July 30, 2016

Duff at the Movies 2016

Um, what? I never created this list back in January? And I haven't realized that until now (July 10?) Ughhhh….. Off to attempt to recreate...

• Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (7/22)
• Ghostbusters (7/19)
• The Meddler (7/4)
• Central Intelligence (6/29)
• X-Men: Apocalypse (6/26)
• L'Attesa (6/24)
• Keanu (5/13?)
• Allegiant (4/1)
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (3/? stub is illegible!)

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2016, Movies

July 24, 2016

Duff Does Live Music 2016

• Sufjan Stevens (3rd x) (Pitchfork) (7/16)
• Anderson Paak (Pitchfork) (7/16)
• Brian Wilson (Pitchfork) (7/16)
• Super Furry Animals (Pitchfork) (7/16)
• Troye Sivan (2/23)
• Josh Ritter (1/29)

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2016, Gigs

July 12, 2016

Books Read in 2016

date refers to date finished; i.e., just b/c I finished two books in a given day doesn't mean I read two entire books that day!

• Because You're Mine, by Lisa Kleypas (7/11)
  
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (7/10)
  
• Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (7/7)
  
• Untold, by Sarah Rees Brennan (7/7)
  
• The Hare, by Cesar Aira (7/5)
  
• Until Friday Night, by Abbi Gilnes (7/5)
  
• Stiletto, by Daniel O'Malley (7/2)
  
• Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel Miranda (6/30) (nonfiction)
  
• Fire Touched, by Patricia Briggs (6/29)
  
• The Trees, Vol. 1: In Shadow, by Warren Ellis (6/26) (graphic novel)
  
• The Last One, by Alexandra Oliva (6/25)
  
• Snow Like Ashes, by Sara Raasch (6/22)
  
• The Girl from Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig (6/17)
  
• Unspoken, by Sarah Rees Brennan (6/14)
  
• Article 5, by Kristen Simmons (6/11)
  
• If I Was Your Girl, by Meredith Russo (6/10)
  
• Sex Object, by Jessica Valenti (6/10) (nonfiction)
  
• The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater (6/8) (reread)
  
• Mr Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi (6/7)
  
• I Kill Giants, by Joe Kelly (6/6) (graphic novel)
  
• The Sellout, by Paul Beatty (5/31)
  
• The Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/30)
  
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/29) (reread)
  
• The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/28) (reread)
  
• The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/28) (reread)
  
• Blaze, by Rachael Herron (5/27)
  
• Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore( (5/21) (reread)
  
• Fire, by Kristin Cashore (5/21) (reread)
  
• Graceling, by Kristin Cashore (5/21) (reread)
  
• Bolt, by Dick Francis (5/11) (reread)
  
• Break In, by Dick Francis (5/9) (reread)
  
• Notes from No Man's Land: American Essays, by Eula Biss (5/7) (nonfiction)
  
• The Turner House, by Angela Flournoy (5/5)
  
• Booked, by Kwame Alexander (4/22)
  
• Gym Candy, by Carl Deuker (4/21)
  
• The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson (4/19) (nonfiction)
  
• Son, by Lois Lowry (4/17)
  
• The Story of My Teeth, by Valeria Liuselli (4/17)
  
• Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs, by Sally Mann (4/17) (nonfiction)
  
• Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie (4/16)
  
• The Crimson Skew, by S.E. Grove (4/12)
  
• The Golden Specific, by S.E. Grove (4/12)
  
• Giant Days, Vol 1, by John Allison (4/5) (graphic novel)
  
• This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki (4/4) (graphic novel)
  
• The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 1: The Faust Act, by Kieron Gillen (4/2) (graphic novel)
  
• The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die, by April Henry (3/30)
  
• Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (3/27)
  
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin (3/22)
  
• Mara, by Brian Wood (3/19) (graphic novel)
  
• The Radiant Road, by Katherine Catmull (3/16)
  
• On Immunity, An Inoculation, by Eula Biss (3/5) (nonfiction)
  
• An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir (3/4)
  
• Messenger, by Lois Lowry (3/2)
  
• Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry (2/29)
  
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry (2/28) (reread)
  
• The Darling Songbirds, by Rachael Herron (2/27) (romance)
  
• The Door, by Magda Szabo (2/27)
  
• The Raising, by Laura Kasischke (2/13)
  
• Black Wolves, by Kate Elliott (1/23)
  
• Loitering: New and Collected Essays, by Charles D'Ambrosio (1/19) (nonfiction) (essays)
  
• It's Not You: 27 (Wrong) Reasons You're Single, by Sara Eckel (1/10) (nonfiction)
  
• Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown (1/5) (nonfiction) (advice)
  
• The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown (1/2) (nonfiction) (advice)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2016, Books

January 03, 2016

Books Read in 2015.

date refers to date finished; i.e., just b/c I finished two books in a given day doesn't mean I read two entire books that day!

• Dear Mr. You, by Mary Louise Parker (12/29) (epistolary essays)
  
• Descender, Vol 1, by Jeff Lemire (12/27) (graphic novel)
  
• Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, by Carrie Brownstein (12/26) (memoir)
  
• Pretty Deadly, Vol 1, by Kelly Sue DeConnick (12/26)
  
• Lumberjanes, Vol 1, by Noelle Stevenson (12/25) (graphic novel)
  
• Dryland, by Sara Jaffe (12/25)
  
• Yellowcake, by Margo Lanagan (12/4) (short stories)
  
• Wytches, Vol 1, by Scott Snyder (11/30) (graphic novel)
  
• Saga, Vol 5, by Brian K. Vaughn (11/29) (graphic novel)
  
• Saga, Vol 4, by Brian K. Vaughn (11/29) (graphic novel)
  
• Saga, Vol 3, by Brian K. Vaughn (11/29) (graphic novel)
  
• Saga, Vol 2, by Brian K. Vaughn (11/29) (graphic novel)
  
• Saga, Vol 1, by Brian K. Vaughn (11/29) (graphic novel) (reread)
  
• The Promise, by Robert Crais (11/26)
  
• Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari (11/26) (nonfiction)
  
• The Promise, by Robert Crais (11/26)
  
• Ms. Marvel Vol 1: No Normal, by G. Willow Wilson (11/25) (graphic novel)
  
• Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo (11/24)
  
• Back Lash, by Devon Monk (11/17)
  
• The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara (11/17)
  
• The Sins of the Fathers, by Lawrence Block (11/9)
  
• Slade House, by David Mitchell (11/6)
  
• The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove (11/4)
  
• Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll (11/2) (graphic short stories)
  
• Deadly Blessings, by Julie Hyzy (10/29)
  
• The Invasion of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen (10/28)
  
• The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley (10/22)
  
• Bad Blood, by Aline Templeton (10/20)
  
• Evil for Evil, by Aline Templeton (10/18)
  
• Cradle to Grave, by Aline Templeton (10/16)
  
• Dead in the Water, by Aline Templeton (10/14)
  
• Lamb to the Slaughter, by Aline Templeton (10/12)
  
• Lying Dead, by Aline Templeton (10/11)
  
• The Darkness and the Deep, by Aline Templeton (10/9)
  
• Cold in the Earth, by Aline Templeton (10/7)
  
• Christopher's Cloud: An Epic Adventure, Peter Pommer (10/5)
  
• The Odyssey, by Homer (Fagles translation) (10/2) (poetry) (reread)
  
• Make Me, by Lee Child (9/26)
  
• Tinkers, by Paul Harding (9/21)
  
• After the Apocalypse, by Maureen McHugh (9/18) (short stories)
  
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (9/16)
  
• Speak, by Louisa Hall (9/9)
  
• The Warrior Laird, by Margo Maguire (9/4)
  
• Harbor Island, by Carla Neggers (8/29)
  
• Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel (8/29)
  
• Mind of Winter, by Laura Kasischke (8/24)
  
• A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra (8/22)
  
• The Tin Collectors, by Stephen J. Cannell (8/18)
  
• Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (8/12)
  
• Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, by Karen Abbott (8/10) (nonfiction!)
  
• World Gone By, by Dennis Lehane (8/3)
  
• Just Like Heaven, by Julia Quinn (7/23)
  
• Lord of Misrule, by Jaimy Gordon (7/21)
  
• Live by Night, by Dennis Lehane (7/4)
  
• The Dragonet Prophecy, by Tui Sutherland (7/3)
  
• Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (7/2)
  
• Just the Sexiest Man Alive, by Julie James (6/29)
  
• Suddenly One Summer, by Julie James (6/28)
  
• Practice Makes Perfect, by Julie James (6/28)
  
• It Happened One Wedding, by Julie James (6/28)
  
• Love Irresistibly, by Julie James (6/26)
  
• About That Night, by Julie James (6/25)
  
• A Lot Like Love, by Julie James (6/24)
  
• Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie (6/21)
  
• Something About You, by Julie James (6/21)
  
• World of Trouble, by Ben H. Winters (6/17)
  
• Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson (6/13)
  
• Countdown City, by Ben H. Winters (6/9)
  
• Splinters of Light, by Rachael Herron (6/4)
  
• The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters (6/4)
  
• Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch (5/31)
  
• Hausfrau, by Jill Alexander Essbaum (5/23)
  
• Blue Stars, by Emily Gray Tedrowe (5/2)
  
• This Present Moment, by Gary Snyder (4/25) (poetry)
  
• H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald (4/25) (memoir)
  
• Dead Heat, by Patricia Briggs (4/21)
  
• Glow, by Ned Beauman (4/19)
  
• All the Birds, Singing, by Evie Wyld (4/18)
  
• Hell bent, by Devon Monk (4/18)
  
• Stone Cold, by Devon Monk (4/18)
  
• Kiss Me Hello, by Grace Burrowes (4/12)
  
• The First Kiss, by Grace Burrowes (4/11)
  
• A Single Kiss, by Grace Burrowes (4/11)
  
• The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane (4/10)
  
• Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding & Losing Myself in Books, by Maureen Corrigan (4/9) (essays)
  
• Shadowscale (Seraphina #2), by Rachel Hartman (4/7)
  
• Pioneer Girl, by Bich Minh Nguyen (4/6) (nonfiction)
  
• A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall, by Will Chancellor (4/5)
  
• Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson (3/21)
  
• Tiny Beautiful Things, by Cheryl Strayed (3/20) (essays)
  
• The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander (3/17)
  
• Sugar, by Jewell Parker Rhodes (3/12)
  
• Wool (Omnibus), by Hugh Howey (3/12)
  
• The Manhattan Projects, Vol 1, by Jonathan Hickman (3/6) (graphic novel)
  
• Rat Queens Vol 1, by Kurtis Wiebe (3/6) (graphic novel)
  
• Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, by Patricia Lockwood (3/6) (poetry)
  
• Wittgenstein Jr, by Lars Iyer (3/5)
  
• Silence Once Begun, by Jesse Ball (2/21)
  
• Boxer, Beetle, by Ned Beauman (2/14)
  
• The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters (2/14)
  
• Dept. of Speculation, by Jenny Offill (2/1)
  
• The Blazing World, by Siri Hustvedt (1/25)
  
• Horns, by Joe Hill (1/3)
  
• The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson (1/3)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2015, Books

January 01, 2016

Duff at the Movies 2015

• The Danish Girl (12/31)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (12/30)
• Brooklyn (11/27)
• Spotlight (11/25)
• The Martian (11/21)
• Spectre (11/14)
• Truth (11/7)
• Pawn Sacrifice (9/27)
• Sleeping with Other People (9/19)
• Grandma (8/30)
• Diary of a Teenage Girl (8/28)
• American Ultra (8/26)
• Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (8/3)
• Iris (7/31)
• Mr. Holmes (7/29)
• Trainwreck (7/24)
• Magic Mike XXL (7/14) & (7/25) & (8/?)
• Testament of Youth (7/10)
• Inside Out (7/1)
• A Little Chaos (6/30)
• Mad Max: Fury Road (6/21)
• Spy (6/6 & 8/6)
• Clouds of Sil Maria (5/9)
• Mr Turner (4/25)
• Furious 7 (4/9 & 4/11)
• Divergent: Insurgent (4/6)
• Kingsman: The Secret Service (3/28)
• American Sniper (1/16)
• Big Eyes (1/2)

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2015, Movies

June 27, 2015

Duff Does Live Music 2015

• Great Lake Swimmers (3rd x) (6/23)
• San Fermin (2nd x) (5/11)
• Lord Huron (4/27)
• Leon Bridges (4/27)

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2015, Gigs

January 03, 2015

GirlReaction Goes to the Movies: Favorites 2014

Turns out I haven't told you about my favorites since 2011. So I thought I'd drop a quick note to ya about 2014 while I'm waiting for my hair to dry. You are welcome! :) HA!

I saw 29 movies in 2014, thanks to Project Life for reminding me of some of the titles as I sorta lost track of keeping up my list OOPS.

1, 2. My favorite two movies in 2014 were Only Lovers Left Alive and Words & Pictures with the former maintaining a slight lead over the latter were I forced to name an absolute favorite. They were both movies about relationships; about both who and what we choose to have in our lives; about the importance of art, words and music; about what maintains us across time; about how we have to live within our own choices and our weakness, and while sometimes that does damage, sometimes that's a place to have strength. They were both filled with lovely performances and I loved them to pieces.

3. My third favorite movie was Guardians of the Galaxy, by far the most fun I had in the theater (both times!) all year. I've already watched it at home, I've listened to the music a million times (after I put the soundtrack into the correct order-it-was-played-in-the-movie order; that IS the music of much of my childhood, I was born in '68 after all); and it only furthered the extreme goodwill I have had toward Chris Pratt since Everwood (where he got to play a *slightly* more layered character than his Parks & Rec tour de force as Andy Dwyer).

4. Calvary. Wicked powerful performance by Brendan Glesson. Very moving.

5. The Imitation Game. Love Cumberbatch, love Knightley, LOVE Matthew Goode (LOVE HIM, WATCH THIS!) Bring a kleenex for the ending--and I don't mean the ending of the war. Lords of kobol, the horrible things we have done to people for so-called morality are just sickening.

6. Begin Again. I just rewatched this after recommending it to a friend for the James Corden performance as she's geeking out into him in Into the Woods. This movie, like my numbers 1 and 2, is really about choosing what's important to you and then being forced to live with that decision, through good and bad. I read an article recently about how this director (who also did Once, which I did NOT like, too sappy por moi) does all these films about unrequited relationships and how weird that is (how he thinks that's what true love is, some unconsummated-esque state of being). I actually thought this movie was NOT about a relationship between Knightly and Ruffalo and that what happens romantically in HIS life in the movie was truly perfect. If you've ever seen Kevin Williamson defend the idea that Dawson was indeed Joey's soul mate even if Pacey is her forever relationship...well I don't think the Knightly/Ruffalo characters needed to be in love. That was my take anyway.

I also REALLY like: A Most Wanted Man (we sure are assholes, us Americans); The Grand Budapest Hotel (fantastic, but not as good as the fabfabfabulous Moonrise Kingdom, the standard against which all his movies shall forever be judged); Wish I Was Here, even if it stretched the reality a bit for Kate Hudson to be Zach Braff's wife (doesn't it seem Judd Apatow-esque to always have the homelier guy have the most gorgeous girl); Rob the Mob, which was fun and had some great performances from lesser known peeps; Wild, which I found oddly affecting; Magic in the Moonlight; and Edge of Tomorrow which was HILARIOUS. I mean the first 35 minutes of that movie are magically funny. Boyhood is definitely worth seeing, although maybe not deserving of its mostly format-based hype.

I liked but ultimately found unsatisfying Snowpiercer and Birdman.

I saw some other movies that were OK or fine but not horrible. You can check the list and ask me if you'd like to know about one or another in particular, I obviously am happy to share opinions/thoughts. HA.

What I did think was HORRIBLE was: Wolf of Wall Street, what an egotisitical piece of utter bullpucky; Under the Skin, monotonous and bizarre but not bizarre interesting more like bizarre this director told, showed and gave us NOTHING HERE; and sadly the new Chris Rock movie Top Five which I really really wanted to like because I think he's a comic genius (and wicked smaht, yes please say that with a Boston accent) but ultimately was a big hot steaming mess.

AND BONUS:

I saw 30 movies in 2013 and my favorites were: Flight, Zero Dark Thirty; Much Ado About Nothing (LOVE!!), Mud, Fast & Furious 6 (YES I SAID IT), Fruitvale Station, American Hustle, and it's a tough call between Dallas Buyers Club and Philomena. Least favorites were: Byzantium (overwrought), What Maisie Knew (sadly not very compelling), To Rome with Love (lame)....I don't know, looking over that list right now nothing jumps out as me as SUCKING AS MUCH AS WOLF OF WALL STREET. So maybe I just didn't really see many bad movies in 2013.

I saw 34 movies in 2012 and my favorites were: the aforementioned Moonrise Kingdom; Silver Linings Playbook; Skyfall (SO GOOD); Cabin in the Woods (damn smart); A Separation, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Least favorites: Magic Mike (so disappointing), Killer Joe (so disgusting horrifying); and Battleship (so so so so bad). OH WAIT I actually wrote a post about my 2012 faves. I guess my memory has changed things, eh. HA.

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2014, FaveMovies