Classic!

So, the other day I happened upon an Entertainment Weekly list of the "new classic" books -- the 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008.

So, as with any "have you read it" list, I've got to give this one a go.

Have Read:
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

34 ain't bad.

Definitely Want to Read:
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)

How 'bout you?

L.A. Story

Josh and I headed down to L.A. for a long weekend recently. We stayed at his very hospitable Grandma Elaine's in Brentwood (neighbor to the stars!), visited a museum and an observatory, ran around UCLA and down to the beach, lazed about reading, and, to my delight, had the obligatory star sighting.

All in all, it was quite a successful visit, even if the sun didn't come out enough for us to swimsuit up and get tans, and even if we didn't spy Conan. That wily bastard! ;)

Hawaiian vacation....ohhh delightful

Josh and I went to Hawaii -- specifically, the island of Lanai, which we also went to back in September 2007. We didn't take many pictures, because we were too busy relaxing and drinking Hulopoe Punch and reading mystery novels to get out the camera much. But we did snap a few:



Yeah...it was pretty hard coming back to work after spending five days in Paradise. But (sigh) that's what it means to be an adult!

I'm coven it

Last Saturday night Sar and I got our Gothic on at the Edwardian Ball in San Francisco -- an annual event celebrating the macabre style and elegance of the late great Edward Gorey though music, dance, storytelling, circus acts, and other strange homages.


While Sar and I did our darnedest to bedeck ourselves in attire befitting the occasion, we were by no means the most extravagantly dressed. Some rocked costumes appropriate to the period -- high frilly-necked white blouses with corsets and long skirts, or suit jackets with tails and top hats that whirled as they twirled and waltzed. Some were quite tarted out in gowns that could only loosely be tied to the Edwardian era. Some (okay, one) were wearing headgear featuring lanterns.

Sar and I were bummed that we'd neglected to attend the Edwardian dance lessons prior to the ball, since the ballroom dancing seemed to be the main interactive activity. We were limited to the spectator sport of people watching (which it must be said was still a damn good time). Still, next time we'll get a group together and learn to shake a tailfeather beforehand.

Isn't it great to live in a city where weird, fabulous stuff like this is going on all the time?

* This update brought to you by Imajen Bulkance and Ares Mancbank

Did you miss me? Probably not.

So, I took a few months off from blogging. Clearly.

And while I wasn't blogging, I was:

Celebrating my Mom's 50th b-day in New Orleans...


Christmasing in So Cal...


and anniversarying in Yosemite.



I also read a lot (which you can see from the little Goodreads gadget on the left, or by visiting my Goodreads page). A lot of it was mysteries. Big mystery phase. Got a good one for me, let me know.

I didn't watch that many movies, though -- which means that I have a mega list of them to get to now that the Oscar noms have been announced. I think at the top are Slumdog Millionaire and Gran Torino. I think there are also a couple cheesy chick flicks coming out in the next few weeks that I'll probably try to make it out to see. Otherwise, the Netflix list is a-gonna get pretty lengthy.

I haven't heard much music lately, but I'm looking forward to the French R&B CD I just got from Murry for my birthday -- along with some chocolate cookies that I can't wait to eat.

I went to a bunch of Warriors games, too. Ah, my W's. They are not doing so excellently, though I do appreciate the wealth of Belinelli play time (prior to his recent ankle injury), and am looking forward to the impending return of Monta Ellis.

Pretty much all I feel like doing lately is reading, eating cupcakes, and not working. Do you think there's anyone out there who will pay me for this? If pressed, I suppose I could write some mean cupcake reviews. (Mean as in excellent, not mean as in harsh. Hard to go wrong with a cupcake if you ask me.)

The months in culture - through October 26

Whew. I haven't exactly been prolific here, but let's move on from that, shall we? And we'll do an abbreviated "last few months" post.

Best thing I watched:
Speak (unexpected, subtle, moving)

Best thing I heard:
The Quest, by Bryn Christopher (it really got stuck in my head)

Read:
Water for Elephants
Three Cups of Tea
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Marley & Me
Gone Baby Gone
What Was Lost
Belong To Me

Best thing I read:
Gone Baby Gone (dense and unsettling)

Pop culture site:
My friend Heather's blog about her travels in Spain and Portugal.

Soccer highs and lows
A hat trick three two weeks ago -- that was great. Hearing my knee pop as it did this weird wiggle when I landed on it wrong -- that was not so great. It is doing okay, though it doesn't like having weight on it, or anything that requires it to move from side to side. Boo for injuries, though. :(

Best time
Dancing with Josh at his friend Logan's wedding. He never danced with me before(!), but he had enough booze that he felt comfortable, even in his tux. And the music was great. And I had a couple Bay Breezes (though not enough to get me drunk, at all). And all Josh's friends and girlfriends were there, dancing dorky too. Damn that was fun. Dancing is one of my hands-down favorite things to do, and I just don't get a chance to do it often enough.

Second best time
Tea at the Crown and Crumpet in SF with Abbey. She convinced me to take a day off work to head up there with her for some Earl Grey and pastries and a long leisurely chat. And I definitely needed it! That place is uber-cute and we had a fabulous time. I really wish we could hang out more.

Music memories

Abbey did it, so here I go to do it too.

What song or songs is/are most "atypical" on your player?
This funky techno mix of Sarah McLachlan's "Possession". I'm not really sure why I bought it. Either that or maybe some really hard core rap.

If someone new were in your car, what song on your player would you be quickest to skip out of embarrassment?
It's a song from High School Musical 2. I know. I'm as disgusted with myself as you are.

What song(s) on your player turns you on?
There are a bunch of them! There's a reason I have a playlist entitled "bow chicka wow". Probably the sexiest is Paula Cole's "Feelin' Love". "#1 Crush" by Garbage is pretty good too. And you can't neglect Marvin Gaye or Barry White here!

If you wanted to get a member of the opposite sex in the mood, what song would you program to come on when they are in the car?
"P.D.A." by John Legend -- because it's silly-sexy. You'd have a good laugh about it . Now, if I had "Pony" by Ginuwine or "Too Close" by Next, now those would be just a little too obvious. ;)

What is the longest song on your player?
Miles Davis' version of "My Funny Valentine" -- it's about 14 minutes.

What do you think is the silliest song on your player?
Other than that HSM2 song (the shaaaame)..."Just The Two of Us" from the Austin Powers soundtrack (actually, I have no idea how this got on there, since I have never owned or purchased it. maybe it was a gift from the iPod gods.)

What did you most recently add to your player?
A few songs from the Mamma Mia movie, "Love Remains the Same" by Gavin Rossdale, and "Disturbia" by Rihanna.

What did you most recently delete?
I don't delete. I think I might've removed some Christmas music for now since it isn't "the most wonderful time of the year" but it'll definitely be back come winter.

What is your favorite song on your player that is from a movie?
"Last Train Home" by Ryan Star (from the movie P.S. I Love You)

Is there a song on your player that is only there for someone else’s benefit?
"A Little Bit More" by Jamie Lidell. It's from those Target commercials and Josh would always dance to it. I liked that. :)

What song or artist do you find yourself skipping most frequently and therefore should probably delete?
Shelby Lynne. I got her record years ago, but it never really resonated with me. It's like I recognize that the songs could be good, but I just don't ever care to hear them. I'll leave her on though; I'm not a deleter.

Without cheating, start your player and list the first 10 songs that come up in random play.

1. Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne (hey yourself, iPod!)
   
2. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
   
3. If You Can Afford Me - Katy Perry
   
4. Les Jours Tristes (Instrumental) from the Amelie soundtrack
   
5. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
   
6. Home Life - John Mayer
   
7. Come On Over - Christina Aguilera
   
8. The Music's No Good Without You - Cher
   
9. Dirty Man - Joss Stone
   
10. Searchin' My Soul - Vonda Shepard
    

With the exception of the Cher, for which I blame Corey, everything else here is pretty representative of my tastes. I think it actually doesn't span a wide enough range of the things I like, but most of those listed are in decent rotation. There isnt' enough recent stuff on there, either -- this is more like what I would've listened to three or four years ago.

What song brings back the best memory?
I guess "We Used to Be Friends" by the Dandy Warhols might be a bit too obvious...

What songs bring back memories of an old boyfriend/girlfriend that you can't stop listening to...even decades later?
Sleep to Dream Her, Dave Matthews Band

Oh, I can stop listening to this one. But it'll always remind me of that first guy and that first painful breakup. If I had "Saved The Best For Last" by Vanessa Williams, then that would be on there in honor of my first slow dance. Laaaaaame.

And to add my own question:
What songs do you sing along to the most? (Loudly, in your car...if you're me)
I have a whole singing loud playlist! Of that, a few that probably get belted out the most are:
So What - Pink
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Misery Business - Paramore
No End in Sight - Katrina Elam
Gardenia - Mandy Moore
Makes Me Wanna Pray - Christina Aguilera

So what are YOU listening to lately?