poor Barrett.

Oh, and I'm now older than Ellen and co. were playing on the show. Not by too much, though. And I'm now older than the older man on Mystic Pizza. Oh well. There were a few other ones there. JDS was reminding me of what famous movie stars were doing at our age. Like, thanks muchly.

I know, I'm younger than some of you read the blog, so shutting up now. But I'm also older too.

The run of songs on I-tunes...

2007-01-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Or when my sound designer is mocking me. I think my i-tunes is in a depressive mode as I've heard, Dresden Dolls' "The Perfect Fit," music from Mrs. Dalloway soundtrack, the "Restless" suite from the Buffy musical, the Smiths' "Last Night I dreamt that somebody loved me." Bessie Smith, the Cure and other sad, sad songs. Enough. Marillion's "Lavender" is slow, but not too sad. Oh, great, now we've got "Something I Can Never Have" by NIN. I give up.

Oh look, new music...

2007-01-21T22:39:00.000-08:00

Or new old music in some case. I had gone to Urban Outfitters in a quest for some jewelry related things and other stuff, and had gotten 50 Free Music Downloads for trying out emusic. So I figured I would use them tonight and get rid of them. It's rainy out, so it seemed like a good day for it. I downloaded:

-Treasure by Cocteau Twins
--some Johnny Cash, "Ring of Fire" and "Walk the Line."
--Mass Romantic by the New pornographers
--The Shins Bluegrass Tribute album
--an Ozomatli song
--Meet the Beatles by the Smithereens and
--the music from the Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi.

The Cocteau Twins is a classic from high school and early college. We used to listen to it, Led Zep and Jane's Addiction in the lit. mag office. My taped copy is off of a lp that a friend had. For reason I don't know, I never got any of their other cds. If any of you have an inkling which are the next ones to pursue, let me know. But, not a big deal.

Am a bit scared about the Shins Bluegrass album, but we'll see. Could be good, could be majorly crap.

Hmm, where did the weekend go and why haven't I gone to the grocery store? Well, was dreary and rainy when I got in so I wanted to stay in. I even made a list. Excuses, excuses. I got two calendars at least, which I know sad as it's almost February, but if I'm going to put them up, they'd better be pretty. I got the latest Maxfield Parrish one and Magic in the City, which is a black and white one which goes with my black and white bathroom.

Okay, I'm going to take Run DMC's "Walk this way" as a sign. A sign that I should be in my pjs, or a sign that I have an odd mix of music on my computer. Or possibly both.

James Brown is Dead...

2006-12-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

-And that's literally true. No, you haven't stumbled onto a mourning post regarding the godfather of soul, though I did like him. I was driving around with my father and I said those words out loud and realized that the club song that I had in a mix from 1993 entitled "James Brown is Dead" is now actually true, which is a bit sad and weird. It would be better if I could remember the name of the group who sang it, but naw, my memory's never that good.
--Happy Holidays all. May you have good ones and good memories and things that fill you with joy and sunshine and rain. Oh, and that's another song whose title and group I have forgotten. I could sing it for you.
--One of the weirder things is being at home where you were a teenager and hearing songs that you remember hearing twenty years ago and that noone else plays. I heard "Cult of Personality" by Living Color and "Don't Forget me When I'm Gone" by Glass Tiger, a group that I really haven't heard in ages. I had the tape too.
--I've been watching videos that I taped from the 80s off of MTV and lo, are they trippy. Traveling Wilburys, Robert Plant, Heart, Cinderella, REM, and other things from MTV and Vh-1. And I've seen Adam Curry and Kevin Seals, the way they used to look and more ads for L.A. Gear with Kathy Ireland than I care to remember. It ends with the line, "You are such a brat." after Kathy has pretty much flirted and pouted with this guy. In the words of the Delta, Delta, Deltas, "Oh my God."
--Well, am tired and want to drink tea and read the paper in my pajamas. Much traveling, much early rising, and much walking. So I've probably counteracted some of the food I've eaten lately. Maybe.

Let's see what books I've finished since August 28..

2006-12-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

It's a good day to reflect and see what books I've finished. (Okay, so it's not that original, but I'm probably going to get dinner soon.) Keep in mind that I have a tendency (not necessarily good or bad, but typical of me) to switch between various books while reading them and I read before bed. Like a chapter or two. (Unless I get to the point where I have to finish it and then all bets are off.)

Have finished:
--The latest Thursday Next books which I love.
--a bunch of mystery stories which are a little too dysfunctional.
--A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.
--Jane Austen and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Mansion by Stephanie Burns which I am enjoying.

Verdict on the above. Loved the latest Thursday Next book and am waiting on the fourth as Fforde's good, but as I like them, I try and space them out. The mystery stories I ended up donating to the prison book drive and photocopying the three I liked. There was just oddness about the collection, like it was too funky for what I was looking for. I enjoyed the Jane Austen mystery and thanked the people who gave me it. It did a good job of being a decent mystery and capturing her style, which isn't easy; it did take me awhile to get into, though. Regarding LeGuin, I'm torn. I love some of her works, Left Hand of Darkness and Always Coming Home, a collection of short-stories that I've read twice and still like, and the "Ones who Walk Away from Omelas." However, with Wizard, it seems like too dense for a young adult book and her training as an anthropologist was coming through. Dialogue, I need some dialogue here. (Gasp) I will continue on with the trilogy and see how she develops it. But in the meantime, I'm taking a break from her style by re-reading Half Magic by Edward Eager, a book I've read many, many times and is lighter. He's one of my fav. children's authors. I've read all of his works, and if any of you are interested in checking him out, let me know and I can suggest which ones to definitely read and which ones you maybe good skip. He's part of the 'classic' magic stories' tradition and was heavily influenced by Evelyn Nesbit, whose works I've read some of, but a long time ago.

Am still reading
--a bunch of beat poetry.
--a beat memoir by Joyce Johnson and I would like pictures so I can visualize the people which is shallow, I know.
--The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon or my "serious" book.

Verdict: I'm liking all of the above, though it took awhile to get into Kavalier and Clay and sometimes I need a break from his style. It's also wicked long. The beat poetry has odd moments, but some of them are cool and some are just too dated. I'm liking Joyce's ruminations on growing up female right before the women's movement and it's an interesting glimpse into the beats, who I know something about, though not tons.

Have started:
--Where are you going, where have you been? Short Stories by Joyce Carol Oates. I've got a couple of her books and I figure I should start with the medium that she's the best in, which sounded very, very gradschoolease. Plus, as hers are usually unhappy, short story is less of an investment than a novel. I remember not getting "Where are you going, where have you been" in college and re-reading it's as disturbing as it's supposed to be.
--Three Men on a Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome, a follow up to Three Men on a Boat. Best way to describe him is a travel-logue that's just subtle English humor and filled with sly digressions. (Which really is an acquired taste.) He's in Germany in this one which has some fun digs on laws in Germany and other stuff. My sister gave it to me and it's a good just "humour" book.
--People of the Silence by Kathleen O'Neal Gear which is a historical novel on Native Indians in the Southwest and was a gift. Seems to be her gimmick. Haven't read enough to have enough of a sense of whether I like it or not.
--Dark Horse by Tami Hoag, which I picked up from my neighbor and it's more of a thriller with an emotionally wounded female with a past and is solving mysteries in Florida amongst the equestrian set. Am sensing I may read it and pass it off to someone else unless it gets massively better.

Any books I'm lusting after? Hmm, probably, but none that spring to mind immediately. At the moment, it's more dvds I'm a-wanting. That might change. Oh and a dark brown bookcase that could blend with my other one in my bedroom.

And sadly, I have more ideas for Xmas gifts for children than anyone else and I don't have that many kids I shop for. Well, I have "welcome to the world munchkin" gifties to buy, but those aren't going to be finished by Xmas. If anybody's drawing a blank for kids' stuff, let me know.

Ta, all. I think that delayed dinner is needed.

Sniffle, a-choo and cough of the hacking variety.

2006-11-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

--So in very much typical of the Thanksgiving holiday and traveling and going on an airplane, have gotten a cold. Hopefully, it's a cold, not a sinus infection. Have been drinking tea and of course have nothing in the apt. that's cold-suitable. Okay, I have tea, but that's it. No soup, no o.j, nobody to make me any of these things. Today's moment of grousiness. Am feeling like Camille, which is usually how I feel in regards to colds. Melodramatic and plaintive. Plus, I've got a bunch of Godiva hot chocolate mix which I shouldn't have because it involves milk. That was a birthday gift that found its way to my doorstep. And I need to buy groceries in general. At least soup and o.j. And rent some comforting dvds or watch some of the stuff I've got that will make me happy.
--The flight was pretty good and not too bad. The movie was You, Me and Dupree, which was better than I anticipated. To be fair, I didn't have many expectations, but it was the level of a comedy I needed. And it was surprisingly funny and kinda sweet in moments.
--Good holiday, though I was fair exhausted when I came home and my dreams were insane, due to sickness or utter exhaustion, unknown. What the hell?

Low-maintenance or high maintenance??

2006-11-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

--Okay, have been watching some of the morning-afternoon shows, which is perhaps part of the problem. So I've been watching Martha, Rachael Ray, (though her perkiness is way irritating) and other assorted chat shows. By the by, am stunned by how crappy some of the local ones are. Do I really need to see an interview with the character actress who's playing one of characters of Seussical the Musical? No, I do not. So, Martha was talking about the new looks for men's wear in Fall as well as how to hand-wash sweaters. She also gave men tips on romantic stuff to do for women, which I'm not opposed to, as some times there is much cluelessness going on. However, while I'm watching this, I reach the conclusion that I've never had sweaters that required hand-washing, I've never paid that much for jeans and I don't want fresh-squeezed o.j. in the morning. Coffee, yes, o.j. no. Was watching Ellen and she was talking with Dustin Hoffman who made the coffee when he got up at 4:30 a.m.(????) and how he gave it to his wife when she had to get up. I could cope with that.
--Over on Rachael Ray's upbeat central, she's talking about beauty and how people are becoming wicked obsessed with it. One girl had her first bo-tox injection when she was 26, and wouldn't leave the house without her makeup. I accept that I'm not typical about a lot of this, and perhaps some of this is that I was 26 in 1996, and it wasn't part of my "culture" to do this, but ye gods. I don't know whether the fact that none of my female friends were that concerned with it or what, but I doubt I knew what botox was at 26. I knew what chemical peels were around 26-27, and had my first facial around there. So the things that don't always register on me are more of issues for other women and men. Or so it seems.
--Something which sums up my belief system regarding this. Was washing an Indian tapestry that I'd gotten from WTN and that had come from NY and is what my stereo resides on. As I was setting up the "new" stereo that I'd gotten, I'd figured I should wash it. The tag said, hand wash, and my thought process was as follows: I will be damned if I'm going to wash something that a) I never spent money on and b) that I've never and have no plans on wearing. I washed it and then to de-mustify it, I used some febreze which seems to have cut down on the musty I spent five years in an upstate New York apartment smell. Yay.
--And I got in the mail coupons for Shabu Fondue which I've never tried, though am not opposed to fondue at all. And everytime I hear the name, Shabu, I think of the INXS album, Shabooh Shabaah, which I didn't even have, but one of my roommates did. I think the last fondue I had was in France when I was staying with a family that I knew whose name I have now forgotten. (It was a friend of a friend deal). 'Twas tasty.
--And happy early Turkey day!! Am flighting off to Omaha on Monday, as my namesake is having an 80th birthday celebration. I don't think I've gone anywhere on Thanskgiving for a good 8 years, and the last place I went anywhere was Buffalo which I drove to. I still remember going down the thru-way and blasting the Smiths' Strangeways,Here we Come. And chopping vegetables during the Xena-thon. Good times.

Heaven Help Us...

2006-10-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

--I've been cooking/baking, which isn't interchangeable, I know. I made Lamingtons monday and I think the best way to describe it is yellow cake with chocolate frosting and coconut. I think it's Australian in origin; I think I found the recipe in an old issue of Cricket magazine, and it was in my old notebook which I had in college. I know it's college because it has the old mix. tape listings in it as well as what books I needed to get. I don't think it's a recipe I will do again as it's messy as hell. Messy and the chocolate hardens quite seriously. I also made sourdough biscuits so now I have sourdough in my fridge which still weirds me out. Am hoping to make sourdough pancakes soon, since I've a recipe and I just bought a griddle at Tar-shay. I did just made the sourdough pancakes and they turned out fairly well. They taste a bit like buckwheat pancakes, sort of, though not quite. It's a lighter and tangier taste.
--I found a lot of cool stuff there; I bought magnets, a pot, the soundtrack for the Last Kiss, and cool notebook stuff. Among my many, many weaknesses (purchase-wise), some of the worst are cool notebooks, pens, folders, cards and cute kitchen stuff. Admittedly, I usually use them eventually. Or they become random gifts for people. Though I hate the trend of journals without lines for the reason that my scrawl is barely reined in with lines, much less without them. I wish I was one of those people that had immaculate handwriting that's straight as a line, but that so isn't true. Mine's distinctive is all we can say. --
--My little Schadenfreude moment here. Kidnapped, the crappy drama with Timothy Hutton and Dana Delany got cancelled, probably. Huzzah. I hate him and I'm starting to hate her. I liked her in China Beach, but her recent stuff is pretty bad. Plus, she did Exit to Eden, which I have to say was a crappy BDSM film. And it wasn't bad enough to be campy; it was just bad, like Staying Alive, Slackers and all the other movies I've seen that I want my two hours back from.
--Well, as Duran Duran's "New Moon on Monday" is playing and because the coffee shop is closing imminently, I will end for now.

So have seen Clerks and Joy Luck Club.

2006-09-19T04:22:00.000-07:00

--Oh gods, why did Cake cover "I Will Survive?" Of course, why did Cake exist as much as they did? Yes, folks, the random references to music and bands I haven't thought in a while must mean I'm listening to accuradio's "Modern Rock." Was happy to hear some of them, but some don't age well.
--(Warning, the next walks the line between fan/fangirl, so if you hate Kevin Smith, move on.) So yes, have finally seen Clerks for the first time and re-seen Joy Luck Club after reading the book. I didn't watch them on the same night, by the way. I figure I'd like Clerks, as I like most of the Kevin Smith ouevre or canon, which are odd words to apply to Smith. And it had more of a structure than I thought it would, which is to same some. Also, all the "big" bits I'd heard about happened a lot more naturally than I thought they would. I even watched the commentary (I did have a drink while doing this). There was some stuff I could care less about, film geek stuff, says the girl who just used the work ouevre (which I had to check its spelling), but I was amused to discover that he names one of his characters after a girl from Degrassi Junior High. I was amused because that show never spoke to me; I can take as many Canadian imports as the next person and I'm sure it was a good attempt at "reality" as far as high school goes, but when I saw it I was too close to my own high school life and couldn't cope. I care even less about Degrassi: the Next Generation or whatever the hell it's called which I caught on Noggin briefly as the kids from the original are now some of the parents of the latest self-involved, problem youth. My So-Called Life was better and less soap-opera like. In Clerks, I liked the Jedi stuff, the guidance counselor, and the hockey. On the dvd, they have an alternative ending where after Randall does the strut, Dante returns to reading his paper. The bell rings, someone comes into the store, Dante says they're closed and the person shoots him in the head and robs the place. Okay, admittedly, it's more realistic to what does happen in convenience stores, but woah...Apparently, someone talked him out of it and I'd like to thank him or her. There are some cases where the deleted scenes were deleted for a reason and this is one of them. Will be seeing the sequel this week. So the only ones left are Jersey Girl and I should maybe re-watch Chasing Amy at a later date. Hmmm, both involve Ben Affleck, maybe I need to re-think that. He annoyed me seriously in Chasing Amy, but I haven't seen the movie since I saw it in the theaters with WTN, when it came out. But at least, Jason Lee is in it, who I adore, with the exception of Almost Famous where he has the cheesy 70s moustache (tm).
--(Interruption for song break. Yay, the Cure's "Just Like Heaven." I do love it and it makes me do sweepy chair dancing. For a long, long time, I misheard the lyrics and thought "strange as angels" was "stranger danger." Maybe it's Robert being unclear or I'm just weird, though he tends to be more articulate than Michael Stipe)
--Back to Joy Luck Club. Foolishly, I didn't get my act together to buy Chinse food, so I could have a film and food moment. I still haven't gotten it yet, and I really want potstickers. Reading the book was even worse for food-craving than the movie as it's everywhere in the book; it's more spread out in the movie. I remember watching this on tv in my father's house in the mid 90s, after I graduated college, but before I went to New York for my master's. It was probably lifetime tv or something like that and I still can't keep the names and stories straight. I think I came in during the second story, I think Ying-Ying's and Lena's. It's got the great dance sequence with the great 20s torch songs and the guy is unbelievably gorgeous, but ultimate scum. But it's the story I ultimately don't like. The first two ones, with Lindo/Waverly, Ying-Ying/Lena I like but don't relate to as much; the second two, An-Mei/Rose, Suyuang/June are more interesting to me personally. Plus, they have some great moments. I love when Rose tells her WASP husband that she's not leaving the house. I'm not sure I buy them getting back together, but I can't remember how it works in the book and we need at least two relationships that have hope. And Andrew McCarthy looks really attractive in Joy Luck Club, and his eyes are really blue, and they seem to have done something with the bags under his eyes from Pretty in Pink. Oh goodie. I also think that Rose and June are closer to Tan's p.o.v. than the others. Plus, the actress who played Rose was Soon-yee, Klinger's wife on MASH and O'Brien's wife on Star Trek the Next Generation, so I have good associations with her. Yes, I know, mega-geeky, but MASH was one of "our family" shows, which is odd if I think about it. I'll have to do a breakdown with my Tan expert, ZDO, who's in China for reasons which are way too long to get into.
--Devo covered "Satisfaction?" Do I approve or do I find it heresy? It's unbelievably quirky, that's for damn sure.
--They're re-running some of Pedro Almodovar's films up in Scottsdale and I should try and see some of them. Probably I should see the ones I've missed. I do really good near the beginning and the end, but very little in the middle. Am trying to figure out if it's because when they came out they didn't come to my neck of the woods, my friend who I usually saw art films didn't like Almodovar, or I just missed them. Could be all three. I know I saw them with JDS, but can't remember if WTN had no desire to see them or I thought he had no desire to see them; both of which are completely possible. I do know that Bad Education is the only one I've seen on the big screen which just seems so heinously wrong as he's so filmic. And I've seen Matador which is one of the more random ones to see. Can I remember any of it? No, except it's got some weird bull-fighter combo sex deal with Antonio Banderas.
--Well, have watched two of the new tv. shows on ABC, 6 Degrees which I liked and Brothers and Sisters, which annoyed me greatly. The latter I describe as "Wild WASPY mayhem" a phrase I can't remember where I discovered, but I like; I also had the refrain from "Pump up the Volume" by MARSS in my head in regards to the title.

Segue Whiplash.

2006-09-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

--By the by, I did donate the Valdez-Rodrigues book to the books for prisoners as for the reasons that I explained during the last post, The Books that I've managed to say goodbye to. I also gave two books to my student Anne so they have homes. One vaguely touches on what she's pursuing, queer young adult lit/ picture books, The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr and the other is by Joan Hess which we read in the mystery class. Regarding the Wild Swans, it's a book that deals with the AIDS crisis and sort of also deals with the witch trials in England and is a "re-telling" of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans." As you can perhaps imagine, it's a mish-mosh and parts of it I liked, but it's woah depressing and the fantasy element that happens at the end doesn't quite work for me, as it tries to connect the two storylines. I warned Anne that it was depressing. I lent it to JKS and RJN and they pretty much agree with me and are still speaking to me somehow. I think JKS read the swan book and either Louise Erdritch's Tracks or Love Medicine shortly on top of each other. The Erdritch books are good, but up there on the intense characters and situations. JKS, through reasons that are far too long to get into also saw Frida and the Hours on the same day. Again, maybe I don't deserve to have friends if I enable them to experience such depressing movies. For her birthday I got her Must Love Dogs, so I feel somewhat less guilty.
--Speaking of depressing movies, have rented the following Brokeback Mountain, Joy Luck Club and Clerks which has got to be up there on weird renting days. My rationale was I hadn't seen them and I figured it was about time to do so. There might be weirder combos I've done, but they're not springing to mind right now.
--As far as intense films to see on top of each other, the limit I've done and don't think I've ever topped were as follows: Henry V, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and her Lover, and The Last Temptation of Christ within a forty-eight hour time span. Henry I saw with my then-friend EMF as her Shakespeare class was showing it on Thursday night, we went to see the Cook on Friday night at 7:00 and someone was watching Christ in the parlor and I got sucked into it. I liked it, though I remember being confused because the actor who played Ralph Garcy/ Garcia from Fame was one of the disciples and his previous role was distracting me. Ralph, no. This is forever happening to me, a previous role seeps onto the current one. Like in the Crucible, I kept reading the relationship between Winona and Daniel in Age of Innocence into it. And Eric Balfour, who's a minor, minor actor is forever linked with Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Jessie even though he was only in the first two episodes and dies in them.
--I can't remember which one of my friends came up with the phrase segue whiplash, but I know that it was in heavy rotation in college and afterwards. I also know that I didn't make the connection that segue was pronounced the way it is for a while. Maybe it's a french thing. It's se-goo isn't it? Ay.
--Have started reading a book called Movie Lust, to add to the multiple movie lists I already have. I agree with much of them, but there are some movies that could be great but I will just never care about, either do to subject matter or casting.
--Could someone explain to me why Graham Norton (annoying British man) and Craig Ferguson (Annoying Scottish Man) have talk shows and careers? Because I don't get it. Craig was tolerable (just) in Drew Carey Show as he wasn't the sole focus, but in the movie The Big Tease he was just too full of himself. It wanted to be the Spinal Tap of hairdressing competitions in L.A., but it was just hard to watch. Rent Blow-Dry if you want a hairdresser film. The fact that Josh Hartnett is in it doesn't even bother me.
--And while we're at it, I'm at a loss of understanding the appeal of the Guardian, the new Coast Guard movie with Kevin Costner and Mr. Demi Moore and Flyboys, which is a historical version of W.W.I Flying Aces with James Franco. I'd probably watch it for the W.W. I stuff. I don't care very much about Costner to begin with, much less Kelso. And the more that James Franco does, Tristan and Isolde (which I liked), Annapolis and the Spider-man franchises makes me forget that he was ever attached to something as good as Freaks and Geeks, which I would like to re-watch. He reminds me of the new Richard Gere who I never was that crazy about to begin with. I watched Officer and a Gentleman, and okay, he's kind of attractive, but he's just such an asshole. The thing that surprised me about that movie is how blunt they are about their backgrounds as they refer to him as Zack Mayo the Wop. How un-PC can you get? And it's definitely an early 80s flick. He's least annoying in Chicago. I think we can agree that I'm not someone who gets the appeal of a man in a navy uniform or any other military type garb. Debra Winger, you can do better. I can forgive a lot of flaws in a film or a tv show if there's at least someone cute or cool in it, but cuteness cannot solve every problem as far as plot-holes go. And while we're on it, could someone explain Prison Break to me as I don't care? Anyone? Bueller?
--Am amused, spell-checker suggested inane as a possible spelling for Winona (Ryder's) name. Certainly appropriate assessment for her recent works; after Reality Bites, it was all downhill.

Books that I have managed to say goodbye to

2006-08-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have too much stuff, as we all know, or should know. Particularly books and cds I have difficulty saying that I'll never read again or listen to again. But am running out of bookshelves and am running out of places to put new bookshelves. But have managed to donate these to the prison drive that one of the women at school does, as usually I wouldn't get any money for the stuff. These are the ones I've donated recently

--First two Harry Potters. I have the British ones, so I thought why do I need them? I still have to finish the sixth one.
--Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig. My rationale for this one was that I wasn't going to read it anyway and it wasn't going to speak to my "generation." I don't know what is the Gen-x equivalent, but it sure isn't this. Maybe, the Cinematherapy books or the Tao of Pooh or the Nick at Nite books that has the better living through television. It's like the part in Margaret Cho's comedy routine where she's telling fortunes with Charlie's Angels cards: Beware the Shelly Hack card and the Tanya Roberts one also.
--Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. Felt cranky about it and was tired of her. Read a book about her and that seemed enough.
--Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. And Anali can back me up on this one being a problematic book. I liked it okay, and it's probably a good thing I didn't read this during finals' week back in the day as I would've believed that my friends were fairies from the Elizabethan times. However, in retrospect, it seems less cool and just too something. I'd rather have The Secret History or The Lost Language of Cranes which are pretty much the same dysfunctional, surreal college experience.
--Rock Hudson by Sara Davidson. Was interested in reading it, and got it at a library sale. However, it's a bit dated, it being 1985 and it'd be interesting what they'd say now. I have to really like someone to hold onto a biography or a memoir.

Books that I finished recently that I liked:
--Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan. I love her stuff and these were some nice reflective essays that were good, though some were hard to read in the depressing level. It's even signed by her.
--Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. I liked it, though am having problems tracking the chronology and how it fits into Absalom, Absalom. It's been awhile since I've read Faulkner. And stream-of-consciousness not easy. And I'm insane.

-Also finished Playing with Boys by Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez and the stuff that bothered me about the first book really bothers me about the second. If you've read the first one, you'll know what I mean.

I'm currently reading
--The latest Thursday Next books which I love.
--a bunch of beat poetry.
--a beat memoir by Joyce Johnson and I would like pictures so I can visualize the people which is shallow, I know.
--Jane Austen and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Mansion by Stephanie Burns which I am enjoying.
--a bunch of mystery stories which are a little too dysfunctional.
--A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.
--The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon or my "serious" book. Maybe I'll have finished it by the time he comes out here. Probably not as it's a mighty tome.

And I think there should be a law that says if you're reading a book or seeing a movie and craving a food that is mentioned in a book or a movie, it should like magically appear. I re-watched Fried Green Tomatoes for the umpteenth time and seriously wanted Southern food and when I read the Joy Luck Club, I wanted Chinese food in the most serious way. And I was watching the ice cream show on PBS and had no ice cream in the fridge which is just unfair. They mentioned Carl's in Fred-burg. Ahh. Clearly, I am the most susceptible child food-wise, and in many other ways.

Odds and Ends.

2006-08-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

-"The Rain Song" is playing by Led Zeppelin, which was always one of my favorite L.Z. songs. I used to play it whenever it rained, which happened more in PA, VA, and NY. Not so much here, though we did get an excellent storm last Friday. I opened windows, saw the lighting and enjoyed the monsoon wind. I think it's from Houses of the Holy which I bought in tape form in my senior year of high school and is still in PA. I listened to a lot of Jane's Addiction, Led Zeppelin and Cocteau Twins that year. We played in it the lit. mag room. Houses of the Holy was a minor fav. of mine. I still crack up whenever I get to the song, whose name I've forgotten, that has Robert Plant say annoyedly, "Where's that confounded bridge?" It was the one that ended the first side of the tape, I think, though am not positive about that.
-Am peeved because in all of my errands that I did yesterday, I returned my non-working gate card keys to the parking people. The whole story is too complex to get into but the short version is: I was informed by someone who's usually right on these things that I could get 25 bucks after I returned them. I was viewing this as mainly 'found money' and was looking forward to maybe going to a movie or do something goofy with it. Unfortunately,the guy told me that while the parking people wouldn't charge me the 25 bucks for the gate cards, they wouldn't reimburse for the money. He seemed surprised that I even asked this. It's nice that I'm not being charged, but it's not quite the same thing. So, either I was told wrongly, they don't do this anymore, or the guy was clueless. As there's a very strong possibility of the last, I'll probably call somebody else and check. Or, they used to and they don't anymore. The fascists. Okay, a bit strong. But what a shock, being shafted by the parking people as they've raised the permits muchly. I wasn't feeling that warm and fuzzy about the university anyway.
-I've been having parts of Beck's "Loser" running through my mind recently, particularly the line "There's a change coming, I can feel it." I was considering using it for a sig. line, but then checked the lyrics online and decided that the song itself is depressing which it's supposed to be. However, using it as a sig. line seemed a bit too something I feel.
-All the walking around in boots I did yesterday and moving from a.c. to a.c. have caused my shins to hurt. They are comfortable boots, but I guess so much tromping about can take its toll. So I've been icing them tonight and feel annoyed that they don't hurt because I went to the gym or anything 'logical.' Oh hell. I feel like an ancient dowager or something. Though an ancient dowager would probably have nicer ice packs than my ice cubes in plastic baggies with towels wrapped in them. It's also killed my 'desire' to do laundry which isn't hard.
-I wouldn't call myself a 'Dead Head' in any specific way. I like the Dead, but I don't have a cd or tape of them. I did want to see them in concert, for the experience. However, alas, Jerry died before that happened. I think one of my roommates had the cd that had most of the hits in it, whose name I have also forgotten. It has a red cover. So I was pretty impressed with myself when I was able to identify that Great Expectations, the remake with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow used "Uncle John Band's" in one of the scenes. And okay, admittedly, that's a fairly common Dead song, and we're not talking that I identified a really obscure song.
-Speaking of the Dead and Jerry, a true story about his death. My old roommate MRL and her then boyfriend were walking around our college campus shortly after Jerry's death. They ran into two hippiesh people on campus (which wasn't surprising as the campus had a good chunk of hippie type students there). The girl was clearly upset and said to them, "I don't know what I'm going to do now that Jerry's dead." I have been so tempted to use that quote as a sig. line as it's funny, a bit sad and just so random.
-We're back to Led Zeppelin. Now we've got "Ramble On." I don't really have an opinion of that one. I didn't realize until really recently that L.Z. did a song called "Dazed and Confused" which is why Linklater (Was it Linklater, the guy who did Slacker and Waking Life) named his 70s ensemble movie after that song. I hated Dazed and Confused as noone was likable in it, and I wasn't too keen on the 70s when they were happening. The clothes, the hair suck. There wasn't enough distance yet from it. I think that might be why it's more popular with people just a bit younger than the children born in the 70s. The whole 20 year gap of decades, which is why so many 80s movies were about the 60s which in high school I thought was cooler. It had its own share of problems, no doubt, but this was clearly not a logical like here. Family Guy not surprisingly had a moment that evokes Dazed and Confused; it's in the one where Chris is being hazed and he's being hit while Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is playing. In the original, Ben Affleck is doing the hazing; how he ever got another movie role after that one I'll never know, but strangely, it didn't bring a death knell to his career as it should have done. Daredevil and Gigli helped, but he still seems to be employed. He's such a teflon actor.
-My apologies to the Clash and all the Clash fans out there for the next thought. I had recently seen the Simpsons where Homer and Marge discover that sex where they could caught revitalizes their marriage and one point, Bart asks them if they're going to 'rock the casbah.'The phrase stuck in my head and I used it in an email to describe my friend's apprecation of Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada and all things that she's in. I meant it in the sense of "rock the world." which has sexual connotations as well.But it slightly amused me. Whether or not the asaid friend knew it was from a Clash song is not yet known; he didn't get why I was laughing (and wanting to shake my hands in the air) when Starbucks was playing Clash songs. What is the appropriate punk equivalent of 'clutch the pearls' to suggest the moment when the woman gasps at the awfulness of the situation? You know, a broken glass, a social gaffe, etc. Clutch the safety pins? Anyone?
-Was buying bread crumbs at the store for my recipe for macaroni and cheese which I got from the Southern cookbook I got for filling out some survey for a teaching writing book, I think. They had a bunch of books you could get and none of the fiction or non-fiction seemed compelling, so I went with the cookbook. The recipe called for bread crumbs and I was having one of those thoughts at the store, where I felt like I should 'make my own bread crumbs.' I reminded myself that this was insane as 1) I don't know how and 2) I am not Italian and I am not married or dating an Italian, so I think my ancestors will be okay if I buy pre-made ones. There are cooking and life things that I can't turn off, though. I'm not sure what they are right now. The mac. and cheese was pretty tasty.
-Okay, I've gotten a bunch of new music on my computer, as I've mentioned before. Some of it I'm happy to have; some I'm not sure about, but it's an interesting discovery moment for many of the songs. However, Meatloaf I'm much conflicted about. And "Objects in the Rearview Mirror Look Closer than they Appear" is a really bad example of Meatloaf lyrically. You didn't try, did you?
-When I saw Devil Wears Prada, I was up at one of the malls where I was window shopping and having my yummy sandwich from the Paradise Bakery. I was waiting for the 7:50 showing, I had looked at the bookstore and the funky Anthropoligie shop, and was running out of things to see and do. When I went up to the counter, the ticket person said someone had bought out the movie theater to propose to his girlfriend and they were showing The Notebook. My first thought was how nice of you not to have it up there on the marquee that it was cancelled, my second thought was ewww, how cliched. I like the concept that someone has considered a proposal that is based on the person's likes, but that is a bit too sappy even for me. I liked the Notebook, but I don't think I would want to be proposed that way. I was also annoyed because since it was 7, there wouldn't be any movies until 9 or 10. I ended up at a new theater for the 9:50 showing of Devil Wears Prada. I liked it, though I didn't really care about the triangle. Ooh, what a tough choice, Adrian Grenier (who needed a shave) or Simon Baker (who did nothing for me and I like blondes). And I wanted Stanley Tucci to end up with her queer friend as c'mon, he was so cool. I hate when movies waste perfectly lovely possibilities for cool characters to find equally cool people. I hate even more when actors who deserve better are in nothing films, like Judi Dench in The Chronicles of Riddick, Laura Prepon in Slackers, and others.
-Finished Amy Tan's Opposite of Fate which I liked. They are essays and a good mix of quirky stuff and deeper philosophic stuff. Some of it's hard to read. I also finished Armistead Maupin's Barbary Lane series, but as that will take far too long, will have to save it for another day.
-Yes, far too long, but haven't posted in quite awhile.

As Fahrenheit wafts in the air...

2006-07-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Last Post, then I should go.

I was at the place I had breakfast and I believe that yet another man has walked by wearing the cologne Fahrenheit. At least this one seems to be over the age of 20 which means that he probably began wearing the cologne after he went to the prom.

The backstory is this: one of my bestest friends, male, used to slather it on, so I know the scent very well as I liked it. (Thanks jds). This was 1993 or later as I had graduated from college and was watching bad tv. in my father's house and the friends that had gotten together hadn't yet been torn asunder in 1994. The year the Pa. friends split the roof of the Perkins where we used to go caved in due to an excessive snowstorm as there were two blizzards in a row. In 1993, jds cut off my long hair during the blizzard as I realized that I had done "the long hair thing" and it looked better short and I didn't know how to do any of the cool things you do with long hair anyway, so why bother? So, in short, I was in my mid-twenties, watching the various gen-x movies that came out, Reality Bites, Singles, and watching 90210.

I even got a perfume that was kind of like Fahrenheit, the chick version of it. So recently, have been noticing it. I was at school and asked this student in the hall if he was wearing it, he said yes and looked surprised that I was talking to him and that this was the subject of my concern. When I was picking up my matte for the picture for my bedroom, I noticed that the sales clerk that was helping me at Michael's also wore it. I also asked him and he told me that he starting wearing it when he was fifteen which is probably about right in retrospect, but made me feel a tad aged. You were going to prom, graduating and having slow-dances to various 90s songs while I was clearly no longer in college, and was definitely not in high school. Oh well.

There's just enough time distance between me and my students that when I was seeing Chasing Amy, they thought it a bit risque. They are by and large the people who liked Dazed and Confused more than I did because the 70s was exotic to them and too painful for me.

Though I can sing the theme from Duck Tales.

XO's Middle Eight: Love me, love me, love me, say you do...

2006-07-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

XO's Middle Eight: Love me, love me, love me, say you do...

Shout out to xol for the 'Wild is the Wind" bits. I will probably email all the Bowie fans once I've winded down from the email onslaught and once you've all re-covered from my email onslaught.

I suspect I am partial to Bowie's because it was the first one I heard as it was on one of the mixtapes I got in the 90s for my 21st birthday. (And yes, it was from one of my college objects of obsession. I am that bloody predictable) And I've reached the conclusion that the music that I listened to in the 80s and 90s wasn't necessarily better, but I imparted meaning and memory to it. So any cover or a later version of it has to cancel out other memories which is hard to do and probably unfair on my part. I still have the tape. It's filled with Sisters of Mercy, Tin Machine, Kate Bush, Adrian Belew, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and assorted stuff like that. (And am sending a vague apology to xol who had to hear way too much about the above mentioned object of o, and my other assorted college friends who were probably there or heard enough about said dude.)

So, now thanks to a friend's extensive music collection, I've got some of the Bowie, Sisters, and so forth on my computer. Including a song from Bowie called "Within You" which is interspersed with Spike quotes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is oddly appropriate. Though I don't know which album it's from and I haven't heard it since the 90s. It's driving me spare. Anybody know?

And shamefully, I don't know much of Nina Simone. Cat Power I don't have a sense of yet.

Also, as I've been going through a lot of this music, stuff I loved in high school and college, am amused or reminded how fucked the songs were. Like for instance, 'Blasphemous Rumors" or the possible apocalypticness of "Russians" by Sting and "Forever Young" by Alpahville. Some of the love songs slay me like Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" and 'Forever" by Kenny Loggins. We were fifteen at best; "Forever" wasn't conceivable. These were the years when a couple that stayed together for six months were like those coupled who'd been together forever. Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" still holds up as it should. But, gods I liked a lot of sappy stuff. It reminds me of the notebooks you can get from Signals, Embarrassingly sappy poetry. Bad poetry I wrote and songs of craptitude I imparted deep meanings to which did not exist. For Christ's sake, I thought Dan Hill's "Sometimes when we touch" was oh so deep.

And yes, Martika's "Toy Soldiers," Skid Row's "18 and Life" and Tina Turner's "We Don't Need Another Hero" are still somewhere in there in my favs. from that era.

Before the music people write me off as having "crap taste" let me remind you that I was stuck in a small town in Pa, that had one night of alternative music on one of the stations. Any alternative music that I heard were the most obvious hits, though I did watch MTV's 100 Minutes into the Future on a semi-regular basis, and I did listen to the Cocteau Twins and Jane's Addiction my senior year.

As usual, way too honest and upfront about my likes and dislikes. I'm way too old. I figure I like what I like and am okay with it making no sense.

Maybe this says something about me.

2006-07-07T01:28:00.000-07:00

I found something from Borders magazine that sums this up. It's somewhere in the bedroom and am not going to find it right now. The guy is talking about how his friend is always ahead of things, like he knew the Connells before they were big, and David Sedaris before he was big. I first heard David Sedaris on NPR driving around in New York; he did the "Youth in Asia" one which is sad, but one of my favs. I am semi-competitive about the weird things. Not like winning games, that doesn't bother me that much. But trends and knowing bands and reading stuff. Like for instance, the cupcake frenzy that is sweeping the nation. Magnolia Bakery and so forth. While I'm happy that I can now get them, I liked them before they were trendy. To be fair, cupcakes are difficult not to like. A little cake, frosting, and sprinkles if you're lucky. All good.

When the sorority chicks and the fashionatas had all jumped on the bandwagon of flannel, I'd been wearing them in high school when it was all preppy and other assorted 80s stuff. I raided my mom's closet and stole her flannel; I stole one of my father's sweaters. They were so comfortable. I looked very ragamuffin in high school and much of college.

I also tell people that my sister started knitting before Madonna did it and it was the new hobby.

Was talking about Bjork with one of my friends and she admitted that she only knew them in the last few years. I knew of Bjork and the Sugarcubes in '92 when AEP played them in her dorm. A tiny moment of superiority. Maybe it's a younger child thing. You were second and didn't get as many firsts as the first child did.

So, I don't think it means I'm ahead of the times because that doesn't seem right. It probably means I like what I like and am okay not to be part of a trend. There was a period in the 90s where three books I read became movies. I know one of them was The Hours by Michael Cunningham, but I've forgotten what were the other two. Or when postmodernism and deconstruction became used on Dawson's Creek. That irked me. Ugh, quit trying to be clever, cute and so forth.

Well, I need some tea to wind-down.

Update on New Food.

2006-07-01T03:21:00.000-07:00

Well, have polished off the Zingermans gift basket. With help. The coffee cake is yummy, as is the chocolate chunk sourdough bread. It is best when warmed up in the oven for 20 minutes, but isn't bad either when you're starving and wanting immediate food. It's an interesting mix of chocolate and tanginess.

My father got the Zingermans basket and was happy about it. I keep meaning to call him, but haven't recently. It is three hours time difference which isn't helping. He left a message on my voicemail that talked about the floods that they've been having in the Northeast. The vegetarian friendly and all around good restaurant that I loved in upstate New York also flooded.

Just finished Nick Hornby's How to be Good which I really liked, Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation which is interesting though hard to read, and Lynne Truss's follow up to Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Talk to the Hand because I needed something fun, not deep.

I kind of now want to see the movie Prozac Nation, though I don't understand how it can be a movie. All the movies I'd like to see noone else does, or are too sad. Eat, Drink, Man Woman, Better Luck Tomorrow, Joy Luck Club, Mind the Gap or Dot the I. There is an Asian theme going on. Well, having read the book, now I'd like to see the movie of Joy Luck Club. Or watch more murder mysteries. Guess I'll wait until mid July. Am running out of films that I haven't seen. Or feels like. And I'd even like to rent the sequel to the Cutting Edge film which is completely cheesy. Should go to bed. Kinda tired.

Am in puttering, reordering books, and trying to clear surfaces mood. Heaven help us.

Need to go get my eyes checked in a massive way.

New Food: The good, the bad and the eww.

2006-06-23T00:22:00.000-07:00

Am clearly bored and way too amused with myself. Bought at the store recently Ben and Jerry's Vermonty Python for obvious reasons. New flavor I haven't tried and a Monty connection. Let's try. It's pretty tasty. It's a bit like a girl drink, with coffee liquer ice cream, a cookie swirl and chocolate chunk cows in there. Not something you'd want everyday, but a nice change of pace.

Then, have also tried the Diet Hansen's Black Cherry soda which I'm sad to say is mondo gross. It tastes like bad cherry cough syrup and reminds me of the awful Chocolate Raspberry ball that I once split with one of my office mates that tasted like chocolate cough syrup.

Also got from Zingerman's catalogue, chocolate chunk sourdough bread and coffeecake. I was ordering a bread gift for my father and had to buy something for my domicile. The choc.chunk sourdough seems to have survived the AZ heat. I wanted chocolate filled figs, but couldn't rationalize quite yet. If they turn out to be wow, will shout it from the rooftops.

And oh sadness, Starbucks doesn't have cupcakes anymore. Not that I should be surprised, but not fair. Had a chocolate one at Wildflower Bread Co recently which was tres overpowering. Maybe I should've tried for the more low-key vanilla. Don't know any good places to get cupcakes here. I miss the black and white cupcakes from PA. They were chocolate cake with cream cheese swirled with chocolate chips. You could usually predict to get them at potlucks or during school when people brought in snacks for people's birthdays. They were the right level of sweetness.

I've gotten into checking out this cupcake blog and amused/impressed/mystified by the precious cupcakes that people make. People whose bake goods turn out much, much prettier than mine do. The wedding shower cupcakes look pretty but blueberry mousse sounds gross. Am picky about my blueberries and what I want blueberries to be in. I prefer them to be fresh if possible or frozen if necessary, but never blueberry topping. I blame growing up near the Poconos where you could get them growing wild near the beach and in the store from Jersey for this. So, now I'm a blueberry snob in addition to a coffee snob, a chocolate snob and an apple snob. What a burden. Though the phrase apple snob doesn't seem right somehow, but how else do you describe a person who despises Red Delicious apples? And I've had to explain to at least two of my friends that Empire, Fujis, Galas are so much better. And these are people who grew up in the Northeast. Maybe it's a sweet/tart dichotomy. One wonders. Like the people who like the sweet drinks like the Red Delicious apples and the ones who like the tart ones like the others? I don't think I'm quite yet a wine snob, or so watching Sideways made me think. Beer snob, at times. Finally found the wine I'd been looking for that I had in San Francisco, at Safeway, oddly enough. It was on sale, but I didn't have my card, so I didn't get the discount. And now I can't find the receipt.

Okay, as I've wandered all over creation in this post, let's stop and drink tea.

The Panopticon: Dealing with Loss

2006-06-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

The Panopticon: Dealing with Loss
My sister turned me on to Franklin's blog. I am more of a lurker, though. But this post does sum up nicely my beliefs regarding umbrellas and my proclivity for losing many, many things. For awhile there, I kept buying and losing umbrellas quickly. I found a green one in a lecture hall that I appropriated. Lost my last one in England of all places. Bought one and have held onto it for awhile, though it's probably because I don't use it as much.

The whole concept of losing things reminds me of Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" which I actually liked when I taught it during my ENG 218 class. Probably has something to do with the style and the rhyme, and it's clever, kind of like one of Dorothy Parker's poems. Here it is.

Elizabeth Bishop
One Art

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

They've just released a book on Elizabeth Bishop, about her letters; it seemed interesting, perhaps. Saw an interview on Charlie Rose who I normally don't watch as his smugness annoys me. Not that I need more books. Am still trying to make a dent in the stuff I've got. Just finished the book Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses which is a lurid pink color. I got it for like 2 bucks at a book sale. Pretty much what I expected and there were some things about them I didn't exactly want or need to know. Plus, the guy who wrote it is British so some of his phrasing is odd. Thus endeth Babs' poetry corner which always reminds me of Dot's Poetry Corner from Animaniacs. I loved that show.

Why my I-Tunes is calling up "19" by Paul Hardcastle, I don't know, but seems oddly appropriate that it came out in the 80s, as the 8os were all about the 60s. As evidenced by all those movies where the 60s generation came to term with their adulthood. Like Big Chill and so forth.

Oh right the Tony's were on.

2006-06-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

Normally I at least tape the thing and watch it many, many months later. This year it didn't even register that it was on.

From another blog I read. I am shocked as well that The Pajama Game beat Sweeney Todd for best revival. To be fair, I haven't seen any of them out and I liked the local production of The Pajama Game I saw in Easton. I haven't actually seen Sweeney Todd. The PBS production was on when I was sick in eighth grade and was so not in the mood for cannibalism and meat issues.

Oh Brother...

2006-06-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today's "For Want of a Nail" moment. Need to work on my portfolio papers which is a given and probably everyone's as tired of hearing about them as I am about coping with them. Have been looking about the apartment for the folders which I put all of the ones with the "major comments" on them. Have found them which is good. Have also realized that the reason that they aren't on my computer is that they're still on my old computer and they're not on the jump drive because I've only recently gotten a jump drive. Maybe they're on disks at school and I can transfer them that way.

I think I will cope with the transfers later, not now.

Oh, and I left my wallet at home tonight when I made it to the coffee shop. It's sitting nicely on my coffee table, completely unhelpful. Oh well. I guess I'll finish off the coffee and go home.

Tales of the City thoughts.

2006-06-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

At the moment, I have Logo, the gay network, so I've been catching up on the Tales of the City miniseries which they've been showing recently. Am watching them out of sequence which of course doesn't matter as I've seen them all. I remember watching the first eps. at home in 1993 and getting into it and being pissed that the local PBS affiliate was so square about some of the situations. (Okay, it was a small-town in Pa, but still) My father, not surprisingly, didn't quite appreciate it. He thought it was a soap, which it is, definitely. I read the second and third one. I leant my then friend Ellen the second one and I'll probably never see it again. He has good stuff, but he does tend towards the gothic and long arm of coincidences. You know, the anchor that Mary Ann needs to keep quiet of course worked for the mother of their landlady who used to be male. But I enjoyed the first one very much with Mouse, Mona, Mary Ann, Brian and all.

When I watched the second one, it wasn't the same. They'd replaced three major roles with bad actors. Mona, played by Chloe Webb, Nancy from Sid and Nancy, Michael, played by Marcus D'amico, and Brian, played by Paul Gross of Due South fame, were all played by lesser actors. The most jarring ones were Michael and Brian as the first Michael was just so well done, sweet and even his Southern accent was charming and Paul Gross made Brian sexy, kinda sleazy, but still charming. The guy who played Michael had the cheesy seventies' moustache which I can't forgive. Supposedly, that there had been issues with some of the actors. You can read about on Maupin's website. And there was heaps more controversy than I remember. Apparently, Marcus who played Michael split due to concerns about his sexuality and Paul was caught up in Due South. I've gotten to the last one which is my least favorite anyway and the new actors are starting to improve slightly, but it's just not the same. I would've cared if the first Brian and Mary Ann marry; Brian 2.0 and Mary Ann not so much.

Apparently, I'm not alone. Was checking out imdb and this is what Seb Chen says about the sequels: "And where sweet and emotional dialogue exists, the sentiment is marred by three vastly inferior "replacement" actors. The much beloved Michael "Mouse" Tolliver is played by the excessively smirky and over-doing-the-gay-bit Paul Hopkins. His performance is unnatural and devoid of Mouse's innate, lovable charm. Nina Siemaszko's performance is brittle and uneasy, lacking any of the spunk and charisma befitting the quirky Mona Ramsey. Whip Hubley is just plain uninteresting as the (supposedly) handsome, disillusioned Brian Hawkins. I had the opportunity to go back and re-watch the first series and was surprised to discover just how naturally and unaffectedly Marcus D'Amico, Chloe Webb, and Paul Gross inhabited Mouse, Mona and Brian. I had been unaware of just how good they were since I merely considered them as being the characters.

So, have checked out the last ones of Maupin's series to finish them off. I figure they're mostly fun, good bedtime reads. I picture as the main characters the people who did them on the first miniseries, because I saw them before I read them. And Michael is definitely one of my fav. characcters, though I love Mona as well. Maupin still has the "long arm of coincidence" tendency sort of like Short Cuts or Playing by Heart where he finds connections between the characters. Some work better than others, in my opinion.

The music doesn't fit the story

2006-06-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

As I've noticed this recently in two examples from two different TV. shows, I figure it's worth a mention. Also, am tired and am not thinking of any super cool thoughts otherwise. Clearly, I'm enough of a music person that it bothers me when songs I like are put into TV. shows, movies or commercials and there's a moment of what the hell. Like the music doesn't fit the story or has a tint that they're not implying. What bothers me most is that it's not that hard to check and it doesn't take too long to check either.

Example number one: during Dawson's Creek, there was a romantic interlude between Joey (Katie Holmes) and Charlie (that Chad Michael Murray who's on every blessed WB show) where Charlie serenades her with Cheap Trick's "I want you to want me." (Poor Cheap Trick, they didn't deserve that). They begin talking and on the soundtrack comes Alanis Morrissette's "Hands Clean." First of all, my memory of the song is based on the video and my memory is that the song alludes to a dysfunctional relationship between her and her manager. It has Chris Sarandon in it, who almost always plays arrogant mentors and reminds me of one of my profs. in college. (The prof. in question is loads nicer). Admittedly, Joey and Charlie's relationship doesn't last the season, but I don't think that they were trying for that level of dysfunction just yet.

Example number two: during Queer as Folk when there's this huge celebration on Liberty Avenue, (read: Toronto masking as Pittsburgh) where they are all celebrating the defeat of the homophobic mayoral candidate. There's joy and dancing in the streets. What song do they play? New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle?" Okay, what? Nothing against "Bizarre Love Triangle" as I love that song and put it on almost all the mixes I made in college. However, it's not a song I would pick to celebrate a moment of queer unity and freedom. If they were going to go for New Order, why not use "True Faith?" I don't know the lyrics cold but even from my vague memory of them, they probably fit better. Okay, I did think that "Bizarre Love Triangle" was used appropriately in Threesome, which is a sentence I never thought I'd write. It worked because well it fit the situation. It was bizarre. (Am not saying Threesome was a great movie, because it wasn't, but it had some parts that worked).

I do like when there's a disconnect with the song if someone's been sloppy and doesn't realize the connotations. Like for example, during the 1984 or 1988 Republican National Convention, the bandleader played "The Best of Times" from La Cage aux Folles. Considering Reagan's and the Republicans' avoidance of the discussion of AIDS and homosexuality, I thought the irony was quite fetching. I clipped a cutting about it in case you're wondering how I can remember that that clearly.

Clearly, tv and music were a big part of my life, as are movies and music because I still remember when certain songs were used on certain shows and films. (Not all, my memory's not that good, but some). I told a friend of mine that we were listening to Depeche Mode's "Never Let me Down Again" at the coffee shop and that it was used effectively in a 21 Jump Street episode. The reason I remember this is because I remember that I really liked the song. and there was probably a guy I was thinking about in reference to the song. I even sort of remember the plot. It had something to do with Johnny Depp's old girlfriends who had gone on to date the clubowner they were investigating. (Okay, in retrospect, that may not narrow the plot-lines all that much, as Depp's old girlfriends appeared on a semi-regular basis). This is probably why I have a lot of film soundtracks. Well, also, it was the 80s and they often used any excuse to have "videos" in their shows.

Have been watching VH-1 classic and am loving/amused/scared by some of the old videos. Like Gene Loves Jezebel, Echo and the Bunnyman, John Parr, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, John Fogerty, etc. I like the Alternative hour muchly. Speaking of, one of my fav. Love and Rockets' songs, "No New Tell to Tale" is on my I-tunes. I still really like it. And was also looking through old journals and found song lists that a) reminded me of my objects of obsessions and b) I oddly liked. Some of them were pretty random and some of them were all too familiar. Depeche Mode and the like.

More tea.

XO's Middle Eight: See how deep the bullet lies

2006-05-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

XO's Middle Eight: See how deep the bullet lies

I downloaded this song and listened to it myself. I'm not sure of my thoughts of it yet, but like what xol says, "Running up that hill" is one of my favorite songs and am super critical about re-making songs that I love dearly. I loved that album so much. Okay, the i-tunes gods has just pulled up "Big Sky" by Kate as I type this which borders on cosmical. I'm giving it a chance and see how I feel about it later, as it takes awhile for me to get into music.

As I was thinking about this issue, I was trying to think of re-makes of songs that I did like and am drawing an immediate blank. I think there's a level of what were your social connections to the song, and who's doing it and if it's someone awful, then no.

Decaf or not decaf, that is the question.

2006-05-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

I really wish I could remember whether I ordered my caramel royale coffee drink decaf or not. It's tastier which leads me to believe it's real, but the caramel flavor probably makes it yummier than it is already. I'm rather fond of the caramel ones and the vanilla ones; I can't go to the almond lattes though, for reasons I can't account for.

Oh well. Either I did or I didn't. There's no telling and I have plenty of stuff to do tonight. Have fled my apt. for the coffee shop, and away from the tv.

Watched Ferris Bueller for the umpteenth time and am not surprised by the fact I can quote it. There are parts that I truly love, when they go to the Art Institute in Chicago and the "Danke Schoen" moment as well as the "Twist and Shout" moment. And I love his room. I'm surprised there isn't "Ferris Bueller for Business People" out there, though I guess businesses wouldn't want their employees to model their lives on someone who skips school. If I were still teaching the ENG 101 assignment that had students look at a film that depicts a city, I would definitely include that one. Though it's a bit too ideal.

Challenged Books (1990-2000)

2006-05-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Yes, folks, my first ever meme, where you copy a list and highlight which ones you've done, or something along those lines. I've been going through my email and was interested in the banned book week list one of my friends sent me. I read a passage from Ulysses during Banned Book Week back in college, and no, not Molly's monologue. Something from Nausica, I think. One of my friends read a passage from A Wrinkle in Time. So these are the banned books I've read. And in the list, from 1990-1999, I only have one more addition, That was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton. That one was upsetting to me because of the young teen that got hooked on drugs.

And honestly, some of them I get the reasons for the challenging, not that I approve of the concept as there should be free speech and all that. But I get why people have issues with Wrinkle of Time, and Bridge to Terebithia and anytime that there's religious stuff. And I get the sex stuff as well as the supernatural stuff. I still think they should be available for teens, particularly the ones that deal with non-white, non-straight, non-wasp, non-male identities. Because when I was in school we got barely anything outside of the 'dead white dudes and occasionally dead white dudettes' canon, as I like to call it. And if there were queer identities identities out there, they were pretty hidden. I remember when I finally realized that Whitman's poem about the swimmers had a homoerotic element to it. Oh.

I went through a lot of books in my library and there were some that I read when I was far too young and impressionable. And there were a lot of ones that creeped me out. Zilpha Keaty Snyder's stuff tended to be too creepy. There were also ones I wasn't prepared for the trauma yet. Like I remember reading some of the teen novels about suicide and sex. I remember not getting into Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume as well, I guess I couldn't relate to the boy all that well and the sex stuff was troubling. And there were some images I would've preferred not having. Not unlike seeing Carnal Knowledge at 14. Eeek. There was also a bad, bad Oz book out there that was clearly geared to adults that I either threw out or gave to a bookstore when I was at home last. Clearly, a book that should be thrown with great force out the window and away from anyone to read it. Which gives me an idea for another blog: which books did you want taken out and buried so noone could innocently decide reading it was a 'good' idea? Which movies did you want to leave?

But, I've gotten over most of whatever creepiness I had and there were some that I was ready for. I've never been able to care about The Chocolate War, again probably because of the male narrators which sometime mattered and sometime didn't. I gave up on Beloved by Morrison as I wasn't finishing it and wasn't finishing it. I read Jazz and liked it.

However, I am mystified why they've challenged the Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry. I began reading them at the age of 10 or so. I got the first one for a birthday gift and have read most of them. There's probably some swearing in it and they're not a perfect family, but on the whole, they are a good, but slightly nuts family. I think when I read them, I desperately wanted her parents as my own as they were younger than mine and more wacky. (In a fun way).

So, I think maybe parents and children should talk about the books they read, but if say, the child is unable to talk to said parents, they should be able to get them out of the library. It should be there if they need them. Thus endeth my spiel.

And as I've been cleaning my apt, I have entirely too much stuff. Too many books, boxes, papers, and the like.

Keane goes Finnish.

2006-04-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, am borrowing from other people's blogs again. Again, from xol's. (which is a terrible shortening of the longer tag, but sounds better).

I have not bought said album, but I adore the album cover. I do sort of know who Keane is. It's very stylized and reminds me of the time when album art was actually something as opposed to banal crap. It also makes me feel like riding the Norse boat ride at various amusement parks or drinking mead or something along those lines. Okay, wicked geeky on my part.

XO's Middle Eight: I'd like it if they'd like us but I don't think they like us.

2006-04-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

Shout out to xol's blog as he asks a pointed pop. culture question. I sadly squeaked when I read this and responded in too much detail regarding Square Pegs. Which is like totally me. Valley Speak from various places has permeated my speech patterns. I'm not saying I want to own them, but I wouldn't mind re-visiting the people of Weemer High.

XO's Middle Eight: I'd like it if they'd like us but I don't think they like us.

Times when the term director seems grandiose.

2006-04-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

And no, am not harranging on Mel Gibson or Jonathan Frakes or anyone along those lines. This involves the other medium, tv. I was checking out Little House in the Prairie last night, a statement that may stop some of you from reading right now. In my defense, I've been taping it for my friend who's doing a history class on frontier life and hence have been watching some of it. So, I discover much to my chagrin that it's a clip show where all the Ingalls gather together for Christmas and tell Albert all about their earlier adventures coming from the Big Woods and onto the Prairie. I knew I was in trouble when they list guest stars at the beginning. So, okay, no, I don't care to see the clips from the last five seasons. I then see that this episode has been directed by Michael Landon, Pa. And I'm thinking, how difficult could it have been? You barely have to write dialogue and all you have to do is decide what clips to use. It's pretty much written for you.

Rebel against sad, pathetic clip shows. Okay, rebel's a bit strong. And the premise to introduce the clips is always wafer thin like the Keatons have to tell Alex's new girlfiend all about his attempts to find love (Family Ties), or the Golden Girls think back on their money-making schemes, bad dates, etc, or the gang at West Beverly are about to graduate so they must think about their high school years (Beverly Hills 90210).

Speaking of pathetic, I watched What about Brian? last night and was sorely disappointed. It's the show that has the kid from 7th Heaven, Barry Watson as the seventh wheel in a group of couples. They're all gorgeous, and okay, it is LA, but that's a bit much. He's a commitment phobe. My main issue is how gendered it is. Like, would they have a show with a woman as the commitment phobe? Okay, they might, but it would be probably way different. Or like Ally McBeal or Sex and the City. And okay, I liked Sex and the City, but I had issues with it as well. Plus, I'm too distracted by the fact that Marjorie, the woman that Brian is in love with is played by the actress who played Madison on Everwood and has brown hair. She looks much better as a blond. Maybe they thought having three actresses with blonde hair on the show would be deemed as too L.A. or California, but she looks odd.

Back to work.

Art Alexakis, No....

2006-04-03T02:45:00.000-07:00

Am so depressed by the use of Everclear's "AM Radio" to sell GM cars including a hummer. I know, selling cars by using songs is nothing new like using the Clash to sell a cadillac. Okay, the Clash is more upsetting than Everclear as the Clash is more political. I am most distressed by the fact that this means I must be close to the demographic they're targetting. Not unlike the moment when Saturn used "Forever Young" for their ads which I mind less because well, I have one and it was clever. Another blogger talks about it far more than I am. Click on the link above to check it out and you can watch the ad. I kinda vaguely respected him low-levelly. Okay, I thought he was cute. I'm that shallow.

Am amused though, that they did some fancy editing to take the drug references out of the song for the ad. At least I think they did. The lyric goes, "getting high in my sister's van."

I still haven't seen them in concert as they always come during times when I'm not here or other issues. I don't know if their selling out cancels out my desire to see them sort of. Sniff.

Oh no, my i-tunes has called up SNL's commercial of Maya Angelou for Fruit Loops which is so wrong.

Mundane dreams...

2006-04-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

And I mean mundane dreams. Not unlike the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where he dreams his entire day and then his mother says wake up.
--This morning I had a dream where I'm making brownies or some baked good that requires some ingredient that I need to include where I have to convert pints into tablespoons or cups, which I'm not even sure is possible. And I'm looking at cookbooks trying to convert it and doing math no less.
--Recently, I had one where someone was telling a joke and someone did the rimshot, or hit the cymbals like in the vaudeville jokes. My dreams have been invaded by Shecky Green apparently. Please tip your waitress and try the Monte Crisco sandwich.
I mean, if I'm going to dream, I'd like it to be something worthwhile. I have tv. dreams from time to time. I recently blended Everwood and Fame. Forget the details, but it was vaguely nice.
And today's cosmic moment, as my old roomie used to say. I changed my sig line to part of a Rilo Kiley song, "Portions from Foxes:"
There's blood in my mouth
'cause I've been biting my tongue all week
I keep on talkin' trash
but I never say anything.
And it's now everywhere. Verdaderrra sent their website. to me which I listened to like five times. One of my students recognized it and went to their show in L.A. And xo of course is the person who sent me the song in the first place.
Am getting bored. I think it's the Sunday blahs.

Go-tarts.

2006-03-22T23:55:00.000-08:00

From one of the blogs I check out. I agree with a lot of this, particularly his comments regarding the go-gurt stuff.

They look a bit too July 4th for me.

Still feeling cranky.

Bad Word, Bad Word, Bad Word.

2006-03-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

My thanks to whoever does this. (Think it's my sister. And if I've gotten that wrong am sorry.) Griping is forthcoming. You're forewarned.

Or in the words of Lytton Strachey from Carrington "Damn, Blast and Fuck this Wednesday." The original thing he ended that with was the upper classes, I believe.

It's just been an odd day. I was woken by the maintenance person who was going to paint over the water stains on my bedroom ceiling. The roofers came and fixed the leak on Saturday so it doesn't look like the ceiling is going to come down on my apt. The drop ceiling did in fact fall down in parts in my first apt. It was on the day I was leaving and I'd done enough time on Oak Dr. Signs and portents, woah. But yes, the guy painted in my bedroom and I went to the futon to crash for awhile. Then I couldn't find my glasses when I did wake up.

And have been kicking around my apt. which is not always a good sign. Have been cleaning and importing music into my computer. I.e., nothing else is working out here, so I'll clean. And I wanted to drink some of my English tea but it got too late for real tea. And whatever food I had I didn't want. Mac. and cheese. And the post I was working on last night I deleted due to idiocy.

And feel my break wasn't long enough which it never is and am feeling in limbo as usual. Plus, my two houseguests meant that my apt. has been in a weird state of cleanliness and clutter. And it's been a strange three weeks anyway.

Have been lighting candles. And listening to Sweatshop Union, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Distillers.

So, I think we can call it a draw as far as this day goes. Am going to finish my tea and have some popcorn.

And I had like 11 more exercises from my students to review among other things to do.

Arggh. Ending with the words from Ice Cube from Boys in the Hood, "Domino, motherfucker."

Trying again, later.

Ch-Check it out. The Beastie Boys Heart Dolly Parton!

2006-03-21T00:50:00.000-08:00

And I heart them and her. Sorry, fangirl moment. And okay, I like Purple Rain too, though guiltily. Was checking out some person's "shared music" on i-tunes and they had "Darling Nikki" and a lot of GNR. ("November Rain" Yes!) Okay, yes, some of their early music was more a comedy stuff than serious stuff. I'm thinking mainly "Brass Monkey" and "Paul Revere." However, it doesn't matter because even then they gave us "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and a lot of Paul's Boutique. And To The 5 Boroughs is good as is "Whatcha-Whatcha-Want" and "Sabotage."

One of the other items on the link is about re-visiting, re-making (whatever) Welcome Back, Kotter with Ice-Cube as Mr. Kotter. I guess they're going to spin it to L.A. Could work, could not. Don't care all that much as it wasn't a fav. of mine, though the SNL skit which merged Quentin Tartino with Welcome Back, Kotter and the MTV movie skit with the gang doing Pulp Fiction were both inspired. The moment in the SNL one that slays me is when Lenny and Squiggy show up at the end. I also loved the one where the Brady Brunch Kids and the Partridge kids do a battle of the bands. This may partly explain my liking of Family Guy. What's truly scary is when you can guess what pop. culture reference they're going to do. I love when the baby gets hooked on the DaVinci Code.

Well, the Offspring album is almost over, so I should probably go.

Beasties: Dolly was robbed

AUSTIN, Texas (Billboard) -- Mike D professed his love for the Prince film "Purple Rain," fellow Beastie Boy MCA talked about drinking with hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and Ad Rock dished on his favorite books during the rap trio's spirited hour-long discussion with fans at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

Little news came out of Wednesday's Q&A session, with fans asking the trio to talk about their early inspirations or discuss their views on rap combo Three 6 Mafia winning an Oscar for their "Hustle & Flow" tune.

"Nothing against them," Ad Rock said, "but we think Dolly Parton [nominated for a tune from "Transamerica"] was robbed."

The Beastie Boys were in Austin to promote their film, "Awesome: I F*****' Shot That!," which was assembled from footage shot by fans during a 2004 concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. For the sequel, Mike D joked, the act will let its fans keep the cameras for a week.

Fans largely kept the questions light, and the Beastie Boys were more than happy to oblige. When one fan pressed MCA on his belief in Buddhism, the rapper opted not to reveal much to the crowd, which had earlier given the Beastie Boys a standing ovation. Yet the fan persisted, and asked if he was ashamed of the some of the lyrics in early Beastie Boys songs. "That stuff is a goof," MCA said. "I think most people know it's a goof."

On the subject of politically charged material, one fan asked the Beastie Boys if there was an issue about which the group would like to educate listeners. "I don't know if we were ever out trying to educate people," Ad Rock said. "If we say something in a song, it's because we're thinking about it."

Later on, Ad Rock recommended fans read "Fuzz One: A Bronx Childhood," an autobiography from graffiti artist Vincent Fedorchak. When the session turned toward the topic of Brooklyn, one fan asked if the trio was still in touch with the neighborhood, and if they believed they was still "keeping it real"

"They're not keeping it real in Brooklyn anymore," Ad Rock quipped. Added Mike D, "I know more about the playground than the underground right now."

XO's Middle Eight: Off topic: The Great Cupcake Wars

2006-03-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Cupcakes... want. Not rational, but want. Gosh, I sound like the 'bots from MST3k when Joel reprograms them to like waffles. You have to have seen it.

Okay, need to get food and to leave my apt.

Due to all the rain, there's now water-stains on my bedroom ceiling. Could become a leak, could not. I called my apt. complex to let them know. It smells semi-moldy, oh yay, and it's right above my bed. Oh crap.

Am listening to Elvis's Greatest Hits. He and I going to leave the building.

Pretty picture.

2006-03-11T05:18:00.000-08:00

I sent this to some of you. It's a gorgeous ad from Abercrombie and Fitch of all people. (And yes, I'm not all that keen on them as a corporation so I'm conflicted).

However, this is lovely. It evokes many of the pictures which are already in my bedroom, and also the credits for the Lord Peter Wimsey series from the 80s. It taps into all my idealized (and wrong) romantic notions regarding snowstorms. Makes me want to drink tea and eat scones. It's a bit anglophile like, a bit like the fashion calendar pictures I keep buying.

As we've had rain, after 135 days without it, I can at least do the tea and maybe some shortbread or ginger lemon cremes.

Where have my tapes/ cds gone?

2006-03-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

Because that's the sort of thing that has happened a good chunk in my life due to travelling.

I lost my tape of Barenaked Ladies' Gordon in 1995 around New Year's at Lisa's New Year's Gathering. Was a good time though I got lost in rural Va. I remember that we were discussing the Spice Girls as they were on Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve and we were much saddened.

I lost my cd of the Squirrel Nut Zippers the one that had "Hell" on it while going to Hyannis, MA. to see Jen around 2002. I was taking the bus from Boston and put it in the seat in front of me while I was listening to my cd. Of course, I forget it when I got off of the bus.

I've lost or thrown away a mix tape that had parts of Sinead O'Connor's I do not want what I haven't got on it, Gene Loves Jezebel's "Jealous" somewhere in my moves. I remember liking it.

Somewhere around 1996 I left my copy of Patricia Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red in a cab in upstate New York coming back from either a friend's house or the bookstore. I hadn't read it yet which is the most tragic part of it. I now know her stuff from the Dragons Series, but I didn't at the time. I had gotten it because I always liked the story and there was an Elizabethan element to it. The kicker is that it's not been re-released so availability is nil so they are asking 60 bucks for a mint hardcover version. Mine was not that good. It was a paperback. I hope it found a good home.

I lost my copy of Louise Erdritch's Love Medicine when I was up in Ithaca taking the GRE's circa 1998 and I bought another copy because I was halfway through it. It's woah intense. It's the last one of hers I've read.

Most of my books are accounted for if they are elsewhere. I've got a list of whose books I have and where mine are. I've started doing this with DVDs now, which kinda scares me. I don't think that there are any major edits video-wise yet. Or if they are, they've been so for a while. I think I threw out the MST3k version of The Magic Sword before I left New York as the tape was dying. I kinda regret that now.

Then there are the books that have come back to me. I left my copy of Gaudy Night at the computer lab once in college as I believe I was writing down nice love quotes from it. (I was 22 and in the stupid throes of lust/love whatever). Lo and behold, the object of my desire in fact found the book as I believe he also was working there that night so I got it back on Sunday. I still have the book. It's the one I brought with me to Germany and I read while listening to Kate Bush's Hounds of Love on the trains in 1987. The cover is definitely worn. Granted, it was a small college so it's not quite as cool as leaving it on the subway and the fabulously cool dude shows up at the coffee shop with it. And yes, those of you who know the college crush I refer to can roll their eyes collectively.

That's the only one that occurs to me now, but there are probably others.

God bless the Sex Pistols.

2006-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

I'd heard about this from the radio. But xo flagged it before I did, so am giving props to the man. The pic. of Johnny Rotten is truly scary. I think I may need to blast PIL in support of their non-attendance.

XO's Middle Eight

Why are Night Ranger Songs going through my mind?

2006-02-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've had the phrase, "Four in the morning came without a warning" in my head for about a week which is from the song "Four in the Morning." and you can check out the link for the lyrics which are a lot worse than even I thought they would be. "Sister Christian" was problematic, but problematic in a more forgivable way.

Below is what one of the people who wrote about Night Ranger's Greatest Hits package (what, all four of them? And I'm being generous)

"Despite the absence of "Interstate Love Affair" from the movie Teachers, this collection captures the hard rockers at their best, and is ideal for those of us 80's people wanting a stroll down a Sentimental Street". (Amazon)

Okay, I flagged this for the following reason. I don't remember "Interstate Love Affair" from Teachers. I remember "Teacher Teacher" by 38 Special. Okay, I had to check amazon to check who did the song, but I remember how it goes.

I liked the movie okay as I've only seen bits on tv. I liked the history professor who makes them re-enact Crossing the Delaware and believes he's back there and is an escapee from an insane asylum. It's a darker Fast Times at Ridgemont High with Nick Nolte, Ralph Macchio, JoBeth Williams and Judd Hirsch. It's the high school is hell theme and one of the kids sues the school because he graduates from school illiterate. It's clearly an 80s film. Not quite hopeful enough to be Dead Poets' Society.

But ye gods. Did I have no critical thinking in terms of what I liked? Wow, in retrospect, what was up with some of the 80s lyrics? Okay, I heard "Iko Iko" by the Bell Stars which is bizarre but is at least supposed to be.

Today's earworms..

2006-02-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

Which is I think what people call those songs that get stuck in your head for no real reason. I am quite susceptible to song cues and will have various songs running through my head. Many of them are from other people or many are just my own weird connections. So the ones we've got today are:

Much of Sinead O'Connor's I do not want what I haven't got album in particular "This is the Last Day of our Acquaintance," "Emperor's New Clothes" and "Three Babies." This has been going on for two weeks now. I haven't listened to any Sinead in quite awhile.

"When Love Goes Wrong" from Gentleman Prefer Blondes with Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. Can't explain that one at all. Haven't seen it in awhile.

and

"Dreaming" by OMD, which I mentioned previously.

and parts of the Buffy soundtrack "Once More with Feeling" as it's been on permanent rotation on my computer. Particularly, "Walk through Fire" and "Going through the motions."

and Nancy Griffith's "Late Night Grande Hotel" and some of Mary Chapin-Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky."

These might be slightly different than the technical definition as I like all of these. Songs that do qualify are the "Metropolitan Mattress" ad, The Fox-10 musical intro, and that damn Nickelback song(tm). (This week it's "Photograph" but it can be any of them.)

Well, I must get my laundry.

80s songs. The Good, the Bad and the Cheesy.

2006-02-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

I've been checking this dude's blog out and he's got some good stuff to say from time to time. He reviews a singer and his albums. This week it's Robert Palmer who I don't really have an opinion on, favorable or unfavorable. Enhhh. He's also done Tom Waits recently who I do love.

A few of these crossed my radar. Eep, it's not possible that Paul Simon's Graceland is 20 years old.

"Believe it or not, people of my generation, but this marks the 20th anniversary of Paul Simon’s Graceland album — and thus also the two-decade marker for America’s introduction to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In the years since, Ladysmith has become internationally accepted as the world’s premier Zulu vocal group, toured the globe, won Grammys, and generally just kicked much ass."

The below is about Paul Carrack who was a guest on Squeeze there for a while and had the hit "Don't Shed a Tear." I'm pretty sure I had a mix tape out there with this, Icehouse's "Electric Blue" OMD"s "Dreaming," and so forth. I still remember the lyric, "Ever since I've met you, you made my life such hell."

"And yet, for a brief time in the ’80s, it seemed like Carrack was indeed poised to become a big-time solo star. If anything, it seemed like his sporadic attention to his solo career was what held it back. His first solo release was followed by a turn as a member of Squeeze (that’s Carrack singing “Tempted”); his second, Suburban Voodoo, was critically well-received and even spun off a couple of hits, but he wasn’t able to follow it up for four years due to his commitments as a member of Mike & the Mechanics (that’s Carrack singing “Silent Running” and “The Living Years”).

With 1987’s One Good Reason, Carrack finally hit major Top 40 paydirt. The album spun off four singles, one of which, “Don’t Shed A Tear,” is one of the great forgotten hits of the decade. After Reason, Carrack recorded and toured behind The Living Years with Mike & the Mechanics, then turned around and assembled his next solo album, Groove Approved, the very next year."

About T'Pau, the group who created "Heart and Soul."
"They’re barely remembered today, at least outside the British club circuit, but T’Pau, in its brief existence as a major-label act, actually managed to leave the world with two things that will always stand the test of time. The first is a rock & roll maxim; specifically, that if you name your band after a Star Trek character, you are automatically setting the timer on your fame at 15:00. T’Pau’s second enduring gift to the world is the terrifying, all-powerful earworm that is “Heart and Soul,” a song that was so pervasive on Top 40 radio in 1987 that you were literally left with no choice but to like it, even if only for a few minutes."

And this is his thoughts regarding the Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1:

"If it’s Friday, it must be Bootleg City…and today, our visit takes us right down Wilbury Way.

You must remember The Traveling Wilburys — George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison — and the way their accidental first album, Volume One, set hearts aflutter upon its release in 1988. Four rock legends and the guy from ELO, having fun and making music! You could hardly go wrong!

Then Orbison had to go and fuck it all up by dying, of course, and 1990’s Volume Three, though still a decent record, couldn’t help but fall short. Sure was nice while it lasted, though, wasn’t it?

Both Volume One and Volume Three have been out of print for years, which is totally inexcusable; I’ve read different explanations for this, and lots of reissue promises, but the fact remains: Copies of these albums should not be going for $40+. And, to that end, here’s Volume One for free. Rock on, friends, and I’ve got Volume Three, too, so if enough of you want it, we can stick around Wilbury Way next week."

I have (or had) this on tape. I'm a bit fuzzy where things are. I am stunned that copies of this album is going for 40 bucks. It seems that it's odd that it's not being reissued. I remember really liking it.