Got in an order of discs from Drag City Records. I will now spend the weekend getting acquainted with Will Oldham's Palace era output. Kind of a Christmas gift to self.
If the name doesn't ring a bell, Will Oldham is the ridiculously prolific man behind Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers and Bonnie Prince Billy. It's alt-countryish stuff that just kills me. Any good cd collection should have the BPB album I See A Darkness. Lie Down in the Light, his album from this year was almost as good. He's got a new album coming out this spring.
The last couple of days have been my own kind of Beatles revival. I'm listening to Help! right now and marvelling anew at how freaking good they were. I could fill a desert island list with Beatles albums, actually wind up on a desert island and never get bored.
And now I will leave you with a video. Books, Scottish pop icons and pretty women. . . What's not to love?
Books, Music, More Books, Travel, Even More Books. . .
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
An admission. . .
I'm starting to like both House and Trailer Park Boys. Hooray for reruns on Showcase.
Monday, December 22, 2008
A Weekend in the Country - Some Notes
Spent the weekend in the north country with the whole family and the niece. Way too much snow but it made for great tobogganing. I'm really glad I bought some good winter boots last week. Last year, for my one foray out into the snow, I made do with about 3 pairs of work socks in a pair of doc martens and, while it was okay on a mild day, it wouldn't have worked this year. Instead, I now have a pair of Baffin boots that are amazing.
My mother's pride and joy is sadly not me; it's her cookstove. It worked wonders over the weekend keeping everyone toasty warm. There's nothing better than wood heat, especially on a cold day.
For the first time in a long time, we had all six family members around for a game of pictionary. Much hilarity ensued. You can have your home theatres and your satellite dishes. A good board or card game with friends and family is much more fun. And cheaper too.
While I was up there, I finished Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris. It's a book of essays for book lovers. Serious book lovers. The sort of people who consider a road trip to a used bookstore a romantic birthday outing (I mean, who doesn't?). I loved it. From the difficulty of combining libraries with a spouse's to the joys of reading a book in the location where it is set, Fadiman offers up a great little collection that I will definitely enjoy revisiting from time to time.
I love living in the city and I really can't imagine living anywhere else. A break in the country, though, is a lot of fun and it ended far too quick. Thankfully, I only have three days of work and I'll be heading back up there.
My father in his front yard:
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Still waiting for Andrew Dice Clay's children's book
Why not? Everyone else has one.
Made a trip to Mabel's Fables, a wonderful children's bookstore over on Mount Pleasant, to pick up some books for my niece. I've been going there for almost six years now. Coincidentally, my niece also happens to be almost six.
The only problem with a store full of kids books is that you begin to realize how many celebrities have used their celeb powers to write children's books. Sadly, even Bob Dylan has fallen into this trap.
If you're looking for a vanity project, why not take up painting and leave the helpless children alone? The books I remember from my childhood were all written by authors, not moonlighting celebs. The reason for this? Good writing is just as difficult when you are dealing with kids. It only looks easy because the good writers do it so well.
Must be going now. More Christmas shopping and then I'm heading north for the weekend where I will get to hang with the aforementioned niece.
Have a good weekend.
Made a trip to Mabel's Fables, a wonderful children's bookstore over on Mount Pleasant, to pick up some books for my niece. I've been going there for almost six years now. Coincidentally, my niece also happens to be almost six.
The only problem with a store full of kids books is that you begin to realize how many celebrities have used their celeb powers to write children's books. Sadly, even Bob Dylan has fallen into this trap.
If you're looking for a vanity project, why not take up painting and leave the helpless children alone? The books I remember from my childhood were all written by authors, not moonlighting celebs. The reason for this? Good writing is just as difficult when you are dealing with kids. It only looks easy because the good writers do it so well.
Must be going now. More Christmas shopping and then I'm heading north for the weekend where I will get to hang with the aforementioned niece.
Have a good weekend.
Canuck Book 6 - The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
A couple of years ago, I picked up a remaindered copy of Ascension, a novel by Steven Galloway. The story deals with an aging tightrope walker. For whatever reason, I still haven't gotten around to reading it. It always lingers somewhere near the top of my to be read pile but never quite breaks free.
Something tells me that will change soon. After reading Galloways latest, I'm definitely going to go back to Ascension. After that, I'll likely pick up his first novel, Finnie Walsh, as well.
The Cellist of Sarjevo is an incredible book. Taking the real life person of the cellist as a starting point, Galloway weaves a tale of three very different people as they struggle with the enormous task of trying to remain human in very inhuman times.
In response to the senseless death of twenty-two people waiting in line for bread, the cellist would perform Albinoni’s Adagio in the street where the deaths occured. He performed the piece once a day for twenty-two days (once for each person killed in the bombing).
The novel follows the life a baker, a father and a sniper who are all caught in a city under siege. Directly or indirectly, their lives wind up being affected by the cellist and what he stands for.
Everything about this book rings true, from the fear and paranoia to the random thoughts that goes through one's mind in spite or because of the horror one faces. One can't help but marvel at such a well told story.
Something tells me that will change soon. After reading Galloways latest, I'm definitely going to go back to Ascension. After that, I'll likely pick up his first novel, Finnie Walsh, as well.
The Cellist of Sarjevo is an incredible book. Taking the real life person of the cellist as a starting point, Galloway weaves a tale of three very different people as they struggle with the enormous task of trying to remain human in very inhuman times.
In response to the senseless death of twenty-two people waiting in line for bread, the cellist would perform Albinoni’s Adagio in the street where the deaths occured. He performed the piece once a day for twenty-two days (once for each person killed in the bombing).
The novel follows the life a baker, a father and a sniper who are all caught in a city under siege. Directly or indirectly, their lives wind up being affected by the cellist and what he stands for.
Everything about this book rings true, from the fear and paranoia to the random thoughts that goes through one's mind in spite or because of the horror one faces. One can't help but marvel at such a well told story.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Bible in Lego
http://www.thebricktestament.com/
My favourite part is the content notice:
"The Bible contains material some may consider morally objectionable and/or inappropriate for children. These labels identify stories containing: N = nudity S = sexual content V = violence C = cursing"
Lets see the book banners ban this book.
My favourite part is the content notice:
"The Bible contains material some may consider morally objectionable and/or inappropriate for children. These labels identify stories containing: N = nudity S = sexual content V = violence C = cursing"
Lets see the book banners ban this book.
Lazy Man's Stalking
Earlier this week, I posted a link to a site that profiles writers' working spaces.
Today, I'm checking out peoples' listening preferences. It's a sad compulsion but it's a dreary Sunday morning so what else was I going to do?
The story is this - I was checking out the new Nina Simone set put out by Legacy Recordings, deciding if I really needed another four disc's of music, when I saw a sidebar thing offering up classic celebrity playlists by a wide assortment of celebrities, including William Shatner. I couldn't resist seeing what Captain Kirk is listening to so I followed the links and eventually got bounced over to itunes american site where there are pages of these playlists with short notes for each song.
The results? Interesting to say the least. The most boring ones are the people who play it too straight. R.E.M.'s list is exactly what you'd think R.E.M.'s list would be. As is Kevin Costner's. And Diablo Cody's. Blah.
There were some interesting things:
Kelly Ripa, of all people, has enough odd stuff (Broken Social Scene, Massive Attack, Nick Drake) to make you think she wasn't just offering up a token indie tune to look cool.
Jimmy Kimmel offered up Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time.
Chris Rock listens to the White Strips, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Cure.
Mike Myers likes the Magnetic Fields. It still doesn't excuse The Love Guru, but it's a start.
Margaret Cho wants to join Broken Social Scene. (actually, BSS gets cited by a number of celebrities)
Turns out I'm not the only one listening to this Joni Mitchell person. She's probably the most widely cited artist out there.
U2's One is probably the most cited song.
As for athletes, Giants' pitcher Barry Zito listens to Jeff Buckley and only one hockey player cited The Tragically Hip.
Julie Delpy cites the Clash, Bowie, Neil Young and Elliot Smith among others. But, then again, she could cite the phone book. . .
Rufus Wainwright citing Kurt Weill is kind of expected. Citing songs by mom and sis but not dad is interesting.
The absolute worst list is by Poison. Citing the song Sexyback and the band Nickleback will never bring the hits back. Citing two of your own songs is just sad.
Thom Yorke (calm down, Ms. Zombie) gives instructions on how his list is to be played.
There's plenty of Beach Boys on Brain Wilson's list, but, oddly or not, no Beatles. Probably still a sore spot.
Cat Stevens citing Sufjan Stevens' Chicago just seems like a perfect choice.
If you're looking for the playlists, go to the itunes store and search for celebrity playlists. It will come up in the 'related' box. For a bigger selection, switch to the US itunes store first.
I really should get a hobby or something.
Today, I'm checking out peoples' listening preferences. It's a sad compulsion but it's a dreary Sunday morning so what else was I going to do?
The story is this - I was checking out the new Nina Simone set put out by Legacy Recordings, deciding if I really needed another four disc's of music, when I saw a sidebar thing offering up classic celebrity playlists by a wide assortment of celebrities, including William Shatner. I couldn't resist seeing what Captain Kirk is listening to so I followed the links and eventually got bounced over to itunes american site where there are pages of these playlists with short notes for each song.
The results? Interesting to say the least. The most boring ones are the people who play it too straight. R.E.M.'s list is exactly what you'd think R.E.M.'s list would be. As is Kevin Costner's. And Diablo Cody's. Blah.
There were some interesting things:
Kelly Ripa, of all people, has enough odd stuff (Broken Social Scene, Massive Attack, Nick Drake) to make you think she wasn't just offering up a token indie tune to look cool.
Jimmy Kimmel offered up Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time.
Chris Rock listens to the White Strips, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Cure.
Mike Myers likes the Magnetic Fields. It still doesn't excuse The Love Guru, but it's a start.
Margaret Cho wants to join Broken Social Scene. (actually, BSS gets cited by a number of celebrities)
Turns out I'm not the only one listening to this Joni Mitchell person. She's probably the most widely cited artist out there.
U2's One is probably the most cited song.
As for athletes, Giants' pitcher Barry Zito listens to Jeff Buckley and only one hockey player cited The Tragically Hip.
Julie Delpy cites the Clash, Bowie, Neil Young and Elliot Smith among others. But, then again, she could cite the phone book. . .
Rufus Wainwright citing Kurt Weill is kind of expected. Citing songs by mom and sis but not dad is interesting.
The absolute worst list is by Poison. Citing the song Sexyback and the band Nickleback will never bring the hits back. Citing two of your own songs is just sad.
Thom Yorke (calm down, Ms. Zombie) gives instructions on how his list is to be played.
There's plenty of Beach Boys on Brain Wilson's list, but, oddly or not, no Beatles. Probably still a sore spot.
Cat Stevens citing Sufjan Stevens' Chicago just seems like a perfect choice.
If you're looking for the playlists, go to the itunes store and search for celebrity playlists. It will come up in the 'related' box. For a bigger selection, switch to the US itunes store first.
I really should get a hobby or something.
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