bizarre celebrations

I am obsessed, OBSESSED with this Of Montreal song called Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games). Anyway, that is neither here nor there (except it contains the lyrics "let's have bizarre celebrations" and "let's pretend we're in antarctica", which charm me so much for some reason. Oooh - you can download it for free from their website here.).

Today, I have the house to myself! But not for long. The Out of Town Relatives (OoTR) were joined by yet another OoTR (Idaho division) and they are going up to Mt. Hood. They will be back later this afternoon. They have been lovely guests and will be leaving at midnight tomorrow, and things will get back to normal. Or normal for October. The good thing: I can play music all day long if I want, and I can work on projects. I have a special project I am working on for a b-day present and it requires specialty eqipment (so dangerous I could maim myself) which makes it that much more exciting! If it turns out, I will post pictures. (but not until after the b-day in question).

turn to clear vision

I wish I had a knob in the middle of my forehead that I could turn to clear vision. Maybe then I could spot the black cloud I can feel skulking along behind me and zap it with something. I need a black cloud eradicator. (Leslie suggested j-pop, which is a really good idea).

In other news, the thing that I wasn't doing and stressing about has been done (finally!), and was well-received except for a couple of really minor fixes. Yay! and phew!

The third wave of visiting relatives arrived last night. I am so tired. They seem nice, but I am all worn out from the first two waves of visiting relatives. Anything else I could say right now would just be extremely gratuitous whining, so I'll keep it to myself, just this once.

To end on a more fun note, check out this photoblog. It's called Cameratoss, and is more beautiful than you might think. Also, consider stopping by and visiting Gothic Charm School, the former Gothic Miss Manners reborn into The Lady of the Manners to dispense gothly advice with kindness and wisdom.

state of the state:

wherein I try to explicate recent obsessions in list form:

number of freelance projects unfinished and eating away at me: ONE

favorite video featuring a Trashsquatch: Cough Coughing by local Portland band Menomena. (there are some great pdx neighborhood vistas in this video. And a TRASHSQUATCH!!)

NaNoWriMo Yes or No: I think yes, since despite the fact I was certain I would never have another idea again, I came up with one I really want to work on. I will probably never do it without a draconian deadline, so hooray for nano!

place to which I must return as soon as possible: Portland Art Museums new new wing. I went yesterday with a friend, and it blew my mind. I got an art headache. (or a headache from not eating, it's not entirely clear which). The building itself is wonderful - they converted an old masonic temple and connected it underground with the existing museum - but the paintings were beyond wonderful. I need to go back again when the free admission period has ended and every middle-school and high-school art class hasn't descended like a swarm of bees. I was both grumpy and pleased at the crowds. It was the middle of the day on a THURSDAY, and it was packed. This means that pdx is full of my people - cheap people who like art. And what kind of curmudgeon would a person have to be to bitch about a MUSEUM having mall-type crowds? It's awesome! On the other hand, I could have cheerfully clotheslined the annoying 12 year old who would step in front of every painting and extend his arms and pose. I just need to go look again. I renewed my lapsed membership (they were having a sale where you get 2 free months), and will just have to go back often. The photography galleries were great too.

Tunnels which I will be exploring TONIGHT: Portland's Shanghai Tunnels. Martina did all the arranging, and we are using it to celebrate part of Bec's birthday month. I featured the tunnels in last year's nano novel, so I am looking forward to seeing how much I have to change (if I ever go back to that story).

CDs I am listening to all the time: Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple, The Majesty of Bob Wills by the Pine Valley Cosmonauts. PDX Pop Now! 2005 Compilationby various pdx indie bands.
I am still deciding which of the Fiona versions I like better. I am so happy that I have both to chose from! Here's the New Yorker Review by Sasha Frere-Jones, and as a special bonus (I really enjoyed it, anyway) a transcript of his interview with Fiona Apple.

Number of things I have to finish before the third wave of visiting relatives arrives on Monday: Innumerable! So, I should go get on that, I guess.

reminders to self when bored and antsy:

1) clicking your mail every 10 seconds does NOT magically make mail appear.
2) Just do that thing already, then you won't have to worry about it not being done anymore. Really. It is the simple solution to a problem of your own making.
3. (this is embarrassing because I have already written this note to myself within the last 30 days) - if you go to a show, or say a READING, and you plan on writing about it later, write about it THEN. I am looking at a scrap of paper from the Neil Gaiman reading where I have (honest to god) written down "whittering on woodland animals tribulations with jam" I suspect at the time, this would have made SOME SENSE, possibly. As it is now all I can recall is that I really like the word whittering.
4) Self, you have probably not actually read the entire internet, despite the feeling that oh, yes you have. For real. Just go to bed already.

and with that, I should probably take my (ever so) sensible advice and get away from the computer. Maybe even Go To Sleep!

Woo Hoo! it looks like the internet decided to grant me a boon, despite my whining. the "search this" blog thingie up above appears to work now. At least with a few random tests...

fall tv shows opinionometer, cont.

I am just going to stab at these really randomly. Some are new shows, some are returning shows - but I think all the ones on this list are returning:

Las Vegas: A wiser person than me called this show "the Love Boat of the 21st Century," and I really can't disagree. Guest stars (as themselves) introduced under the flimsiest of circumstances? You betcha! Just this week it was the Pussycat Dolls or whatever they call themselves. Wacky hijinx? You know it! Romantic entanglements quickly resolved? No doubt! Isaac the bartender? Well, no. But still.
Problem this season: it's not Lara Flynn Boyle (who I thought was great in Wayne's World and Twin Peaks) - it's her freakish LIPS!! My god! It's like banana slugs are eating her face, and rather than have them removed she just puts lipstick on them and hopes no one will notice. Ugh. They also are trying really hard to dress her like she's got more shape than a bag of sticks. It is slightly more successful than the banana slug plan. BUT, in other news - Tad Hamilton is back, as are all the rest except for Nessa. Tad Hamilton had his shirt off in the first episode (he was mourning, of course. The ancient practice of mournful, sweaty, shirtless construction.), and that pretty much sums up the show. It's pretty, it doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense, sometimes Tad Hamilton will take off his shirt, sometimes James Caan will pretend to punch someone. Win/ win!

The OC: - I miss you, season 1 The OC! When Seth was funny and dorky and Ryan was broody and punchy and there was a debutante ball or some fancy party every week. Season 2 was a bust, and season 3 still has time to turn itself around now that they have attempted the dangerous 'reset' maneuver. Will Marissa being poor and going to public school bring back some of that season 1 magic and charm? Time will tell. but it better tell QUICK, or I am going to give up and read books. You hear me, TV? I said I might READ!!!

Grey's Anatomy: I like it. Sure, it's soapy, but they actually have some great characters. The medical stuff is interesting, but it is always back seat to the characters, so I don't anticipate it being the kind of medical show where I develop intense hypochondria from just watching. Favorite characters at the moment are Christina (although that was a bullshit resolution to the pregnancy. OK, actually it was just a half-bullshit resolution. At least they didn't have her fall down the stairs.), Burke, George, and, so help me, Meredith and Dr. McDreamy. Plus, the music is great. Seriously. I think it is second only to Gilmore Girls in the great music during the show department.

Mr. Dynamite

by Meredith Brosnan #35

I can hardly describe this book except to say that it is loopy and lurid but has a broken yet still beating heart at the center. Warning: it brings out alliteration in those already predisposed. Jarleth Prendergast (aka Trendy Prendy, or Trendy P by the time he's hallucinating the book's version of the Wu-Tang Clan) is an avant-garde claymation filmmaker (among other things, but I think that's what he would like you to know first); an Irishman living in New York; and one of those hopeless screw-ups that makes his own situation worse with every decision. I still couldn't help but root for him, even as I recognized he would be living hell to know personally and that his entire mission statement was lunacy. The whole book is a run-on stream of consciousness sentence as he talks to his dead lawyer. It's wonderful, it's sad, it's hilarious in parts. I've picked out a short passage to sort of give a taste of Trendy P's style. I found it very addictive.

--Things looked hopeless - one afternoon during a thunderstorm I ducked into St. Pat's - I'd never been inside the great cathedral - I lit a candle and asked the Blessed Virgin to help me - just like that: 20 yrs of cheerful atheism down the drain!!! - Holy Mary Mother of God I know in the past I have failed to show you the respect and honour that is your due especially in view of your interesting origins in pre-Christian fertility cults cf. R. Graves and others but please if you can overlook this lapse smile down upon your wayward son give me strength for the task ahead and in return I promise to straighten up and fly right - O BVM in your powder blue gown bring me the head of Peter the Rapist - or rather let me bring YOU the head - Mystery Lady Disco Lady Star of the Sea & Queen of All the Salty Sailors HELP ME amen- Fighting words you might say but deep down Sean I knew I'd gone off the boil:

I could go on and on, but the rest of my favorite passages would take too long to explain out of their context (which, to give you a little hint include a pistol named McSplatter and operation: SNUFFOUT) Trendy P is a troubled man, but well worth spending some time with.

books, wonderful books!

I love the internet. I love it for a variety of reasons large and small, but mostly because it allows people to run unfettered with their obsessions at their fingertips. I also enjoy how fellow obsessives (today's edition: books) reach out to help each other. Here are three great links for the book obsessed, by the book obsessed.

1. What Should I Read Next? Easy as pie - you simply enter in the title and author of a book you enjoyed, and it will pull up from its databank the name of another book you may enjoy from actual reader suggestions. I tested it out, and it didn't have any suggestions for me (I put in The Last Manly Man by Sparkle Hayter), but I don't think this means it is a bad resource by any means. I just think it needs more members so it can make more recommendations. Let's not let Amazon.com have the last word!

2. Reader² - I saw this described as "Flickr for books" - you put up your book list, assign tags, and find your way to new and wonderful things. I haven't really checked it out yet, but plan to.

3. Internet Book List:: A database of book information - this looks to be a sort of cross between Wikipedia and the imdb. It is user-driven, and again the kind of thing that benefits from a LOT Of users so you don't just have the entire history of Dr. Who novels and nothing else.

The Dewey Decimal System of Love

by Josephine Carr #34

I picked this one up browsing in the library. I have to say, I wasn't sure about it at first. I thought after my overreaction to The Last Detective that maybe I was just broken and no longer able to enjoy the written word; that maybe I should just hit myself on the head with a rock and be done with it all. Goodbye, cruel world! Fortunately I was too lazy to go find a rock big enough to do the job quickly, so I kept reading.
The thing that bugged me the most initially (the imperious, bizarro first person narrator) turned out to be the thing I loved the most! She was completely unreliable, but she knew it (eventually). The character valued order and logic, which makes sense for a librarian, but fell victim to the irrationality of love. Not even love at first - just that insane rush of attraction that can make a person do strange things. I thought that the author did a great job showing how the character was changing without putting a blinking arrow on things. It sounds like that should be a gimme, but it is *hard* to do with a first person narrator. Anyway - I would recommend it. If you do check it out, be sure to give it a chance. It's a grower.

cinderella pumpkins

aka french pumpkins

With one of these babies all you need is a fairy godmother and a rodent problem and you are GOOD TO GO for any state-sponsored balls.

I had to post this because the main page was looking a little naked and devoid of color. I will definitely be able to do other things I need to do knowing that there is some ORANGE up top.

Oooh - so this isn't a total "post a pumpkin and run" entry, I will start on my Fall TV Shows opinionmeter.

My Name is Earl - I've only seen two episodes, but it is a definite thumbs up, woo-yeah, ha ha ha show. Every character on every episode I have seen (granted, only 2) has been right on the money. This and Arrested Development are just about the only two sit-coms I am watching or excited about. Of course, this is the perfect time to inform those who are unaware, and remind those who may have forgotten that the All Girl Summer Fun Band have recorded an AWESOME song called Jason Lee that you can download on their website. (just go to the mp3's/video button on the left). You won't regret it! I also recommend Grass Skirt, but that has nothing to do with My Name is Earl.

jason lee, doing one-nine-oh degrees, jason lee
(they say) never fall in love with a celebrity
it’s just weird and it’s wrong, except with you and me
i don’t care what they say, this was meant to be

(lyrics from the wonderfully non-cluttered no pop-ups Song Revolution site.)

back to things/this and that

Company batch #2 have been dropped at the airport, and there are two weeks until batch #3 arrives. Woo hoo!

Fluxblog has a great piece on the new Fiona record today as well as a download of the new version of Red, Red, Red. It is amazing! If the iTunes music store doesn't get back to me today, I am going to have to buy it anyway.

I feel so out of it - time has been switched around and suspended while company was here. Time to get back on track!

extraordinary machine

Fiona Apple's new CD is available today! Finally! I am debating whether or not I will just buy it from iTunes, or get the actual thing itself from a record store. I want to get it to show my support, even though I have a sneaking suspicion that I will like the internet-leaked creaky circus version of the songs better. But I will be happy to listen to both and be proved wrong - there is no bad here. Twice the Fiona! Allmusic has informed me that my two favorite songs (Extraordinary Machine and Waltz) are both the original Jon Brion versions, so I am happy.

I will reserve judgment until I have actually heard the official version. One of the things I admire most about her (beyond great songs), is that she will go her own way, even if that isn't the most easy or guaranteed to sell the most records. She seems true to herself, which I respect enormously.

willpower vs. machine

Hooray! I am typing from my newly updated hard drive. I managed to recover what I thought I had lost (journal program with all my writing, mail, iTunes), and learned tricks for busting open an ibook (when they say it is hard to get the bottom off, they mean it). I still have to figure out what is wrong with the drive I backed everything up to, but I think with a little perserverence it will be doable. Anyway - now I just have to figure out how to get through the next 48 hours without murdering guests of out of town guests. This may be harder than putting the computer back together.

caution, caution, caution, to prevent electric shock

I am going to replace my hard drive tomorrow. (later today, I guess if you want to get technical about it) Wish me luck! I am kind of nervous, but I think I can do it. I hope I don't electrocute myself or fry my computer. But, I have found excellent detailed directions here, I just bought a set of appropriate screwdrivers and a new hard drive, so I should be set. I just need more power under the keyboard so I am not always having to shift things off in order to keep things running smoothly.

Anyway - the title to this post comes from the "iPod reads minds" file and the wonderful song "Epitaph for my Heart" by the Magnetic Fields from the magnificent 69 Love Songs. If it has been a while since you listened to it, you should get it out today!

fizzy and funny and fine

I don't know what it is - the sunny day, the indictments, the phase of the moon or WHAT - but I have that wonderful Anything Is Possible feeling, and I LIKE IT.
If I were in a car, I would be driving too fast, with the music too loud. Maybe playing Crash the Party from OK Go's Oh No. This chorus is fun to sing along with:

Oh, girl, let's crash a party
el dorado on the lawn
(hey! hey! hey!)
Let's burn holes in the carpets
take your shot at dancing on the tables all night long

I would go for a drive right now if I weren't waiting for FedEx. Maybe I will commandeer the FedEx truck. Maybe I will put on a disguise. Maybe I speak only in fractured Spanish the rest of the day. Maybe I will write anonymous letters. Maybe I won't, but maybe I will.

Lady Be Good

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips #33

I read this because Jennifer Cruise was recently talking about SEP in her blog, and I had random good feelings about the author. Plus, she has a reputation for being able to write comedy, and I like comedy. BUT...
When reading romance novels a person generally starts with a certain suspension of disbelief. If one is literal-minded and constantly calculating the odds of what is presented on the page actually happening, romance (along with lots of other genres) probably isn't on one's reading list anyway. This one crossed the improbability line so many times it even made me (and I swear except for the redolent thing I am really forgiving) say 'oh good lord' at least once.
Pros: funny; likable secondary characters; mostly likable primary characters; distinct sense of place.
Cons: convoluted plot to throw them together (even within the genre this was a humdinger involving Henry VIII lookalikes, English school marms, tattoos, television hosts, professional golfers who claim they are gigolos, the PGA, etc.); and GOLF. I find golf one of the most boring things in the world, and would have forgiven, nay, embraced, a clown-car full of Henry VII lookalikes if it meant less golf.
This book was good enough for me to search out for some of her others, but it wasn't the sexy funny romp I was expecting - it TOTALLY fell apart in the last third. Characters who must have had a book of their own about a decade ago swooped in and took over (despite attempts to weave them in throughout - I didn't know who they were, nor did I really care) I didn't mind when they were just background, but when they became necessary for the denouement I was not thrilled. Oh yeah! That's another reason why the last 1/3 sucked - the sudden switch from funny farce to "Let's resolve the hero's Secret Pain and feelings about being abandoned by his father." I'm thinking - let's not! Romance is big with trends, maybe this came out during the amateur psychology phase.
That sounds all negative, and I don't feel all negative about this book. Just too much golf and Dr. Phil-style psychology for me, is all.