December 18, 2009

The Comfort Food of DVDs

So I like to have movies on in the background when I'm crafting but they generally have to be movies I both like and have seen a million times. I once had a friend come over and ask:

Her: "What do you do with all these DVDs?"
Me: "What do you mean? I watch them."
Her: "You rewatch movies?"
Me: [Stunned Silence.]

Wednesday

• Tristan & Isolde - Mmmm James Franco mmmmm.
  
• In the Line of Fire - One of my all-time favorite movies. Unfortunately it appears to be time for a new DVD as this one kept mysteriously skipping scenes!
  
• Three Days of the Condor - An old espionage favorite. I love her photographs.
  
• The Other Boleyn Girl - The only one I hadn't seen before (I needed a break in my crafting!). I remember this getting seriously panned but I thought it was decent. Portman and Johanssen really playing against type here.
  
• Chariots of Fire - Oh Yes. Watching this counts as exercising, right?

Thursday

• Garden State - Music and laughter.
  
• Laurel Canyon - Music and angst. And Alessandro Nivola being very sexy.
  
• Iron Man - RDJ has never been more fun.
  
• Hot Fuzz - This will never get old.
  
• Point Break - How can you watch Hot Fuzz and NOT follow it up with Point Break? But in all seriousness, this might be my favorite movie of all-time. And it is definitely my favorite Keanu movie of all-time.

And I'm off to the theater to see Avatar today. I actually think the previews make it look really, REALLY DUMB, but Steve keeps SWEARING it's good and Carlos suggested it. So we'll see.

Posted by Duff at 09:04 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists, Watchin'

December 08, 2009

Two Pet Peeves of Today.

1) Pulp. The look of it, the taste of it, the touch of it, all equally grotesque.

2) The way the Brits insist on saying "Happy" Christmas. Hello Christmas is supposed to be "Merry" and bright, not happy and bright. Good grief!

Posted by Duff at 02:52 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

November 24, 2009

Noted and Quoted.

Thought you might enjoy seeing the Reference list for my Literacy & Society position paper.

• “About a Boy” (2002). Universal Pictures.

• Au, Kathryn H. (1998) “Constructive Approaches, Phonics, and the Literacy Language of Students of Diverse Backgrounds.” National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47.

• Bjorklund, David (2005). Children’s Thinking; Cognitive Development and Individual Differences. Fourth Edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

• Nussbaum, Martha (1997). Cultivating Humanity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

• “The Reader” (2008). Mirage Enterprises.

• Scribner, Silvia (1984). “Literacy in Three Metaphors.” American Journal of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago.

• Skorokhodova, Olga Ivanova. As quoted by F.T. Mikhailov (1980). The Riddle of the Self. Moscow: Progress Publishers.

• Socrates. As quoted by Plato, Apology 38a.

Yup, that's the way I roll.

Posted by Duff at 02:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

November 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for October.

Bought:

• The five books I bought in Iowa!
  
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson (book 3!!!)
  
• Toast, by Nigel Slater
  

Read:

• Sweep 12: Eclipse, by Cate Tiernan (cathy's)
  
• Sweep 13: Reckoning, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Sweep 14: Full Circle, by Cate Tiernan (cathy's)
  
• Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  
• Sweep 15: Night's Child, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean
  
• Midnighters 3: Blue Noon, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  
• Liar, by Justine Larbalestier
  
• Even Money, by Dick Francis (and Felix Francis) (iphone/kindle)
  
• Ravens, by George Dawes Green (library)
  
• Mother of Storms, by John Barnes (anne's)
  
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
  

Posted by Duff at 01:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

October 18, 2009

Seduced by Prairie Lights.

You may have heard about a wee lil roadtrip to Iowa we took on Friday. One of just several reasons (PIE SHAKES. PIE. IN A SHAKE.) to go to Iowa City was to hit up this great bookstore, Prairie Lights, recommended by one of my professors. I haven't been buying books at all in my unemployed state (borrowing! from various friends AND the library!) so I had given myself a $100 budget for the event. (I actually came out $10 under! Yay me! Aren't you proud of me for being so restrained?!?!)

• "The Flying Troutmans", by Miriam Toews - the first cople pages sucked me in. You may remember me reading another book by her a couple years ago.
  
• "The Turtle Catcher" by Nicole Helget - another writer I've read before (you can search for Helget on this old page) and a Minnesotan. I'm interested to see what her fiction is like.
  
• "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson - a YA selection. First few pages seem very intense. On a side note: I don't think it's a great decision to house the YA downstairs in what primarily looks like a (tiny, little wee) kids' playroom. I would have liked to see this section upstairs, maybe near the fantasy/sci fi section would be a good spot.
  
• "Normal People Don't Live Like This" Dylan Landis - a short story collection about young girls. Thanks again to Betsy Crane for getting me on the short story bandwagon these last few years. So pleasing sometimes to just be able to read a story and not have to set your book down and come back to it.
  
• "College Girl" by Patricia Weitz - Read a few pages. Seems a bit like Frankie Landau-Banks and a bit chic-lit-y and I really think I'm going to like it.
  

I can't wait to get readin'! After I finish some homework, that is...

Posted by Duff at 12:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

October 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for September.

Bought:

• Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain (iphone/kindle)
  
• Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (iphone/kindle)
  
• Sweep 10: Seeker, by Cate Tiernan (iphone/kindle)
  
• Sweep 11: Origins, by Cate Tiernan (iphone/kindle)
  

Read:

• Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain (iphone/kindle)
  
• Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (iphone/kindle)
  
• A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy
  
• Sweep 1: Book of Shadows, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 2: The Coven, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 3: Blood Witch, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 4: Dark Magick, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 5: Awakening, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 6: Spellbound, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 7: The Calling, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 8: Changeling, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 9: Strife, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 10: Seeker, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Sweep 11: Origins, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  

Posted by Duff at 02:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

August 31, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

• Sea Lord, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• My Life in France, by Julia Child
  
• Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child, by Noel Riley Fitch
  
• Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Hunting Ground, by Patricia Briggs
  

Read:

• Sea Fever, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Sea Lord, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill
  
• Carved in Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Happy All the Time, by Laurie Colwin
  
• Hunting Ground, by Patricia Briggs
  
• White Time, by Margo Lanagan (stories)
  

Posted by Duff at 10:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

August 04, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for July.

Bought:

• Sea Fever, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Haley's Cabin, by Anne Rainey (iPhone/kindle)
  

Read:

• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  
• In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
  
• The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell
  
• Sea Witch, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Mark of the Demon, by Diana Rowland (iPhone/kindle)
  

Posted by Duff at 08:12 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

July 21, 2009

Times I Have Gotten Carded that You Might Not Expect

• Going to an R rated movie with my parents. WHEN I WAS 25. And also: with my parents!
• Buying xacto blades at Pearl Paint in NYC. I believe I was 29 at the time. Apparently NY high schoolers were buying them to fight with????
• Attempting to take the RC challenge at the grocery store. As a 22 yr old senior in college. They said "you can't take it if you're not over 16, your tastebuds aren't developed yet!"*
• To sit in the exit row on a plane. As a 32 year old. Where, again, I think the age requirement is 16?

Thing I Was Told More than Once by Bouncers at NYC Clubs

"I'll let you in tonight. But next time don't borrow your big sister's ID." [I have no sister.]

Thing I Now Say When Carded for Alcohol

"I've been old enough to buy this drink for 20 years now..."

*In their defense, I was wearing overalls at the time. But STILL.

Posted by Duff at 07:53 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

July 08, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for June.

Bought:

• The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (for iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• 13 Bullets, by David Wellington (for iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Mark of the Demon, by Diana Rowland (iPhone/Kindle)
  
• Sea Witch, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/Kindle)
  

Read:

• Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel, by Lee Child (on iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Magic in the Blood, by Devon Monk
  
• Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Lethem
  
• Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn
  
• Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
  
• 13 Bullets, by David Wellington (on iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Emerald City, by Jennifer Egan (short stories)
  

Posted by Duff at 05:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

June 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for May.

Bought:

• Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• From Dead to Worse, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
  
• What We Eat When We Are Alone, by Deborah Madison & Patrick McFarlin
  
• In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
  
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery
  
• Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Wanderlust, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris (for kindle/iphone!)
  
• Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel, by Lee Child (for kindle/iphone!)
  

Read:

• Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris
  
• The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris
  
• Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• From Dead to Worse, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Wanderlust, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Dracula, by Bram Stoker (re-read)
  
• All Summer, by Claire Kilroy
  
• Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris
  

Posted by Duff at 09:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 05, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for April.

Bought:

• City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
  
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
  
• The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris
  
• Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris
  

Read:

• Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
  
• City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris
  
• Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
  
• Tell No One, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Three Evanglists, by Fred Vargas
  
• Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson
  
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
  

Posted by Duff at 06:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

March 31, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for March.

Bought:

• Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
  
• Maps & Legends, Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands, by Michael Chabon
  
• A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg
  
• City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza
  
• The Lady Elizabeth, by Alison Weir
  
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
  
• Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
  
• The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
  

Read:

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (re-read)
  
• Antarctica, by Claire Keegan (stories)
  
• Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larssen
  
• A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg
  
• Flesh and Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Domestic Violence, by Eavan Boland (poetry)
  
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
  
• City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza
  
• Circle of the Dead, by Ingrid Black
  
• The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins
  
• The Pianist, by Wladyslaw Szpilman
  

Posted by Duff at 06:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

March 20, 2009

Concerts I Can't Go To

Waah ;(

April 6 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
April 14 Katie Herzig
April 16 Cold War Kids
April 21 Great Lake Swimmers (they are sooo good in concert)
June 28 Avett Brothers (also great live)

These are the first shows I've been interested in months but they all take place during the week. Hello Chicago concert promoters, how about you book some bands I like on Friday and Saturday nights? Is that really too much to ask?

Posted by Duff at 02:49 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

March 08, 2009

Wrapping It Up: Favorite Books 2008

My Favorite Ten Books of 2008 Were:
(in chronological order of my reading, with links to my Snip reviews)

• Native Guard, by Natasha Thretheway (poetry) Unlike any poetry I've read before.
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf (stories) My fave Aussie writer. He can write from ANY viewpoint.
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff An excellent first novel.
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price This guy can write dialogue like no one else.
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories) Another Aussie. Succinct but intense.
  
• The Likeness, by Tana French Follow-up to one of my favorite books from last year. So.Damn.Good.
  
• Dead Boys, by Richard Lange (stories) Engaging, unexpected and truly original.
  
• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel Possibly her least accessible book. Dark.
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson Spooky pasts. Dark and twisted.
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Langan So good. Poignant and brutal at the same time.
  

And if you'd like to hear more ruminations on things I read last year, you can check out the full year-end wrap-up post over here.

Posted by Duff at 05:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Lists, Readin', Recommending

February 24, 2009

The Very Few Places I've Been Outside the U.S. [Updated]

1. Canada.
-Winnipeg: too many times to count.
-Toronto: only the airport.

2. England. Three months (all summer) in 1988. 18 days in 2000. Assorted other mini trips in 2003/04/05. A week in January 2007.
-London.
-Cornwall: Falmouth, Truro, Constantine.
-Assorted other towns in the Southern tip.

3. France. 2004
-Paris.
-Montpellier/Montbazin.

4. Australia. 2006.
-Sydney.
-Melbourne.
-Uluru.
-Cairns.
-Darwin.

5. Belgium. 2007.
-Brussels
-Ghent
-Bruges

6. Japan. 2008.
-Kyoto
-Nara
-Himeji
-Tokyo

7. Ireland. 2009.
-Dublin

Posted by Duff at 08:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember, Travel

February 12, 2009

A Surely Incomplete List of Chicago Photobooths

Old B&Ws (often broken):

• Schuba's (Southport & Belmont)
  
• Empty Bottle (Western just south of Division)
  
• Reckless Records (the Wicker Park one, on Milwaukee just south of North)
  
• Double Door (round the Milwaukee/Damen corner from Reckless)

Old Color (and in the case of * =POLAROID!):

• Sheffields (just north of Belmont on, wait for it, Sheffield)
  
• Waveland Bowling Alley* (Western & Addison)

New B&W:

• The Bottom Lounge (waaaay west on Lake)

New B&W/Sepia/Color:

• Lucky Strike (Bowling Alley)(at the River East cinema)

Posted by Duff at 06:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember

February 07, 2009

Snip To-Dos [Updated: Halfway there!] DONE!

1) Eleven books read in December (from here to here) (whoops, forgot this one)
2) leftover December movie? (may skip) (here)
3) leftover December gig? (may skip)
4) December Albums bought (thankfully very few) here
5) December best of (here)
6) Year-end gigs/tunes (here)
7) Year-end flicks (here)
8) Year-end books (here)
9) Two movies in January (so far)
10) NineTen12 books in January (so far)

Looks like I've been doing a lot of reading and NOTHING else and since I'm actually busy trying to get some last minute stuff done this week over in the "real life", it may be February before I even get started on this list. Just another thing to beat myself up over, you know I can't have too many of those! Indeed, February it is.

Posted by Duff at 09:40 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, To Do

February 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for January.

Bought:

• City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
  
• HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain
  
• Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon
  
• The One Marvelous Thing, by Rikki DuCornet
  
• City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow
  
• Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk
  
• The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
  

Read:

• City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
  
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  
• Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby
  
• HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain
  
• A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (re-read)
  
• Mainspring, by Jay Lake
  
• Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk
  
• City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon
  
• The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell
  
• Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
  

It was a good month for readin'. When I'm stressed out? I read.

Posted by Duff at 07:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

January 25, 2009

DadReaction's New Year's Resolutions

1) to gain more weight,
2) to drink a whole LOT more, and
3) to achieve a whole LOT less.

Posted by Duff at 09:54 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under DadReaction, Lists

January 09, 2009

Layers I Am Currently Wearing.

• Underwear (doh)
  
• Tights
  
• Long-sleeved (and quite long) cotton tee
  
• Over the knee socks
  
• Half slip
  
• Mid-calf boots
  
• Heavy denim skirt
  
• Wool long-sleeved hoodie

Added on for outside:

• Stadium Squall (warmest non-down jacket there is)
  
• Anemois!
  
• Chevron scarf

Posted by Duff at 10:19 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

Shopping Bans Currently in Effect

(Note that bans being "in effect" does not mean the bans are in any way "effectual".)

• Bags
  
• Jackets
  
• Knee highs
  
• Tights
  
• Yarn
  
• Fabric - except for backings & bindings

Posted by Duff at 10:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists

January 07, 2009

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2009 [Updated]

Alternating 19th century and/versus contemporary novels.

January: "Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

February: "The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace

March: "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

April: "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris

May: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker [this is a re-read for me]

June: TBD/Contemporary "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem

July: "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

August: TBD/Contemporary "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill

September: "A Pair of Blue Eyes" by Thomas Hardy

October: TBD/Contemporary "The White Darkness" by Geraldine McCaughrean

November: "Nostromo" by Joseph Conrad

December: TBD/Contemporary "Undiscovered Country" by Lin Enger

Posted by Duff at 10:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Lists, Readin'

January 06, 2009

Upcoming Albums to Buy in 2009

Jan 20: Bon Iver "Blood Bank" (EP)
Jan 27: Franz Ferdinand "Tonight"
Feb 3: Ben Kweller "Changing Horses"
Feb 3: Nous Non Plus "Menagerie"
Feb 17: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (self-titled)
Mar 3: U2 "No Line on the Horizon" (we'll see if I actually buy this)
Mar 3: The Boy Least Likely To "The Law of the Playground"
Mar 24: The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
Mar 31: Great Lake Swimmers "Lost Channels" (or just "Channels" acc. to some sites)

Posted by Duff at 07:52 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Album, Lists, Remember, Tunes

January 02, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for December.

Bought:

• Disquiet, by Julia Leigh
  
• Among the Thugs, by Bill Buford
  
• Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby
  
• Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weeks
  
• Throne of Jade, by Naomi Novik
  

Read:

• The Lover's Knot, by Clare O'Donohue
  
• Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge
  
• The Trial, by Kafka
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
  
• A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both: Stories about Human Love, by Ben Greenman (stories)
  
• A Spy in the Family; An Erotic Comedy, by Alec Waugh
  
• Black & White, by Dani Shapiro
  
• If the River Was Whiskey, by T. Coraghessan Boyle (stories)
  
• Silver Wings for Vicki, by Helen Wells
  
• Disquiet, by Julia Leigh
  
• The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman
  

Posted by Duff at 10:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

December 26, 2008

Live Tunes: Winter.

At this point last year, I had already gone to all the concerts I would be going to. Oddly, it's December 26, but I still have some live music left to see in 2008!! But I've only bought tickets to one thing so far in 2009, which is equally odd. I better start checking concert listings!!

Dec 27: My Morning Jacket!!! (The rescheduling of the October show that got cancelled.)
Dec 31: The Sea & The Cake! (with Cathy coming to visit! Yay!)
Feb 7: Griffin House (with Steph coming down for the night! Yay!)

Posted by Duff at 03:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

December 09, 2008

Things I am no longer attending.

• Office Christmas Parties. (Did I tell you about the time my married friend chose the office christmas party to announce how in love with me he was? And that wasn't even the worst one!!)
  
• Any kind of (but particularly Holiday) parties that are 99% couples with or without children and 1% single people, that being me. No fucking thanks.
  
• Baby showers where I am the only crafty gifter.
  
• Non-family weddings. (I originally said "Weddings" in general and then that year like 7 of my stupid cousins got married and I had to cave. Jerks.)

You can go ahead and invite me if you refuse to believe it. But I ain't comin'.

Posted by Duff at 07:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists

December 08, 2008

Re-entry sucks. But it's better with packages.

I pretty much have everything sent to the secondary browsing location given some dodgy mail room issues on the home front. Look at all I had waiting for me when I returned from Staycation!

• Two skirts from Wrap that were on super super sale. I am all about skirts these days. Too fat for all my pants! :)
  
• 15 copies of the same book for my Christmas packages. I gave up on stressing over a million specifically tailored to people's tastes presents when I read about this family that came up with a better idea: everyone in the family picks their "favorite" thing from the past year and they send out the same package to everyone on their list. Since round here "everyone in the family" = "just me", I pick a CD, DVD and book that I loved in the last year and everyone gets the same one.
  
• 12 balls of yarn, six one color, six another, for a super secret project that is not really Christmas related, and given the timing anyway will most likely be a "winter" rather than "holiday" gifting.
  
• My Moo-produced Christmas cards using three photos I took on a freeeeezing day last December.
  
• A Simply Photo print.
  
• Pushing Daisies season 1 and Bones season 3.
  
• One of the options for my 2009 calendar. I am still waiting on the other option to arrive from the Eggplant who apparently does not realize the urgency of already having your 2009 calendar when it is now December 8, 2008. Criminy.

It was a good mail day, eh. :)

Posted by Duff at 04:48 PM | E-Mail | Comments (2) | Permalink | filed under Lists

December 07, 2008

Last Meal on Earth.

So KC and I took a cooking class once where they made everyone say what their last meal would be (or desert island meal, either way). EVERY person in the class, sans moi, said "Steak". Seriously? Steak?

COME ON!

1. Chocolate Cake. (preferably using my grandma's chocolate sheet cake recipe, but I'm open to others.) And if there were no chocolate cake left in this world...
2. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. And if there were no...
3. Pam's Sweet Potato Casserole (there's brown sugar and pecans and all kinds of goodness. It's out of this world.)
4. Pizza. Pepperoni preferably. Sausage and green pepperolives (wow, that was SOME typo) alternately.
5. Then, I guess, MAYBE, steak. Although I'd probably prefer a big juicy bacon cheeseburger with avocado or fried egg, depending on my mood.

Posted by Duff at 12:29 PM | E-Mail | Comments (3) | Permalink | filed under Food, Lists

December 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for November.

Bought:

• The Lover's Knot (A Someday Quilts Mystery), by Clare O'Donohue
  
• Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge
  
• Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg
  
• Smells Like Dead Elephants, by Matt Taibbi
  
• The Historical Novel, by Georg Lukacs
  
• The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks
  

Read:

• The Oxford Book of Short Stories, edited by V.S. Pritchett
  
• The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks
  

Posted by Duff at 12:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

November 21, 2008

Tea

Hot

• Oregon Chai. I buy the dry packets from World Pantry.
  
• Gen-mai Cha. It's a japanese brown rice and popped corn tea. I buy it from Upton Tea after the Eggplant recommended them.
  
• And my latest addiction, Celestian Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice. Bought randomly at the grocery store the other day.
  

Cold

• Iced tea, SWEETENED. And I mean SWEETENED. But only if it's Luzianne, like my Grandma used.
  
• Uji-Shimizu. A matcha/sugar mix. From Ippodo Tea Co. Soooo good.
  

Posted by Duff at 07:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

November 20, 2008

Decision-making criteria.

Totally stealing this entry from Sashi. As one does.

As the wishy-washiest of Pisces out there, even the smallest of decisions can take years for me to make. Fortunately as I've gotten old(er) and cranky(er), I've been able to streamline the process. Turns out the Eggplant's insane brother and I are working off a similar set of questions.

1. Does it require me to leave the house? (The nice warm house with internet and cable TV?)
   
2. Can I take a nap instead?
   
3. Are you going to eat that?
   
4. Can it be accomplished from a lying-down position?
   
5. Is it less than an arm’s length away?

Posted by Duff at 09:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists

November 19, 2008

Things I don't do that prevent me from being the world's most famous actress.

• Smoke
  
• Run
  
• Wear high heels
  

Yup. Pretty sure those are the only things holding me back.

Posted by Duff at 04:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

November 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for October.

Bought:

• Her Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik
  
• Mainspring, by Jay Lake
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
  

Read:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larssen
  
• Her Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik
  
• The New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford
  
• The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf
  

Posted by Duff at 10:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

October 20, 2008

People and Things Other People Hate* that I Love

• Philip Roth / and his books
  
• Madonna
  
• Films of Keanu Reeves, in general.
  
• "Point Break" in particular.
  
• "Ishtar"
  

People and Things I Hate* that Other People Love

• Cormac McCarthy / and his books
  
• Renee Zellweger or, interchangeably, Gwyneth Paltrow
  
• Films of Mel Gibson, in general.
  
• "Braveheart" in particular.
  
• "Knocked Up"
  

*Hate merely as opposite to Love, when it could technically just be "don't particularly care for" or "like to criticize" and is not necessarily of the "hatred running through my veins at all times" variety. Although in some cases...

I'm sure this will be added to. Intermittently.

Posted by Duff at 09:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

October 12, 2008

NYC Things I Am Missing/Reminiscing About This Morning.

• Playing tic-tac-toe against the live chicken in the arcade across from Wo-Hop. (This is gone. The chicken. Not the arcade. I don't think.)
• Slot car racing upstairs on Broadway. (Also gone.)
• Roast beef sandwich and cheese fries at Brennan Carr in Brooklyn. (Still there. Hopefully.)

Posted by Duff at 09:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember

October 04, 2008

Potential Names Discussed Tonight for the Baby-Boy-To-Be

• Galway
  
• Wolf
  
• Jasper
  
• Oliver (pls sir, can I have another)
  
• Hubcap (That's right, ma'am. H-u-b hub, c-a-p cap. Hubcap.)
  
• Cowboy
  
• Hoyt
  
• Thorsten
  
• Jefferson
  
• Plum Dandy
  
• Miles
  
• Django
  

But the #1 name of the evening? Just rolled right off my tongue mid-sentence:

• Riverbone.
  

Oh yeah, baby. There wasn't a last or middle name that Riverbone wasn't able to mesh with. This was followed by lots of hysterical laughter and then a suggestion of "Floor Pie" (not by me) due to some visuals at Old Town. I guess you had to be there.

(No, no, no. Not MY baby boy to be. Cripes, people. Settle.)

Posted by Duff at 11:06 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Mots, Lists

October 02, 2008

Timing of Annual Events.

Some of which I am not even going to again (Nipper, you know which one I mean), but I can never keep the timing straight.

April/May - 2nd Story Festival (Chitown)
May - MDS&W
July - Pitchfork (Chitown)
August - Lollapalooza (Chitown)
Aug/Sept - Dragon*Con
Sept - Monolith
Oct - Chicago marathon (No not for me to run)
Oct - Rhinebeck
Oct - Chicago Film Festival
Oct/Nov - Chicago Arts & Humanities Festival
Nov - NYC marathon (No not for me to run)

Posted by Duff at 11:42 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember

Subscriptions [updated]

Literary:
Slightly Foxed. Whether you wind up buying the books discussed or not, it's worth reading on its own.
One Story. Each issue is, as it says, one story. Perfect for the commute.

Musically:
Paste Magazine. The samplers are great. And like me, it is more alternative than the totally mainstream....but it is totally mainstream compared to, say, P*fork.

For the reviews
i.e. so I know when new stuff is coming out:
Rolling Stone.
Entertainment Weekly.

However, the fact that I never flip through these until I have four or five built up generally defeats the purpose of knowing that new books/albums are out when it's a month later that I read that issue...

Craft-wise:
Interweave Knits. Going to let this one lapse if it ever runs out.
Quilter's Newsletter.

For the Trivia:
Mental Floss. I really think this is a great magazine. Except I have a mental block on it and I almost never read it. Only in the tub. I should let this one lapse.

For the Recipes. Supposedly:
Everyday Food. I give these to my cousin after I have three or four built-up. I swear I have not renewed this EVER but it just keeps on coming. I cooked from it once or twice. Eh, whatever. Can't get myself interested in it. At this point, I don't even flip through them before handing them off.

Gifted:
My co-worker gives me US Weekly every year. Not my fault!

Posted by Duff at 11:15 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists

October 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for September.

Bought:

• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel*
  
• Indignation, by Philip Roth*
  
• Home, by Marilynne Robinson*
  
• Ballistics, by Billy Collins (poetry)*
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson*
  
• Generation Kill; Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War, by Evan Wright
  
• One Bullet Away; The Making of a Marine Officer, by Nathaniel Fick
  

Read:

• The Man Without Qualities, Vol 1, by Robert Musil (mostly read in August but not finished until Sept...)
  
• Dead Boys, by Richard Lange
  
• Sway, by Zachary Lazar
  
• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel
  

*That was one expensive trip to the bookstore!!

Posted by Duff at 11:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

September 28, 2008

Beers I Have Had Tonight

• Unibroue Ephemere - My #2 beer of Summer 2008.* Tastes like apple. Yum.
  
• Triple Karmeliet - My favorite Belgian beer. From my trip last summer. As you may know.
  
• Allagash Dubbel - From Portland, Maine. It's OK. Interesting Enough.
  
• Shiner Spezial Light - The "light" version of Shiner "Bock." I prefer Bock, but this is what's in the fridge.

Beers I May Have Later Tonight**

• Cantillon Gueze - Belgian. Sour.
  
• Orval - Belgian. Trappist.
  
• Bells Amber Ale - I don't love this. But I've had four beers already, I'm sure it'll taste fine.
  
• Pilsner Urquel - Yum.

*My #1 beer of summer 2008 was Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. As you may know.
**Because that's what's in the fridge to choose from.

Posted by Duff at 12:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (2) | Permalink | filed under Beer!, Lists

September 11, 2008

Things to Look Forward to Next Week:

• Finding out if I am still employed! Chances look about 80/20 I won't be.
  
• Reviews of the two AWESOME concerts I went to (semi) recently: Sea WolfGreat Lake Swimmers [I mean. Why do I keep doing that? I'm an idiot.] and Sam Phillips.
  
• An update on Dad's and my reading challenge through July and August.
  
• Fresh TV so far! Yay! or Nay! Depending. :)

Things to Look at While I'm Gone:

• I finally split my Flickr into two accounts (although sadly that meant losing all the comments on the crafty ones. ah well. bygones!) so I could upload a bunch of Chicago Quilt Show shots I had been holding out on. There you go! Someday all my stash shots will be up but that day is not today.
  
• I wrote up a long ass cynical post about what I plan to be watching on TV this fall. Turns out "almost nothing new" would be the right answer.
  
• Now that iTunes and NBC are holding hands again, hey you can rewatch all of BStarG Season 4 so far. Yay! :)

Later, dudes.

Posted by Duff at 11:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Lists, To Do

Pondering the Monolith Lineup

Here's what I'm interested in seeing this weekend, and obviously I am going to have some tough time-slot decisions to make! Uh oh! You KNOW how I am about making decisions!

Saturday
2 - Port O'Brien
2 - Foals
2:30 - The Morning Benders
2:45 - KaiserCartel
4:30 - Cut Copy
5:10 - Liam Finn (going to him in Oct, could skip)
5:45 - The Fratellis (I've seen them, could skip)
7:15 - Vampire Weekend
8:45 - Silversun Pickups
9:45 - Atmosphere

Sunday
4:15 - The Avett Brothers (!!!)
6:30 - Chester French (!!!)
6:30 - The Kills (just saw them at Lolla, will probly skip)
7:15 - Band of Horses
8:00 - Akron/Family
8:30 - Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip (since I've seen them at a great venue already, maybe I'll just go late?)

There are lots of other bands playing that I could technically have on my 'try to see' list (CSS, TV on the Radio, Sharon Jones, etc.) but I'm trying to remember that I am old and tired and be a bit less ambitious.

Posted by Duff at 11:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

September 07, 2008

You say it's urgent, so urgent. So urgent, just you wait and see, how urgent our love can be. It's urgent.

Songs I have listened to this afternoon include:

• "Dream On" Aerosmith
  
• "Janie's Got a Gun" Aerosmith
  
• "Beth" KISS
  
• "Tom Sawyer" RUSH
  
• "I Want to Know What Love Is" Foreigner
  
• "Juke Box Hero" Foreigner
  
• "Back in Black" AC/DC
  
• "Hell's Bells" AC/DC
  
• "You Shook Me All Night Long" AC/DC

As well as the song in the title. Apparently I am stuck in another decade this afternoon. These are all selections from my "Late Night Cruise on Lake Shore Drive" playlist. You should have one.

You play tricks on my mind. You're everywhere but you're so hard to find.

Posted by Duff at 05:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Lists, Lyrics, Tunes

September 04, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

• The Likeness, by Tana French
  
• I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley
  
• Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Darkest Fear, by Harlan Coben
  

Read:

• The Likeness, by Tana French
  
• Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl
  
• Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
  
• Break In, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  
• Bolt, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  
• The Hob's Bargain, by Patricia Briggs
  

Posted by Duff at 10:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

August 22, 2008

Three days (Fri, Sat, Sun) to Freedom.

Tonight: Great Lake Swimmers. Such a long time coming! Had tickets, but didn't make it, in 2005 and 2006, had a conflict in 2007. [Have you heard Ongiara? Srlsy. You want to.]

Tomorrow: Hot Doug's. Oh my. Duck fat fries. I said DUCK FAT FRIES. Oh yes.

Sunday: Secondary browsing location. a.k.a. Suckiness of the Suckiest Suck. But then....

Monday: FREEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. For two weeks anyway.

First week: Athens and the Twins and Hotlanta and my Future Husband. Rock. Stars. It's all going to happen. You'll wish you were there.

Second week: I move no further from the couch than it takes to get a beer or maybe open a new DVD. Srlsy. NO FURTHER. You will also wish you were there. Buy a ticket to Chicago and you can be. I mean, if I like you enough to crawl all the way to the front door. It could happen. Depends. You might want to check before you buy the ticket. :)

Posted by Duff at 02:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, To Do

August 14, 2008

Things Currently in My Fridge:

• Lipstick
  
• Film
  
• Buttloads of Summer Shandy, now proclaimed officially the Beer of Summer 2008.

Things Not in My Fridge:

• Fruit
  
• Veg
  
• Meat

Posted by Duff at 01:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

August 11, 2008

Things I had this weekend that I am STILL having today.

• A massive, massive headache.

Things I had this weekend that I am NOT having today.

• Fun.

Posted by Duff at 07:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

August 07, 2008

Cover It Up, Baby.

Oh look, I just found a half-written entry from September 13, 2007. I think I'll publish it now. Just for fun. As one does.

My friend Megan recently posted a list of favorite covers. Here are some of mine:

• "Only You" Joshua Radin (covering Yaz)
  
• "Baby Got Back" Jonathan Coulton (covering Sir Mix-a-lot, don't ya know)
  
• "Build Me Up [Buttercup]" Rhymefest & ODB (covering...some old song?)
  
• "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" Everlast (covering Neil Young)
  
• "Faith" Boy Least Likely To (George Michael)
  
• "Crazy" Raconteurs (Gnarls Barkley)
  
• "Jessie's Girl" Matt the Electrician (Rick Springfield)
  
• "Take It on the Run" The Folk Yous (REO Speedwagon & my favorite karaoke song!)
  
• "The Glory of Love" A New Found Glory (Peter Cetera?)
  
• "Walk Away" Eliza Carthy (Ben Harper)
  
• "True Love Will Find You in the End" Beck (Daniel Johnston)
  
• "Tiny Dancer" Ben Folds (Elton John)
  
• "Thin Line" Indigo Girls (Gerard McHugh?)
  
• "Take Me Out" The Magic Numbers (Franz Ferdinand)
  
• "Since U Been Gone" Ted Leo (Kelly Clarkson)
  
• "Ms. Jackson" The Vines (Outkast)
  
• "Helplessly Hoping" Ride (CSNY - sounds so much like the original, it's barely a cover!)
  
• "Give a Little Bit" GooGoo Dolls (Supertramp - hmmm, same issue as above)
  

Posted by Duff at 08:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Lists, Tunes

August 02, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for July.

Bought:

• Peeps, by Scott Westerberg
  
• Uglies, by Scott Westerberg
  
• Finding Battlestar Galactica, by Lynnette Porter, David Lavery, and HIllary Robson
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy, ed. by James B. South
  
• Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ed. by Elana Levine and Lisa Parks
  
• Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl
  
• Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
  

Read:

• Trespass, by Valerie Martin
  
• Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart
  
• Finding Battlestar Galactica, ed. by Lynette Porter, David Lavery, and Hillary Robson
  
• Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld
  

I spent a significant part of the month reading two other books (The New Grant Book of the American Short Story, ed. by Richard Ford; and Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy, ed by Jason Eberl), but since I haven't finished them, they'll have to wait for August's list...

Posted by Duff at 11:03 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

July 15, 2008

Background Entertainment

Things that kept me company yesterday and today while I worked on a secret project. Generally I stick with old, old many-times-watched favorites for situations like this.

• SModcast #55 (not old, but too damn funny)
  
• SModcast #56 (and the same)
  
• Bull Durham (still quirky and fun on the gazillioneth watch)
  
• Streets of Fire (my love for this movie knows no bounds)
  
• The Thomas Crown Affair (the Brosnan/Russo one, sexy sexy)
  
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider (Angelina Jolie, best female action star ever?)

The bold of which is possibly my favorite movie IN THE WORLD and I am SHOCKED, s-h-o-c-k-e-d shocked, that there is no Snip entry on it to link to. My Gods, People, What Have I Been Doing with My Time?

Posted by Duff at 09:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

June 30, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for June.

Bought:

• Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 2, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 3, by David Bassom
  
• Breath, by Tim Winton
  
• Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child
  

Read:

• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 2, by David Bassom
  
• War with the Newts, by Karel Capek
  
• Raven's Shadow, by Patricia Briggs
  
• The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 3, by David Bassom
  
• Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Life Class, by Pat Barker
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories)
  
• Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child
  

Hmmm, I think that's the first month since I started keeping track that I've actually read more than I bought. WOOOT!

Posted by Duff at 08:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

June 11, 2008

Today's Lunch-time Comics Run

So I'm not quite sure how this happened, but somehow I find myself once again making a weekly run to the comics shop to pick up new books. (This happened once for a year or so in NYC and it was ALL Barbara's fault, you hear me, girl???? But eventually it went by the wayside.)

• Local #12, the FINAL issue from Brian Wood - A dude who works at the shop got me totally hooked on this series, so much so that in trying to track down the old issues, he wound up bringing in his own copies for the store to sell to me. Now that's dedication! Presumably it will be released as a graphic novel/compilation, but if you see the single issues, I'd highly recommend them.
  
• Angel: After the Fall #8 - They're not quite as good as the Buffy Season 8s, but I'm enjoying them. (But like Buffy Season 8, they continue on from the point of the TV series' end, so no point in reading them if you didn't watch all the way through.) This month will have two issues released.
  
• DMZ "On the Ground" (the graphic novel/compilation of DMZ #s 1-5) - Since I am loving the aforementioned Local so much, I thought I might need to check out other Brian Wood books. So I bought issues #30 and #31 of DMZ last week. Totally intriguing. America's second civil war has taken place. New Jersey & Inland = the Free States. Brooklyn/Queens/Long Island = The United States of America. Manhattan = The "DMZ". I liked what I read/saw so far, so now I'm starting from the beginning.

Last week: Buffy Season 8 #15 (I also bought Secret Invasion #3 but that might have been released earlier, can't remember.)
Next week: Runaways #30

Posted by Duff at 02:45 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Comic book geek, Lists

June 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for May.

Bought:

• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
  
• A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both, by Ben Greenman (stories)
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child (whoops)
  
• Sleeping It Off in Rapid City, by August Kleinzahler (poetry)
  
• Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
  
• Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Raven's Shadow, by Patricia Briggs
  
• One False Move, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Final Detail, by Harlan Coben
  

Read:

• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
  
• Slam, by Nick Hornby
  
• The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder
  
• Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs
  
• One False Move, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Final Detail, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Posted by Duff at 04:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 21, 2008

Banned / Not Banned

Things I am definitely not allowed to buy right now:

• Jackets. Spring jackets, fall jackets, winter jackets, any kind of jackets. I haven't even worn two of the jackets I bought in the fall (yet)! Ridiculous!*
  
• Bags. Handbags, purses, messenger bags, duffles. I don't even have storage space for the bags I already have at this point, so they're positioned around the house "decoratively" on door knobs. Yeah, how decorative. Ridiculous!
  
• Socks. Serious shortage of storage space on these as well and honestly, if I start decorating the apartment with socks, someone'll have to commit me. Totally ridiculous!
  
• Yarn. At this point, I'll be leaving it to people in the will. 'Nough said.
  
• Fabric, unless it's specifically bought for (and used immediately as) backing. Backing yardage amounts = not my usual purchase.

Things I actually need to be buying right now, but never do:

• Black Pants. WTF is wrong with me, how can I run out of black pants??? If you could see the ripped out lining of the pants I wear most often (most often = every other day? or almost) to the secondary browsing location... Let's just say, hope none of the outside seams rip next...
  
• Shoes. Am I the only girl in the world who, despite how many shoes she may try to buy, only has three pairs TOTAL (including running shoes which obviously don't work for every occasion) that don't hurt her feet and thus wears ONLY those? Pathetic!

*I say this as the new jacket I bought from Nau this week (Ridiculous!!) is keeping me warm in the frigidaire known as my "secondary browsing location". It's all Lim's fault for posting about their going out of business sale!!!!

Posted by Duff at 09:44 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

May 12, 2008

Yearly Letter-Postage Increase

As of May 14, 2007:
41c first class
26c postcard
90c UK
69c Canada

As of May 12, 2008:
42c first class
27c postcard
94c UK
72c Canada

And people will still bitch and it will still be the cheapest thing out there. Now if only some fuckers would send me some mail.

Posted by Duff at 04:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

Japan Minutiae

just a list of things and moments I want to remember...considering I've already forgotten lots of them... will be adding any that pop to mind (fingers crossed).

• Qoo (pronounced "coo" like a dove), best juice drink ever.
  
• Morning set (preferably with Hotdog!)
  
• Green tea "milk" (latte)!
  
• incredible vending machine proliferation
  
• yes that gives you change for 100,000 yen ($100)
  
• Pocari Sweat!
  
• Calpis (swoon)
  
• "winning" the toy at the arcade (thanks to the arcade manager who apparently really really wanted me to win and moved the toy into an "impossible to lose" position)
  
• random shrine in the nishki market
  
• Japanese boy scouts spotting Americans: "Hi! Hi! Hello!" (my reply, of course: "Konnichiwa!!" which made them giggle like crazy)
  
• unbelievable proliferation of smoking. for a country obsessed with cleanliness...
  
• no glitzy postcards. plenty of other trinkets to buy, but...
  
• heated toilet seats
  
• noisemakers attached to toilet seats
  
• blue button = "for washing of the buttocks"
  
• pink button = "for Ladies only" (?!?!)
  
• the morning bowers/greeters at BIC camera in Kyoto
  
• cartoon characters hanging from phones, bags, jacket pockets, pants pockets...
  
• ancient hunched over grandmas & grandpas totally kicking our asses on the steps (both up and down) at Fushimi Inari
  
• duck ramen in Tokyo at the place Christoph found a "shortcut" to (ha ha ha)
  
• the japanese restaurant meal we had in Kyoto where Jackie made our reservation and pre-ordered all our food
  
• hmmm, I wonder what this is. fish? tofu? root vegetable?
  
• that is one LARGE piece o' tentacle.
  
• "green pea soup"
  
• the first ramen restau we went to in Higayashima.
  
• teddy bears on benches
  
• rachel shutting the taxi door and the uproar it caused
  
• japanese set at the Hearton in the morning
  

Posted by Duff at 04:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember, Travel

May 02, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for April.

Bought:

• A Plea for Eros, by Siri Hustvedt
  
• Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos
  
• The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
  
• Seven Notebooks, by Campbell McGrath (poetry)
  
• Fade Away, by Harlan Coben
  
• Back Spin, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Last Kashmiri Rose, by Barbara Cleverly
  
• The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder
  

Read:

• The Watchman, a Joe Pike novel, by Robert Crais
  
• Drop Shot, by Harlan Coben
  
• Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff
  
• Fade Away, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Death of Virgil, by Hermann Broch
  
• Back Spin, by Harlan Coben
  

Posted by Duff at 09:47 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 01, 2008

Still in preparation for nuclear war.

You know, when I am stuck in my apartment, which was magically protected from the fallout, and have nothing to do but watch DVDs? (Otherwise known as continuing to pad the catalog with backlog as I have been doing.)

Today's Amazon delivery features:

• Aliens Quadrilogy (Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien Resurrection)
  
• American History X (had Ed Norton on the mind)
  
• The Fifth Element (as I've been telling people, I like watching this as a double feature with 12 Monkeys)
  
• Memento
  
• Primary Fear
  
• Seven (apparently I am feeling the need to be creeped out)
  
• 25th Hour (see, there he [EN] is again)

Too bad I'm out of town this weekend...

Posted by Duff at 11:12 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

April 18, 2008

Today's Amazon Delivery.

DVDs of old (in some cases OLD!) favorites ordered to replace battered, beat-down, taped off HBO (or some such) VHS tapes. In alpha order...

• Addicted to Love
  
• Dangerous Beauty
  
• The Fabulous Baker Boys
  
• Good Will Hunting
  
• Married to the Mob
  
• Pretty in Pink
  
• Say Anything
  
• Singles
  
• Sixteen Candles
  
• Something Wild (ooooo, Dad and I love this movie! I haven't seen it in years!)
  
• Working Girl

Movies you've seen a thousand times = good background for knittin'. If I were doin' any.

Posted by Duff at 11:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

April 04, 2008

Songs I Would Do as Cover Encores Were I in a Band

• "Dancin' Boy" Harry Chapin
  
• "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" John Denver
  
• "Shook Me All Night Long" AC/DC
  
• "Hole Hearted" Extreme
  
• "Stroke Me" Billy Squier (Or "The Stroke" is apparently the correct name)
  
• "Father and Son" Cat Stevens (I can actually play this one on guitar. So I'd have to include it, wouldn't I?)
  
• "Run for Your Life" Beatles
  

And of course, my #1 and #2 favorite all-time karaoke songs:

• "Take It on the Run" REO Speedwagon
  
• "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty

Posted by Duff at 12:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

April 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for March.

Bought:

• The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell (used)
  
• The Great World, by David Malouf (used)
  
• The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf (used)
  
• Confessions of a Recovering Slut, by Hollis Gillespie
  
• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
  
• The Fatal Gift, by Alec Waugh (used)
  
• A Spy in the Family, by Alec Waugh (used)
  
• The Ballad and the Source, by Rosamond Lehmann (used)
  
• The Music at Long Verney, by Silvia Townsend Warner (stories) (used)
  
• The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin (in Japan, no access to my bookshelves!)
  
• The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie (in Japan, no access to my bookshelves!)
  

Read:

• The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist, by Richard P. Feynman
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf
  
• The Hunt Ball, by Rita Mae Brown
  
• The Hounds and the Fury, by Rita Mae Brown
  
• Ms. Pettigrew Lives for the Day, by Winifred Watson
  
• The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin
  
• Let`s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, by Carl Wilson
  
• The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie
  
• The Tourmaline, by Paul Park

Posted by Duff at 03:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

March 18, 2008

Weekend Snip To-Do List [Updated: Halfway done!] DONE!

1. Write up remaining February reads. (one, two, three, four)

2. Write up all 45 concerts I've been to this year (hello slackass). (one, two, three, four, five) (And more since this to-do list was written: here, here and here)

3. Write up the three February movies. (one, two, three, and a March one too.)

4. December album reviews (halfway done) (done)

5. Best of January (done)

6. Shit it's already time for Best of February (done)

7. New "currently" (done)

Posted by Duff at 10:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, To Do

Things I Should Not Have Been Doing post 11 p.m. Last Night (But Clearly Was)

• Drinking beer(s)
  
• Eating an entire half of a large pizza (hello)
  
• Watching a movie
  
• Playing DJ for a friend
  
• Burning CDs
  
• Taking pictures
  
• Flickering
  
• Continuing work on the 2008 CD Reorganization Project

I guess I figured since I'm not getting any fucking sleep anyway (thanks a lot, increasingly stressful life, you can suck my dick anytime), I might as well stay up until 2 a.m. every night this week when I have to get up at 6 a.m. I'm pretty sure my emotional wellbeing (and of course beautiful face) need more than 3.5 hours sleep (lord knows I STILL can't fall asleep right away even if it's 2 a.m. before I get in bed. Damn.It.). Good thing vacation starts on Thursday. And you never know, the lack of sleep might actually put me to sleep on my gazillion-and-97-hour flight so KEEP YOUR FUCKING FINGERS CROSSED because me getting more than 10 minutes of sleep on a plane ride would be fucking AWESOME and unheard of.

Posted by Duff at 08:38 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

March 10, 2008

Books I Didn't Buy at the "New" Bookstore the Other Day.

(But still want to consider/remember):

• Beginner's Greek, by James Collins
  
• The Fiction Class, by Susan Breen
  
• Lady of the Roses, by Sandra Worth

Shortly after that, I wound up at the used bookstore where I did buy three books that day and five or six more a few days later. But you'll have to wait for March's "Hornsby-esque" to find out about those.

Posted by Duff at 07:45 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

March 06, 2008

Things that have been referred to as "The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me!"

1. My first, and each subsequent, iPod.

2. The Moo cards I just got that are three years of photos of my nephew, with some of me & him thrown in and a few just of me making goofy faces to make him laugh. They are SOOOO AWESOME.

3. Fresh's Milk Chocolate lotion (now discontinued! waaah!).

4. The chai tea from the machine in the cafeteria at work when we worked in World Financial 3 (pre-9/11 and our office getting destroyed).

5. My "grown up" bedroom furniture (post-move to Chicago).

6. My new (at the time) living room couch (post-move to Chicago). The most comfortable couch ever to walk the earth. So to speak.

7. My Daisy Rock guitar. It's pink. And comes with butterfly and flower stickers. Girlie! :)

8. Prescription sunglasses. Totally necessary. Don't want to ever have to live without them again!

[update]9. Toaster Strudel. Takes poptarts to a whole new level. A level called Fucking Awesome.

...updated periodically when memory lapses clear...

Posted by Duff at 08:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

March 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for February.

Bought:

• The Watchman (A Joe Pike Novel), by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole gets his own spinoff!)
  
• The Odyssey and The Iliad, Homer (buying the Robert Fagles translations, my other ones are Lattimore)
  
• The Faithful Spy, by Alex Berenson
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff
  
• The Priory, by Dorothy Whipple
  
• Saplings, by Noel Streatfeild
  
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson
  
• The Tourmaline, by Paul Park
  
• The White Tyger, by Paul Park
  
• A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories)

Read:

• Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• A Princess of Roumania, by Paul Park
  
• The Faithful Spy, by Alex Berenson
  
• The Good Soldier Svejk, by Jaroslav Hasek

Note I am not including books I received as gifts (Bonus!) of which there happened to have been quite a few in February (Yay!).

Posted by Duff at 04:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

February 09, 2008

Just another trip to Coinstar.

Total change turned in for "real money" = $144.50.

"Change" rejected by Coinstar:

• Another Boston T token.*
  
• One 2-cent Euro.
  
• One Canadian dime.
  
• One British penny.
  
• One, presumably U.S., penny so molded over and verdigreed that I think it might grow a tree if I planted it.
  
• One U.S. penny just barely beginning to mold.
  
• One U.S. dime, the side ridges of which seem to have somehow been replaced by the outside edge of a penny? I mean, it's a dime, silver 10-cent piece, but instead of the thin silver scored outer rim a normal dime has, it has a smooth copper rim that extends past the edge on both sides (i.e., is for a fatter coin than a dime). Bizarre!
  
• One perfectly normal U.S. dime.
  
• And a perfectly good U.S. quarter.

So one transit coin, three non US, two US degraded, one US bizarro, and two perfectly good coins that should have been accepted as Legal currency.

*It's got to be the Walgreens by work that keeps giving me these. I don't know if they're even still valid tokens!

Posted by Duff at 12:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Cha-Ching!, Lists

February 08, 2008

Live Tunes: Winter/Spring [Updated]

Jan 18: Bon Iver (it was awesome. I'll try to write it up soon)
Feb 2: Joe Henry / Chris Connelly
Feb 8: Jason Isbell (others playing as well but he's who I'm going to see)
Feb 22: Sara Bareilles / James Blunt
Mar 1: Griffin House (2nd x)
Mar 8: Peter Mulvey (3rd x)
Mar 9: Carrie Newcomer
[Mar 12: Dan le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip (yay!)]
Mar 17: Matt Nathanson (yay!)
Mar 18: Raveonettes
Apr 13: Girlyman
[Apr 24: Long Blondes]

Hmmm. These things really seem to come in clusters, don't they? The person planning my life is doing her usual crapass job of scheduling, at least in March. I'm going to be all tired out right in time for my trip to Japan!

Posted by Duff at 02:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

February 06, 2008

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2008 [Updated]

Alternating short stories & Eastern European novels.

January: "The Oxford Book of English Short Stories" edited by A.S. Byatt

February: "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek

March: Complete Short Stories, David Malouf

April: "The Death of Virgil" by Hermann Brach

May: Collected Short Stories, Isaac Baschevis Singer

June: "War with the Newts" by Karel Capek

July: Stories TBD"The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford

August: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 1" by Robert Musil

September: Stories TBD"Dead Boys: Stories" by Richard Lange

October: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 2" by Robert Musil

November: Stories TBD"The Oxford Book of Short Stories" edited by V.S. Pritchett

December: "The Trial" by Kafka

Posted by Duff at 09:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Lists, Readin'

February 05, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for January.

Bought:

• Matthew Eck "The Farther Shore"
  
• Bill Holm "The Windows of Brimnes"
  
• Vendela Vida "Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name"
  
• Elizabeth Crane "You Must Be This Happy to Enter"
  
• Paul Park "A Princess of Roumania" (sci fi/fantasy)
  
• Walter Mosley "Fortunate Son"
  
• Elliot Perlman "Three Dollars"
  
• Robert Hass "Time and Materials" (poems 1997-2005)
  
• Making Out in Japanese
  
• Patricia Briggs "Iron Kissed"
  
• Pat Barker "Life Class"
  
• Zachary Lazar "Sway"

Read:

• Nick Hornby "Housekeeping vs. the Dirt"
  
• The Oxford Book of Short Stories, edited by A.S. Byatt
  
• Natasha Trethewy "Native Guard" (poetry)
  
• Adrian McKinty "Dead I Well May Be" (library book of Silvia's)
  
• Walter Mosley "Fortunate Son"
  
• Denis Johnson "Tree of Smoke"
  
• Elizabeth Crane "You Must Be This Happy to Enter"

I have yet to write up a single book I read in January. Perhaps later this week. Perhaps.

Posted by Duff at 07:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

January 14, 2008

Playing at a Theater Near You?

Movies I Might Try to See This Weekend

• There Will Be Blood (Looks intense, no? I am not DDL's biggest fan but it appears a lock on many awards.)
  
• The Golden Compass (My dad loved the books and still enjoyed the movie. Jen liked both. I'm still willing to give the movie a chance, despite my irrational love for the books and my fear of what other people have been saying.)

Movies I Would See But Are Not "On My List"

• National Treasure 2 (I KNOW it's not a good movie. but the first one was enjoyable despite that, and despite me hating Nicolas Cage. Remember, I'm a low class viewer of mainstream blockbusters and proud of it. )
  
• The Great Debaters (Eh. Subject matter doesn't thrill me. But you can't go wrong with two hours of Denzel.)
  
• Enchanted (Eh. No need to email me, I KNOW EVERYONE IS ALL GA-GA for it. I just don't know if I can take that much sugar.)

Movies I Will NOT See Unless You Pay Me (and more than the price of the ticket)

• The Bucket List (middle-aged males patting each other on the back? (I'm being generous there, no?) It's "Cocoon" all over again. And WHO CARES!)
  
• PS I Love You (I'm sorry Gerard Butler and "Denny", but not even for the two of you.)
  

Posted by Duff at 06:27 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

January 10, 2008

Wrapping It Up: Best Movies 2007

1. Grindhouse
2. Juno (and here and here as well)
3. A Mighty Heart (Knocked down a notch by Juno, but really great and I wish more people would have seen it.)
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 (In retrospect, and in comparison to others, this movie moved further up the list than I originally felt)

But there were lots of other movies I enjoyed as well, and you can read more about that here.

Posted by Duff at 10:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Flicks, Lists, Recommending, Watchin'

January 08, 2008

Wrapping It Up: Best Books 2007.

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)

But there were lots of other books I enjoyed as well, and you can read more about that here.

Posted by Duff at 07:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Lists, Readin', Recommending

December 21, 2007

Last Minute iTunes Purchases

Buying stuff off other people's year-end lists for the roadtrip home (in addition to the new stuff mentioned in this post)...

• Dyme Def "Space Music (rap/hip hop from Seattle)
  
• Mavis Staples "We'll Never Turn Back" (takes you back)
  
• The Avett Brothers "Enthusiasm" (twangy poppy fun)
  
• Hard-Fi "Stars of CCTV" (an older album as I love the new one I got earlier this fall)
  
• Jay Brannan "Unmastered" (the dude from "Shortbus" if that means anything to you. great sassy lyrics)
  
• UGK "Underground Kingz (rap)

Posted by Duff at 09:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

December 05, 2007

Albums I Did NOT Buy in 20062007 [doh!].

But am now planning on at least checking out due to their proliferance on other people's year-end lists (or specific comments on the lists of people whose other choices I am down with, even where they differ from me). (Largehearted Boy has a huge list of links to people's lists. Fun, fun!)

• Bat for Lashes "Fur & Gold"
  
• Burial "Untrue"
  
• Justice "[cross]"
  
• The Field "From Here We Go Sublime" ('quiet is the new loud' / minimal techno)
  
• Animal Collective "Strawberry Jam"
  
• Jens Lekman "Night Falls Over Kortedala"
  
• Smashing Pumpkins "Zeigeist"
  
• Bowerbirds "Hymns for a Dark Horse"
  
• White Rabbits "Fort Nightly"
  
• Clorox Girls "J'aime Les Filles"
  
• Caribou "Andorra"
  
• Mavis Staples "We'll Never Turn Back"
  
• Jarvis Cocker "Jarvis"
  
• Miranda Lambert "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
  
• Avett Brothers "Emotionalism"
  
• The Perishers "Victorius"
  
• The Octopus Project "Hello, Avalanche"
  
• Akron/Family "Rise Above"
  
• Moonbabies "Moonbabies at the Ballroom"
  
• Franklel (Michael Orendy) "Lullaby for the Passerby"
  
• Lucy Wainwright Roche "8 Songs"
  
• Wintersleep "Welcome to the Night"
  
• The Cobbs "The Deathcapades"
  
• Vampire Weekend
  
• Au Revoir Simone

Already bought based on others' lists:
Brother Ali "The Undisputed Truth" (like it!)

Albums/Bands for which I cannot even comprehend the hype (and I've even seen these acts live):
Battles
St. Vincent
Deerhunter

Surprising Comments:
One review referred to Ben Harper's "Lifeline" as "tepid." (But another had it #1.) You know I don't think there's anything tepid about that boy.

Hilarious reviews:
This dude's take on Rufus Wainwright's "Judy Does Carniegie Hall" is hilarious.
The comment that "Young Folks" made whistling cool again. "And we mean cool as in annoying."

Great way to start a year-end list:
We're already at the end of another godforsaken year...

Posted by Duff at 10:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

October 31, 2007

Lunch Time Bookstore Stop

• "A Life of One's Own" by Ilana Simon (because I read this review)
  
• "Gentlemen of the Road" by Michael Chabon (because it's Chabon)
  
• "True Evil" by Greg Iles (because I haven't read a psychological terror thriller in a while and all my Dad talks about lately is horror films and I am feeling the need to be scared! No, really!)

Posted by Duff at 12:49 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

October 17, 2007

Apparently it was YA night at the bookstore.

• "Slam" by Nick Hornby
  
• "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer
  
• "Before I Die" by Jenny Downham
  

Posted by Duff at 09:44 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

October 13, 2007

Gift Certificate Purchases

The building offered a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble if you re-signed your lease early.

• "Tomorrow" Graham Swift
  
• "Exit Ghost" Philip Roth
  
• "In the Woods" Tana French

Posted by Duff at 10:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

October 12, 2007

My #2 Celebrity Boyfriend: JP

My current favorite Joaquin movies:

• Walk the Line
  
• Ladder 49
  
• Gladiator
  
• Inventing the Abbotts
  
• Signs ("I'm a miracle man!")
  
• The Village
  
• Hotel Rwanda
  
• Buffalo Soldiers

What will likely be added to this list by the end of the month:

• We Own the Night (that one maybe by the end of the weekend!)
  
• Reservation Road

Other Joaquin moments I rewatch often (and have on tape):

• Him and Kelly Ripa legwrestling on the Regis & Kelly show.
  
• Him on Conan where they discuss, among other things, him playing around with reporters and saying there was a frog on his head (during Walk the Line publicity) and it getting blown out of proportion.
  
• Him on either Conan or Dave (I guess I haven't watched it that recently!!) where they discuss, among other things, drinking. "It wasn't that I would drink often. But when I would drink, it was like it was an Olympic sport and I wanted to be the gold medalist."

Posted by Duff at 01:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

October 09, 2007

Treats for Me

Arrived today from Amazon UK:

• "The Rain Before It Falls" by Jonathan Coe
  
• "Hellfire" by Mia Gallagher

Because despite the fact that in Edmund Wilson's time we were simultaneously releasing the same book on both sides of the Atlantic, we're apparently unable to do so in modern times.

Posted by Duff at 07:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

September 27, 2007

Last Night on iTunes.

New albums by two of my favorite bands of recent years:

• Athlete "Beyond the Neighborhood"
  
• The Thrills "Teenager

And trying out two new boys:

• Jeremy Fisher "Goodbye Blue Monday"
  
• Fionn Regan "The End of History"

Posted by Duff at 07:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

September 19, 2007

Last Night on iTunes.

Purchased:

• James Blunt "All the Lost Souls"
  
• Hard Fi "Once Upon a Time in the World"
  
• Eddie Vedder "Into the Wild" (soundtrack)

Considered, Sampled, But Ultimately Not Purchased:

• KT Tunstall "Drastic Fantastic"
  
• Aline Simone "Placelessness"
  
• Jesca Hoop "Kismet"

I was (clearly) all about the boys last night.

Posted by Duff at 10:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

September 12, 2007

GirlReaction Tested and Approved.

Here are some companies where I have gotten either a) great product or b) GREAT customer service when the product wasn't what I wanted:

• Zappos.
  
• Boden. (lovelovelove)
  
• Eddie Bauer.
  
• Sundance. (mostly jewelry)
  
• Garnet Hill.

I am on a bit of a spending spree right now, actually buying clothes which is something I seriously almost never ever do (CDs, books, movies = All the time, motherfuckers!! Clothes? Very, very rarely). It's very refreshing to look in my closet and think "Hey! I DO have something to wear!"

Posted by Duff at 10:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

Last Night's iTunes Purchases

Albums:

• Kanye West "Graduation"
  
• Rogue Wave "Asleep at Heaven's Gate"
  
• Meiko (thanks to Byron for the recommendation...see 9/6 entry)
  
• Tricot Machine (if Alison's listening to it, it must be good...)

Singles:

• Shiny Toy Guns "Le Disko" (you've heard this on a commercial, where they throw their cell phones at each other and the cell phones cut through their clothes...)

Posted by Duff at 09:24 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

August 27, 2007

Planet Mnemonics

The old mnemonic my Dad can still recite from however many gazillion years ago (hahaha) he learned it:
My (Mercury)
Very (Venus)
Earnest (Earth)
Mother (Mars)
Just (Jupiter)
Served (Saturn)
Us (Uranus)
Nine (Neptune)
Pies (Pluto)

The new mnemonic he made up for the Pluto-less planets:
Miserably
Vain
Earthlings
Must
Just
Shut
Up
Now

Posted by Duff at 04:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under DadReaction, Lists, Remember

August 10, 2007

Just one of the many ways in which I am clearly living in a dream world.

Number of times I went swimming this year in either ocean, lake or pool: ZERO.

Number of times last year: ZERO.

Year before: Maybe? ONE or TWO during physical therapy no less.

Number of swimsuits I bought this year: TWO.

Number of swimsuits last year: At least ONE, maybe two or three.

Number of (lap-swimming) suits hanging on the door of the closet: TWO.

Number of (beach & pool) swimsuits in a plastic bin under the bed: At least SEVEN.

Number of delusions I clearly have about how much swimming I do in my life: MANY.

Posted by Duff at 10:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

August 06, 2007

Break-Up Songs.

So I've been thinking for ages that I had already posted a list of "songs that made me cry so hard during break-ups that they are useless to me for years afterwards" but as far as I can tell, I never actually did. And then I read this awesome post about break-up ALBUMS (which I found via link here). Now that is some serious commitment there, to listen to a WHOLE album during a break-up. I just usually wind up with one song on repeat, repeat, repeat, while I torture myself endlessly over the might-have-beens.

I'm sure I will add to this list as I think of them, but off the top of my head, these songs STILL kinda hurt to listen to:

• Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor (singing a Prince song, of course)
• If I Laugh - Cat Stevens
• Don't Speak - No Doubt
• Together or Alone - Sebadoh (ow!ow!ow!)
• Let Me In - REM (really about Kurt Cobain, but all about a break-up to me!)

What are yours? Click "Say What" below and tell me...

Posted by Duff at 08:45 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Lists, Tunes

July 27, 2007

Fall Tunes.

Aug 3-5 Lollapalooza
Aug 9 Bishop Allen (2nd x this summer!)
Sep 12 Midlake
Sep 20 Common (2nd x)
Sep 22 The National (WOOOOT!)
Oct 6 The White Stripes (Aragon = Ugh)
Oct 7 Christine Kane (folk)
Oct 28 Tom Paxton (folk)
Nov 11 Stars (WOOOOOOT!)
Nov 17 Tinariwen & Mamadou Diabate (african)
Nov 24 Over the Rhine (2nd or 3rd x)

Looks pretty full, right? And I'm actually trying to go to FEWER concerts right now after a bit of an overload this year, but somehow it never works out that way.

Posted by Duff at 10:24 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

July 11, 2007

New Releases I Bought Last Night on iTunes:

• Crowded House
  
• Stars
  
• Sara Bareille (only $6.99! can't go wrong)

New Releases I Considered Buying But Decision Postponed:

• Spoon
  
• Smashing Pumpkins
  
• Jesse Harris
  
• Interpol

New Releases I Wanted to Buy But They Weren't There:

• Jason Isbell (Why, iTunes? Why?)

Posted by Duff at 08:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

July 06, 2007

Late-Summer Live Tunes

Jul 14-15 Pitchfork*
Jul 21 Travis
Aug 3-5 Lollapalooza
Aug 9 Bishop Allen
Sept 12 Midlake
Sept 20 Common

*If you, like me, are busy trying to figure out which bands you want to see at Pitchfork, shoot me an email (link below "Say what?") -- I made an excel grid of the schedule, as well as a written out version that includes Chicago Innerview's descriptions of each band.

Posted by Duff at 08:53 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

May 11, 2007

Things I used to do in college that I just don't do anymore.

1) Fall down. In place, down stairs, on sidewalks, etc.
2) Drop really, really heavy things, usually onto part of my body, like my feet (sometimes followed by #1).
3) Lose, or accidentally destroy, my ID. The same ID that was required to get food.
4) Drink Bacardi-Cokes.
5) Drink Mickeys.
6) Get locked out. (often in conjunction with #3).
7) Wear enormous earrings.
8) Wear bandanas.

Posted by Duff at 09:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

March 28, 2007

Shopping 2 x 2

Books I just bought recommended by Betsy:

• "Single Wife" by Nina Solomon
  
• "Stories in the Worst Way" by Gary Lutz

Books I now want to buy based on a) an interview with the author in Guardian (and the fact that I've LOVED everything I've read by her) and b) a review in the Guardian, both linked to by Bookslut:

• a) "Day" by A.L. Kennedy
  
• b) "Surveillance" by Jonathan Raban

Posted by Duff at 01:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

March 21, 2007

Live Tunes for Spring

Mar 30 Neko Case
Apr 13 Low
Apr 14 Josh Rouse
Apr 17 Youth Group
Apr 19 Decemberists
May 19 Arcade Fire
July 14&15 Pitchfork

Posted by Duff at 12:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

March 12, 2007

Things I Get at Least Once a Day.

1) Hiccups and
2) Hives.

But thankfully NOT Hickeys, although there was a time...

Posted by Duff at 05:27 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

February 25, 2007

The Best Chinese Food I Personally Have Found in Chicago.

Lao Sze Chuan in Chinatown.

Kite in Lakeview.

And Joy Yee's in either Chinatown or Evanston (which is usually where I get it) or Naperville, where I used to get it before Monica and Charlie moved away and left me all alone!!!

Posted by Duff at 12:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Food, Lists, Remember

January 24, 2007

New Tunes.

Albums I'm Buying:
Jan 23: Shins "Wincing the Night Away" (Bought!)
Jan 30: Youth Group "Casino Twilight Dogs"
Jan 30: Josh Rouse "She's Spanish, I'm American"
Feb 6: Fallout Boy "Infinity on High"
Mar 6: Arcade Fire "Neon Bible"

Albums I Might Buy But Haven't Decided:
Jan 30: Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah "Some Loud Thunder"
Feb 20: Explosions in the Sky "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" (they do a LOT of the instrumental music that's been on Friday Night Lights)

Albums I'm Pretty Unlikely to Buy, I Think:
Jan 23: Of Montreal "Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer "

Albums I Won't Buy, But You Might:
Feb 6: Bloc Party

Song I Bought Last Night that Was Written on the Same Slip of Paper:
"Please Don't Pass Me By" by Jack Harlan. Oh so pretty!

Posted by Duff at 09:29 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Album, Lists, Tunes

January 17, 2007

Making Plans / Buying Tickets

First half:
Jan 19 - Prairie Cartel (nan's brother's latest band) @ Schuba's
Jan 21 - Peter Mulvey (amanda's crush) @ Schuba's
Mar 3 - Pete Yorn / Aqualung @ Riviera
Mar 10 - Crooked Still @ Old Town
Apr 13 - Low @ Metro
Apr 14 - Josh Rouse @ Old Town

February feels a little sad. We'll have to work on that.

Second half:
Aug 3-5 - Lollapalooza, baby.

Posted by Duff at 02:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

December 17, 2006

OK, I made my list.

And if you are so inclined you can go read what was my favorite music of 2006. I actually almost copped out of making a list this year...until I obsessively began reading everyone else's and then it was a lost cause/three-day project going through my iTunes monthly playlists and really figuring out what I actually listened to versus what I bought. Fun, fun. Feel free to email me and recommend stuff I apparently didn't listen to (or maybe I did and didn't like it, and then I'll tell you that); when it comes to music, I can (apparently) never get enough...

Despite its absence on the list, I must point out Sufjan's christmas box set has been by far the most listened to music this month... But considering that much of it is rerelease and not fresh, it didn't really seem to have a place in the overall scheme of the list.

If you're like me, and what you want are christmas CAROLS as opposed to christmas SONGS (rudolph, frosty, etc.) then this set is for you. Love it.

Posted by Duff at 08:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Lists, Tunes

October 12, 2006

A New Batch of Aussie Slang from Casey

• That bloke's crooked like a dog's hind leg (He's a crook)
  
• That sheila's a sausage short of a hotdog (She's stupid)
  
• A man worth his salt (He's a good man)
  
• Gidday you old Bastard (A term of endearment)
  
• You little Beauty (when something good happens)
  
• Town Bike (local slut)
  
• Even Blind Freddy could see that (when you miss something obvious)
  
• I'll be right back, gunna go point percy at the porcelain (guys going to the loo)
  
• I'm off like a frog in a sock (I'm leaving)
  
• Mate, I'm crook (I'm sick)
  
• Been speakin into the great white telephone (Been to the toilet)
  
• She'll be right (I/things will be better soon)
  
• Your shout (Your turn to buy me a beer!)
  
• Piffed a yonny at his noggin (threw a stone at his head) - victorian
  

Posted by Duff at 09:07 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember

October 04, 2006

Is every artist on earth going to put out a new album this Fall?

Albums I Bought Last Week:
Scissor Sisters "Ta-Dah"
Submarines "Declare a New State!"

Albums I Did Not Buy Last Week:
Indigo Girls "Despite Our Differences"

Albums I Bought Yesterday:
Decemberists "The Crane Wife"
Hold Steady "Boys & Girls in America"
Jet "Shine On"
Beck "The Information"

Albums I Did NOT Buy Yesterday But Considered and May Potentially Buy Anyway in the Future, I Make No Promises:
The Killers "Sam's Town"
Kasey Chambers new one
Evanescence new one
Lupe Fiasco debut
TV on the Radio

Albums I Meant to Buy But Forgot:
The Long Winters latest

Albums I Do Not Plan to Buy At All:
New Albums by John Mayer, Maroon 5, John Legend, Fergie solo album.

Posted by Duff at 08:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

August 21, 2006

Bands I will not be seeing live again, unless some other poor fool is paying for the tickets:

1. Ambulance LTD.
(45 minutes fucking w/ the mics/mix/amps/etc. /20 minute show. BOTH TIMES.)
2. Fiona Apple.
(Seriously thought she was having either a mental breakdown, or a miscarriage, on stage.)
3. Ryan Adams.
(First time, good. Second time, sooooooo bad. Not risking it again.)
4. Radiohead.
(Discordant nonsense. I like music that sounds pretty! Or has a beat!)
5. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins.

Bands I really want to see although you might not know it from the fact that even though I have had tickets to them in the (recent or somewhat recent) past I have blown off going to the concert for one reason or another:

1. Great Lake Swimmers.
2. Bishop Allen.
3. Stars.

Posted by Duff at 05:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

Bands I don't like despite the fact that people are constantly saying "oh you're an XX fan, aren't you?" to me in reference to these bands.

1. Coldplay.
2. The Strokes.
3. Post-OK Computer Radiohead.
4. Interpol (sometimes they're OK).

Posted by Duff at 03:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Tunes

August 09, 2006

Live Tunes for Fall.

Definitely Seeing:
August 18 - Bishop Allen @ Subterranean.
August 29 - Beethoven (or someone playing him, eh?) @ Ravinia.
September 8 - Lyle Lovett @ Ravinia.
September 16 - Snow Patrol @ Riviera
September 18 - Kasey Chambers @ Park West
September 26 - Sufjan Stevens @ Riviera

Pondering:
August 23 - Margot & Nuclear So-n-Sos / Katie Todd @ DoubleDoor (anyone want to go?)
September 5 - Band of Horses @ Metro (any takers?)
September 7 - Keane @ Auditorium Theater * (huge venue, seats can be FAR)
September 21 - Bob Schneider @ Black Orchid (just saw him in July)
October 17 - The Fray @ Aragon * (uck. hate that venue)
October 23 - James Blunt @ Aragon * (hate the venue, coming back from Rhinebeck night before? or perhaps that morning in which case could not go)

Can't See ;(
September 13 - Cat Power @ the Vic (at a class, which sucks since she canceled her last show in Chicago which I had tickets for)
September 16 - Elf Power @ Beat Kitchen (going to Snow Patrol that night)
October 2 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Vic (working late that day)
October 3 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Vic (Monica & Charlie in town)
October 4 - Joseph Arthur @ Double Door (at a class)
October 6 - The Long Winters @ Subterranean (heading south for cousin's wedding)
October 7 - Ben Kweller (!!) @ Vic (at wedding)

*All ages venues/shows = a reason NOT to go...

Posted by Duff at 08:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

July 14, 2006

Songs Titled "Trouble" on My iPod.

1. "Trouble" - Cat Stevens.
2. "Trouble" - Coldplay.*
3. "Trouble" - Joe Purdy.
4. "Trouble" (cover of Ray LaMontagne) - Kristin Hirsch.
5. "Trouble" - Pink.
6. "Trouble" - Ray LaMontagne.
7. "Trouble" (LIVE) - Ray LaMontagne.

Any coincidence that 5 of the 7 are sung by boys, and 6 of the 7 are written by boys? I think not!

*Why is this even on my iPod? I hate Coldplay.

Posted by Duff at 09:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Listenin', Lists, Tunes

July 05, 2006

Common Crossword Clues.

Common to all crosswords:
Med. school class = ANAT
otherwise = ELSE
fencer's foil = EPEE
Scottish gaelic = ERSE
Ireland = EIRE
PC key = ESC

Particularly common to Chicago Tribune/Red Eye crossword:
lotion additive = ALOE
false god = IDOL
exist = ARE
picnic pests = ANTS
male red deer = HART
agenda topic = ITEM
hymn ending = AMEN
Chanel's nickname = COCO

Posted by Duff at 09:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Mots, Lists

June 06, 2006

Movies I've Never Seen, or Wish I Hadn't.

Movies I haven't seen because of the pain and the agony.

• Schindler's List
  
• Boys Don't Cry
  
• The Shawshank Redemption

Movies I haven't seen because of the stupidity.

• Dumb 'n' Dumber
  
• Ace Carey
  
• There's Something About Mary
  
• Shallow Hal
  
• Meet the Fockers

Movies I WISH I had never seen because of the pain and the agony.

• Irréversible
  
• Leaving Las Vegas
  
• Thirteen
  
• Unleashed

Movie I walked out of because of the stupidity.

• The Bachelor

Posted by Duff at 11:47 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Flicks, Lists

June 05, 2006

My Top All-Time NBA Players, Favorites vs. Most Detested

I'm warning you this is all historical and all from one time period because a) I don't watch basketball anymore and b) when I was watching it, I definitely loved the players I was watching over anyone before them.

All-Time Favorite Top 10...
1. Michael Jordan, doh.
2. Charles Oakley, smooches to you.
3. Danny Ainge. He was scrappy!
4. Shawn Mullins, but only when he was with the Sonics.
5. Robert Horry, but only with the Rockets.
6. Dennis Rodman, before he got all spastic and crazy.
7. Xavier McDaniel.
8. Doc Rivers.
9. Anthony Mason, yes, I like bruisers.
and tied for 10. Jalen Rose and Chris Webber, how could you be from the Midwest and not love these boys?

Wait a minute, there are two sometimes-Celtics on the list. How the hell did that happen?

And I gotta give a shout-out to Muggsy Bogues, I could never really root for him (come on, he played for the Hornets!) but we are just about the same size so I always list him. I'm down w/ the shorties! And he was much more fun than Spud Webb!

Top-10 Most Detested...
1. Reggie Miller.
2. Isiah Thomas.
3. Shaquille O'Neal.
4. Gary Payton.
5. Detlef Schrempf.
6. Mark Jackson.
7. Charles Barkley, when he was playing ball (I enjoy him as a commentator!).
8. Nick Van Exel.
tied for 9. Alonzo Washington and Larry Johnson, most obnoxious teammates ever. (p.s. But Kendall Gill, I like. So, there you go.)
and tied for 10. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, don't even get me started.

Posted by Duff at 08:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

May 25, 2006

Things About Australia I Need to Write Down Before I Forget.

Me and the SuperEggplant, we've got some Australia stories...

• The dirty dude on the flight to Darwin (GOVE!) and the Rod Stewart music video.
  
• $40 movie in Cairns ($14.50 per adult)
  
• Roo: Soap on a Rope.
  
• Waterskiing practice hole.
  
• BEND OVER! (and what about Casey using it in a meeting! ha!)
  
• Ex-cop canadians: Teacher and Flic BnBs.
  
• David: The Tram Whore: brekkie sandwich; hook turn; Toshiba; okely dokely; Hello Moto.
  
• Anzac Biscuits.
  
• Gossip rags.
  
• Jimmy (bus to Kakadu): the panflute/bible banger combo.
  
• Two sock! (Kakadu)
  
• Cheezels; Smith's chips.
  
• Good on ya!
  
• How ya goin'?
  
• Solo! Lift!
  
• "ie": brekkie, tantie, etc.
  
• Chinotto SUCKS.
  
• Brandy snap cremes @ David Jones.
  
• Black currant mentos (comme Ribena).
  
• No pennies! "Currency rounding benefit"
  
• Iced coffee = ice cream!
  
• Ginkos!!! (w/ barefeet!)
  
• Lollies
  
• Eskies.
  
• Pokies.
  
• SuperEgg: "You people and your walkabouts!" Bono: "Hey, I'm not a black fella."
  
• Dirty Harry. No, Larry. No, Lazy Harry!
  
• Uluru bus driver: Traffic coming down from Darwin today. Oh, there it is.
  
• Truck stop "Toasties"
  
• Namgachak (check spelling!): The aborigine Yam Hitter
  
• Kakadu: king size mosquitos. Tiny boat frog.
  
• FLIPPS: burgers & seasoned fries.
  
• A dingo ate my baby!
  
• Yum cha = dim sum.
  
• Blue Heeler (Hila)
  
• Bilbys for Easter.
  
• Mariko the "Asker"
  
• Kirribili
  
• Casey-isms! Knocked you for sixes!; How's your bitch?; I'm down with it, homes.; What up, MN?; I think he's got a roo loose in his top paddock!
  
• Kinokuniya, not just a Japanese bookstore in SYDNEY anyway.
  
• Aussie damper
  
• Banana...bread/frapps/etc.
  
• Flat White. Short/Long Black.
  
• Uluru: black flies. pool people. $$$$. Thorny Devil!
  
• Cairns: runway humidity. King + Twin. Green Island $12 hot dog.
  
• Cat pooh on the CDs!
  
• Melbourne: Patchwork on Central.
  
• Bathroom spider!
  
• The Tram STARER!!!
  
• Italian dudes: "mate" discussions.
  
• French Bakery on Glenferrie: lemon tart.
  
• Fannie Bay Gaol.
  
• Melbourne Gaol's freaky porcelain death masks: brain mapping.
  
• Darwin hotel: fire alarms, hot water, hideous mint aperitifs.
  
• Bataan death march to Military Museum
  
• Lunch at Babka!!!
  
• Glider spot: kelpi, Australia sheep dog. Big plate o' nasty shrimp.
  
• Darwin: Feb 19, 1942 bombing. 1972 Cyclone Tracy.
  
• the Tet offensive! Tetley!
  
• Darwin airport: CMS punes; MF book return and FIGHT!!
  
• "Coon" cheese.
  
• Little puking boy (handfuls) getting off plane and his horrific father. MF coming to rescue w/ barf bag.
  

Posted by Duff at 08:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Remember, Travel

May 23, 2006

Major injuries I've had...(that I can think of right now).

• Blow-out fracture of right eye orbit.*
  
• Broke right wrist (ALL wrist bones) and arm (ALL lower arm bones) once (in one fell swoop).
  
• "Deep bone bruise" to right knee/outside shin bone (i.e. fluid inside the bone. looks super cool on the MRI).**
• Broke little toe on right foot four times in the same summer (damn chair).
  
• Torn muscular tissue on bottom of right foot. Ongoing problem.
  
• Boil (staph infection) in lower lip. Hospitalized for a week. Fun, fun.
  
• Boil in forehead (staph again). Fun emergency room visit. Lots of blood.
  
• Sprained left wrist at least four times.
  
• Sprained right wrist at least seven times.
  
• Sprained right foot during kickboxing/jumprope class.***
  
• Sprained right ankle jumping in tractor tire intertubes. Twice. Yeouch.
  

Things we have learned from this: A) The right side of my body is clearly problematic; B) Sprains often hurt much much MUCH worse than breaks; and C) Boils are taken far more seriously by doctors than by me.

*This is how I met Billy Baldwin and still have one of his t-shirts - no joke.
**Honestly how is it called a "bruise" when your knee is at least swollen up to four times its size and you lose ability to walk/run/do stairs/etc. for many, many months.
***Bonus = found out I have extra bones known as "accessory navicular" or "auxiliary navicular" bones.

Posted by Duff at 11:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists

May 21, 2006

Live Tunes for Summer...

June 9 Boy Least Likely To @ Schubas
June 10 Bodeans @ Ravinia
June 11 Canasta ?
June 23 Corinne Bailey Rae @ Schuba's
July 10 Bob Schneider @ Schuba's
July 13 Damien Rice / Fiona Apple @ Northerly Island
July 16 Tom Jones / Etta James @ Ravinia
August 4-6 Lollapalooza @ Grant Park
August 29 Beethoven @ Ravinia
September 8 Lye Lovett @ Ravinia
September 18 Kasey Chambers @ Park West.

Posted by Duff at 06:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

March 09, 2006

Live Tunes for Spring 2006.

Concerts I just missed:
Feb 26 - Cat Power (she cancelled tour)
March 4 - Figdish's last show ever and I'm the moron who forgot to buy tickets and then it sold out.

Concerts I am definitely attending:
March 18 - Mike Doughty
April 13 - Josh Rouse

Concerts I might be attending:
March 14 - Jenny Lewis
April 11 - KT Tunstall
April 16 - Teddy Geiger
June 30 - Go Gos

Concerts I am missing:
Mar 18 - Arctic Monkeys (I'll be listening to Mike Doughty)

Concerts in Chicago I am missing while I AM IN AUSTRALIA:
Mar 25 - James Blunt
Mar 28 - Boy Least Likely To
Mar 29/30 - Sarah Harmer
Mar 31 - Bob Schneider
Apr 1 - Magic Numbers
Apr 3 - Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah
Apr 3 - Beth Orton

Maybe Neil Finn will be playing Sydney or Melbourne while we're there....

Posted by Duff at 08:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Lists, Live!!, Tunes

January 29, 2006

$4.23 Trip to the Bookstore.

Finally spent the gift certificate my boss gave me for Christmas.

• She Got Up off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel. She's an automatic "buy in hardcover" for me now, after reading all 3 of her previous books. She's a magician.

• The Thin Place, by Kathryn Davis. I hear nothing but raves, Raves, RAVES about this one. Hopefully going to hear her read on the 16th, depending on work schedule. Can't wait to read this. (Have also heard great things about a previous book "Girl Who Trod on a Loaf".)

• The Accidental Tourist, by Ali Smith. If it's going to win every award known to man, I will want to have read it. Won't you?

• Man Walks into a Room, by Nicole Krauss. Because "History of Love" was one of the two best books I read last year. Magical. Potent. Heartbreaking. I expect nothing less of this one.

• 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, by Jane Smiley. Randomly read a few pages, here and there, of this on a few different trips to the bookstore. Think it will give me an even longer (if that's possible) list of "SHOULD have read long ago, must get to now" books.
  

All in all, a nice afternoon. Other than the studying, and class, and workshop, and studying. New episode of Grey's tonight. Yea!

Posted by Duff at 07:29 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists