July 23, 2008

Duff at the Movies 2008

• The Dark Knight (7/22)
  
• Wanted (6/29)
  
• The Fall (6/14)
  
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (6/8)
  
• Sex and the City (5/31)
  
• Redbelt (5/25)
  
• Iron Man (5/20)
  
• Made of Honor (5/4)
  
• Leatherheads (4/24)
  
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (4/12)
  
• Be Kind, Rewind (3/2)
  
• Vantage Point (2/24)
  
• Cloverfield (2/18)
  
• There Will Be Blood (2/10)
  
• Beowulf (IMAX) (1/9)
  
• Atonement (1/1)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2008, Movies

Duff Does Live Music 2008

• Spoon (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• Bon Iver (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• Occidental Brothers Dance Band International (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• Ghostface Killah & Raekwon (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• The Apples in Stereo (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• Boris (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• The Dirty Projectors (Pitchfork) (7/20)
  
• Jarvis Cocker (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• The Hold Steady (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• Dizzee Rascal (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• Fleet Foxes (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• Caribou (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• A Hawk and a Hacksaw (Pitchfork) (7/19)
  
• Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (Ravinia) (4th x) (7/11)
  
• Feist (Ravinia) (7/10)
  
• Mike Doughty (Taste of Randolph) (4th x) (6/20)
  
• Robert Plant / Alison Krauss (Ravinia) (6/18)
  
• Peter Mulvey (Old Town art fair) (4th x) (6/14)
  
• Nada Surf (Ribfest) (6/8)
  
• Sea Wolf (6/5)
  
• The Long Blondes (5/24)
  
• Crowded House (5/10)
  
• Rogue Wave (2nd x) (4/19)
  
• Girlyman (4/13)
  
• Meg Hutchinson (opener) (4/13)
  
• Bon Iver (2nd x)(4/10)
  
• The Raveonettes (3/18)
  
• Matt Nathanson (!!!) (3/17)
  
• Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip (3/12)
  
• Carrie Newcomer (3/9)
  
• The Spares (opener) (3/9)
  
• Peter Mulvey (3rd x) (3/8)
  
• Doug Hoekstra (opener) (3/8)
  
• Griffin House (2nd x) (3/1)
  
• Sons of William (opener) (3/1)
  
• Kin (opener) (3/1)
  
• James Blunt (2/22)
  
• Sara Bareilles (opener) (2/22)
  
• Jason Isbell (2/8)
  
• Joe Henry (2/2)
  
• Chris Connelly (opener) (2/2)
  
• Bon Iver (1/18)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2008, Gigs

Books Read in 2008

• Absurdistan, A Novel, by Gary Shteyngart (7/20)
  
• Trespass, by Valerie Martin (7/7)
  
• Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child (6/29)
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (6/25) (stories)
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price (6/23)
  
• Life Class, by Pat Barker (6/16)
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 3, by David Bassom (6/13)
  
• Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs (6/12)
  
• The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck (6/11)
  
• Raven's Shadow, by Patricia Briggs (6/10)
  
• War with the Newts, by Karel Capek (6/9)
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 2, by David Bassom (6/8)
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, by David Bassom (6/6)
  
• The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer (5/31) (stories)
  
• The Final Detail, by Harlan Coben (5/24)
  
• One False Move, by Harlan Coben (5/22)
  
• Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs (5/20)
  
• Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs (5/18)
  
• The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder (5/10)
  
• Slam, by Nick Hornby (5/4)
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child (5/2)
  
• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben (5/2)
  
• Back Spin, by Harlan Coben (4/29)
  
• The Death of Virgil, by Hermann Broch (4/28)
  
• Fade Away, by Harlan Coben (4/28)
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff (4/22)
  
• Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos (4/18)
  
• Drop Shot, by Harlan Coben (4/13)
  
• The Watchman, a Joe Pike novel, by Robert Crais (4/5)
  
• The Tourmaline, by Paul Park (3/30)
  
• The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie (3/26)
  
• Let`s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, by Carl Wilson (3/25)
  
• The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin (3/24)
  
• Ms. Pettigrew Lives for the Day, by Winifred Watson (3/22)
  
• The Hounds and the Fury, by Rita Mae Brown (3/20 or 21 while crossing international date line)
  
• The Hunt Ball, by Rita Mae Brown (3/20)
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf (3/19) (stories)
  
• The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist, by Richard P. Feynman (3/3)
  
• The Good Soldier Svejk, by Jaroslav Hasek (2/28)
  
• The Faithful Spy, by Alex Berenson (2/19)
  
• A Princess of Roumania, by Paul Park (2/18)
  
• Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs (2/1)
  
• You Must Be This Happy to Enter, by Elizabeth Crane (1/31) (stories)
  
• Tree of Smoke, by Denis Johnson (1/29)
  
• Fortunate Son, by Walter Mosley (1/27)
  
• Dead I Well May Be, by Adrian McKinty (1/27)
  
• Native Guard, by Natasha Trethewey (1/25) (poetry)
  
• The Oxford Book of English Short Stories, edited by A.S. Byatt (1/24) (stories)
  
• Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, by Nick Hornby (1/1)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2008, Books

January 10, 2008

Duff's Favorite Movies 2007

I went to 57 movies in the theater in 2007 (full list here). (Technically more if you count the ones I went to twice, which I don't.) I'd say that's higher than recent years but certainly not my BEST year.

The BEST movies I saw in 2007 were:
1. Grindhouse
2. Juno
3. A Mighty Heart
4. No Country for Old Men
5. American Gangster
6. Control
7. Blackout
8. In the Valley of Elah
9. The Bourne Ultimatum
10. Gone Baby Gone

If I were to add to that list, the movies I ENJOYED the most in 2007, I'd have to add:

• Music & Lyrics
  
• Hot Fuzz
  
• Sweeney Todd
  
• JUMP!

If I were to add a foreign films category, I'd have to add:

• The Lives of Others
  
• Pan's Labyrinth
  
• La Vie en Rose

I saw a bunch of bio pics this year, some done traditionally ("La Vie en Rose" - Edith Piaf; "Control" - Ian Curtis) as well as less traditional ones ("The Last King of Scotland" - Idi Amin [not REALLY a bio pic but feels like one]; "I'm Not There" - Bob Dylan). I saw 7 not-likely-to-see-these-elsewhere flicks at the Chicago Film Festival and some '70s flicks on the big screen thanks to the Chicago Humanities Festival.

I saw great performances in movies that I didn't love (George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"; Claire Danes in "Evening"; my boyfriend Joaquin Phoenix in "We Own the Night"; Will Smith in "I Am Legend") and great performances in movies I thought were good but just didn't beat out others on the lists above (Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War"; Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" [as well as in aforementioned "Gone Baby Gone"; Casey Affleck was really a standout performer for me this year!]; Viggo Mortenson in "Eastern Promises"). I saw sweet movies that weren't great but were still enjoyable ("Dan in Real Life"; "Catch and Release"; "Stardust"). I went to sequels ("28 Weeks Later"; "Pirates 3"; "Oceans 13"). I really liked a couple documentaries ([the aforementioned] JUMP! and Helvetica) and it was good to see Alien-like sci fi return to the theaters ("Sunshine") as well as Westerns, dang I've missed those ("3:10 to Yuma"; aforementioned "Assassination of...").

I did NOT like some movies that were highly praised by others:

• Margot at the Wedding (worst movie of the year)
  
• The Lookout
  
• Knocked Up
  
• The Walker (second worst of the year)

And thought some were OK, but didn't live up to the hype:

• Waitress
  
• Once
  
• Transformers

There are reviews up on Snip, you can search by name or sort by "watchin".

And 2008 has started off quite nicely with "Atonement" being a movie that would have been very high on my 2007 list had I seen it before the end of the year.

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2007, All Faves, FaveMovies

January 08, 2008

GirlReaction Reads: Favorites of 2007

I read 85 books (full list here) in 2007, that's probably about average for me, sometimes closer to 100, rarely below 50. Books may or may not have come out this year, it's that I read them this year that counts.

My Favorite Six Books of 2007 were:

• "Winter's Bone" by Daniel Woodrell (fiction)
  
• "Love Is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield (memoir/music)
  
• "The Used World" by Haven Kimmel (fiction)
  
• "Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work" by Jason Brown (short stories)
  
• "Remainder" by Tom McCarthy (fiction)
  
• "Freddy and Fredericka" by Mark Helprin (fiction / really, really funny)

(Very very close) Runners Up Were:

• "Run" by Ann Patchett
  
• "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer (wow, could NOT put it down. he's a great researcher/writer)
  
• "Simplify" by Todd Goldberg
  
• "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennett (sooo funny)
  
• "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon

Favorite New (to me) Discoveries:

• Scarlett Thomas ("The End of Mr. Y" - philosophical fiction)
  
• Margo Lanagan ("Black Juice" and "Red Spikes" - thanks Marrije!! - fantasy short stories)
  
• Tanya French ("In the Woods" - best mystery I read this year!!)
  
• Chris Cleave ("Incendiary" - fiction)

I Read a Bunch of Good Books by Authors I Already Loved:
The aforementioned books from Haven Kimmel (and "She Got Up Off the Couch..." too), Ann Patchett (and "Taft" too) and Michael Chabon (and "Gentlemen of the Road" too). As well as:

• "The Rain Before It Falls" by Jonathan Coe
  
• "Day" by A.L.Kennedy
  
• "Death of a Writer" by Michael Collins
  
• "The Quarry" by Damon Galgut (won the Booker for his previous book "The Good Doctor")
  
• "Killing Pablo" by Mark Bowden (can he write a bad book?)
  
• "12 Edmondstone Street" by David Malouf
  
• "Black Cat" by Martyn Bedford
  
• "An Invisible Sign of My Own" by Aimee Bender
  
• "Ludmilla's Broken English" by DBC Pierre (another former Booker winner)

I read some more "Looks like Chick Lit but Isn't (It's Better!)" (Leah Stewart, Marisa de los Santos, Nina Solomon). I continued to work on Proust (three down, three to go?). I read mysteries from Jake Arnott, Lee Child, Dick Francis, and Harlan Coben. I read bits of different sci fi/fantasy series (James Morrow, a true god of writing; Terry Goodkind's Chainfire & Sword of Truth series; George R.R. Martin). I read books about vampires and werewolves and the like (Tanya Huff, Patricia Briggs, Stephenie Meyers, Amber Benson & Christopher Golden among others) and that's not even counting all the Buffy Season 8 comics!

It was a good year.

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2007, All Faves, FaveBooks

December 30, 2007

Duff at the Movies 2007

• The Painted Veil (1/1)
  
• Deja Vu (1/6)
  
• Children of Men (1/13)
  
• Pan's Labyrinth (1/19) - spanish
  
• Dreamgirls (1/20)
  
• Inland Empire (1/27)
  
• Catch and Release (2/3)
  
• Music and Lyrics (2/18)
  
• Blood Diamond (2/27)
  
• The Lives of Others (3/8) - german
  
• Zodiac (3/15)
  
• The Last King of Scotland (3/19)
  
• A Shot in the Dark (3/22) - portuguese
  
• The Lookout (4/1)
  
• Grindhouse (5/2)
  
• Away from Her (5/17)
  
• Waitress (5/22)
  
• Paris Je T'Aime (6/1)
  
• Hot Fuzz (6/3)
  
• Knocked Up (6/9)
  
• Helvetica (6/16)
  
• Once (6/23)
  
• A Mighty Heart (6/29)
  
• 28 Weeks Later (7/1)
  
• Pirates 3 (7/3)
  
• Oceans 13 (7/3)
  
• La Vie en Rose (7/4) - francais
  
• Evening (7/5)
  
• Sunshine (7/22)
  
• Stardust (8/26)
  
• The Bourne Ultimatum (9/2)
  
• Transformers (9/2)
  
• 3:10 to Yuma (9/8)
  
• In the Valley of Elah (9/16)
  
• The Kingdom (9/29)
  
• Eastern Promises (9/29)
  
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (10/5)
  
• The Walker (10/6 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• Blackout (10/7 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• Silent Light (10/9 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• Surveillance (10/10 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• Jump! (10/12 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• We Own the Night (10/14)
  
• Control (10/16 - Chicago Film Festival)
  
• Michael Clayton (10/19)
  
• Punishment Park (11/7 - 1970s, dir by Peter Watkins)
  
• Walkabout (11/8 - 1970s, dir by Nicolas Roeg)
  
• American Gangster (11/11)
  
• Gone Baby Gone (11/20)
  
• No Country for Old Men (11/21)
  
• I'm Not There (11/23)
  
• Margot at the Wedding (11/25)
  
• Dan in Real Life (12/1)
  
• I Am Legend (12/15)
  
• Juno (12/18)
  
• Charlie Wilson's War (12/27)
  
• Sweeney Todd (12/30)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2007, Movies

Books Read in 2007

• The Zero, by Jess Walter (1/4)
  
• 12 Edmondstone Street, by David Malouf (memoir)(1/7)
  
• Blameless in Abaddon, by James Morrow (1/10)
  
• Great Black Kanba, by Constance & Gwenyth Little (1/11)
  
• They Call Me Naughty Lolita: The London Review of Books Personal Ads, edited by David Rose (humorous nonfiction) (1/12)
  
• Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala (1/17)
  
• The Eternal Footman, by James Morrow (1/30)
  
• The Guermantes Way, by Marcel Proust (Bk 3 of the new Penguin translation) (3/8)
  
• Black Cat, by Martyn Beford (3/10)
  
• Who Killed the Curate?, a Christmas mystery, by Joan Coggin (3/10)
  
• The Quarry, by Damon Galgut (3/12)
  
• Black Juice, by Margo Lanagan (3/15)
  
• Late Wife, by Claudia Emerson (Poetry) (3/15)
  
• The Post-Birthday World, by Lionel Shriver (3/27)
  
• Winter's Bone, by Daniel Woodrell (3/29)
  
• She Got Up Off the Couch, and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana, by Haven Kimmel (memoir) (4/1)
  
• The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman (4/2)
  
• Tea on the Blue Sofa, by Natasha IllumBerg (4/3)
  
• Magic's Child, (Magic or Madness: Book III) by Justine Larbalestier (4/6)
  
• Death of a Writer, by Michael Collins (4/22)
  
• Chainfire (Sword of Truth Bk 10, Chainfire Bk 1), by Terry Goodkind (4/30)
  
• Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth Bk 1), by Terry Goodkind (5/6)
  
• The End of Mr. Y, by Scarlett Thomas (5/11)
  
• The Submerged Cathedral, by Charlotte Wood (5/15)
  
• When I Was a Loser, True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School, edited by John McNally (5/21)
  
• Love Is a Mix Tape, by Rob Sheffield (5/23)
  
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon (5/28)
  
• Killing Pablo, by Mark Bowden (5/31)
  
• Pippa Passes, by Rumer Godden (6/2)
  
• Kaaterskill Falls, by Allegra Goodman (6/5)
  
• Single Wife, by Nina Solomon (6/12)
  
• An Invisible Sign of My Own, by Aimee Bender (6/15)
  
• Ghosts of Albion: Accursed, by Amber Benson & Christopher Golden (6/19)
  
• Dead Witch Walking, by Kim Harrison (6/27)
  
• Freddy and Fredericka, by Mark Helprin (7/3)
  
• Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs (7/4)
  
• Blood Bound, by Patricia Briggs (7/5)
  
• The Interloper, by Antoine Wilson (7/7)
  
• Blood Trail, by Tanya Huff (7/23) (reread)
  
• Blood Price, by Tanya Huff (7/24) (reread)
  
• (two-thirds of) Landor's Tower, by Iain Sinclair (stopped 7/24)
  
• Remainder, by Tom McCarthy (7/29)
  
• The Hard Way, by Lee Child (8/4)
  
• Risk, by Dick Francis (8/5) (reread)
  
• Inglorious, by Joanna Kavenna (8/6)
  
• Taft, by Ann Patchett (8/9)
  
• The Buffalo Soldier, by Chris Bohjalian (8/10)
  
• Run, by Ann Patchett (8/18)
  
• Witchery, a Ghosts of Albion novel, by Amber Benson & Christopher Golden (8/19)
  
• Seven Types of Ambiguity, by Elliot Perlman (8/21)
  
• Rain Fall, by Barry Eisler (8/29)
  
• Indemnity, by Sara Paretsky (8/31)
  
• Stray, by Rachel Vincent (9/2)
  
• Day, by A.L. Kennedy (9/6)
  
• Storm Front, by Jim Butcher (9/14)
  
• A Three Dog Life, by Abigail Thomas (9/14)
  
• Don't Make a Scene, by Valerie Block (9/19)
  
• Under the Banner of Heaven; A Story of Violent Faith, by Jon Krakauer (9/21)
  
• Love Walked in, by Marisa de los Santos (9/26)
  
• The Used World, by Haven Kimmel (10/5)
  
• Tolstoy Lied, a love story, by Rachel Kadish (10/7)
  
• The Long Firm, by Jake Arnott (10/13) (reread)
  
• The Rain Before It Falls, by Jonathan Coe (10/20)
  
• In the Woods, by Tana French (10/23)
  
• The Myth of You & Me, by Leah Stewart (10/26)
  
• Beware of God, by Shalom Auslander (short stories) (10/28)
  
• A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews (11/1)
  
• Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (11/2)
  
• New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer (11/3)
  
• Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer (11/4)
  
• A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Rebecca Solnit (11/6)
  
• He Kills Coppers, by Jake Arnott (11/12)
  
• Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work, by Jason Brown (11/16)
  
• Deal Breaker, by Harlan Coben (11/17)
  
• The Life of Hunger, by Amelie Nothomb (11/23)
  
• True Evil, by Greg Iles (12/2)
  
• Simplify, by Tod Goldberg (12/5)
  
• Red Spikes, by Margo Lanagan (12/7)
  
• Gentlemen of the Road, by Michael Chabon (12/13)
  
• Incendiary, by Chris Cleave (12/18)
  
• The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett (12/19)
  
• Ludmilla's Broken English, by DBC Pierre (12/24)
  
• A Feast for Crows (A Song for Fire & Ice, Book 4), by George R.R. Martin (12/26)
  
• The Midnight Court, translated by Ciaran Carson ("Cuirt an Mhean Oiche" by Brian Merriman) (12/27)
  
• Exit Ghost, by Philip Roth (12/29)
  

Posted by Duff - Say What? - Permalink | filed under 2007, Books