Hmmmm
Mood:  incredulous

      Yesterday, the tools to make this blog became considerably more complex than they used to be. Now I have "Emoticons" and Topics and a toolbar to help me code and add images. It's all odd and not too useful to me, as I already know html. This'll prob'ly be the last time I use an "Emoticon", so enjoy it. The spell-check is quite welcome, though, as I usually (time permitting) cut-n-paste into MS Word to check spelling and then have to c-n-p back into the blog text field to post.

      Ok, so there's this about some guy who doesn't write very well but thinks he does. He's also prone to making up credentials. He claims to have received an MFA from UC Irvine. I sure hope it wasn't from any lit-related department. Maybe he got his MFA in sculpture or something. 'Cause, while I never took masters writing courses at UCI, I took a couple of undergrad writing courses taught be grad students, and they are some of my favorite instructors from my college days. I feel insulted by this guy on their behalf. How dare he sully such wonderful people for me with his ickiness! Hell, Aimee Bender got an MFA in creative writing at UCI and she's one of my very favorite authors. How dare this creep connect himself to Aimee Bender in my mind?!? Grr!

      Also, crunchy peanut butter is yummy. Yay for peanuts! And that Carver guy! Double yay!

Oh, you know...

      So, I, uh...I watched Newsradio last night. Janeane Garofalo was the guest star. She's my favorite funny person. And...I did laundry.

      I have 35 of 60 time slots filled for the summer quarter that begins on Monday. Jill promised the hours some time today, and when I get those in I should be able to finish the schedule. It's madness, truly.

Oops! Forgot something.

      I finally finished reading The Man Who was Thursday some time last week. I cannot recommend Mr Chesterton's work highly enough. Were it not for everything else I have stacked up to read, I'd immerse myself in GKC for the next several months. I'm thankful that the American Chesterton Society has some of his work available online. Makes the work day pass more pleasantly.
      Anyways, the book itself was quite satisfying. Some of the pay-offs were a little obvious, but maybe that's just because of my historical perspective. I still enjoyed it. Figuring things out a couple of chapters before the characters do makes me feel good, 'cause I can usually only predict the plot of crappy sitcoms, which is why I don't watch them.

      Separately, I watched this TV movie on Lifetime with my Mom over the weekend called To Love, Honor and Deceive. I know, from the description so far one would expect crap. But it was actually well-written and had a plot and was v. entertaining. It wasn't perfect, but it's far better than that "Stepford Husbands" thing I couldn't even get past the first 30 minutes of. Ok, that isn't a good recommendation. If you like a good mystery with a beautiful soap star and a funny FBI agent and that guy who played Greg on "Dharma and Greg", it's definitely the TV movie for you. ; )

Now I'm sleepy--

      Um, snickers are good. They're full of sugar and caffeine and yumminess. Yay for snickers!

      I began reading Four Women by Sam Keith last night, after realizing that I'd bought it while in Hollywood the weekend of the AD TWoP Con and hadn't looked at it since. I caught the first line of the foreword by the author that said something about the book being based on events that really happened to a woman he knows. I stopped there for fear of spoiling the book for myself. I didn't get through chapter two, though. It was just getting too scary for me. I figured it'd be a good idea to not read it right before going to bed last night, and assumed I'd pick it up again some other time. Right now, I don't think I ever want to finish reading that. I just can't handle scary stories. It's a shame, cuz his work is always so good, but I'd prefer to have fewer nightmares, thanks.

      I decided to get in some less frightening reading just before nodding-off and chose one of the books Brooke gave me for my birthday, A College of Magics. The cover compares it to "Harry Potter", but it pre-dates that series, which gave me a good feeling. It's fun so far, but reminds me far more of His Dark Materials than HP. Prob'ly cuza the female protagonist and ye olde fashioned time period. Also, it isn't weighed down too much with the minutiae of "going to school".

A New Playlist for You to Love
Listen online at kuci.org

Artist . Song . Album . New Release?
1. Quantic . Mishaps Happening . Mishaps Happening . NR
2. Greyboy . Make Music w/ Bart Davenport . Soul Mosaic . NR
3. La Funkmob . Oriental Folk Song [Wayne Shorter] . Blue Note Revisited . NR

4. Glenn Branca . Dissonance . Lesson No. 1 . NR

5. Casino Versus Japan . Sheena . Freescha . NR
6. Kammerflimmer Kollektief . Eiderdaunen (Version) . Thank You . comp. . NR
7. Chib . Hon . Moco . NR
8. Noah Creshevsky . Ossi di Morte . Hyperrealism . NR

9. New Black . Hot Box . New Black . NR
9a. The Beta Band . Out-Side . Heroes to Zeroes . NR

10. Banco de Gaia . Gray Over Gray . You Are Here . NR

11. Blockhead . Intro: Hello Popartz, Scratches by Omega One . Music by Cavelight . NR
12. Not Breathing . Polaris . Carrion Sounds . NR
13. o9 . Terminal Silver . Church of the Ghetto P.C. . NR

+14. Masters at Work . La Descarga del Bobo [Willie Bobo] . Latin Verve Sounds . NR
15. Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy . Because of You [dj Shade remix] . release 1.0 . NR
16. Numatic Soul . Dry Clean . Groove Closet comp. . NR

17. Kid Spatula . Orange Crumble . Meast . NR
18. Cottonbelly . Real Inspiration . Z Amounts of Niceness . NR

19. Funkstorung . Sleeping Beauty w/ Lou Rhodes . Disconnected . NR
20. Gys . Dim (Substance rework) . art d'eacho . NR

Last night

      I got dinner at the harbor, where they have the best calamari I've ever eaten. There's a new (to me, at least) waiter who's so pretty! He reminded me of the beach: sandy hair, clear blue eyes, pale skin like the inside of a sea shell, and rosy lips. (Yes, I know "rosy" isn't particularly beachy, but that's the best term for them.) He also had a pleasant, mid-range speaking voice, and the kind of face that'll only get more handsome as he ages. Ah, pretty underage boys! Where would the world be without them?

      I then went for a walk around the harbor, listening to the end of Jerry Springer: The Opera. I can't wait till they tour the states. It's funny and naughty and all over entertaining. The operatic singing didn't even bother me all that much.

      Then I switched to the Momus album I got earlier this week: Stars Forever. I especially like the song about eating too much chocolate. I've been doing that lately.

      I was walking with the paper parasol I bought at Coachella, because I just didn't feel like wearing a hat. Someone told me that it looked beautiful with the setting sun shining through it. That made me smile. (Usually, when people comment on my parasols, they say things that make me unhappy.)

      I watched an episode of Newsradio in which Dave has to decide how much of an annual bonus each of the employees is going to receive. I'm so glad it's in syndication.

      I played with the kitty for a bit. She's quite adept at hitting milk rings from behind a shoe box.

      I'm just a chapter or two away from finishing "The Man Who was Thursday". Mom wants to borrow it when I'm done.

      Then, to bed.

Electronic sites to visit:

      Seems that not only is Narconon a branch of the Church of Scientology, but it also teaches children dangerous pseudo-science about drugs. One more reason to dislike them.

      If you like any kind of punk, I suggest you visit Gedkido Comet Records. They're cool and they know good music.
      better Propaganda is a music site I only just noticed. They seem to be trying to pimp indie/underground music in a way that is palatable to middle class suburban kids who can't actually think for themselves but like to believe that they do. Sign up for their e-newsletter if you want to keep track of "hip new music".

      These are the shoes I bought last night to wear to Shana's wedding. They're actually called "Cinderella"! I got the bronze ones, so now I have to find a brown patent leather purse...

Xeroxing for Life

      I usually don't bother reading articles that sound sensationalist or tragic, but this one from the SF Chronicle just sucked me in. Damn, I feel grateful for how fucked up my country is in comparison. Bush truly is evil for contributing to all of this crap.

      The people who run FedEx are stupid. Because they are headquartered in Memphis, packages are routed to Tennessee to be sorted. Yet, when I again sent another package from Irvine to Hollywood, it was routed from Los Angeles to Memphis and then back to Los Angeles before being delivered to Hollywood. Someone at FedEx should be fired for this wasteful policy. When I called their customer service line, their representative was not of much help, of course. What can she do if the rest of the company doesn't know how to do its job? Although she was surprised that it was shipped to Memphis instead of Oakland, because Oakland is clearly the stop to make between Irvine and Los Angeles. Next time, UPS.

      On a more pleasant note, the American Chesterton Society's website is a lot of fun.

Extra post for today!

      Fun sketchy trivia from Brudda Bu's Ukulele Heaven: "ukulele" probably means "jumping flea".

New Harry Potter movie reflections

Aspects of the film I enjoyed:

Trimming the plot down to be more cinematic; staying true to the feeling of the book while not keeping everything exactly the way it is in the book.

It reminded me of Batman.

Tom at the Leaky Cauldron. He is such an Igor.

Matthew Lewis, who plays Neville, is just getting better and better. I get the feeling that he could break away from the series as a huge comedy star, or at least a beloved character actor. I'd like to see him comedically team-up with Rupert Grint. Those kids are too funny!

Gary Oldman.

Alan Rickman (esp. stupified in dress).

David Thewlis wasn't bad, either.

Harry and Hermione sit at the edge of the dark spooky forest. A flock(?) of bats swoops in from behind them. All the while: pastoral music.

Hagrid's suit. Sticking close to the book can be a good thing, in moderation.

Ron waking from a nightmare in which spiders are trying to make him tap dance and he doesn't want to tap dance. Harry: "You tell 'em, Ron!"

Kids not allowed in the tavern.

The giant spider on roller skates.

Harry searching for Pettigrew in the dark hallway.

That creature living in Hagrid's shack.

The Dementors fly!

The gag with the maid at the Leaky Cauldron.

Aspects of the film I didn't enjoy so much:

The werewolf design.

John Williams' main theme, again.

Giving away Pettigrew too soon with the Marauder's Map.

The focus on Lily Potter exposition when the climax is about James Potter. Also, making Remus sound as though he and Lily hooked up before James came on the scene.

What should have been high drama in The Shrieking Shack. ugh, I could go on...

Not bothering to explain main plot points at all. (Scabbers, The Marauder's Map, etc. What real difference would another 4-7 minutes make to the 142 minute runtime?)

Pettigrew's teeth. Really!

The rastafarian shrunken head on the Knight Bus.

Failing to take a breather when Harry announces that he's going to kill Sirius.

Obsessive-compulsive Whomping Willow shots.

The Dementor face-sucking effect.

Snuffles barking in his first appearance.

Not taking two seconds to show Harry releasing Hedwig before leaving Privet Drive.

Hackneyed spooky: empty swings creaking in the wind.
      I really do like it. It's my favorite of the three. Yay for Alfonso Cuaron!

Posted by rachelcrane at 3:57 PM PDT

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