Why start a conversation you can't even finish?

(found in the library, late February)

Zodiac shot young couple in 1968 Boy Survived girl didn't
2 more people shot (collage age)
Searial Killer! Signed Car door! enjoys taunting Police/meadia! Upped MO
Mix up with descreption!
Told to look for Black man not White man!
Said he would shoot out School bus tires then pick off children on at a time!

Also, I found 2 Chick tracts in the teen area yesterday, one under a bunch of Buffy paperbacks, one in what looked like a retelling of the Ark story. I didn't know those things were even still in circulation. So, total score...

Lying in wait at the Birmingham Mall.

So I was thinking this morning about the AV catalogers I know, and the catalogers I know who are supposed to be general and do AV but don't.
And then I was thinking about how libraries are always all riled up about being more like those bookstores who totally modeled themselves after libraries in the first place.
So now I wonder: When are we going to start modeling our music and movie collections like they do at those stores? (And, yes, I'm fully aware that everyone thinks the music store is dead. Bear with me, and just think about the music sections of Walmart or Target or whatever, ok?)
My library organizes most DVDs into "general" and "feature". As far as I can tell, none of my coworkers know what the distinction is. We all have guesses though. Wouldn't it be easier on the patrons to do like Blockbuster and organize by genre, or do like the stores and just do straight alphabetical? The other library I use doesn't have an anime or a TV programs section. If you want to check out, say, the 6th season of Gilmore Girls (guess what I'm at the library for...), you have to figure out whether some cataloger thought the show was more drama or comedy. Needless to say, most anime winds up in sci-fi. Wouldn't it be easier on the anime fans to throw that stuff all together?
If we can get things like the newest Harry Potter before its street date so that libraries have copies available for check out (or, as is more likely, on the hold shelf) the same day people can buy it, shouldn't we be able to do the same with new DVDs and CDs?

Professional Sacrifice

I would totally wear this.

***
Oh, and Snakes on a Plane just gets better and better: Dick from High Fidelity is gonna be in it. I bet you he dies real early on, though.
Who's going to see this with me!?

the kind that are only sorta hot, so they don't mess around with other guys

Just another periodic PoBaL review clearing house. Book reviews coming soon.

Silver Jews in Columbus, March 25.
My damn cheap digital camera apparently ate all the pictures I took at the show, which = lame.
This was a great show. In any other (non-B&S-seeing) month, this would be the best show I'd seen in awhile. But it feels pretty stupid to say something's the best in the past 2 weeks, so let's just forget all that, shall we?
They played lots of stuff, including a song by Cassie Berman, who's got an amazing voice and was wearing a really great velvet dress. I looked on flickr for pictures, but no one had any up yet. I wasn't even disappointed by the lack of room renting song.
And I had a PBR in a bottle, and wondered why I don't more often. Not even comparible (-able?) to PBR in a can...
This was a good weekend in general, what with a visit to the more-and-more internet popular Tiff, the discovery of a good record store, and H&M insanity.
I also took a picture outside the Chipotle we had lunch in on Sunday.

TransAmerica
A very good movie. Shitty popcorn, but a good movie. Sweet and funny, and with lots of shirtless shots of the male-hustler-pretty son. And a surprisingly attractive dirty hippie.

The Contrast Forget to Tell the Time
My favorite record stores are ones with lots and lots of listening stations. Because I don't tend to read about music, or keep up on what I'm supposed to like, I have the most success finding new cds I like when I can listen to parts of them. I try out a few song intros, see what the singing sounds like, listen to a chorus or 2, and then I can usually tell if I should buy it or not.
Even after using this method AND praise from the would-have-been-cute-if-beardless clerk (quoth Tiff: "Maybe they can, like, smell it on you that you made out with one of them."), this album was a bit of a disappointment. At its best, I felt like I could have been on an date with Duckie, Randy, or Fred Bailey. (Yes, I looked up the male characters' names in Valley Girl. I'm procrastinating here.) You know, in the clubs where bands are playing and perfectly audible conversations with cute new wave boys happen simultaneously? I always wanted to go to one of those clubs. In real life, however, my hearing sucks and I get shirty if anyone tries to talk to me while the band is playing anyway.
At it's worst, I was reminded of the crap I listened to in the very early 90s (Gin Blossoms and such), with ham-fisted lyrics. Really, I think my biggest complaint is with the lyrics, and the singer's voice sometimes getting all irritatingly emotive.
Mostly, it reminded me of The Smithereens, which is never a bad thing.

Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
What if social groups were like on "trendy" PBS and Nickelodeon kids shows, where every peer group includes a representative from every demographic?
If they were, the Mike Skinner of A Grand Don't Come For Free and the Arctic Monkeys would be buddies. This album has the same feel, but a different sound.
Let me try this again:
If there's a bar somewhere in England where a beautiful rich girl chats up Jarvis Cocker for a trip to the supermarket (I don't see anyone else there smiling.), the Arctic Monkeys are working on taking her moderately attractive, drunk-off-her-ass friend home.
And not quite succeeding.
And getting pissy about it.
And then forgetting all about her by closing time.
I would've bought this at the kickass Dayton record store Tiff took me to, but I already had the library's copy in my new white purse and would've felt silly with 2.

The Deathray Davies The Kick and the Snare
Continuing the Smithereens, Son of Nuggets, etc. trend, I was a bit reminded of that with this record, too. Mostly the song "In Circles" felt a bit like "Cigarette", which is a damn fine song.
This is much more power-poppy, though--also a good thing. Actually, a great thing.
Isn't it always the way, that when you buy one new cd and one used cd, you like the used one better?

My astrologist has read my horoscope, he's read DeMille's horoscope.

Am I the last person in the world to hear about Snakes on a Plane?
I absolutely LOVE this; it's hiLARious. And you know you think it's funny, too: There are snakes. On a plane. And Sam Jackson has to kick their ass.
Fucking awesome. And either Kenan or Kel (the one on SNL now) is in it, which is a plus.
Also kind of reminds me of Brain Candy: "It's a pill that gives worms to exgirlfriends."
Really, if you don't think this is funny, why are you even here? I can't imagine anything else I say is entertaining you if you don't like that.
Maybe this is more to yunz liking. (Props to Tiff for the link.)
I really have only one complaint with Snakes on a Plane: the release date of August 18. This is quite possibly the quintessential $2 theater movie. Mid-August is when I start going to see any damn crap at the cheap theater, to be all air-conditioned and entertained. Hell, I dragged Andy to Enough (starring JLo!) AND Van Helsing.
Dammit, I want to see Snakes on a Plane in a theater and I want to pay $2.50 for it and I want it to be on, like, the hottest day of the year.
Life is so unfair.
--Oh god, storytime just started singing "If you're happy and you know it."--
In more respectable movie news, I saw V for Vendetta and Brokeback Mountain this weekend. And discussed the awesomeness of the upcoming Stick It with a patron (okay, so maybe that's less than respectable). And realized that, as Da Vinci Code trailers get a wider and wider release, our holds list for the books/audiobooks is just going to get longer and longer.
Which leads me to this: who agrees with me 'n' Tiff that the Da Vinci Code teaser trailer was, like, the worst teaser trailer ever? Cracks in the oil paint? So freakin' lame.
Other trailer news: I had a complete geek-lapse and expected to see an XMen 3 trailer in front of V for Vendetta; new Pirates of the Caribbean looks awesome; was I the only person who saw the Superman teaser last year (in front of Batman Begins, I think) and thought, "damn--I thought that was still in post-Nick-Cage-and-Tim-Burton purgatory;" I saw 2 movies this weekend with Poseidon trailers and they were different.
***
So, Jessy, how were those movies you saw this weekend?

I was pleasantly surprised by Brokeback Mountain. People just don't make enough quiet, simple love stories. I never felt manipulated, and the score did what movie music is supposed to do (John Williams, you ass, you hear that?) Obviously would have liked more Jake kissyfacing, but understand that it wasn't that kind of movie.
And who knew Princess Mia was actually good at subtlety and restraint?

Yeah, subtlety and restraint? Not a specialty of Natalie Portman's. She's the weirdest actress: I think she's really good at wordless scenes, especially really emotional ones (girl cries like a dream). Dialogue she can manage, as long as George Lucas isn't directing and Anakin (child or adult version) isn't involved. But she really can't hold a monologue. At all.
To the point where I wonder if maybe she should become a mime, or if I should build a time machine and send her back to be Clara Bow's costar or something. She does have a bit of a Louise Brooks look about her.
I did like the movie, though. I got totally caught up in the story and everything.
And is there anything Hugo Weaving CAN'T do?

Blogging the Oscars with Melissa and Jessy!

Up-to-the-minute inane commentary!
TV 14! Well, the show is. We're pottymouths.
Melissa is on the phone with Toni, who is watching Domino. I'm laughing hysterically at that.
I'm also drinking apple juice.
Quick poll: Jon Stewart or George Clooney in your bed? We've got one of each. You can have fun trying to figure out who said what (such a puzzle).
Was someone just on a cell phone!?
Charlize Theron looked pissed...or was that Ashley Judd?
(gasp) look how cute Catherine Keener looks!

Jessy's Last Minute Predictions, and How They Match Up.
I like to wait to predict until as they're announcing the nominees.

Best Supporting Actor
My Guess: Paul Giametti, since he hasn't gotten anything yet, not even for Sideways.
I was wrong.

The nice thing about predicting at the last minute is, as Clooney just said himself, you can tell whether or not other things will get other awards.

By the way, who's that random blonde next to Jake Gyllanhall? And I like that during the monologue, Jack Nicholson and Kiera Knightly were the we're-not-amused seating partner.
Melissa wants to know why Oscar commercials suck, and if they cost more than regular Sunday night programming. She's very upset.

Wonder if they're going to do the awards-in-the-aisles thing again this year.
God, I hate Tom Hanks.

Was that just Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves next to each other? Wasn't Speed like 10 years ago.

Visual Effects:
King Kong might get the pity, but didn't we run out of statuettes with Peter Jackson's name on them a few years ago?
I got it right!
Wait, there's a too big suit jacket? Or just too long? Melissa's got a good eye!

Animated:
Melissa thinks Corpse Bride, but we both hope Wallace and Grommit. Actually, as soon as the music came on, we both exclaimed, "Oooo, Wallace and Grommit!"
YAY!

Is Naomi Watts pregnant, as Melissa thought when she first walked out, or did Santino-on-crack make her dress?

Only evil people don't like Dolly Parton.

Melissa sez columns look cheap. I'm inclined to agree.
"They tried to combine like a spacey theme, and a...I don't know...a cheap theme"--Melissa

No one cares about the short films. Seriously, you all know I'm right. They're what you do after you graduate from one of those indie-focused film schools, because you hope you'll do a Bottlerocket.
Animated presenters are irritating. How well did Chicken Little actually do, anyway?
Melissa: "alarmingly well"

Animated short film: the last safe place for hand-drawn animation.
Heh--"John Turturro for his sensitive vocal performance."

Melissa has noticed that Jennifer Aniston gets no fancy intro as a presenter, and she likes her necklace.

Best Costume:
We got no predictions, though for a second I did think Geisha.
Melissa:
What is this? What is this? The woman who won the best costumes thingy is wearing a ridiculous ("Asian-inspired?" perhaps?) dress! (And so is her daughter, says Jessy).

How did they put the biopic clips in order? Totally randomly?

Makeup:
Tumnus! Tumnus! Tumnus!
However, our prediction is Star Wars. It's the end of the saga Oscar.
No, Tumnus got it after all. Hooray! Even the Academy hates George Lucas.

Ah, the Tech Award Luncheon. Or, the nerds we don't let come to the real thing. And, yes, I know it's not a luncheon. Luncheon is funnier. Even funnier? A buffet.

Supporting Actress:
After seeing that clip, I really need to see Junebug.
I think Rachel Wiess got naked in The Constant Gardener, so she could be a good bet. If Michele Williams doesn't get it, Brokeback is DEFINITELY getting best picture.
Naked gorgeous British women get it everytime, don't they?
I think Brokeback is going to be the movie this year that only gets Best Picture, which never makes sense to me (or my mom). How can something be Best Picture without having the best director or any of the best actors. Maybe it'll get Adapted Screenplay too.

Lauren Bacall and film noir--doesn't get much better.

Except the annoying film student in me is forced to point out that Orson Welles made the movie most think endcapped the film noir period, so it's weird to list him first.
This political ad "for your consideration" thing is awesome. Of course, I also love the giant NYTimes ads, so what do I know?

Mr Hustle and Flow's grandmother's brooch is distracting us from the Documentary Short. Because, you know, otherwise I pay a lot of attention to them.

Charlize Theron's dress, while beautiful, seems to have cancer of the shoulder. It's got a big ol' tumor.

Documentary: like they'd give it to anything other than March of the Pengiuns. Melissa says, "I can't believe they brought puppets."
Then she changed her mind, upon realizing that they were attractive Frenchmen.

Do I really need to give my I Love Jennifer Lopez speech again?

Crash song: Worst Interpretive Dance Ever.
Melissa begins to channel the choreographer.
Choreographer: You--act like you're swimming. Towards the fire. Act like a zombie! [They've each got their roles.] You--stick your hand in her crotchal region.
And then she started "dancing" herself.
As though Best Song has anything to do with the song itself.

Keanu and Sandra are PRESENTING together. We're gonna go back in time.
Melissa has identified the Speed music. This is ridiculous.

Art Direction:
Is that the Wallace and Grommit music behind Goblet of Fire?
I half-assedly called Geisha, and got it right.
Winner stepped on Sandra's dress. "That's what you get for wearing a train," decides Melissa, "but don't get me wrong, if I were there, I'd probably be wearing a train, too."
The final Harry Potter movie will get awards. None before.

Are they really putting On the Waterfront in with all this confrontational movie stuff? Hurmph. This is so all because of Brokeback. Now, I haven't actually SEEN Brokeback yet, but all this "Look how good we are at social issues and having our finger on the pulse of what America cares about" crap is pretty damn transparent.

We like Selma Hayak's dress A LOT. And I'm not usually a fan of assymetrical.

Original Score:
Oh, John Williams won it. He always wins it. He's like the freaking Tom Hanks of music, but schmaltzier.
OK, it really pisses me off that they keep showing that little girl in the Munich clips. She was barely in it, and, as I've mentioned before, if she was only 4-5 years older, she wouldn't be a symbol of the last of their humanity in the face of their task to kill a bunch of people, she'd be another naked bleeding dead woman.
Because I haven't seen Brokeback, all these shots of cowboys lookin' pensive just makes me want to see Giant again.
Man, that John Williams fucker is nominated twice. Do I have to guess which movie?
Oh my god, John Williams DIDN'T get it. Is this the beginning of the Brokeback sweep?

I truly don't understand why the guy who played Perry Smith didn't get nominated for ANYTHING. It's kinda criminal.

Melissa sez: "If MGD is 'Beer. Grown up.', I don't want to grow up." Jessy concurs.

"If Thomas Edison didn't invent the film projector." WTF!?
...and Melissa gets full-barreled Jessy film history.

You know, for a TELEVISED show, they're really pushing this "only on the big screen" crap. Also, since when has Mary Poppins been considered an epic?
Also not an epic: Back to the Future.
And why was there no Intolerance? Damn thing started epics.

Fun poll: Who thinks Jessica Alba is hot?
(Melissa used the word "Skeletor" to describe her look tonight.)

Sound Mixing:
At a clip for Narnia, Jessy says, "Now that's an epic. Melissa replies pityingly, "No, Jessy, that's a unicorn."
So much hilarity, I forgot to put in my guess.

We're enjoying the ridiculousness of Meryl Streep's dress. And who doesn't love Robert Altman?

You know what was weird about that film noir montage? They've recently cleaned up, remastered, etc. Maltese Falcon, but what was shown tonight was grainy and dirty as hell. Not that I don't love grainy, but seems odd.
(& I totally stole this idea from Darren.)

Poll: How do we feel about the Prairie Home Companion movie? The sound of Garrison Keiller's voice makes me want to stick a fork in my eye, but the cast is promising, and I do like Altman.

Would you agree with Melissa that Joaquin Phoenix's bow tie is velvet? Would you agree with Jessy that Joaquin Phoenix has put on a bit of weight? In, as Melissa would say, the facial area?

M. Night Shamalan is really pretty.

Maybe I've been watching too much Angel lately, but the white guy in the Hustle & Flow choreography looks like Lindsey. Not to mention the Solid Gold dancing. And how utterly bad the song is.
But of course, we all know Hustle & Flow, only got a Best Song nomination because the movie got so much buzz and, since it has no moderately known actress taking her clothes off, it won't get any other Academy attention.
Which is why it won, even against Dolly Parton.

Melissa has put her finger on what strikes me about Jamie Foxx's appearance: he looks slimy sometimes. Exactly!

Is War of the Worlds going to be completely ignored? Are we blaming that for the perceived blockbuster slump thing last summer?

And Jennifer Garner just slipped.

Jessy begins to whine at her lack of a Dyson as soon as the commercial starts.

Foreign Language:
Will Smith is annoying, and the Palestinian movie is winning. Oh, there's a South African one and one about Nazis. If I had known about South Africa, I would've guessed that. I also like how the foreign language Oscar announcing bit says things like, "This is the first award for South Africa." Like it's the Olympics or something.

Melissa is dazzled by the sparkliness of the dresses.

Editing:
My guess is Crash, because I've heard it's all quick-cutty and such. Academy eats that shit up, much as we eat up wishing your father a happy 83rd birthday in your acceptance speech.

Leading Actor:
What if Heath wins and Jake didn't? Of course, we don't think that's going to happen. I'm thinking Joaquin, as he's been ignored by all sorts of other award-giving bodies.
I'm very happy with Hoffman winning though. Capote was so super duper good.

Meg is blogging the Oscars, too. And what the hell was Travolta nominated for, anyway? Melissa thinks it's a case of quantity, not quality. And I totally missed Cinematography, which (surprise, surprise) went to Geisha.
Which seems to be getting quite a few. Who directed that, again?

Melissa likes Jamie Foxx's ensemble, but feels he is having a slimy day.

Best Actress:
Charlize has already gotten one for being ugly, but hell--it worked for Hilary Swank twice. Felicity Huffman one-ups ugly, though, by playing a man (I really want to see TransAmerica). And everyone keeps talking about how good Reese was, but, as Tiff said, you don't get the Oscar when you're pretty.
Like Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon has an extra element of fun to her win: "Next on TBS, starring Academy Award Winner Reese Witherspoon, Cruel Intentions."
Or Legally Blonde.
But then, I guess you do sometimes.

Adapted Screenplay:
I think this is going to Brokeback Mountain.
Or maaaaaybe The Constant Gardener.
So, now I'm thinking Brokeback is going to get Best Director, and someone else (Crash maybe?) is getting Best Picture.

He said it awhile back, but I'm still tickled by Jon Stewart's tallying of Pimp guys vs Marty, and Marty's lack of an Oscar.

Uma looks really pretty.

Original Screenplay:
Aw, I still haven't gotten a chance to see The Squid & The Whale.
My guess was Syriana for some reason. (They aren't otherwise acknowledging? Crap, Clooney--I forgot.)

OK, here's my 2 final predictions:
Ang Lee gets Best Director.
Crash gets Best Picture.

And I think I'm done.

Your degree is showing.

(If you want to see Munich and be surprised, maybe you should come back some other day. I've included a pretty Elizabeth Peyton picture so you don't accidentally read anything. Aren't I nice?)



I turned the radio off this morning when the NPR Olympics coverage turned to 1972 and Munich. I didn't turn it off because of my oft-repeated hatred of the Olympics, or a particular distaste for tales of Steve Prefontaine translating German.
I turned it off because I couldn't get scenes from the movie out of my head. I don't like that, while people were talking about real people who had died violent deaths, I was seeing actors and Karo syrup. There's something really disrespectful about that to me.
I'm not a squeamish girl, and I'm not an anti-movie/tv violence girl. Hell, you could even go so far as to say I enjoy a good gory movie. But I just don't see why a movie about actual events and real people, directed by a well-respected guy, should seem so gratuitous to a girl like me. We know that theirs was an awful death; anyone seeing the movie at least knows this basic fact. I don't need crumpling faces and spattering blood to tell me.
And that seems to be the difference to me: if I'm watching some crap horror exploitation movie (or even a good horror exploitation movie), blood and guts are part and parcel. If I'm watching Oscar bait, they're unexpected and, to my mind, unnecessary.
It feels like lazy filmmaking. And yes, I know I don't like Spielberg to begin with, but this is why. I don't like it when I can tell my emotions are being orchestrated. If I'm watching a movie, I don't want to be pulled out of it with a thought like, "I'm supposed to be sad here," or "I guess I'm supposed to like this guy."
This is true for me whether or not I am sad, whether or not I do like that guy.
This is also why I think John Williams is a hack.
And it's also sort of related to why I've always avoided the 9-11 footage. I don't need to see bodies falling from buildings to feel the tragedy of bodies falling from buildings.
I guess I also do believe that we can be desensitized to some images, and I don't want that for myself.

I would also rather not have bloody naked dead-and-dying women in my Oscar bait. Particularly when said Oscar bait also includes married "love-making" scenes with fully clothed women. I know it's almost too easy for a girl like me to make the misogyny leap, but let me just repeat myself:
The women we saw naked were dead or mortally wounded and bloody.
The camera lingered on one particular naked dead woman.
The loving wife character was always, even during sex, fully clothed.

feel sick and dirty / more dead than alive

If you thought the casting of Mrs. Jude Law was the worst thing about the forthcoming Factory Girl, you've got another think coming.

Toothbrush! You came back!

Stuff I saw this year and liked a lot.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
I thought it was a good ending. Or middle--whatever. Made up for stupid little kid Annakin, even if Hayden and Natalie have the chemistry of wooden spoons.
I especially liked how the one robot had bronchitis, the way the robot elder guys looked like the things from The Dark Crystal, and the way I, coming back into a dark crowded theater from the bathroom, couldnt' find Jay and sat down next to some random family instead.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
I heart the Weasley twins. And Jarvis Cocker, even if he is all hairy. And Brendan Gleeson, even if he is all paranoid and twitchy. I think this was the best of the movies. Oh, and I suppose I should have talked about the book in the last post. Ooops. Kind of goes without saying though, doesn't it?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
As a little kid, this was one of my favorite books. The first time I saw the Gene Wilder movie, I was sooooo disappointed and mad. If I had seen this version then, I think I would have been completely satisfied.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I hope that Martin Freeman and I live happily ever after, he doesn't mind if I pepper him with questions and giddiness about this movie.
Of course, I also hope he doesn't mind that Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Stuart Murdoch live with us too, but that's another story.
I saw this with Lara, who never read any of the books but also enjoyed the movie immensely. One of these days, I might even get around to knitting Marvin for her, too.

Batman Begins
Aw yeah.
Total miscasting of Katie Holmes though.

Narnia
YaY!
But weird to see on a screen a story that's been in my head for almost 20 years now.

Another book:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is one of the handful of adult books I read this year. I loved this book. It reminded me of The Tin Drum and "Teddy" the Salinger short story, but it was completely its own book. I was impressed with so many things about this one. The storytelling was wonderful, and the added pictures and typography tricks weren't cheesy or gimmicky at all, I thought.

Boys, movies, and shopping too/My favorite things/I thought you knew

Tiff and I used to be roommates. When you live with a good friend like that, there's always the danger that your extreme likes or dislikes will cement into these ridiculous statements and/or obsessions. Since we both have this tendency anyway, things were kind of in overdrive for awhile.
We wrote a Ghostwriter drinking game. (Although, technically, we didn't live together yet here. I just spent a hell of a lot of time at her 'n' Cindy's place avoiding Ken the assface boy.)
We paid for big sexy cable.
Big sexy cable included, among other things, M2 and VH1 Classic.
At some point, we decided that it was okay for us to like Thursday:
*they were cute
*the song was catchy and pretty good, for cash-in emo stuff
*most importantly, there was Super 8 in the video
The first time I heard "Sugar I'm Going Down Swinging" or whatever it's called, I was reminded of our Thursday arguements. Because I believe I'd like to recycle them for this song, which I kind of secretly, kind of unabashedly like. Just replace "super 8" with "Simpsons reference" and we're all good.

This post is my list of some kickass stuff that came out this year, in no particular order. (And I don't want to hear any technically2004 bits. Sometimes I'm late, okay?)
And I'll probably forget a ton of stuff.

I've got a convenient list of a ton o' stuff that came out, YA book-wise, open in another window, so let's start with that.

The repetitive part:
How can I convince you guys to read Looking for Alaska if you haven't listened to me yet? Just trust me on this one.
I really did go on and on about Prom, but then the stupid internet ate it.
Here's where I gush about A Room on Lorelei Street and Peeps.
I was dating a 20yrold; I was reading a book by a 20yrold; synergy! Or something.


24 Girls in 7 Days is bookish crack. It's Say Anything in book form, kinda. Without actually being much of anything like Say Anything.
Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters. You can see the trainwreck coming and you want to reach into the book and stop it, but not in a bad way.
I need to stop and say something here about David Levithan. Boy Meets Boy makes me sad. It makes me sad because I hate to think that the only world where a boy can meet a boy and have only the same level of angst as your average boy-girl meet is also one this forcibly whimsical.
I don't need a crossdressing quarterback/homecoming queen for a sweet love story to work.
I know a lot of people have called this magic realism and tried to work that angle, but that just doesn't feel right to me.
As far as poetry goes, I can stand Realm of Possibility.
Are We There Yet, however, is one of my picks for 2005, I think, even though I forget about it sometimes. 2 brothers who never get along, vaguely Oscar-and-Felixish but not simplistically so, are conned into a trip to Italy by their parents. I guess the whole point of stories a lot of the time is to see into someone else's viewpoint, and this book, with its dual narration, does that beautifully.

Enough of this grown-up beautiful crap. Valiant by Holly Black is totally one of 15yroldJessy's new favorite books. The Spiderwick Field Guide thing is pretty amazing, too.

And Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last is my favorite of the Susan Juby Alice books. True awesomeness, and I really need to find a Canadian to tape the tv show for me. (Not to be confused with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Alice, who I've successfully avoided having to read for yet another year--go me and my immature aversion to books about seemingly boring "normal" teenagers and anything my YA lit professor recommended!)

Lulu Dark is the bestest accidental-detective-'cause-she-got-her-tacky-purse-stoled I'm pretty sure I've ever read about.

Did The Bermudez Triangle come out this year? Man, where did Maureen Johnson come from? And how come the big guys never talk about her? I like all her books, but this one's definitely my favorite.
The jacket tells you it's about what happens when your 2 best friends fall in love, with each other, but that's not it. What it's really about is what happens when one of your best friends fucks the other one over, the choices you have to make, and if you can really forgive a loved one for hurting another loved one really damn bad.
And who hasn't been in that situation? Isn't it called "college"?

Yeah, Twilight's pretty great, but any teenager with artificially black hair will tell you that; you don't need me.
You also don't need me to talk up Teach Me (substituting YA librarian for Blackie McManicPanic there). But I should say that I think this is the only book about an brittle perfectionist girl that hasn't annoyed the hell out of me.

Oh, and on the movie tip? I'd talk up Mysterious Skin and Serenity here, but I still haven't seen either one of them. Any interested-in-viewing parties should get back to me.

Serenity Rose is cute and funny and kind of spooky and the best kind of thoughtful, with very little cliche and no ham-fistedness. And that's really hard, especially in a comic about a witchgirl.

Oh, and Necklace of Kisses, of course.

And a year where Jacky Faber makes an appearance can't be all bad, right?

I keep taking everything to be a sign.

12:30 AM or so, Saturday night:

Have you seen Elizabethtown yet? I just saw it, um, and I wanted to talk to you about it. Uh, you probably didn't expect me to call; you can call back if you want, but it's OK if you don't. I just wanted to know what you thought of the movie. My number's changed: it's 8--no, it's 555-867-5309. Um, I'll be around tomorrow night.

Why? Why, why, WHY did I do this!?
Fucking Cameron Crowe. Like Campbell Scott in Singles and Lloyd Dobler aren't enough, now you and your weird movie have me calling my xboyfriend, in a weekend where I was feeling strange and aloof and sort of homesick anyway.
The last time I saw Andy was almost exactly a year ago, and a strange conversation indeed. There have been tiny, short emails since then.
Don't get me wrong. We didn't have the World's Worst Conversation or anything, or even a particularly awkward one, I don't think. Except, you know, I no longer have the strong lovey-dovey feelings, but the same irritants and the same reactions are still around. There were times when I really regretted my call, especially since he hadn't even seen the damn movie. And closure a year later may be nice for some, but sometimes if you open things up to close them again, you wonder why you needed to in the first place.
***
And now, a little something about condoms.
Did you know that they still bother making them without spermicide? I didn't. So I guess I need to buy another box, unless someone would like to do some trading. I really don't want to shell out more $$, plus, I hate the thought of wasting a whole box. 'Cause I like that XTra No Baby Sorta-Guarantee.
This morning, I was scrutinizing the box (because, yeah, on the bottom, they're going to be like, Ha ha! We're the right ones, after all. Because I've bought Nelson condoms), I noticed that they have a satisfaction guarantee. And I think, Hey! I'm unsatisfied!
But does being stupid and not reading the box b/c you've already spotted one patron and don't want to press your luck really count as a lack of satisfaction, or is it just stupidity?
Please use the comments field to come up with other ways in which one could be unsatisfied with a box of condoms, so I can get a refund and not waste a box. The best one gets a completely uncondom-related prize. Maybe a hat.

boys who smoke and go start fires

Some stuff I've been real into lately, in numbered but no particular order:

1. Cape Cod veggie tortilla chips. They're pretty colors, and have sesame seeds in them.
2. Target brand cola--cheap and, I swear, tastier than regular Coke. But maybe that's more about how I don't have to leave my house to get some.
3. Dr Mario
4. Chris Crutcher
5. fanboyish obsession and speculation about Harry Potter
6. Artemis Fowl: the Opal Deception. Oh my god, I want to live in my car and just finish this.
7. The box fan I just remembered this morning I have.
8. renewed love for Tim Burton and Roald Dahl (as a side note, I think I'm probably the only person in the world nerdy enough to notice this, but the scene where li'l Wonka is making candy notes? When Roald Dahl was at school, Cadbury sent prospective bars to the boys for testing and what Willy wrote on his pad was some of the things Dahl mentions sending off to Cadbury in his memoir, Boy. He also said that's where he got the idea for the book in first place.)
9. linoleum block printing
10. This salsa-esque salad I invented, with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and super ripe avacado and a dressing with rice vinegar, chipotle chili powder, and a hell of a lot of lime juice.
11. lime
12. I just got an advance reader's copy of the new Jacky Faber book in the mail. Imagine if a little Dickensian street urchin girl got herself a job as shipsboy by being able to read, had crazy adventures and fell in love with another shipsboy, got put off at a fancy girls school in Boston when everyone else found out she's a girl, and then went back to London on a whaler to find lover boy. These are great books.
13. Philadelphia Veggie Cream Cheese
14. iced coffee
15. ice cream for dinner, especially chocolate almond ice cream
16. The Rogue Wave
17. pen pals
18. www.craftster.org (sorry!)
19. my new gay boyfriend
20. new dorky dance steps
21. Cubis Gold, on Yahoo games
22. unicorns

we like dancing and we look divine

So I did give up on A Great and Terrible Beauty: I found the 3rd Artemis Fowl book on cd at the library on Saturday. I love the guy who narrates those, so much that I’m actually kind of disappointed I read The Wish List, instead of listening to it. I also got Firefly (so I can finally watch the end of it—Katie and I didn’t last that long at our great Fireflyathon last year), Waiting for Guffman, which I probably won’t get a chance to watch before it’s due, Puff by Bob Flaherty, Lads by David Itzkoff, and a book of 3 novellas that I can’t remember the title of right now. Puff is good so far, both in a general way and in an every so often I laugh out loud kind of way.
I had my 3 day weekend and feel like it was jam-packed, which was nice for a change. Friday I painted my bathroom bright pink, which my landlords will discover tomorrow when they have to do a walkthrough for some reason. I told my building manager about the dripping in my bathroom, but I don’t know if that was necessarily the right thing to do. Because I know they won’t fix the roof, the source of the problem. If anything is done, it’ll be done to my newly-painted bathroom, where a mess will be made for me to clean up, once the maintenance people finally get the hell out of there. It’s at times like these that I really wish I had a house, so that all this kind of junk was my responsibility. Slumlordship is only fun in Monopoly. Friday night I watched To Wong Foo with Melissa and a bunch of her friends. Fun, but the movie just made me want to watch Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which is the far superior drag queen flick, for my money.
My Saturday night plans were switched to Sunday, so I got to go to 80s night. It was so much fun to just dance like an idiot and drink cheap gin again. I did feel pretty stupid, though, when I realized that I was the only dancer playing air keyboard during “Take On Me” or pumping my fist at the end of “Dancing with Myself”. It’s a good thing he didn’t play “Like a Prayer”, because I would’ve had to break out the dance Tiff, Cindy, and I made up, and no one wants to see that. Also, it was strange not instinctively knowing what the next song would be. Ah, Lou: you play the same damn set every week. Pittsburgh hipsters are creatures of habit, I know, but c’mon.
And then Sunday I saw Ray. Why, o why, was this the script they used for Ray Charles’ life? It read like one of those made-for-VH-1 movies, leading to a whole discussion comparing those movies. Verdict? The Meatloaf one is the best, and the Lennon-McCartney one is the worst. So many other things about it were good, which only makes the script thing worse. You can be the best actor in the world, but when you get saddled with lines about being blind and afraid of the dark, or have to work through a withdrawl scene so unoriginal I fully expected a dead baby to start crawling across the ceiling, as opposed to just in pools of hallucinated water, talent just doesn’t go as far. No, Jamie Foxx, you’re not, but you see my point. And sorry, buddy, but the Academy isn’t giving you shit this year. Take it up with Clint. Wait…is Foxx nominated for supporting Tom Cruise? Maybe he’ll get that. And the “Hit the Road Jack” scene? I was wincing. In a dark theater.
Luckily, the costume and set design were flawless, so I spent most of my time admiring the ladies’ clothes and coveting the mural behind whats-his-face’s desk at the big record company. Anyone wanna paint that in my hallway? And trying to ID the producer guy at Atlantic, who I finally realized was Endless Mike. I love that guy.
Normally, I guess I’m just not that much of a fan of the musician biopic. They have to have something extra to hold my interest: an almost cloyingly postmodern story structure, like 24 Hour Party People or De-Lovely, or homoeroticism, like Velvet Goldmine. Or Robbie Williams, like, um, De-Lovely.

Success at last!

So I finally had a program people actually came to. Hurray! And if the publishing world and MLS students on YALSA-BK weren't such topic nazis sometimes, I'd be gloating about this there. I mean, really, does young adult librarianship need more than one listserv? Do I really have to wade through every stupid PUBYAC message about cannibalism in the Minnie and Moo books or nursery rhyme storytimes just to ask a question maybe 10% of the list's subscribers could help me with?
Sorry, I just can't help a PUBYAC rant.
Anyway, I had 17 kids show up! That's more than most of the kid programs get. And I kept 17 teenagers entertained for 3 hours. Who's not impressed? The sushi making would have gone better had my knife been as sharp as I thought it was, but everyone had lots of fun and ate lots of Pocky and popcorn. Incidentally, those manga preview collections make great prizes.
Saturday afternoon went so well, I was only slightly annoyed at the lack of boy call Saturday night. 'Course, he also apparently has no phone due to a recent move, which is a whole different kind of boything than stupid-boy-not-calling.
And then Sunday I found my stamps, and I now have a clean bedroom. This is very exciting. I also have 2 large boxes of stuff I'll be donating to the local thrift. I hope someone cool gets my penguin skirt. I also found my reading log book and realized it's time for yet another attempt at keeping track of all the books I read. So, look forward to more reviews/spoilers/etc.
And: May 6 May 6 May 6! I really can't wait for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie.
Really, there's only one thing that could bring me down right now. The Caribbean Couple. And there they are! More dressed up than usual, too. Of course, they usually come in Wednesday nights, so why are they here!? The Caribbean Couple are not truly horrible patrons (unlike the 10 year olds who threw a highlighter at the poor page--really, most of our 10 year old patrons annoy me. Hopefully they'll stop sucking before they're mine). The Caribbean Couple are just irritating and show-offy. The first time Mr. Caribbean came in, he was telling me more than I ever needed to know about his family's upcoming move to the Caribbean--hence the name. I faked impressment (I know that's not a word. What is the noun form of impress? Integrious!), but what I was in fact thinking was, Hurrah! An annoying patron who I know is leaving soon! Then I found out they're moving in a year. Honestly, I don't remember what bothered me about them at first, I just know I give a little sigh when they come in, and everytime they come in, I find out more about their stupid family than I care to know. Mrs. Caribbean Couple has a purse that says "Baby Girl", despite her incoming 2nd grandchild. They are also mad at my Wednesday night comrade for "forcing [their] daughter from her computer," if by forcing what you actually mean is telling the 9 year old she's too young for the internet. I could go on and on.
How come everyone bitches about teenaged library patrons and looks at me like I'm a fucking martyr, when kids and adults annoy me so much more? I guess I've just found my niche.
Also nice: teenaged boys who have been raised right will help their librarian clean up. Thanks, guys.