Author Archives: Duff

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

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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!

If you read any music blogs,

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you’ve certainly heard about the 15 yr anniversary of Exile in Guyville and everyone using this opportunity to slam Liz Phair for her (since) sellout attempts at trying to actually make money off her records (oh! the scandal!).

This is one of the more coherent and reasoned analysis I’ve read.

I saw Liz Phair in concert in NYC once, years ago (after the second or third album, I can’t remember which, the second I think), and she was (oddly) much less shy on stage than she usually is, commented on that phenomenon herself and then said [something like] “I’ve never been comfortable enough to sing this live but I’m feeling oddly outgoing tonight so here goes” and launched into Flower. The crowd went completely fucking nuts, as you can imagine.

And when we saw her at Field Day Fest (in 2003) while I don’t even remember how she sounded, I do remember my friend Dan being totally into her elbow-length armwarmers and mentioning them to his girlfriend so many times that a fight almost broke out. I wasn’t paying that much attention since I had just realized I had a river* of Jack Daniels running down my stomach from having snuck a fifth in tucked upside down in my bra but not noticing the lid was cracked*… Sweet.

For the record, there are some songs on her later albums I love as well (“Uncle Alvarez” for one), but it’s true that Exile in Guyville has *something* the other albums really don’t. (But perhaps they don’t aspire to either.)

*and by “river” I mean tiny trickle and by “cracked” I mean just enough to be letting out a tiny trickle. A trickle like “hmmm, why does my tummy feel damp?” trickle. Thankfully discovered quickly enough to put a speedy end to it.

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…

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So I have officially declared Wednesdays to be the “Currently” update date. Completely official until next time I forget and just don’t do it, which will most likely be next week! Ha!

Eating: I’m kinda obsessed with the Poblano Fresco (with Chicken) sandwich at Corner Bakery right now. Which is unfortunate being that it’s 900 calories (NO JOKE) which is a lot to spend on one sandwich when you are pretending to only eat 1500 calories a day…

Making: A second “vest” type garment made out of super thick, super warm, wool. Because that’s totally what you are looking for in clothing right? Something with short sleeves that’s super hot?

Reading: Just finished “”Lush Life” by Richard Price (v.v.good) and was reading short stories from Cate Kennedy “Dark Roots” except I didn’t realize how close to the end I was and finished it on the El this morning (only 182 pages and BIG print). So crap, I’m not reading ANYTHING right this second and you know I am antsy to get home and dig into the bookshelves and get moving!

Watching: Nothing. I don’t think I’ve turned on the TV this week. (Oh except to put in BSG discs which I’ve started over again for the third & fourth times (depending on the episode) and am now mid-season 2. I like to be watching around where my dad is watching so when he calls I can remember the stuff he’s raving about.) I am waiting for this weekend where I WILL see WANTED, I tell you now.

Listening: Listening to the (still relatively) new Death Cab and also Fleet Foxes and Shearwater and Joseph Arthur and Port O’Brien and Madonna and Missy Higgins and Candy Butchers… I’m all over the place. I am thinking deep thoughts about a mix someone requested so I’ll be poking about a bit until I get that done.

So last night, on the telephone…*

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My dad and I spent an hour discussing the various things that make Sharon (or “the 8s”) different than the other Cylons. Seriously.

Then there was this:
Him: So I figured out there’s only one thing left I haven’t done in this life.
Me: Oh yeah?
Him: Win a marathon. So I’m going to do it!
Me: Wait, did you say “run” a marathon?
Him: No. WIN a marathon.
Me: Well. Win for your age group, right?
Him: NO! Win. Win the whole thing.
Me: Well, good luck beating the Kenyans! Do you realize how fast you have to run to win a marathon?
Him: Yeah, that’s true. They’ll be some tough competition.
Me: It’s very coincidental you bringing up running. I just started trying to run again, but it’s one of those “go from being a couch potato to someone who can actually run for 20 minutes” things where you start really gradually alternating running and walking..
Him: That sounds good! Send me the instructions for that!
Me: OK, Marathon Winner.

All this from a 6261 year old man (whoops, that doesn’t happen until August) who I’m pretty sure the last time he actually RAN ON PURPOSE was sometime in the late 60s when he took running as part of his P/E credit in college and (so I was told) puked his guts out after every run. Oh, and there was that time a few years ago where he was playing softball with the youth group, ran for base, and SLID, and threw his rotator cuff out.

*Said, of course, to the rhythm of “so one time, at bandcamp”

Fantasy: Raven’s Shadow and Raven’s Strike, by Patricia Briggs

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Yes, I’m on a bit of a Patricia Briggs kick (first the Mercy Thompson books, then the dragon books I read last month (known together as “the Hurog books”); these are known as “the Raven duology.”

Reminiscent of Robert Jordan with the magic and the travelers and the sense of class/caste between magic(al) and not… As with the Hurog books, the characters in these books are so real and so easy to engage with, and the story becomes even more believable as it evolves.

The first book establishes the relationship that the second book gives you the payoff for. The enlargement of the magic world in book two is done just so, so well. Jess is my favorite (not just Jess, but the Guardian as well) but all the “orders” have their attractions.

If you like fantasy, you should be reading these. (And if you like “good literature” but haven’t been reading fantasy because you didn’t know which ones to read, this is a good place for you to start.)

Fiction: The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck

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I’ll go back to my initial reaction: Welcome to the new generation of war novelists. Tactile and gritty and completely engrossing.

A bombed-out Middle Eastern city. An isolated military unit. Sand and desert winds and sweat and dehydration and confusion. The byplay between fear and confidence.

While it is what every good war novel is…it is also something of its own. Highly recommended.

Big Screen: The Fall

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Visually stunning.

Similar to Pan’s Labyrinth, the audience watches the fairytale playout of a child’s imagination. Lee Pace is quite good here, very John Cusack-feelin’. Gorgeous, rich, saturated landscapes in beautiful locations (with every new scene, I thought: “WOW, where was THIS filmed???”). A sweetly charming (and ongoing) visual Indian vs. Indian joke.

Enjoyable enough plot; truly beautifully filmed.