DOWNLOAD: 8.30.2012

Listening:

Spitting Fire by The Boxer Rebellion
To Ramona by Bob Dylan
Action/Reaction by Choir of Young Believers
Walkin' After Midnight by Patsy Cline
Lover of the Light by Mumford & Sons
Breet by Film School
Slip Slidin' Away by Paul Simon
Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun
Your Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky
Each Little Mystery by Seven Mary Three

Appreciating:

Efi Tolia Colorful, geometric watercolors. Gotta love 'em.
























        











 Joyce Tenneson I can't get enough of these ethereal photos. This woman is a master of light.

 

Marianne Glick Abstract expressionist paintings. 



Anticipating:

I want to read this book.  Really badly.

 

 

Planning on seeing Imagine Dragons open for AWOLNATION at the Egyptian Room on September 21st! SO. EXCITED.

 

 



 

Grounded in Space



Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

We lost a historical icon Saturday. I heard the primetime soundbytes, and I saw the internet slideshows; but Anthony Lane's recent New Yorker article was the first tribute that really got me thinking about Neil Armstrong.

 

 

I can't say Amstrong's passing elicited a particular pang of nostalgia or national pride from me. I wasn't around in 1969, eyes glued to the television as I watched the lunar module teeter toward ground. Heck, my only encounter with space exploration has been seeing Tom Hanks sweat in Apollo 13.

 

 

The lunar missions were incredibly important; I won't deny their validity. But honestly, the thing that truly intrigues me about Armstrong is what Lane pointed out:

"[Armstrong] certainly belongs to that chastening group of beings whose capacity for heroic action is outstripped only by their reluctance to make a big deal out of it, let alone a profit...by dint of being the first man to tread not upon terra firma but upon the gray dust of terra incognita, [Armstrong] rose above the fray and stayed there."

 

The man on the moon stayed grounded.

There's something so admirable about those whose modesty exceeds their celebrity. Armstrong became a teacher. George Washington held office for a mere two terms. Even Harper Lee has famously shyed from media attention: she said what she needed to say. 

 

In a cheeky and idealistic commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania, Irish rock star Bono professed his love for the red, white, and blue:

"America's not just a country--it's an idea...The idea that anything is possible--That's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like 'Hey, look! There's the moon up there! Let's go take a walk on it! Bring back a piece of it!' That's the kind of America I'm a fan of. "

 

Armstrong brought back a piece of the sky; but more importantly, he lived as an example of national character. We will continue to break new horizons. Let's hope tomorrow's heroes do so with the same level of grace and humility.



DOWNLOAD: 8.23.2012

Listening: 

Heavy Light--Dr. Dog

Felt Good On My Lips--Tim McGraw

Radioactive--Imagine Dragons
The Crisis--Ennio Morricone

A Runner and A Singer--Annalise Emerick

Empty House--Delta Spirit
Brown Eyes--Lady Gaga

VCR--The Xx

Maniac--Michael Sembello
New York's Not My Home--Jim Croce

Appreciating: 

Peeta (not like The Hunger Games), Graffiti Artist/Sculptor 

Salvador Dali The famous surrealist also produced a series of illustrations for Lewis Carroll's classic, Alice in Wonderland. Loving the fluidity and colors. 

Andy Goldsworthy Meticulously planned, 100% natural outdoor creations. Brings a new meaning to the phrase "living art." 

Eating: 

California Pizza Kitchen's Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza. This is seriously the best. 

A Candied Razor

"These jolts of sobriety in the midst of rank goofiness are a ten-year-old's specialty. Each one comes as a fresh, hard surprise, like finding a razor blade in a candy apple." --Susan Orlean

A razor blade in a candy apple. Orlean's phraseology in "The American Male at Age Ten" is pretty much the only way I can articulate my feelings about Pigeon English.

This book is incredibly frustrating.

In the novel, Kelman chronicles the daily musings of Harri Opoku, an 11-year old Ghanaian immigrant living in a slummy South London borough. An innocent person has been brutally stabbed to death, and Harri is determined to get to the bottom of the crime.

Reading Harri's reflections on the gang warfare, prolific drug use, and unstable nature of his squalid surroundings is enough to make my stomach churn. And with strings of broken English and frequent nonce words, I'm often left feeling as lost as the narrator.

However, there is a stinging clarity to Harri's observations. Even as a child, Harri has an inner strength and resolve that draws you in.

I won't say I love the book. It strikes an uncomfortable nerve, and the narrative style is enough to drive me crazy. But there's no way I'll stop reading now.

You just can't give up on this kid.

On the Shelf 8.23.2012

This week, McSweeny's had me in stitches once again. Teddy Wayne's parody of pre-teen fan fiction is a gem.“The Middle School Dance” by Melissa Bell, Age 13 is the funniest thing I've read in ages. Some crowning moments:

'“Why are you alone?” he questioned, his dark hair flowing like a dark river." 

"She was pretty in a very subtle way that not everyone understood at first, just as her mother told her. “Since U Been Gone” started playing. “This is my favorite song,” said Ashton. “It is my favorite too,” answered back Marisa. “I always try to request it on TRL but I can never get through.”' 

"Ashton took Melissa by the hand and they slow danced. She felt she could stay in his arms 4EVA. The chaperone Mr. Burlick the Earth Science teacher did not enforce the twelve-inch rule because he saw how important this was to Marisa and to Ashton. At that moment he decided to give Marisa an “A.”' 

This story is so, unbelievably bad. That's what makes it brilliant. 

To me, what gives this piece its punch is the author itself. How is it that a grown man can so masterfully tap into the insecurities of a pre-teen girl, casually intermingling pop culture cliches with sickening melodrama?

"The Middle School Dance" made me laugh, made me cringe, and made me feel for the slightly-pathetic Melissa/Marissa Bell/Ball. But most of all, it made me really really not miss middle school.

I've also just begun to delve into Dave Egger's A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

The jury's still out on this one. I can't decide: either Eggers is a comedic mastermind, or he's just too arrogant for his own good.

First Post

Words are kind of my thing. I keep an ungodly number of books in my room, and I'm shameless about my hoarding. 

I could say I read with the intention of "feeding my mind," "uncovering the mysteries of the age," and scaling the peaks and trenches of human nature to reach some new, "mystic" level of understanding. But please. 

I read because I am curious; I read because there are stories being told. 

This year, I want to expose myself to a slew of new authors and writing styles. I want to read work that challenges me and captures my attention. Because, truth be told, I'm the psycho that'll "walk&read" down the hallway. I'm the girl that forgets I have other places to be whenever I see a Half-Price Books. 

Any author that can make me read just one more chapter before I fall asleep is doing something right. I want to read pieces that inspire me to become a better writer. 

Basically, I read to pick up something about the world and something about myself. That's pretty much always the goal. Why stop this year?