I said, “Look like that’s the best book you’ve ever read in your life.”
I said, “Look like you’re having so much fun.”
I should probably leave this kind of thing to Jeffrey.… Read the rest
I’m currently learning “Waltz (Better Than Fine)” by Fiona Apple on my piano. I love so much about this song. It has a pattern, but it also moves all over the keyboard and has these great big crazy chords and is a lot of fun to play. It’s also difficult–for me, anyway. I’ve been working on it for weeks now, and I have about two pages of the thing learned. The lyrics are great, per usual with our Fiona. It’s a song about worth not coming from achievement but from humanity. “If you don’t have a point to make,” she … Read the rest
Last summer when I was attempting to sell my house, my vacuum cleaner broke. It happened right before an open house, so not only did I have to deal with my sudden lack of vacuum cleaning power, but the incident also filled the downstairs with that melting-plastic scent that smells exactly the opposite of Buy This House. I was outraged, of course, even though it was pretty clear that the 20-year-old Panasonic upright that was mostly held together with duct tape and electrical tape (from all those times I vacuumed the power cord) should have been retired before it started … Read the rest
“You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.”
-The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen… Read the rest
So this is what happened.
On the first leg of my flight out west back in March, I started writing a response to Brandon grading us on our quizzes (Remember that back in the olden days?), but then I got stuck overnight in Detroit, which goofed up the beginning of my trip and derailed all my bloggy plans. A quick note now: Brandon, I loved that you graded us on our posts, and you are so right that I also read Manohla Dargis in the NYT. I always forget things when I try to make lists. You guys are all … Read the rest
Last week at work, I read the Children’s Internet Protection Act and New York’s open meeting laws. I’ll be starting off this week reading a tax booklet on how tax exempt status works in NYS.
Which all goes to say I deserve a gold star. Maybe even two.
At home, I’m reading A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin and hating Joffrey more than I’ve hated anyone real or fictional, ever. I’ve always felt that violent books do not encourage violence, but in my head, I have assassinated Joffrey several times now. I just feel like he has no … Read the rest
“Even if the songs are mostly in a major key, there’s something that’s hanging out there that’s a little bit dark. And I think that’s reflective of the world.”
-Rostam Batmanglij on Vampire Weekend’s new album, as quoted in “Setting Their Sights on Wider Vistas” by Jon Pareles in NYT (May 12, 2013)
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for a new Vampire Weekend album.… Read the rest
Me: Did you know that I wrote a book?
Maxwell: Of course you did. You own a library, and you are intelligent.
The world in Maxwell’s head works somewhat differently than the world outside his head. Speaking of which, earlier in the evening, he was sitting in the back seat quietly chanting, “Frodo. Gollum. Lord of the Rings.”
So it seems that we’re getting some good stuff in there.
He also told us of his intention to build a school when he grows up, “after I quit my first few jobs.” Apparently he wants this school to be “a place … Read the rest
“I didn’t know how literal the desert was, in terms of lack of lake.”
-Cheryl Strayed on the Mojave Desert, The Art of Fact award presentation, May 1, 2013… Read the rest
GoodReads
Flickr
Facebook
Twitter
