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To the few of you who check this blog occasionally, my apologies. My wife lured me to LiveJournal several months ago, and I've finally gotten tired of posting both here and there. So I'm not going to be posting here. Probably.

Saturday, September 13, 2003

I'm a twenty-something guy, one of many who was amazed by Johnny Cash's performance of the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt. His last album was the first I bought. The Man Comes Around includes a few original songs but mostly cover versions of songs like Bridge Over Troubled Water and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

I'm familiar with some of Cash's earlier songs from soundtracks and mixtapes - especially Ring of Fire and The Man in Black. And being an Elvis fan, I have a cd by the so-called Million Dollar Quartet - Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash - though I'm not sure Cash's voice even appears on the cd.

I also got another of his later releases, Unchained, which includes some strikingly poignant lyrics. In the song Spiritual, Cash begs "Jesus, I don't wanna die alone." I'm not a particularly religious person, but it's difficult to listen to Johnny Cash's vulnerable voice sing the following without feeling sadness and hope:

We saw houses falling from the sky
Where the mountains lean down to the sand
We saw blackbirds circling 'round an old castle keep
And I stood on the cliff and held your hand
We walked troubles brooding wind swept hills
And we loved and we laughed the pain away
At the end of the journey, when our last song is sung
Will you meet me in Heaven someday
(Chorus) Can't be sure of how's it's going to be
When we walk into the light across the bar
But I'll know you and you'll know me
Out there beyond the stars
We've seen the secret things revealed by God
And we heard what the angels had to say
Should you go first, or if you follow me
Will you meet me in Heaven someday
Living in a mansion on the streets of gold
At the corner of Grace and Rapture Way
In sweet ecstasy while the ages roll
Will you meet me in Heaven someday
In sweet ecstasy while the ages roll
Will you meet in Heaven someday

Lyrics by John R Cash

Friday, September 05, 2003

Your Life: The Movie by mintyduck
Who will play you:	Johnny Depp
Who will play your love interest:	Ashley Olsen
Weeks you will stay in the box office:	25
Song that will play during your love scene:	Space - Female of the Species
Song that will play during your death:	Poe - Haunted
Your name:

Created with quill18's MemeGen!

Seasoulsky's sometime six:

1. what did you like about this summer?

Music and books.

2. what didn't you like about this summer?

Movies and weather were pretty crap.

3. what songs were part of your personal summer soundtrack?

Fallen - Sarah McLachlan
Be My Husband - Lisa Hannigan
Imagination - Frank Sinatra
You and I Both Know - Jason Mraz
Crazy In Love - Beyonce
August Day Song - Bebel Gilberto
Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley
L-O-V-E - Nat King Cole
Intuition - Jewel
In My Life - Chantal Kreviazuk
At the River - Groove Armada
Get free - The Vines
P.I.M.P. - 50 Cent w/ Snoop Dog
What a Little Moonlight Can Do - Steve Tyrell
Going Under - Evanescence
Why Don't You Do Right - Samoa Wilson
Just friends - Chet Baker
Something Cool - June Christy
That's All - Orna
Gotta Get thru This - Daniel Beddingfield

4. how do you feel about summer ending?

Disappointed.

5. what was your favourite movie/film you saw, this summer?

Pirates of the Caribbean.

6. did you have a summer kiss?

Yes.

I updated my favorites list (see sidebar) again. I hope you'll browse the links- maybe you'll discover some new favorites too.

It's been a weird week. Monday was nice of course, getting to stay home. But the week didn't seem any sorter really. I feel selfish and stupid to complain about not having enough work to do, but sitting in the same place doing practically nothing 8 hours a day is maddening. I went from taking over 200 calls a day at the beginning of the year to taking just 20 a day now. Our company announced the closing of 2 more offices this week. I am thankful for a job and hope that doesn't change, but there are some things that could be done to improve productivity and keep my from going mad - right now half the office is taking several times more calls than the other half, because they decided to separate duties last year. Just having everyone do the same work would be fairer and more productive.

The budgeting is going well. I know, it's just been a week but still. That may be one of the reasons it's seemed like a long week. Usually we make several purchases a week, but this week our debit card hasn't been used since Sunday, when we managed to stick to a list and only get what was needed. I'm hoping this frugality will eventually lead to dieting too. I'm already down to one candy bar a day.

The only new book I started this week was More Bread and I'll Appear by Emer Martin. It's a wonderfully written book and makes me want to type several paragraphs here to prove so. I may be biased, but Ireland produces the best writers, dontcha think?

My main music obsession this week is Art Blakey. He's had so many of the best jazz musicians work with him - from Monk to Miles to Marsalis - and has recorded some of the most memorable tunes - A Night in Tunisia, Moanin'. I've also been appreciating some of my favorite vocalists again. The little known Orna does an amazing vocal version of Charlie Parker's Ornithology among many great standards on her album The Very Though of You. And Karin Allison's albums are pretty damn good, especially her tribute to Coltrane - Ballads. I'm not a big fan of Mark O'Connor, but the In Full Swing cd is worth checking out. Wynton Marsalis and Jane Monheit add a touch of class - I especially love the latter's performance of Misty.

Movies... I watched a few starring Marilyn this week. My favorite was Bus Stop, a sweet story with Monroe sparkling as a simple country gal who finds love in the most unexpected form. Vic has amused me with this week imitating Marilyn's performance of 'That old Black Magic.' I also enjoyed How to Marry a Millionaire - much better than The seven Year Itch.

TV... Paradise Hotel had a damn good twist recently - all the people voted off came back to make the lives of the voters hell. I really love this show, and how telling an account of humanity it is. Kind of like Lord of the Flies for a new generation.
I'm also hooked on The OC. It took a few weeks, but it's become one of those shows I'd hate to miss. I love the set up, how there's so much room for conflict or compassion between the various characters. I also like how much time it gives to the adult characters - unusual for a show aimed at teens.

I'll try not to bore you too much, but I also want to write about how I became hooked on America's original art form - jazz. I was making a mix tape around this time last year and accidentally programmed the wrong track to record. It was On The Sunny Side Of The Street performed by Sidney Bechet (from the JFK soundtrack). I just really loved the mood that this music evoked in the midst of contemporary songs on the tape. The next step was receiving a Verve sampler among a lot of cds from ebay. Some of my favorites on that cd include Coltrane's Acknowledgement, Count Basie's Corner Pocket, Louis and Ella singing Cheek to Cheek, as well as tracks by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Diana Krall. Another important cd at the beginning was The Talented Mr. Ripley soundtrack. It included the first Miles Davis performance to attract my attention - his haunting take on Nature Boy - as well as versions of Moanin', You Don't Know What Love Is, and Matt Damon's erie imitation of Chet Baker on My Funny Valentine. After hearing Nature Boy, I craved more Miles Davis and that's what really started the obsession. Now I have multiple cds by Davis, Bechet, Basie, Blakey, Holiday, Armstrong, Coltrane, Baker, Monk, Brubeck, Parker, Getz, Vaughan, as well as some more modern performers - Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson. I seem to have been sidetracked by vocalists recently but this week I've been appreciating the instrumental greats again, especially the trumpet sounds of Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Louis Armstrong.

Monday, September 01, 2003

I'm surprised how excited I am about the new Sarah McLachlan song. I recently removed her link from my favorite music list because nothing had happened in sooo long. But now this, the album in November and a tour next year. I am so fucking excited! The song - Fallen - is wonderful. Thankfully Sarah hasn't followed Jewel, Sheryl and others into Pop Tart hell. She sounds as good as ever. I don't think I've ever looked forward to an album release this much. I think Fallen is going to be my theme for this year. Last year's was the Dixie Chicks' Traveling Soldier - not so much for the lyrics as for the melody and Natalie's voice. It just seemed to be the song I heard most last year - I especially identify it with our vacation in Florida. In 2001, my theme was Jonatha Brooke's I'll Take it From Here, which I heard on my walkman in a Pittsburgh motel the night before I was accepted as a legal alien by INS. And in 2000 it was U2's Beautiful Day, first heard as the ferry approached Dublin from England the week before we returned to live in the US.

But back to Sarah McLachlan. I first read about her in the soundtracks section of an annual movie review book. Her song I Will Remember You (co-written by an Irishman - Seamus Egan) was mentioned in a recommendation of The Brothers McMullen soundtrack. I got the soundtrack and loved her voice. I think it was a couple of years later I bought the City of Angels soundtrack. A friend mentioned that her band was covering Angel for a demo, so I decided to check it out. Can anyone describe that song? It's like sinking into a warm bath. It's a sad song but somehow comforting, and that voice. Just wow. Anyway, many months passed and I was working at a radio station when I found her cd Surfacing amidst a pile of promos rejected by the station. It was one of few cds I listened to over and over - another being Sheryl Crow's self-titled cd. And Sarah's voice kept popping up in movies - Message in a Bottle, Moll Flanders. I believe I even heard her in Forces of Nature though the song didn't appear on it's soundtrack. I got my computer in early '99, soon discovered some Sarah fans on a mailing list, read rumours of a European tour for Lilith Fair. When that possibility was dismissed, I was disappointed and then decided what the hell, I'd go anyway, So my first trip abroad was to California for Lilith Fair. And that was pretty much the last we heard from Sarah McLachlan. Until now.

Anyway... besides the Sarah McLachlan thing, it's been a good weekend. The best thing is that it's not over yet! Gawd, Vic and I needed an extra day off. Today we went to Charleston for my first real fireworks experience - twenty minutes of noise and light after lots of walking and sitting. It was good being out at night with Vic. that happens so rarely. It made me look forward to October which, after over 3 years of marriage will be our first real vacation alone. We've been to Ireland - stayed with my family, and Florida - stayed with Vic's family. I can barely imagine the joy of having a room to ourselves away from work and financial crap and goddamned West Virginia. On the beach! And probably seeing some Dawson's Creek locations. Be still my heart :)

"Heaven, I'm in Heaven
And the cares that hang around me through the week
Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek."

Sunday, August 31, 2003

Ten Movies You Own
[1] Leaving Las Vegas
[2] Stealing Beauty
[3] Everyone Says I Love You
[4] This is the Sea
[5] Before Sunrise
[6] Heavy
[7] Swingers
[8] Jerry Maguire
[9] The Sweet Hereafter
[10] Amelie

Ten CDs You Own
[1] Waiting For My Rocket
To Come - Jason Mraz
[2] Live from Union Chapel - Damien Rice
[3] Intergalactic Sonic 7's - Ash
[4] Indestrucable Joy - Erin O'Hara
[5] Urban Hymns - The Verve
[6] Little Lights - Kate Rusby
[7] Collection - The Rankin Family
[8] The Long Black Veil - The Chieftains
[9] Live in Paris - Diana Krall
[10] Stealing Beauty - Soundtrack

Five Men You'd Like To Shag or Wish You Were
[1] John Mayer
[2] Nicolas Cage
[3] Paul Rudd
[4] Johnny Depp
[5] Stuart Townsend

Five Women You'd Like To Shag or Wish You Were
[1] Angelina Jolie
[2] Norah Jones
[3] Liv Tyler
[4] Scarlett Johansson
[5] Katie Holmes

Last 2 Movies You Have Seen In The Theaters
[1] Pirates of the Caribbean
[2] Tomb Raider 2

Two Recent Movies You Want To See
[1] Dirty Pretty Things
[2] Thirteen

Five Bands You Have Seen In Concert
[1] Radiohead
[2] The Saw Doctors
[3] Ash
[4] Metallica
[5] Dixie Chicks

Five Bands You Want To See Really Badly!
[1] U2
[2] Damien Rice
[3] Diana Krall
[4] Coldplay
[5] Erin O'Hara

Name All of the Countries You Have Been In
America
England
Ireland

Top 5 Places You'd Like To Live
[1] Dublin
[2] Paris
[3] Tuscany
[4] Florida
[5] New York

Top 3 Dream Jobs
[1] Author
[2] Singer
[3] DJ

Five Stores You Could Spend A Million Dollars At
[1] FYE
[2] Barnes & Noble
[3] Best Buy
[4] Borders
[5] Wal Mart

Ten Books You Can't Live Without
[1] A Sort of Homecoming - Robert Cremins
[2] Hood - Emma Donoghue
[3] The Anatomy School - Bernard MacLaverty
[4] High Ground - John McGahern
[5] The Dead School - Patrick McCabe
[6] Eureka Street - Robert MacLiam Wilson
[7] Empire State - Colin Bateman
[8] High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
[9] The Bridge Across Forever - Richard Bach
[10] Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

Yesterday was a productive day - I washed dishes, vacummed and dusted, took out trash, made dinner, transfered some music from cd to md.' I removed the shopping links from this page, bringing some of my favorites links from blog 2. I read Financial Peace by David Ramsey and learned about the debt snowball menthod. It seems so simple but I'd never thought about it before. You pay as much as you can off the smallest debt, and when that's paid off you apply the money you were paying for it to the next biggest debt, and so on. Recently, I'd only been thinking of not incurring any more debt, but now I can actually see a way out within a couple of years if we sacrifice certain luxuries. I'm excited.

Saturday, August 30, 2003

Financially, it's been a horrific month, and I'm not exaggerating. Over $300 in bank fees for insuficient funds. Talk about a wake up call. I redid our budget plan, properly this time, allowing for occasional expenses like car repairs, clothes and vacation. I cleaned out my wallet of credit cards and deleted them from all the online stores I frequent. I've got $100 in cash for groceries, so I can't exceed that amount by using plastic. Debt has been making us miserable, and it's time for me to stop the impulse buying I've been doing. It's simply not worth the anxiety. Vic and I were actually worried about running out of toilet paper this week with no means to buy more. But today's payday. I started balancing the checkbook from scratch and organized our income and spending for the next 2 months. There will be no more NSF fees, no late fees. We will use cash as much as possible. We have one open credit card for our vacation and then that's being paid off too. It's actually kind of a relief to have a plan, to not feel controlled by money. I just need a mistress to whip me if I'm tempted to risk it all for cds or books I don't need. Anyone?

Another fun part of this week was my doctor's appointment. She advised me to discontinue my alcohol consumption and to lower my cholesterol. Which is good because we can save money by not buying beer and by buying less meat and dairy produce. Yay!

I didn't get to see the Madonna and Britney thing properly. Gawd, last year I sat though the damn VMAs and I think the opening act was Simon and Garfunkel. But obviously we won't be increasing our cable line-up in the near future, so I'll have to make do with photos and blurry video files. That was so freaking hot!

There's going to be a who wants to marry my dad reunion show on Monday! Am I the only one excited about this?!

Work has been boring as hell this week. I know that's not something I should complain about. But sheesh, I like being able to read at work, but 7 hours a day is a bit much. This week I've been reading Keeper by Greg Rucka, Hard Candy by Andrew Vachss, A painted House by John Grisham, and Third and Indiana by Steve Lopez, all pretty good.

I've continued my mix cd making fad, which may be ending soon as I'm running out of blank cds. Anyway, I made 2 love mixes for the workmate who's getting married, one jazzy/instrumental, the other a little more contemporary. I also made some new TV Music mixes - music from TV shows including The OC, Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Cold Feet, Dawson's Creek, and Once and Again. Speaking of which, I'd love to see the new movie Thirteen starring Evan Rachel Wood, but it doesn't appear to be playing in WV. I got to the library again at last this week, and borrowed a Marilyn Monroe video collection, the Bloody Sunday DVD & Startup.com, along with many cds - Standing in the Shadows of Morown, Itzhak Perlman's Cinema Serenade, and others by Art Blakey, Chet Baker, Charlie Haden and Wynton Marsalis.

Movies... May started out promising - Angela Bettis and Jeremy Sisto are cute, crazy girl meets crazy guy and all that. But

***spoiler alert***

it got a little too crazy, what with the blood and the sleeping with dead animals and eye gouging and all. I'm usually not easily shocked - gore has it's place in movies, but what's the point here? Maybe I'm just not cultured enough to appreciate the nuances of blind children being mutilated.

Moving on, House of a 1000 Corpses was good clean fun. Like a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn and Natural Born Killers. Baby was hot. And this is one of the best uses of DVD format I've seen - the interactive menu and director commentary were fascinating. Not to mention 'Tiny Fucked a Stump.' Rated R - for strong sadistic violence/gore, sexuality and language. Enjoy!

Sunday, August 24, 2003

I've been reading the West Virginia radio message board, and a local station is being congratulated for including Ronan Keating's Lovin Each Day as a 'Best New Music' selection. Surely the end of the world is nigh.

No? Okay.

I discovered a disturbing coincidence at work this week. The employees were shuffled aorund again to different cubicles, and I ended up near a woman I haven't talked to much. She started talking about her husband and his name sounded familiar. I asked where he worked. He's the cab driver who, on my one drunken night out this year, charged me at the beginning of my trip and the end (hence conning me out of $30).

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are playing in Charleston next weekend. Should we go? Also next weekend is the wedding of our adorable new bilingual lady at work - Maribel. I have of course created my usual cheap and personal gift, a mix cd of love songs. Vic and I are unsure whether we'll go or not because it'd be a 90 minute drive. And usually, whenever we make plans for Saturdays, we break 'em cos it's such a damn relief to be home and away from people.

I know when you're having debt problems, an additonal credit card shouldn't seem like a good idea. But I'm very relieved we got approved for one this weekend. Just to know we shouldn't be in this situation again where we can't afford to buy even food or gas for several days. And Vic and I seriously need a vacation.

I wrote a reply to my mom, and sent my family a package last week - just a book and some mixtapes, but it makes me feel good to send them something. I really wish I didn't feel this homesick, because I remember the utter regret I felt on our last visit - that we'd wasted $1000 for what was mostly a miserable time. I know this sounds heartless I wish I could go without letting my family know. I'd love to just be able to stay in Dublin for a few days, maybe visit Edinburgh, without the regurgitation of bad memories and emotions.

I'd almost forgotten to mention the good news about my raise. I started working for this company 2 years ago with the promise of monthly pay evaluations. This was soon changed to seasonal, then annual evaluations, bringing my hourly salary from $7 to a generous $7.43 per hour. Well, this year our company managed to get rid of several of it's undesirable employees - you know, the ones who aren't like the rest of us or who say what they think. And there've been rumours that the money saved by this reduced number of employees would result in everyone's hourly rate being made equal at $9 an hour. Because the lucky folk that got to work there before George W fucked up the county have been making that all along. So imagine my exhilheration as the raise-related memo was handed out Monday.

Hmmm... corporate profits down... restrictive telemarketing regulations... legal fees... lobby groups... decided to eliminate the 2003 employee annual salary increases... it is with your patience, resilience and commitment... blah fucking blah.

Thanks a lot, big brain.

Vic has asked me to explain my love for what she calls elevator music. Actually, it's mostly music from the Great American Songbooks, but anyway, talking about music is like dancing about architecture, right? Let's dance then.
I think you have to really be exposed to a certain genre of music to appreciate it. I used to dislike both celtic and jazz music, but then I actually listened to it and appreciated it. The songs I listen to have witty, poignant lyrics, memorable melodies, and have been performed by a wide variety of artists, including many of the greatest voices of the last century. Instead of listening to particular artists or groups, I've recently been appreciating individual songs, and the varied performances of such. Because how a performer sings the song can sometimes change it's effect. Frank Sinatra can make 'Imagination' feel like an upbeat hopeful song, while Chet Baker transforms it into a mournful air. Janis Joplin's Summertime can make your heart break, Louis Armstrong's can make it soar. Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan have such different takes on 'Thay Can't Take That Away from Me' that the song hardly seems the same. Over The Rainbow has been given many sounds - by Rufus Wainwright, Eva Cassidy, Aretha Franklin, Chet Baker, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
GAS music is not the only kind I love, it's just my current preference. In times of trouble, it's nice to be able to fall back on the old familiars, to remember a simpler time when Porgy loved Bess, and Fred & Ginger danced cheek to cheek.

"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing a song."
~Louis Armstrong

Monday, August 18, 2003

What I've been enjoying or hating lately in...

-Music

I'm loving Frank Sinatra's earlier music - the Tommy Dorsey collaberations. Songs like Imagination & I'll Be Seeing You. I don't like his later tribute to those days - some of the same songs with an annoying brassier sound on the 'I Remember Tommy' cd.

Today I added several pages of my mix tape/cd track listings to my website - I think they're a good indication of the music I've been enjoying lately.

Good news for BMG music club members. This month, they'll be offering a free cd (even shipping is free) with any purchase over $5 - it's a rare Damien Rice promo - Live at Union Chapel. Even if you don't like the music, the disc is selling for $20 on ebay.

-Movies

They was a typical horror flick. Jason Goes to Hell was barely watchable. And gross.
Narc was excellent - the strenght of style and script elevating it far above the similar recent dirty cop movie Dark Blue.
Dracula 2000 was entertaining enough.
The Auteur Theory was a good movie, with many hilarious scenes. But overall, a little tedious.
I was disappointed with 'Ararat' - I guess Egoyan should stick to adapting (The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia's Journey) other people's material instead of wrting his own. Mychael Danna's score is amazing though.

-TV

Nothing new. My obsession with Paradise Hotel is growing - both Vic and I have dreamed about the show.

-Books

Free Fall by Robert Crais - enjoyable light-hearted detective fiction, and Blue Belle by Andrew Vachss - enjoyable hard-hearted detective fiction. That was my 3rd Vachss novel. I have 3 more to read before I need to obsessively search for the remaining 6 in the Burke series. I'm also reading High Ground by John McGahern. I can barely describe how much I'm enjoying these stories. They fill me with joy and sorrow and make me very homesick. I believe McGahern may be better than William Trevor, and look forward to reading his novels.

-Internet

Obsessively searching for music at bmg & secondspin.com.

-Lust

Vic. More money. An unlimited supply of books & music, and of beer& chocolate without the whole weight gain side effect.
Angelina Jolie, Norah Jones, Katie Holmes, that chick on the OC, Virginie Ledoyen, Lisa Marie Presley, Elizabeth Hurley, Jamie Pressly, Kelly Brooke, Mandy Moore, Alicia silverstone, Liv Tyler, Eliza Dushku, Kari Wuhrer, Sophie Marceau, Vanessa Paradis, Natalie Portman, Domonique Swain, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Kiera Knightly. I'd like to say that I'm appalled by Rolling Stone advertising the Olsen twins as America's favorite fantasy, but some of those pictures are hot.

-Life

The whole local random shootings thing is a little unnerving. I'm tired of politics and of 'news.' I just wanna stay home with Vic and kitty and books and music and movies and food. I enjoyed making mix cds this weekend. Worried about not being able to afford vacation.

Sunday, August 10, 2003

It's been a while since I updated. Life in general has been good. The worst I can say about work is that it's been boring. Vic and I have been as close as ever, probably thanks to me not being as much a bitch as I used to be. I'm feeling a little homesick tonight, mostly because watching a movie set in Paris reminded me of how much different European cities are, how alive. I miss walking in Dublin at night, the sounds, sights, smells. Wind and music and buses and pedestrians. Charleston by comparison, is dead. I dreamed of Ireland last night. One of those vivid dreams after which you wake up surprised it's not real. But then I thought oh well, I got to go to Ireland and it didn't cost $500 and the experience was more pleasant than it would be in reality.

My mother wrote me a letter last week. It was the most honest she's ever been with me. Apologising for my "rotten childhood," lamenting the fact that she didn't abandon us when she planned to 15 years ago, urging me to "talk to someone" instead of taking medication for depression. I need to reply. I would tell her I'm glad she didn't leave, that my father was a more negative influence on me than she was. If I was in Ireland now, I'd be medicating myself on alcohol and ecstasy, talking even less than I do now, dying inside.

That's more than enough seriousness from me. Time for some distraction. This week I've been enjoying...

-Music

I finally found a Sinatra CD I like. I'd gotten a cheap hits collection last year which I don't listen to much. But I love his 'Sinatra and Strings' album. Powerful performances and great arrangements of songs like Stardust, That's All, Misty and It Might As well Be Spring. Vic would say I'm descending into elevator music hell, but I like it here :) I've also been listening to Orna's cd The Very Thought of You, to Norah Jones and Eva Cassidy and Damien Rice and Jeff Buckley. I've been listening to soundtracks including Howard Shore's music for The Two Towers, Elliot Goldenthal's for The Butcher Boy and In Dreams, Mychael Danna's for Lilies, Craig Armstrong's for Plunkett & MacLeane. Last night I listened to Jerry Goldsmith's music for The Omen, while the TV was on mute. It was fitting music for the limited facial expressions of Freddie Prinze Junior in 'Boys and Girls.'

-Movies

Venus Beauty Institute was okay, not the quirky happy movie I'd expected from audrey Tautou, but apparently it was her first movie.
The Quiet American was an interesting movie set in 50's Vietnam. I don't usually like Michael Caine but he was okay in this. Brendan Fraser has a rare opportunity to do some good acting too.
Dark Blue was good, not nearly as good as it could have been. It's like a cross between Training Day and LA Confidential but doesn't have the power of either. Basically, it gives you no reason to care for the characters. Kurt Russell was good though, and it also starred Irish actor Brendan Gleeson and Felicity's Scott Speedman.
Lone Star State is a Bedford Falls production. I thought it was an enjoyable farce but some might just find it annoying.
I saw Jaws for the first time. Damn, I ain't goin near the ocean this year!
Laurel Canyon was the best I've seen lately. Great cast, great directing, nice story.
Tomb Raider 2 was better than the first but that's not saying much. It was like a nonsensical cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones. Thankfully, Angelina can make any move worth watching. Except for Gone in 60 Seconds.
Final Destination 2 was as good or bad as you might expect it to be, depending on whether you like crap horror movies.

-TV

A steady diet of sitcom reruns - Seinfeld, Will & Grace; and reality shows - Who Wants to Marry My Dad? & Paradise Hotel; with a sprinkling of Colin Farrell's talk show appearences.

-Books

A lot. Not many people seeking employment in the telemarketing industry recently which gives me a lot of time to read. In recent weeks I read No Witnesses by Ridley Pearson, Strega by Andrew Vachss, Portrait in Sepia by Isabele Allende, The Face by Dean Koontz, The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy, Pay it Forward by Catherine Hyde Pearce, The Fire Gospels by Mike Magnuson and Breakfast in Babylon by Emer Martin. All of which were good but especially the last two.

-Internet

Lots of music browsing, and a little buying from bmgmusicservice.com - including the Elliot Goldenthal score for Frida and the Jason Mraz cd.

Sunday, July 27, 2003

> What have you been enjoying or hating lately in...
>
> -Music

Michael Nyman, Elliot Goldenthal, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong, Norah Jones, Eva Cassidy, soundtracks to The Talented Mr Riply and The Mothman Prophecies.

> -Movies

The only movie we saw in theatres this month was Pirates of the Caribbean. It really was very good - a rollicking adventure. Johnny Depp really carries the movie with a rare and brilliant comedic performance. Pity there wasn't more eye candy for us guys too.

We've rented sooo many movies in recent weeks, including:

The Weight of Water - ignore the reviews, this is a great story, great cast, good memorable movie.

The Shaft - a horror movie that's intentionally over-the-top, hilarious and a lil bit scary.

Just Married - can't believe I'm admitting to watching it, never mind liking it. But I did. It's a cheesy and not-so-funny romantic comedy. But it's sweet.

Happenstance - featuring the star of Amelie and a similar mood, a quirky, sweet tale of love and the little twists of fate that affect it.

Phone Booth - ruined by a crappy ending, and there wasn't enough Katie Holmes.

Waiting for Guffman - still hilarious after all these years.

Gangs of New York - I regret not seeing this in theatres. It was an extremely enjoyable old-fashioned epic. Great story, Daniel Day Lewis was amazing, the others were pretty good, and I loved the muusic.

Ghost Ship - I've been apprehensive about some of Vic's video choices recently, but this was better than expected. Standard horror flick, slightly marred by it's ridiculous ending.

Darkness Falls - speaking of bad choices, this one was mine. But even the worst horror movies are enjoyable when Vic's there to poke fun at them.

And we've still got Jaws, Lone Star State & Final destination 2 to watch this weekend.

> -TV

Blame the lack of choice on Network TV - Vic and I are becoming reality TV junkies. So far we're hooked on Cupid, Paradise Hotel and even *hangs head in shame* Who Wants To Marry My Dad? God help us. Besides that, there's the daily reruns of Seinfeld and Friends to keep us entertained.

> -Books

Finished The Dead School and Carn by Patrick McCabe - preferred the former. He's a unique and very disturbed author - I can't remember comedy this black.

Flood by Andrew Vachss was great. I love the mood of his books, all dark and murky with revenge being the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Anatomy School by Bernard MacLaverty. If you want a realistic portrayal of Irish life, MacLaverty's yer man. This was a great coming-of-age story, sometimes hilarious, sometines heartbreaking. I've read all his novels, and they're just brilliant, so they are!

Now I'm reading No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. Fall on Your Knees whetted my appetite for another Cape Breton novel. And this is an excellent one.

> -Life

Well, all the interesting people are being weeded out at work. Lisa quit after months of persecution. Her girlfriend Shauna is still hanging in there - I doubt she'll last much longer. I miss those that have left - Kyla, Kerra, Nichole, Lisa. Work is now just one long boring day followed by another.

My first dental work in 10 years was a nightmare. To a soundtrack featuring Barry Manilow, the Bee Gees and Bette Middler, my unfriendly dentist jerked on the tooth he was to extract for about 10 minutes before I heard a crack. Ooops! The stubborn root didn't want to come out, so after more pulling and levering against my sore lips, he brought in a drill. Lovely. Afterwards, I looked in horror at my blood splattered bib and his assistant had to wipe my cheek and nose. And the horror didn't end there. I had to subsist on a liquid diet for 24 hours! Aaaaaaah!

Such fun.

In other news, medical insurance did not cover my recent 20-minute doctor's visit ($166) or the ensuing blood test (surprise, you have high cholesterol! That'll be $199 please). So lets add another $300+ to our debts, shall we?

Bizarrely, Vic insists that I've been pleasant to live with in recent days. Either the Lexapro is kicking in, or it's the multivitamins I started this week. In either case, hurrah for me!

Saturday, July 19, 2003

It's been a weird week. The nausea and sleepiness continued, and the anti-depressant hasn't kicked in yet. I really don't think I can stay on them unless the side effects subside. I yawn all the time, and can barely keep my eyes open to read.
Vic's been sick. The Doc said today it may be Pneumonia. I stayed home 2 days with her. Raise time is coming up at work. I hope they'll consider the first 6 months when I didn't miss a single day.
Our dinner with work friends was great. Lisa likes to sing, and we're hoping to have a karaoke night out sometime soon. I haven't in front of an audience like that since Ireland last March, and I've never sung karaoke in this country except at home and a friends house. Lisa and Vic had more in common than I expected, and it was just a nice time. Lisa quit her job this week - I hope we can keep in touch.

We found out that Florida is no longer a vacation option, so we'll probably stay at Carolina Beach. I'm etting excited about visting Cape Fear and Wilmington, the setting for many TV shows and movies including Dawson's Creek and A Walk to remember.

I've been revelling in the language of Patrick McCabe, finally getting around to reading The Dead School. You can't get much more Irish than this - he's off his rocker, out of his head, mad, so he is.

I've also been reading the excellent hard-boiled detective fiction of Andrew Vachss - starting with Flood. I've already got his next 4 books lined up. And I got a shipment from bookcloseouts.com today including books by William Trevor, Stephen Dobyns, Richard Matheson & Emer Martin.

Just watched The 25th Hour, which was powerful. It was very stylish, with some great performances. But not very memorable. I'm looking forward to reading that book too.

Damn the weather's crazy here. House-shaking thunder and lightning and rain.

I must go comfort my terrified wife and cat :)

Saturday, July 12, 2003

There's not much to report this week. I've been nauseous and fatigued, which I assume is a reaction to the new antidepressant - the first pill in my life I've had to take regularly (with the exception of a week's supply of antibiotics). I hope the side effects will pass. By the way, I'm on Lexapro. Comments are welcome if you know anything about it.

The atmosphere at work is really negative these days. The lesbian couple are still being persecuted. They were both moved to opposite ends of the room, and yesterday they were told they couldn't take their breaks. We've been invited to dinner at their house today - I assume it will mostly be bitching about work but I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

Most of the women I work with are over 30, many are over 50. The only young one left is the back-biting ditsy blonde Emily. The only guy left has smoked away 90% of his brain cells. Seriously, he's the dumbest person I've ever met. And in WV, that's saying something. Shit, am I turning into a bitch?! I've been relegated to sometimes reading Cosmo. I've objected the lack of 'manly' magazines so much that some workmates brought in some Rolling Stone and Newsweek magazines for me. So I'm much more educated this week than I was last week :) My requests for Maxim and Stuff were denied.

Anyway, there was a stress test in Cosmo (shut up!) that told me I was very stressed out, and recommended I write about my day. So I've started to write again. I kept journals for several years until I got my computer and wrote about everything in emails. I don't do that anymore, and it's good to have an outlet.

I'm becoming a reality TV junkie. Having only network TV, it's hard to avoid. This week I watched For Love or Money, Paradise Hotel and Cupid. Plus Primetime with J.Lo & Lisa Marie, and 20/20 with Angelina. Movies this week - I watched Living out Loud, which was quite enjoyable, though not brilliant. Queen Latifah's performances of jazzy standards were a revelation - check out some soundtrack samples at Amazon. Danny Devito's a surprisingly okay singer too. And I saw my second (the first was Some Like it Hot) Marilyn Monroe movie - Don't Bother to Knock, which was a surprisingly suspenseful thriller. I've added several of her movies to our Netflix list having become intrigued with Marilyn while reading Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates.

I started my first Stuart Woods book - The Short Forever - which is okay, and I've been delving into The Porcupine's Kisses by Stephen Dobyns. It was an impulse buy at the Bargain Books store in South Bend, and I may not have bought it had I taken the time to discover it was a book of poetry. Great book though, full of thought provoking prose and aphorisms. Perfect for delving :)

In music, I've been alternating between some favorite jazz artists - Thelonious monk, Art Blakey, Count Baise, Duke Ellington - and some contemporary favorites - Beth Orton, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette, Joan Osborne.

Vic and are debating going to see a movie. My top pick is Terminator 3, Vic's is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. We may compromise and see the Pirates movie. Or none.

And that's all I have to write about this week.

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Mountain Stage was great! The acts performing included:
The Jim Kweskin Band & Samoa Wilson (wonderful blend of jazz and folk - I especially enjoyed 'What a Little Moonlight Can Do').
Hammel on Trial (loud, crude, entertaining, hilarious and touching (I cried during his song about Brandon Teena & Matthew Sheperd).
Xavier Rudd (fascinating, multitalented Australian, powerful vocals, great sound - including that of digeredoos!)
Ben Taylor (a little too much saccharine for my tastes - kinda cool hearing that James Taylor voice though).
Ani Difranco (so that's what the fuss is about?! This chick is a great singer & guitarist, opinionated and strong, original.)

This week I 'ave been mostly:
listening to chillin' and relaxin' music
reading The Anatomy School by Bernard MacLaverty, Demolition Angel by Robert Crais, The Face by Dean Koontz, finally finished the entertaining Sayville by Tom Panerese
watching The Hours (overrated), Frida (intriguing), Old School (hilarious), The Royal Tenenbaums (good), and the South Park movie (yes, they said that Fucking Shit on Comedy Central).

Wonderful Weekend

Visited friends in South Bend, Day 1, was driven around in a convertable with the top down, experiencing the Blowback for the first time. And I saw that it was good and rested.
Day 2 was spent shopping, eating at Ruby Tuesdays, getting drunk with friends and watching movies. Good times.
Day 3, there was more eating and shopping and movies - Irish food, bargain books and Old School hilarity.
Day 4 - a lengthy breakfast and a lengthy drive home.

Thanks for the hospitality Coble & T-Bone!

Thinking of moving again. Seems we have 2 worlds. The utter contentment of home, pet, family, enjoyable things to do, peace. And the horror of outside, of stressful drives and crappy weather, often intolerable workplaces and delusional family. The ignorance of WV.
So we are seriously considering the move. Friends we can have fun with, a more pleasant environment, a younger population. Maybe we can move our home there.

Vic got a bonus last week - I was able to enjoy the weekend without wondering when we'd hit the insuffiecient funds level. Redid my budget today and signed up with Yahoo Billpay, which should ease frustration in one area of life.

I had my first doctor's appointment in several years today. The doctor sent about 10 minutes with me. She glided over the ear, eye, breathing, throat knee thing. Asked me about 5 questions before deciding what anti-depressive medication I need. Didn't mention my bulk (which has reached a frightening number), said I should return next week for bloodwork. Told me it's unlikely I have colorectal cancer, probably IBS, and I should be more woried about testicular cancer anyway. Thanks. It seemed very impersonal, though it's a relief to have done something. And maybe I'll stop feeling worthless for a while. Next step - a dentist.

After years of misleading questionaire answers, I can confirm that I'm 5'6''. Vic was right.

It's 1am. Work tomorrow. Today.
It was nice to have a temporary reprieve from the irritation & monotony. More than this?

Saturday, June 28, 2003

-Music

I got a wonderful cd from the library called Cinema Paradiso, which contains great arrangements of classical pieces from the movies. Among the highlights are Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (Adagio), Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso theme, Rachmaninov's Air on a theme of Pagnini, Puccino's O Mio Babino Caro, and a spirited instrumental version (by James Galway) of My Heart Will Go On. Don't mock me! This is one of the best classical compilations I've heard.

I also borrowed Johnny Cash's Unchained - he sounds great on this one. From the pounding Sea of Heartbreak to the vulnerability of Spiritual (a vocal version of our beloved Charlie Haden/Pat Methany instrumental).
Some of my recent purchases from secondspin arrived. A Perfect World contains some of my favorite old country songs - I said, don't mock me! - as well as a fascinating composition by Clint Eastwood. If you've seen the movie, you may remember the music.
The Big Tease has some good tracks on it - especially Groove Armada's At The River. I got a Wonder Years compilation, beacuse I liked the theme song and wanted Johnnie B Goode on cd.
8 Femmes is nice, especially some of the upbeat songs. Vic says I make a fool of myself by attempting to sing them in public :)
I also got some good jazz compilations, and a third volume of the wonderful Acoustic complilations.

In anticipation of a weekend away, I've been making some tapes. A Chillin' mix includes music by Delerium, Paul Van Dyk, Zero 7, Hoover, Dario G, Prodigy, Underworld and more. A Relaxin' mix includes selections from the afformentioned Cinema Paradiso as well as other favorite jazz and classical pieces.

-Movies

Monsoon Wedding was more charming and enjoyable that it's big fat greek cousin. Me Without You was good but a little too whiny. Die Another Day convoluted and over-produced. Heaven and Punch Drunk Love were brilliantly directed and fascinating.

-TV

We rarely watch TV these days. 23 channels and nothing on. Many of those channels are devoted to religion or shopping, but the Networks are pathetic in the Summer. I find myself mostly watching C-Span or PBS, or giving up and listening to the Progressive channel on Muisc Choice.

-Books

Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald is another of those novels that's a joy to read. I left the book at work and find myself haunted by its characters. It's a tragic but beautiful tale spanning several decades in the lives of a Cape Breton family. Highly recommended.

I've also been joyfully engrossed in John Connolly's Bad Men. Damn, that man can write. There are some depressing subjects in this novel, but it's written so well, I feel giddy thinking about it.

Joyce Carol Oates' tale of the life of one Norma Jean Baker - Blonde - is fabulously entertaining. Did she really do all that?! I've excitedly added some Marilyn Monroe movies to the top of my Netflix list - Don't Bother to Knock and Bus Stop.

-Internet

Selling on Amazon and setting up bill payments with Yahoo Billpay.

-Life

Of course I have to write about money...

A couple of weeks ago, I thought we had some money to spare and Vic and I both spent a little online. So of course, things started going wrong. We hear from both State and Federal tax agencies in one week. The INS check goes through. I get rained in and lose money from lost workdays. The rent is due, and we had planned to spend next weekend in South Bend. Yes, I know it's my fault for not adhering to our budget. But what is life if we can't grant ourselves the ocassional indulgence. It's been three weeks since we went to a movie or ate out. I'm again considering debt consolidation, selling more stuff on Amazon, and meanwhile praying that Vic gets a bonus this week.

It's been a difficult week at work too.

My one intellectual and cultural equal at work was forced out by the envious bitches in control of our office. But 2 weeks notice was not enough for them. They fired her with 2 days to go because "co-workers were apprehensive as to what she might do on her last days."

The lesbian couple of course have been targeted as well. There are many in our office who spend more time together than those two, but still the complaints are rolling in from those who pretend to be their friends. This week has been especially sickening. S was suffering from upset stomach and was in the bathroom most of the morning. Many employees checked on her, but she requested that L bring her some water. The grevience line was flooded with calls because they were in the bathroom together. I am so sick of small-mindedness and intolerence.

Friday, June 20, 2003

I spent so much time on ebay last week that I've tried to stay offline as much as possible. Hence, the lack of an update last weekend, in case you noticed. Anyway, some things that have been happening... I was named employee of the month at work, so my name is engraved on a plaque for future generations to see :) Unfortunately, the award has no monetary value. I am due for another annual raise September though - wonder if they'll match last years 2%. Vic says I talk about money too much online. Sorry about that. I guess it's just something that's on my mind a lot. So lets get this out of the way. We reduced our cable channels to 21. We were willing to go without cable TV altogether, but it was apparently a requirement since we wanted to keep the cable modem service. Otherwise we'd be charged $20 extra for nothing. But anyway, that's done, and hopefully the money saved won't be swallowed by other bills. We need a vacation.
I witnessed the worst flood damage of my life this week. Being from Ireland, that's saying something. The TV footage was scary - a road we travel to work became a river tearing up the blacktop, floating cars and even a Fed Ex truck, pulling houses from their foundations. Again, I am thankful to be living on a hill.

I've mentioned Damien Rice here a lot. I'm delighted to report that after a week of release and minimal promotion (a Late Show performance and some airplay on public radio), his debut album 'O' is currently #26 on Amazon's list of bestselling cds. Go Damo!

Some movie recommendations - 'Relax...It's Just Sex' is a wonderful little film about friends and sexual relations. Funny and touching, with great dialogue, it stars Jennifer Tilly and Lori Petty.
Lillies is an intense drama of love and betrayal. Unconventional and brilliant, it features an all male cast with some female characters, if you catch my drift :)

I didn't read much this week, though I did finish The Pearl by John Steinbeck. It's a retelling of an old Mexican folktale, a story of greed and corruption and humanity. I read a chapter of Hard Candy by Andrew Vachss but realised I should read the first and second in his Burke series before continuing.
I'm approaching the end of Ridley Pearson's The Pied Piper, started Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde, and am looking forward to John Connolly's The Bad Men.

Music - I made some mix tapes and mostly listened to Celtic and Jazz. Some cds I anticipate enjoying include Peter & Wendy by John Cunningham and the third volume in the excellent 'Acoustic' series of compilations.

And finally, so I appear to be interested in more than books, movies and music, this is a poem I remember from school...

Mid-Term Break By Seamus Heaney

I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home.

In the porch I met my father crying?
He had always taken funerals in his stride?
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.

The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
By old men standing up to shake my hand

And tell me they were "sorry for my trouble",
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand

In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.

Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,

Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,
He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.

A four foot box, a foot for every year.

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

> What have you been enjoying or hating lately in...
>
> -Music

I've been listening to more celtic music lately. My favorite Chieftains cd - Fire in the Kitchen, on which they collaberate with many Canadian artists - and Aine Minogue's Circle of the Sun. No she's not related to Kylie - she plays harp and sings on this cd which also features the whistle playing of Seamus Egan, from Solas who did the score for The Brother's McMullen (including music for Sarah McLachlan's I Will Remember You). I've also been listening to movie themes - I've got a piano cd with various themes including Somewhere in Time & Forrest Gump. I had bid on several cds at ebay this weekend, but I lost most of them. Which is probably for the best. I still harbour hopes of buying some soundtracks and celtic music from secondspin at bargain prices (like $1.99 each!).

> -Movies

Lots. Tired of the long waits for new releases at netflix (and having a non-working DVD player) we rented several videos over the weekend.
About Schmidt was much more depressing than I expected. It was very well done though, and it was nice to see Jack Nicholson playing against type. Star Trex Nemesis was disappointing. I thought it was worse than preceding Next Generation efforts. The Pianist was a great movie... not one that makes you revel in the good of humanity though. It was very well made and acted. The desperation was almost overwhelming. Finally, The Recruit. Blah. Half the movie was training, the other half predictably twisty. Pacino did his usual dark mentor thing - similar to his characters in City Hall, The Devil's Advocate, Donnie Brasco. Lots of pacinoesque monologues. Anyway, boring.

> -TV

Out of Order is the only show that's makin us reconsider the decision to give up cable. Though we did watch some daytime TV today, including a Dawson's Creek rerun that made me cry. I don't know why that show gets to me so much. Anyway...

> -Books

Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss - a distrubing twist on a familiar tale.
Blue Ridge by T. R. Pearson - briliantly written dual mystery novel set in Virginia & NYC.
I've also been reading Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, and some Ridley pearson books, and listening to City of Bones by Michael Connelly.

> -Internet

I squandered more time than usual online this week, mainly shuffling cds around in wishlists and shopping carts and on ebay. I only bought a few though - 2 celtic cds and 2 Mychael Danna scores for about $15 total.

> -Life

An update... our manager from corporate headquarters in NJ visited last week. She was so not what I any of us expected. She was nice and bubbly and enthusiastic and nice. Anyway... work has settled down a little bit after a hellish monday. I'm not at work today because we have no water. Apparently hundreds of households on this line are in a similar situation. I'm a little worried about the money I'm not getting paid today, but I rationalise by thinking of getting our cable TV disconnected. I had planned to do it today because I wanted to see Damien Rice on Letterman last night. But they ran out of time, and rescheduled him for Friday. By the way, his cd 'O' is now available in the US.

Money worries seem to be returning this week. I wonder if the DVD player we paid $60 has anything to do with that. Anyway, I've already made that much by selling books and cds at Amazon this week, and I have many other items listed for sale, so I think/hope we'll be okay. The money saved by not having cable will hopefully help us out when it's vacation time.

That's about it. We're going to see Dar Williams, Kasey Chambers and more at a Mountain Stage show this weekend. and may be visiting our lovely friends in South Bend in a few weeks.

Monday, June 02, 2003

Just watched A Walk to Remember - one of those teen movies I'd been avoiding because it looked like a typical crappy teen movie. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it. A sweet story, a nice message. And Mandy Moore - a pop star who can act! Looking at her IMDb page, I suspect she's going to be abig star. Anyway, before you rush to watch this based on my opinion, it does have a Dawson's Creek kinda feel to it, so you have been warned.

I'm reading Sayville by Tom Paranese. It's very good - warm and charming. It's quite rare these days to find characters you can actually like. Like Nick Hornby, Paranese has the gift of drawing you in to his story, making you feel like you're part of the gang. Recommended.

I'm also reading The White Trilogy by Ken Bruen. This guy is vicious with his characters and with his language. He's got a similar style to James Ellroy, but since his characters are British or Irish, I enjoy the plot and abundant pop culture references a little more. The first book mentioned Sheryl Crow, Cowboy Junkies, My So-Called Life, Ed McBain, Andrew Vachss and Regis & Kathy Lee. Plot takes a back seat to style and character in these books, and they're fantastically entertaining.

Saturday, May 31, 2003

A BBC list of books to read. I've read *these...

*1984, George Orwell
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
*Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
*Animal Farm, George Orwell
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Anne Of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery
*Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
*The BFG, Roald Dahl
Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
Bleak House, Charles Dickens
*Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
*Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
Catch 22, Joseph Heller
*The Catcher In The Rye, JD Salinger
*Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
Dune, Frank Herbert
Emma, Jane Austen
Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
The Godfather, Mario Puzo
Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
*Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
*Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, JK Rowling
*Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
*Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
*His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman
*The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
Holes, Louis Sachar
I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
*Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
Katherine, Anya Seton
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, CS Lewis
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
The Lord Of The Rings, JRR Tolkien
Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
Magician, Raymond E Feist
The Magus, John Fowles
*Matilda, Roald Dahl
Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
Middlemarch, George Eliot
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
Mort, Terry Pratchett
Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
*Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
*On The Road, Jack Kerouac
One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Perfume, Patrick Suskind
Persuasion, Jane Austen
The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austen
The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
The Ragged Trousered Philantrhopists, Robert Tressell
Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret History, Donna Tartt
The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
*The Stand, Stephen King
The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Tess Of The D'urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
*Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
*The Twits, Roald Dahl
Ulysses, James Joyce
Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
War And Peace, Leo Tolstoy
Watership Down, Richard Adams
The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne
The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

Any thoughts, suggestions, reviews???

Survey Time

Me:
1. I call myself: rarely
2. I am this old: 26
5. My favorite thing to drink is: water
6. My favorite food is: chicken
7. I am this tall: 5'8"
8. When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is: turn on stereo (or as Vic Calls it, my penis extension)
9. The last thing I do before I go to bed is: turn off lamp

Shower Time:
1. I take baths or showers: both
2. My favorite soap to use is: whatever's cheapest - suave/ajax
3. I use this shampoo: pantene
5. I use a comb or a brush: comb
6. I blow dry my hair or let it air dry: air
7. My toothpaste is: crest
8. My toothbrush color is: green
9. I like hot or cold showers: hot
10. What I think about in the shower: futility of life
11. My least favorite thing about the shower is: getting water on the floor

Primary School:
1. My dad/mom drove me to school or I rode the bus: bus
3. My favorite teacher was: miss fitzpatrick
4. My least favorite teacher was: miss walsh
6. My favorite field trip was to: the plane'arium
7. What I remember most about primary school is: being shaken by a teacher

High School:
1. My favorite subject in high school is/was: english
5. My favorite activity in high school: reading
6: I was in the band and I played: no band
8. I was in this school play(s): no plays, though I once recited Patrick Kavanagh's A Christmas Childhood and sang Silent Night in 4 languages :)
9. I was in this crowd at school: none
10. I had detention this many times: lost count
11. I drove to school: no
12. I skipped class this many times: 3 or 4
13. I was always late for class: nope
16. I went to prom with: some hussy named Pauline
17. I went to this many football games: a few
18. My favorite trip was: no trips
19. I was in the principal's office this many times: 3 or 4

1. My first cassette I bought was: An Elvis greatest hits compilation
2. My first CD I bought was: an Elvis box set
3. I at one time owned records/or still do: yep, got a lot of 'em from an auction once, with a record player for about 20 quid.
4. My favorite band is: Doves
5. My favorite female singer is: Norah Jones
6. My favorite male singer is: Damien Rice

Okay then... time for another of those weekly update things. Chelle and Coble visited last weekend. We took them to breakfast and to stores and parks and home. We had pizza and subs and beer and wine. We watched Kissing Jessica Stein and Stealing Beauty. We sang and danced and some did more. But I'll never tell. Vic probably will though, since she's shameless. We had a jolly old time.

It was nice to have monday off to recover, though this week has been crazy and seemed longer than most. I've worked at my current job nearly 2 years, and next week I'll get to meet our so-called manager for the first time. She's based in NJ and in recent months has insulted 2 supervisors so much that they quit. I'm so looking forward to being tense (moreso) all week, and to potential unemployment cos she'll see just how little work we do these days. Maybe she'll take a Wrong Turn. I'm looking forward to that movie. I think, besides the Scream series, the only 'slasher' horror flick I'd seen in theaters was Halloween H20, and I expect this will be much more gory and scary. Plus it's got sexy chicks in it. And I shall feel such pride in my home state as the cannibalistic inbred West Virginian hillbillies eat people.

In related news, Topher Grace and Kate Bosworth may be filming in a neighboring county. Finally, a movie set in WV might actually film here!

We went to bed early last night. TV is so crappy these days, and Netflix is too slow. We mailed movies on Tuesday, the replacements won't ship till Monday. I got some videos from the library - Round Midnight, Buena Vista Social Club - but Vic's not interested in watching those. I hope the weekend isn't too boring or frustrating.

We're back to worrying about money again - we are, as they say, living beyond our means. And we haven't even heard from the tax people about our installment plans. We had been thinking about reducing our cable channels, but damn Showtime have a probably great show debuting tomorrow - Out of Order starring Eric Stoltz, William H Macy, Justine Bateman and Kim Dickens.

Heard about Meow TV yet? It was on Oxygen last night and we recorded it for our superkitty Ms Patches. A TV show for cats and the people they tolerate. Sounds like fun. Sheesh, can't believe I wrote that - I've fallen so far.

Books - I read Ridley Pearson's Beyond Recognition (good - I like his Lou Boldt series), most of the essays in Sarah Vowell's Take the Cannoli (funny stuff - highlights included her ramblings on goths, mix tapes and driving), skimmed Robert James Waller's A Thousand Country Roads (well written but the story was disappointing) and I'm approaching the end of Anna Burns' No Bones (a novel of madness, sex and violence - the craziest Irish book I've read). I'm listening to Michael Connelly's City of Bones which is really good. I'm continuing to pace myself through the 900+ page Swan Song, and next week I'm looking forward to reading Dan Bruen's White Trilogy.

My cds from the library this week were disappointing. The GRP artists performing jazz versions of the Beatles songs was disappointing - In My Life and Eleanor Rigby being the only stand-outs. I got In Blue and Collage by Karrin Allyson, both of which had a few good songs - Moanin', Angel Eyes, And So it goes - but overall didn't even approach the quality of her Ballads album. I also got some Irish piano music composed by John Fields and performed by Alison Hood, some jazz spiritual music by Bob Thompson, and some orchestral movie themes by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Movies watched this week include the nice but not quite as wonderful as expected Fucking Amal (aka Show Me Love), the often hilarious Monty Python's Life of Brian and the interesting but not quite compelling movie of a young Hitler, Max.

I spent very little time online this week - my evenings were spent gathering evidence for our upcoming petition to remove conditions on my permanent residency, which just sounds wrong. I think it's just beaurocratic crap but it's bringing back bad memories and stressing Vic out. And it costs $145 - more money to the US government. Speaking of money, thanks for the tax cut Dubya - I look forward to another notification that we didn't make enough money or have enough kids to benefit. Meanwhile, a headline from AP yesterday: "Halliburton's contracts in Iraq, Afghanistan at $600 million and growing."

Changes to this page: my friends list has changed to a list of journals. Livejournal is taking over. The mailing lists I'm on have dwindled to nothing - everyone's posting and interacting on LJ instead. And so, for me to keep up with what y'all are up to I've created the list over there somewhere <---. If you want to be removed to added to the list please let me know.

And finally, in local news, an elderly lady with the last name Gott (German for God) is one of many nationwide to be receiving calls meant for the great one. The makers of Bruce Almighty decided to dispense with the usual 555 prefix when Bruce was paged by God, and of course couldn't have foreseen the resulting free publicity.

I need a vacation.

Saturday, May 24, 2003

My birthday was Thursday. 26. I'm an old man. It was a fairly uneventful day - dinner at Bob Evans where as always we talked about getting pie but felt too full after the main course. A friend sent me an Amazon gift certificate, and I ordered the new Lady Sings the Blues compilation. I also ordered some used Ridley Pearson books.

This week I read A Terrible Beauty by Graham Masterton. It was slightly amusing for it's use of Irish slang, but basically it was a gross horror novel, as was Breed by Owl Goingback. I don't like horror novels as much as I used to. One I am enjoying is Swan Song by Robert Mccammon - it's over 900 pages and I'm taking my time with it, but it seems very similar to The Stand. I'm approaching the end of Greg Isles' Sleep No More. He's another of my favorite mystery writers and this latest has me enthralled. Having read so much recently (and gotten some new books), I decided to update my bookshelf today.

Movies... I watched Shergar on HBO last night. It was yet another enjoyable little Irish movie. This one's based on the true story of a famous racehorse that went missing in the 80's, and stars David Warner, Ian Holm and Mickey Rourke. And tonight we watched Our Town - an important play, nicely adapted I thought. I've also been watching The Family Guy which is usually fun, sometimes hilarious.

Not much else to write about at this time. I'm looking forward to having an extra day off this weekend, and to spending time with friends Coble and Chelle.