Author Archives: Duff

Last Meal on Earth.

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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.

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

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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

October Album Reviews

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Not a big month for buying music. Odd.

Absolutely Love & Adore:

Keane “Perfect Symmetry” – Wow I LOVE this album. Did not expect to. Almost didn’t buy it! It’s a new sound for them, not as sad, and not as poppy…a bit more “anthem rock” than they used to be. You can picture these songs just filling up stadiums. Like old Snow Patrol, before they got super cheesy. Fave songs: “The Lovers Are Losing”; “Better Than This” (totally reminds me of Roxy Music “More Than This”); “Pretend that You’re Alone”; “Time to Go”.
Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):

  • “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” (covering Fleet Foxes) First Aid Kit – Swoon.
  • “I Shall Be Released” (cover) Wilco & Fleet Foxes
  • “Breathe” Calhoun
  • “Honey Let Me Sing You a Song” Matt Hires
  • “Hymn 101” Joe Pug

Other Albums I Liked:

  • Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts “Temporary People” – So in addition to a gajillion (five?) EPs he put out ths year, there’s also this full on album. The difference, to my ear, is the EPs are a little darker, a little more digitally dirty, a little more lonely. This is a good listen.
  • Ray LaMontagne “Gossip in the Grain” – As with Keane’s new album (above), LaMontagne has really expanded his ideas here. Lots of upbeat, jazzy stuff. The beginning of “You Are the Best Thing” is awesome, just marches right out and grabs you. Sure, there are still some sad, slow ones. But it’s the new, happier songs I really enjoy on this album.
  • First Aid Kit “Drunken Trees” – So I ordered this after hearing their brilliant cover of Fleet Foxes (see list above). It’s allright. Their own stuff isn’t as powerful, there’s no shimmery acapello moments here. But not bad. They’ve got some room to grow.

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:
Nada.

Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:
Nada!

Tea

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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.

DVD: Deception

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Hugh Jackman (evil and slimey) and Ewan McGregor (nerdy and naive) play against type quite effectively here. I found the whole thing super creepy and foreboding. Michelle Williams is good too although hers is at moments barely a bit part and at other moments pivotal to the plot, which gave it overall an uneven feel I thought. Also one of the twists at the end…might have been worked better.

It’s got a bit of Ripley sense to it. I liked it. But I don’t remember it being in the theaters for even a week. So I may be the only one. (I didn’t LOVE it but I liked it.)

DVD: The Bank Job

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Very entertaining! Because I apparently live in a bubble*, I was not aware that it was a) based on a true story and b) set in the ’70s. I guess b) accounts for the overabundance of (female of course) tits ‘n ass shown up close.

Really intriguing story, with so much crossover between different players and sets of circumstances that you really don’t have any idea how it’s all going to work out. I mean, if you’re me and didn’t know the real story going in.

*There are two (in)famous ways in which this was proven irrefutably to my friends: 1) mad cow and 2) the unibomber. But if you want to hear those stories, I guess you’ll have to email me.

Decision-making criteria.

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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?