Author Archives: Duff

Oh, the torture.

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1) Au Bon Pain has suddenly, and without any type of notification (such as certified letter to me), stopped carrying Nantucket Nectars Half & Half, my most beloved bottled drink (half Ice Tea/half Lemonade, what some would call an “Arnold Palmer”).

Problem the first: This is the only reason I even went to ABP today.

Problem the second: This drink is almost impossible to find in Chicago. (Even in NYC, I used to make special trips to Penn Station as there was a very reliable vendor of it there.)

Dear ABP,
You’ve just been banned from my lunchtime rotation for at least a month. So there.
Sincerely,
My entire life is falling apart, and NOW THIS?
Are you kidding me,
Duff

2) I for some unknown and clearly completely ridiculous reason ordered brown rice in my otherwise deliciously dependable Mayan Chicken Harvest Rice Bowl.

Problem the first: This brown rice thing? Has a shall we call it very distinctive….flavor? We are not fans.

Dear White Rice,
I am missing the shit out of you right now.
Sincerely,
The big loserly lover of blandness in her food,
Duff

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

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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!!

DadReaction: Doomsday

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If you don’t see this, you’re missing one of the best movies of the year. Kick-ass girl-power movie. There’s a one-eyed woman cop, tough as nails. Takes on all of Scotland, kicks butt. It’s a lot like 28 Days Later, Mad Max, and Aliens. Also influenced by Satyricon and King Arthur.

Beautifully filmed; the action scenes are great; you’re on the edge of your seat. Stunning photography. Just a great ride.

[Note: Doomsday was written & directed by the same guy who did The Descent, one of Dad’s top five from last year (which was way tooooo fucking scary if you ask me.), and also Dog Soldiers (which I am way way WAY too scared of to watch).]

Best of August

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The best movie I saw in August would have to be the ONLY movie I saw in August which is ridiculous and pathetic but that’s something for a different post, eh? Yeah, so anyway, that’d be Wall-E, which was fine but animation isn’t really my thing.

The best book I read in August was The Likeness by Tana French. It’s somewhat of a sequel but you don’t really need to have read the earlier book to enjoy it; different main character.

The best gig I went to in August was Great Lake Swimmers.

My favorite tunes in August were the songs that wound up on my current favorite playlists.

Random personal highlights: (Only) one day at Lollapalooza (this time around); Silvia came to Chicago two weekends in a row! Woot!; Hot Doug’s with Cinnamon. I actually went to KIP twice, if you can even believe that. And then there was this little thing I went to called Dragon*Con (which also encompassed a week long trip to Georgia to crash the Happy Pants home).

Lowlights? I don’t know, looking back it seems like it was a fairly decent month. Maybe bursting into uncontrollable tears about 15 minutes after meeting my crush? Fun times (poor Carrie and Cat).

In Concert: Great Lake Swimmers

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I’ve been waiting a long long time to see this band. As I may have mentioned.

What can I say, a month later when I realize I never wrote this up? They’re Canadian. They’re in that whole current vein of mountain-y lookin’ men (Sea Wolf, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver); except that unlike those bands most of the singing is done by just the one dude. (And they have more albums out, been around a bit longer.) Their songs are lush and dark and deep and layered. And lovely. Did I mention lovely? 🙂

I thought the crowd was a bit more idiotic than normal; I would make such a great bouncer as I would escort people out for yelling stupid things and being morons and talking too fucking loud during quiet songs. Perhaps that shall be my next career (if you haven’t heard, I may be on the lookout for one).

They sounded gorgeous. I’d go see them again in a heartbeat.

Beers I Have Had Tonight

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  • 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.

Big Screen: Tropic Thunder

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So hilarious. Brilliantly satirical.

Two things alone are worth the price of admission:
1) The fake previews, ESPECIALLY the RDJ/Tobey Maguire one; and
2) Tom Cruise’s performance. He deserves a fucking Oscar for that. I thought I was going to start crying, I was laughing so hard watching him during the closing credits. The boy may be totally and completely insane, but you’ve got to give someone credit who’s willing to put it all out there like that.

If you need to know more, you can re-read the DadReaction to this flick.