The Change-Up didn’t bother me, and I laughed a few times despite myself.
not that annoying
The Library & Life with Mr. Dangerous
January 24, 2012This is about as good as a book trailer gets:
Life with Mr. Dangerous marked my return to reading non-Walking Dead comics a few weeks ago. I’ve had a library card for some time now and I’ve used it exclusively for downloading audiobooks to listen to on my iPod at work and on very long drives. Some of those audiobooks have brought me great pleasure (The Devil All the Time, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, The Strain Trilogy, Ready Player One), but a recent visit to a comic shop for Christmas and wife-birthday shopping left me a bit sad. I’d stopped buying comics a couple of years ago because I could no longer afford them. I was taking chances, buying things I wound up not liking. I was wasting money and space in my little rented room. Actually, that comic shop visit left me really sad. I missed comics.
Enter: The Library. I had mistaken the charm of reading comics for the charm of buying them, I guess– that slight serotonin squirt that happens as the pasty comic shop clerk runs your card. “$42.50 for 12 comics. I guess I’m really doing this.”
I’ve finally decided to start using my local library(ies) and all of the benefits that come with having a library card. My first borrow was Life with Mr. Dangerous, a book I’d spied at the comic shop just before Beth’s birthday when I went to get her the latest Walking Dead trade.
by Paul Hornschemeier
I carried around Mr. Dangerous for a few days before cracking it, as if the anticipation were too much. Finally, when I found myself onboard a BC Ferry headed toward Beth, I began reading it. I loved it.
Sure, there were parts that I didn’t really get. There were dream sequences that kind of lost me. Subtlety has never been my strong suit, so anything author Paul Hornschemeier tried to get across to me through them was lost on me. Still, I loved it. CBR has great scans from the book, all containing bits that I loved. All reminding me, as I see them again, that I need to read more slowly. I’d missed the bit with the cat reaching across the table on page 26, all while Amy’s love life takes another nose-dive. Mr. Dangerous reminded me of Adrian Tomine and Daniel Clowes, only slightly less grotesque than the latter. I felt about as good about it as I did Ghost World, a book that I loved.
Having enjoyed my first foray into library comic book reading, I looked at getting more graphic novels and trade paperbacks. Then there was a snow storm and I got snowed into my house. That night I lost my mind on the library’s website and checked out twenty-five more books, six of which were at the library tonight. I feel pretty silly about the whole thing and doubt I’ll even be able to finish this first batch of six, but I’ll have a good time and spend a little less time in front of my laptop’s brightly lit monitor.
2011 in Shows
January 9, 201212/30 Neurosis, Wolves in the Throne Room – Neumos
01/26 X-Ray Press – Sunset Tavern
02/02 Ron Funches – Chop Suey
02/12 Sebadoh, Quasi – Neumos
02/14 Maria Bamford – The Moore
03/26 Marc Maron – Laughs Kirkland
03/08 Michael Showalter – The Triple Door
03/15 Devo – The Moore
03/23 Rory Scovel & Derek Sheen – Annex Theater
04/20 Jordan Morris, Ron Lynch, Chris Fairbanks. Moshe Kasher @ Chop Suey
05/09 Dan Telfer, Bryan Cook, Mike Drucker @ Mars Bar
05/28 Jen Kirkman, Rylee Newton, Ron Funches @ Re-Bar
05/29 Craig Ferguson, Randy Kagan @ The Moore
06/27 Brent Weinbach, Danielle Radford, Lindy West @ El Corazon
07/01 Anti-Social Network– Jim Breuer, Jim Norton, Dave Attell, Bill Burr @ The Paramount
07/20 Laff Hole! ft. Kumail Nanjiani, Charles, Mike Drucker @ Chop Suey
08/04 Torche, Helms Alee @ Neumos
08/06 Brian Posehn, Mike Drucker, Derek Sheen @ Neptune
09/04 Bumbershoot After Party – Andy Haynes, Kyle Kinane, Hari Kondolabu, Anthony Lopez @ Chop Suey
10/18 Seattle Rock Orchestra @ The Moore
11/02 Laff Hole ft. Who Charted? with Sir Mix-A-Lot @ Chop Suey
11/11 Wild Flag @ Neumos
11/19 Tune-Yards @ Sugar (Victoria)
2011 meant more comedy than music, less hardcore and metal than ever. I saw Janet Weiss kill it on the drums twice.
Movies in 2011
January 4, 2012Movies Watched in 2011:
1. Thirst
2. Black Swan
3. The Fighter
4. Super High Me
5. Valhalla Rising
6. Witness
7. I am Comic
8. Like Stars on Earth
9. An American in Paris
10. Empire of the Sun
11. Punchline
12. A Prophet
13. I Am Love
14. Easy A
15. Animal Kingdom
16. Leon the Professional
17. Dogtooth
18. Restrepo
19. Toy Story 3
20. 35 Shots of Rum
21. Winter’s Bone
22. Papillon
23. Catfish
24. The Social Network
25. Let Me In
26. True Grit
27. King’s Speech
28. Please Give
29. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
30. Piranha 3D
31. Trick r Treat
32. Cloverfield
33. Exit Through the Gift Shop
34. Frost/Nixon
35. The Town
36. My Dog Tulip
37. The Fall
38. Four Lions
39. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
40. An Education
41. Inside Job
42. Atonement
43. Greenberg
44. Looking for Eric
45. Kiss of the Spiderwoman
46. The Proposition
47. Raging Bull
48. Citizen Kane
49. Three Kings
50. Monsters
51. Made in Dagenham
52. Waste Land
53. [REC]
54. Marwencol
55. 127 Hours
56. GasLand
57. The Other Guys
58. On the Beach
59. Fish Tank
60. Goobye Solo
61. Departures
62. Bridesmaids
63. Everything Must Go
64. Full Metal Jacket
65. X-Men: First Class
66. Super 8
67. OSS 117: Lost in Rio
68. I love you Phillip Morris
69. The Searchers
70. Hoop Dreams
71. Cairo Time
72. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2
73. No Such Thing
74. Human Nature
75. Parenthood
76. Good Hair
77. The Square
78. Another Year
79. The Big Picture
80. American Werewolf in London
81. Of Gods and Men
82. Mesrine: Killer Instinct
83. Mesrine: Public Enemy
84. Deerhunter
85. Kramer vs Kramer
86. Caddyshack
87. Downfall
88. House
89. Black Dynamite
90. Centurion
91. The Man from Nowhere
92. Blitz
93. Das Boot
94. Sisters
95. Starter for 10
96. Hopscotch
97. Grey Gardens
98. Thin Blue Line
99. Crazy Stupid Love
100. The Help
101. Stevie
102. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
103. Timecrimes
104. Leaves of Grass
105. The Big Lebowski
106. In A Better World
107. Big Night
108. Incendies
109. Babies
110. Lawrence of Arabia
111. Bridge on the River Kwai
112. Drive
113. Moneyball
114. Contagion
115. 50/50
116. Machine Gun Preacher
117. In the Name of the Father
118. Win Win
119. Repo Man
120. Elegy
121. The Apartment
122. Special
123. Marty
124. Stay
125. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
126. Poolhall Junkies
127. Meek’s Cutoff
128. Better Luck Tomorrow
129. The Muppets
130. Hanna
131. Vernon Fl
132. Martha Marcy May Marlene
133. Take Shelter
134. Stranded: I’ve Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains
135. Red State
136. Sunrise
137. Intacto
138. Return of the Living Dead
139. Cashback
140. Last of the Mohicans
141. City Lights
142. Art School Confidential
143. The Trip
144. 7 up
145. 7 plus 7
146. Tell No One
147. Welcome to Colinwood
148. The Limey
Bold = Watched alone
Everything else = Watched with Bethy
There’s no science behind these lists whatsoever. Except for the top three movies on each list, pretty much everything else is interchangeable.
Top Ten Movies watched in 2011:
1. The Apartment
2. Winter’s Bone
3. Marty
4. Kramer vs. Kramer
5. True Grit
6. Dogtooth
7. Drive
8. Sunrise
9. Martha Marcy May Marlene
10. Bridge over the River Kwai
Top Eleven non-2011 Movies Watched in 2011:
1. The Apartment
2. Marty
3. Sunrise
4. Kramer vs. Kramer
5. Parenthood
6. Hopscotch
7. Return of the Living Dead
8. Das Boot
9. Punchline
10. Bridge on the River Kwai
11. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Top Ten 2011 Movies watched in 2011
1. Drive
2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. Win Win
4. Bridesmaids
5. Red State
6. Take Shelter
7. 50/50
8. The Trip
9. The Muppets
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2
Top Movie that would have made my “Top Ten 2011 Movies watched in 2011” List were it not for the Frustrating Ending:
1. Meek’s Cutoff
Top Movie that Made me Cry Because it Reminded me of E.T:
1. Super 8
Top Seven Pura Mierda Movies Watched in 2011:
1. The Guide to Recognizing your Saints
2. Crazy Stupid Love
3. I love you Philip Morris
4. Crazy Stupid Love
5. Leaves of Grass
6. Poolhall Junkies
7. Stay
Top Two Movies Loved by Critics but Lost on Me Watched in 2011:
1. 35 Shots of Rum
2. I am Love
Top Eleven 2010 Movies Watched in 2011:
1. True Grit
2. Another Year
3. Winter’s Bone
4. Restrepo
5. Please Give
6. Dogtooth
7. Black Swan
8. GasLand
9. Of Gods and Men
10. A Prophet
11. Greenberg
Top Ten Movies that I’d seen before still Held up in 2011:
1. Raging Bull
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Three Kings
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Hoop Dreams
6. Vernon, Fl
7. In the Name of the Father
8. The Proposition
9. Big Night
10. City Lights
Top Two Movies I Hated the First time but liked in 2011
1. Big Night
2. Human Nature
Top Seven Devastating Movies that I can Never Bear to Watch Again Watched in 2011 (in order from glad I watched to sorry I watched):
1. GasLand
2. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
3. Stevie
4. Restrepo
5. Downfall
6. In a Better World
7. Incendies
Top Eight Movies I thought would be Crap but wound up being Good Watched in 2011:
1. The Other Guys
2. Cairo Time
3. Babies
4. Atonement
5. Everything Must Go
6. The Fall
7. Elegy
8. Special
bump.
September 23, 2011
- blood and pearl and hair
I had a bump cut out of my head yesterday. It was a bump I’d had for a couple of years– it didn’t hurt or do anything but it was there and didn’t really belong there so it had to go.
It was a kind of cyst that happens when one of your hair follicles doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. It’s not an ingrown hair, exactly, but something like it. Anyway, this little hair hardens into something like a little pea made of pearl. It was like a baby tooth by the time it came out. This is right at my rapidly-receding hairline, on the left side. I have the kind of cyst it is written down on a sheet of paper. That sheet of paper is in my car.
Now I have tylenol and a travel-sized bit of vaseline that I rub on the stitches to keep them moist. They’ll come off next Friday morning. Until then, I’ll have this weird, vaseline-smeared, bloody spot at the top of my forehead that I have to be careful not to stain things with.
Two Monthiversary
August 11, 2011Today marks two months since Beth and I got married.
People ask me how married life is. On a physical level, not much different from how it used to be. We still live apart, with her in Victoria and me in Seattle. We still only see each other on the weekends. That much is the same.
The difference is that I miss her more, I think. I’ve always been sad on Sunday nights, when we part. I have a long drive ahead and I know I’ll miss her.
Now, though, it’s much harder. I used to be able to shrug a little and just think “at least I’ll be in Seattle.”
It just isn’t that easy anymore. Being in Seattle, without Beth, just doesn’t cut it anymore. I feel an indescribable dissatisfaction with everything in this town.
I’d like to just be with her.
Pneu – Highway to Health
May 27, 2011
Highway to Health
I can’t believe how good this album is. I played Highway to Health 2.5 times today at the gym (it’s a relatively short album at only 9 songs). Noisy, mathy, instrumental. I could imagine having the time of my life seeing them live.
All I know about Pneu is that they’re french. Their myspace page is practically useless and… well, that’s it. By googling the band or their album, all one gets is multiple places to download the album for free. No real bits of information anywhere. I don’t even know how their name is pronounced. I’d probably go with a silent “p” on that one.
Please play Seattle or Victoria soon, Pneu.
eso es satanico. 