Happy New Year!

It's a bit early, but Happy New Year to all my friendly readers and peeps! May 2012 be awesome for us all, full of good times and not the end times.

There are big things planned for this little blog, reviews and reading challenges and of course... graduate school (I hope).

Have some Pink Martini to ring in the year:



Good fortune to you all and have a happy 2012!

A small change for the New Year

After pondering over it for a while, I have decided that for all future music purchases, if it comes in vinyl with an MP3 code, I will buy it like that. If it only comes in CD, I will still buy it. But vinyl would be better. It's an experiment I want to try out.

Since I'm making good use of my father's record player these days (as I type this, I'm listening to "Us and Them" by Pink Floyd from Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl), it makes sense to go this route. This does cause a  conundrum: it does cost more for the vinyl (about twice as much), but I'll deal with that as it comes along. It may mean wiser and more prudent purchases, or it means I need a better job. Either way, let's give it a spin, shall we?

ETA: Glad to see the story about CDs going away in 2012 wasn't exactly true. There is still life in the little buggers.

Best of 2011: Book Edition

I may actually finish reading some 2011 releases during January 2012 and may redo this list to reflect the newer choices. Otherwise, here it is as of this time...

(Quite a few of these have already been reviewed, so I won't rehash much...)

Number 10- Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

• This took me a long time to finish (that's why you should only read a few books at a time, children), but it was worthwhile. It is a sad story of a family falling apart, traditions changing and fading, how one girl's hopes must either adapt or be erased regarding the situation. It fails tremendously at the final chapter, but I do look forward to Russell's future works and the eventual HBO series on this book.

Number 9- The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding From You by Eli Pariser

• Another book that will make you scared of the Internet. Moveon.org board member Pariser gives you a pretty damn good reason to fear the Google. It may be giving you biased search results, even when you want the other side of the story. And no, clearing your history won't do much (trust me, I wondered that too). Instead of taking it, read this book and learn how to fight it.

Number 8- The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

• A fascinating and humorous look on the world of psychology, especially on the focus of sociopaths. Ronson is sent on an adventure to figure out a strange puzzle that was sent to him, leading to meeting a falsely-imprisoned(?) sociopath, which goes down the rabbit hole further into psychology and testings and meeting professors that may know as much about sociopaths as the layman does.

Number 7- Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin

• A wonderful, though a tad rushed, novel from the POV of Minnie Vautrin's fictional assistant during the Nanjing Massacre. The atrocity's worst parts are covered, though not as explicitly as I expected. The horror is still there in the accounts from the victims they take in. None of the experiences are glossed over here. A historical event that must never be forgotten.

Number 6- Fantastic Women: 18 Tales of the Surreal and Sublime from Tin House edited by Rob Spillman

• I have already reviewed this book in extent, so I can only reiterate that you must buy this book as soon as possible. The stories are amazing and haunting. Give these awesome lady writers some of your time and money.

Number 5- Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction To Its Own Past by Simon Reynolds

• Once more, I have talked about this book a couple of times and only will reiterate its eventual purchase and addition to your library. If anything, read it for the first half.

Number 4- Outdated: Why Dating Is Ruining Your Love Life by Samhita Mukhopadhyay

• A last-minute addition, this feminist approach to the wild world of dating is a breath of life-saving air. For those confused and happy alone or just having casual sex, or whatever you're into, this book will make you feel welcome. While it doesn't offer hardcore tips, it is a basics manual for the new and the seasoned.

Number 3- In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood

• Atwood schools you good in her extended love letter to the long-suffering genre of science fiction. She does more than praise it, she covers the shining examples and tries to solve the age-old puzzle of how to keep refreshing the genre.

Number 2- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

• A hauntingly beautiful book that should've won the National Book Award (despite this, Salvage the Bones looks to be a wonderful book), Otsuka's story of a group of Japanese picture brides and their trip to America, in search of marriage and new lives. It is a gut-puncher, but it must be read. The stories must no longer be limited to the few. How else can we learn?

Number 1- Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music edited by Nona Willis Aronowitz

• Ellen Willis' legacy continues today, thanks to lady writers in the music business and renewed interest in her writings. My tribute (and review) can be found here. Let us continue by giving this book the time of day and a permanent place on our bookshelves. Long live the lady music writer. 

Here is a small list of other books I read this year that deserve special mention:
Feminism Is For Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks
Rip It Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds 
Rose: Love in Violent Times by Inga Muscio
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry
A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson
Harley, Like A Person by Cat Bauer 
Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
Another Green World (33 1/3) by Geeta Dayal
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield
Hiroshima by John Hersey
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Hamlet’s BlackBerry by William Powers

100 All-Time Favorite Songs (with bonus tracks!)

After working on this for over a year, I have finally compiled a list of 100 of my all-time favorite songs. I have tried to have at least one song per artist and an equal amount of male and female artists. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of white artists vs. artists of color (something I'm currently working on).

How this is gonna work: all the songs will be linked to YouTube, either to the music video or the actual song or an excellent live version (I will indicate "music video" with an asterisk and a special note if it's a live performance).

If (and when) I get more time, I might go back and add some commentary.

These are the songs that didn't quite make the list, yet still deserve mention:

105. "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen*
104. "Golden Haze" by Wild Nothing
103. "Ladytron" by Roxy Music (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test)
102. "Steve McQueen" by M83
101. "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals*

~

Now, the 100...

100. "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley
99. "There's A Light" by The Doobie Brothers
98. "Ride A White Horse" by Goldfrapp*
97. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by Scissor Sisters*
96. "Army of Me" by Björk*
95. "Mohammad's Radio" by Warren Zevon (live on The Old Grey Whistle Test)
94. "Brainpower" by Freezepop*
93. "Looking At the Invisible Man" by The Dead Weather (live at Third Man Records) (may not be an epilepsy-friendly video)
92. "Powerless (Say What You Want)" by Nelly Furtado*
91. "Aeon" by Lacuna Coil
90. "You Can Have It All" by Yo La Tengo (only cover song in the entire list)
89. "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (live on a TV show in 1973)
88. "Copy" by Plastics
87. "My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) by David Byrne (live with Talking Heads in London)
86. "Baba O'Riley" by The Who
85. "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" by The White Stripes
84. "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives" by Voxtrot
83. "Private Idaho" by The B-52's* 
82. "L'Elephant" by Tom Tom Club (skip to 2:13)
81. "After the Glitter Fades" by Stevie Nicks
80. "Electioneering" by Radiohead
79. "Undertow" by Warpaint*
78. "Spoilt Victorian Child" by The Fall
77. "Cities in Dust" by Siouxsie and the Banshees*
76. "L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold* (may be too violent for some viewers)
75. "Crucify" by Tori Amos*
74. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants*
73. "The Caves of Altamira" by Steely Dan
72. "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin*
71. "Raspberry Beret" by Prince and the Revolution (may not be epilepsy-friendly) (see bottom for special note)
70. "Watercolors" by Nina Gordon (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
69. "Conversation 16" by The National (see bottom for special note)
68. "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" by Gnarls Barkley*
67. "The Fallen" by Franz Ferdinand*
66. "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips*
65. "Middle Cyclone" by Neko Case
64. "It's Too Late" by Carole King
63. "Hurricane Drunk" by Florence + the Machine
62. "Savoir Faire" by Family Fodder
61. "California" by Brenda Weiler (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
60. "Walking On a Dream" by Empire of the Sun*
59. "Rapture" by Blondie*
58. "Lady Writer" by Dire Straits* (my namesake, y'all!)
57. "Brandy Alexander" by Feist*
56. "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
55. "Come Together" by The Beatles
54. "Whole Lotta Losin'" by Monsters of Folk
53. "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae*
52. "Couldn't Stand the Rain" by Mindy Smith (featuring Amy Grant) [please refer to a legal music source for clips]
51. "Haiti" by Arcade Fire
50. "Tom Sawyer" by Rush*
49. "White" by Charlotte Hatherley*
48. "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall*
47. "Worms" by Beth Orton
46. "Never Say Never" by Romeo Void*
45. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie*
44. "Mirage" by Ladytron*
43. "Helena Beat" by Foster the People*
42. "Eliza" by If By Yes (featuring David Byrne)
41. "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd* (may be too violent for some viewers)
40. "The Nightfly" by Donald Fagen
39. "Nightwatchman" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (live version, skip to 1:17)
38. "Haunted" by Poe
37. "That's Just About Right" by Blackhawk*
36. "Darkness" by The Police (forgive the video, it's goofy, but it had the music intact)
35. "Land" by Patti Smith
34. "Is It Any Wonder?" by Keane*
33. "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel*
32. "See No Evil" by Television
31. "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson (lyrical content may be too violent for some)
30. "My Dark Hour" by Steve Miller Band (please refer to a legal music source for clips)
29. "Sleep Alone" by Bat for Lashes*
28. "Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline
27. "Love Don't Live Here" by Ladyhawke
26. "Through Being Cool" by Devo*
25. "October" by Broken Bells
24. "Munich" by Editors*
23. "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire* (may not be epilepsy-friendly)
22. "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups* (may not be epilepsy-friendly)
21. "Tears of Pearls" by Savage Garden

Here it is: the final twenty. The songs that, if they didn't exist, my life would be a sad and music-less one. The songs that will make me squeal like a teenage girl if I hear them out in the world. The songs I will stop for if their music videos appear on TV, even if I've seen it a hundred times. The songs that you can find me humming under my breath as I shelve books. The songs... okay, you get it.

20. "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.*
19. "New Dawn Fades" by Joy Division
18. "San Jacinto" by Peter Gabriel (live during the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope Tour)
17. "Think Too Much (A)" by Paul Simon 
16. "Train in Vain" by The Clash
15. "Man With a Gun" by Jerry Harrison*
14. "King's Lead Hat" by Brian Eno
13. "Venus in Furs" by The Velvet Underground
12. "Hope On Fire" by Vienna Teng
11. "The Sensual World" by Kate Bush*
10. "Long Way Down" by Goo Goo Dolls* (the video is not epilepsy-friendly, here is just the song)
9. "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac*
8. "Maybe Tonight" by Nicole Atkins*
7. "Amsterdam" by Guster*
6. "A World of Madness" by Akira Yamaoka (only instrumental in the list and only song from a video game)
5. "Keep It Dark" by Genesis*
4. "Anyone Can Be Somebody's Fool" by Nanci Griffith (please refer to your favorite legal music provider for a sample...)
3. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears*
2. "Soul Drifter" by Lindsey Buckingham (live on David Letterman)
1. "Houses In Motion" by Talking Heads (live in Rome, with Adrian Belew on guitar!)

~

There you go, folks. Enjoy!

~

Special notes:

"Raspberry Beret": For some reason, finding the official video proved difficult, so the Pop-Up Video version will have to suffice. Sorry, y'all.

"Conversation 16": I did not link to the original video because it is probably one of the most offensive things I've ever seen. Yeah, thanks, just perpetuate that women presidents would be goofy and incompetent.

Reading Challenges for 2012

After the (somewhat) success of the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge (I have until the 12th of January next year to finish), I have decided to take on several more, but with smaller goals.

And so, here we go!

A reading challenge for those who dig stories about unfortunate (or fortunate) souls going back into time to dig up the past, learn about their present days, and even warn the future (or just change it, y'know).

I'm going for 10 books:
The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle (5 books total)
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Time and Again by Jack Finney
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Time After Time by Karl Alexander
Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson
Wanna give it a go? Click here for info!

A reading challenge that asks you to do the unthinkable: to read whatever damn books you haven't read yet!

I'm going for 50 books. Good luck to me...

Wanna take down some books you been meaning to read? Click here for more info!

A reading challenge that takes from a C.S. Lewis quote, but mainly asks the challenger to read (number chosen) of books that go over 700 pages.

I'm going for 2: The Agony and the Ecstasy and The Passage.

Wanna see what C.S. Lewis meant? Click here for more info!

A reading challenge that wants you to read some short story collections. Read a few, gain a favorite writer, y'know the drill...

I'm going for 8 collections, 3 I'm already working on (H.P. Lovecraft, Lydia Davis, and Edgar Allan Poe).

Wanna see if Lydia Davis really does rule the flash fiction kingdom? Click here for more info!





Good luck to all.... and may God help me in 2012.

Thoughts on Christmas

It has been a very rough retail season for me so far. It has been very hard to show some semblance of joy when the ratio of customers to booksellers is 7:1. People keep interrupting me when I'm helping another customer for something that honestly, they could've waited another minute on. Yes, I know you're busy. No, I don't care how busy you are, I really don't. Stop telling me who it's for or why you're buying it, I didn't ask you. Do not get mad when I don't have a certain item, I have no sympathy for someone who waits until the day before to go get something.

That doesn't mean I should be expressing all that in any form or fashion. It doesn't help the situation. I have been really bad about it. They don't care about how I feel and why should I expect them to care? And my co-workers feel the same way, so why bother bringing it up? It's preaching to the converted.

For the last five years, retail has made me hate Christmas. I used to enjoy it, the togetherness and sharing of grand feasts. The gifts were a bonus. I love giving and receiving gifts. The thing is, I enjoy it when I have the freedom to do it, i.e. doing it on my own volition. With that attitude, I enjoy giving more and feel that the gifts have more love put into them. That's why I love giving random gifts to my sister. That's why I enjoy Secret Santa (which is voluntary). I don't like being forced because... well, because it's Christmas, deal with it.

Of course, people are not shopping with all that in mind. It becomes pressure, that drive to make sure that everyone you know (including the distant cousin you only met once at the family reunion down at the coast) gets something. No gift cards, that is considered thoughtless! These days, people do appreciate "free" money to use at their favorite store. And to be honest, I always hated that "gift cards are thoughtless" business.

Growing up, my parents wanted to instill within me and my little sister a sense of gratitude. They encouraged relatives to buy us only two gifts per kid, just so we could enjoy each gift (unless it honestly sucked. Nana, I'll never forget those McDonald's gift certificates. Especially after Papa got me a Barbie doll bed and my sister a remote-controlled fire engine the same year). Of course, my parents were looked upon as freaks. Over time, the gifts evolved into just money, which is fine.

"But Frustrated Lady Writer", you say to the screen, "why are you letting all this get to you? Eff those who are rushing around and partaking in greed, don't let it all get to you." I know, I know. But it still does. I'm hyper-sensitive by nature, always been. I can easily become overwhelmed by large crowds and cacophonies of noise. I have avoided malls and most shopping centers during Christmas for this reason. I have since been able to attend concerts, but it can still be overwhelming.

Either way, this year, I'm spending Christmas with my best friend and her family. My folks are out of town for Christmas camping (an annual tradition). I'm perfectly fine with this. It all will change as I move away and go to graduate school, but always with things to do on my mind.

Whatever you have going on during these holidays, may you be warm, well-fed, and loved.

I concede, I concede; here is my white flag.

I have purchased an e-reader. Yes, one from my job. No, not the full-color ones with Angry Birds on it (I'll be getting an iPhone for that later). The "simple" one, the one with only Wi-Fi capabilities to download an infinity of free samples of books I've been meaning to read for years.

Man, I actually like the thing. It's a surprising godsend. As I mentioned, the free samples are wonderful. It gives me a chance to read a few chapters to get a "feel" before either buying it or passing on it. It is similar to going to the library, grabbing a huge stack of random titles, and finding a place to sit to peruse. But unlike most patrons, I won't leave a huge mess behind. A lot of times, as an unashamed bibliophile, I have a huge-ass list of "to-read books". This will help eliminate the bummers and get me to the good stuff.

No, I will not buy e-books exclusively. I will still purchase hard copies. It will be easy to judge which ones to purchase as e-books versus hard copies. I don't know how it will work, but trust me, I'm getting a feel for these things.

I originally wanted one when, at work, there was a possible chance I could win one. When that didn't happen, the desire to own one stuck with me. Then, in a series of serendipitous events, the path was laid out for me to own the little bugger (whom I named "Calliope", "Callie" for short). 

For Callie and I, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

~

On a side note, Jeffery Eugenides wins an Internet for this billboard. Hell, I'll try to read the book again just because I forgot how much this was so damn genius. Attn: writers: humorous book release billboards = Frustrated Lady Writer wanting to read said book (even if she hated the first twelve pages of it at first read).

Minor grad school update

I just sent in my sample, statement, and cover all this afternoon. I also printed out More Than Thorns. Cost me twenty bucks.

Note to self: just do it at home.

Minor update

Howdy, back to report a few little things. I just got Scrivener, which I got for half off thanks to winning NaNoWriMo. I'm going through the tutorial to learn all the little tips and tricks. So far, I'm only slightly disappointed in the fact that it's built for first drafts (and not much else). Perhaps there is a way I can use it for future drafts...

And speaking of drafts, I just reached the second one of the story I'm gonna send out for graduate school. It's still rough and needs more work. I plan on hammering it out tomorrow before I send it out on Thursday afternoon. Same goes for the statement of purpose.

Not much else, but there you go.

What I've Learned from NaNoWriMo (and Writing Reviews All Year)

Here I am, basking in the victory of NaNoWriMo and working on my grad school application. Haven't done much in the way of editing the application's story and Invisible. Probably a little burned out from writing, I dunno.

Just was thinking about what I've done so far and I have to say, it isn't half bad. With my reviews, I realized I need to work on providing a better way of conveying both good and bad sides and then having a way of saying "yeah this was (good or bad)". Just something else.

Also, with working on More Than Thorns, I learned that I can write something long in about a month and it turning out promising. A hilarious thing about this story was that in its former life, Thorns was a rip-off of The Shining, only in Louisiana and the house was a Greek Revival. Thank God I was able to resurrect it. Normally, when a story gets that entrenched in gory things like that, it's beyond saving. The other funny thing is, I actually miss the world and the characters of Thorns. I really want to revisit it and add more scenes. But Invisible and the application story need to get done.

The biggest lesson I got from NaNoWriMo was to have fun. I forgot how much fun writing can be. Editing is fun too, don't get me wrong. I had an absolute blast. It was the challenge I've been needing for so long. I set goals and met them (well, most of them) and got absorbed in another novel world. I had to tell my editor shut the hell up and just write. I learned to give it my all, even if I wasn't 100% satisfied with the final product. In order to be a successful writer, I must let myself actually do some damn writing (that and edit it, but you get the point). Editing and revisions aren't going to be my problem. It's crossing that first finish line, finishing the first draft.

All this? My friends, this is the craft of writing.

And because I never learn...

count this as my hat in the ring for next year. I'm going for Script Frenzy, where I write a 100-page screenplay. It is in April 2012. Haven't written a script in a while, time to brush up on my skills! Or at least, read a few books and write little screenplays.

After thinking it over, I have decided to adapt Angela Carter's novelette "The Bloody Chamber" as my project.

More on this as it gets closer to time. And as for the question of will I do NaNoWriMo again? I don't know, right now... it's a maybe. It's going to depend on one thing: when in grad school, will it not get in the way of what I need to do?

So there you go. I'll have to decide (like this time) at the eleventh hour.

Such is the way things are.

ETA: whoo! It's my birthday! Here's to a quarter-century of existing!

I'm sorry, I can't hear you all...

over the sound of my awesomeness.

At 3:46 AM local time on this day, my novel (now renamed to More Than Thorns) reached 51,425 words. I did it. I won NaNoWriMo. Happy early birthday to me!

I would like to thank the following:

-my sister for making a lovely necklace. It had good luck symbols (thyme and green aventurine) in a little glass bottle. Without this early birthday gift, I wouldn't have the drive to keep going.

-the new Talking Heads DVD for providing the best reward incentive: for every 2K of words to get closer to the end, I watch a performance.

-M83 and their new album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. While listening to this fine album, it helped set the mood for the final 7K. "Steve McQueen" is glorious synth in its finest hour.

~

Now for some party-time music. Enjoy while I go over here and pass out. Gotta go to work later today and all.

Well, that took f***ing forever...

But I finished one of my first major goals: wrap up the "24 Reviews for 24 Years" before my birthday. The review of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt was a very appropriate end to this.

Hey, self... if you ever get the itching to do something like this again, remember what happened the last time, okay?

~

And now for something completely different: my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon...

NaNoWriMo update

Alright, into the first week and the word count issssss...

*drum roll*

12053 / 50000 words. 24% done!

Compared to Invisible, kinda crummy, ain't it? Either way, it's coming and going, but going along pretty good so far. It's interesting, but lacking in serious description and overall detail. Hope to fix that once I decide to edit the blasted thing. The stats on the site say that I should finish by the 29th. Erm... give me time. I can up it to my birthday, or even better.

~

As for other things, I will begin work on my grad school writing sample, begin the final showdown with Invisible, eagerly wait for this book to come out, and begin to psych up for the holiday rush starting tomorrow. And of course, finish up reviews and stuff. Also tomorrow. Of course.

Just found out my GRE scores

...and well, yeah. Ain't posting them. Let's just say I could've done so much better. (And maybe even a little ashamed...)

Atop that, I also found out that I can only retake it sixty days after I originally did it. So that means that I can't retake it in time... damn.

~

Did somewhat better on the Verbal than I thought. Not as much on the Analytical Writing. And Quantitative? Not well at all. Here's my surprise (spoiler: there's none).

I keep finding signs that point to quit worrying and keep going, but I still can't help it (see the last time I talked about this). I've read blogs, hell even found an interview with someone from the grad school I want to apply to that said they don't "look at the GPA or GRE that much" and that "[i]t's based [ninety] percent on the writing sample". That's assuring, but what's the ten percent?! The mystery thickens...

And with linking, I (inadvertently?) finally reveal the grad school I'm applying for: The Michener Center for Writers at University of Texas at Austin.

Which then leads to the main question y'all are probably thinking: why only one school, Frustrated Lady Writer? Aren't you encouraged to apply for several at a time? Answer: I have considered applying for several schools, but right now, I can only afford to move within  my state. Plus, Michener Center is the only school in the state that have multidisciplinary studies (i.e. I can study two things at once, in this case Fiction and Screenwriting). In all honesty, I would love nothing more than to be accepted into the Michener Center. But if I don't, I plan on moving away anyway and I'll apply for one of those low-residency ones.

So, there you go. What's been on my mind these days... among other things.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this breaking news...

Here is the current status with Invisible:

102870 / 120000 words. 86% done!

Y'all... it's gonna happen. This f***ing thing will get finished this year.

And it begins...

I just began my NaNoWriMo novel, a Southern Gothic tale about a poet. This poet, a woman named Merle, takes in a boarder (a painter from Washington D.C.). The boarder's paintings start talking to Merle, giving her nightmares and horrific daytime visions. But the thing is... is it all in her head? Or is the boarder someone that she doesn't seem to be? Y'all shall know this little tale by the name of Whisper. (As the NaNoWriMo site also knows it as...)

Either way, I almost felt like abandoning this, but persistent determination has led me to no other choice than to saunter on. If it gets to be too much, and I can't even finish other major tasks (like the story for my graduate school application and finishing Invisible), then I will pull the plug on Whisper.

Today, I plugged in 1776 words. Whoo, the year America became a country (sorta)!

Change of plans for "24 Reviews..."

I will hold off reviewing Casual Gods and 1Q84 until after "24 Reviews..." is done. After realizing that I haven't reviewed much female-created works, I have decided to change the plans a bit and honor my sisters in writing and music. Won't mention who, in fear of jinxing it. Be prepared. It's all arriving soon...

Oh Lord, I'm gonna do it.

That's right, eveyrbody. Count this as my hat in the ring. While I'm working on Invisible, applying for graduate school, and generally suffering through the retail holiday season; I am going to participate in my very first NaNoWriMo.

I have wanted to do it for years and this time seems like a good chance. It is unknown at this point whether this was a good idea or not. Time will only tell.

Hey, remember me?

I'm that frustrated lady writer, blogging about music and books and her novel project? Yeah, I'm now back. I took some leave of absence (nothing serious, just too lazy). In all honesty, the GRE was a big shocker moment, though I didn't want to admit it at the time. Oh yeah and laziness.

~

I took the GRE on a mostly-sunny day, but it rained hard just as my mom was picking me up. So I was right on my prediction. Obviously, I can't reveal what questions I took, but you wouldn't give a damn anyway. But lemme tell you, the Math sections seriously destroyed me. It is a miracle I barely passed that section. As for the Verbals, I think I got near or to the goal I set for myself. Since it's a possibility that the scores are curved, who the hell knows now? I won't know for sure until mid-November anyway.

But yes, I walked away, a nearly-broken woman. It was a teaching moment, but it really hurt. And even if I wanted to take it again, it would be too late. The scores wouldn't arrive in time for the deadline for the grad school I want to apply for.

If I have read correctly, the scores may not even matter for the school I'm thinking of applying for. They only care about the writing sample. Man, I hope so.

~

So now begins the most important part of the process: the writing sample and SOP (Statement of Purpose). I'm either thinking of submitting an older story or a newer one I just got inspired to do.

Stay tuned for a random-ass announcement.

On the eve of GRE...

I have made a terrible mistake in my studies. I barely touched on the Math, thinking I could do decent and not worry too much. But apparently, it does matter. So yeah, scrambling on the 11th hour to brush up on Math concepts I didn't even study in high school (statistics, what's that?!).

Don't do this, fellow potential MFA students! Learn from this!

Well, if anything, I'll do well on the Verbal section. But don't fret on my behalf. I can afford to take the GRE one more time before the deadline to the MFA program I want to apply for. This, of course, assuming I bomb it so hard (the first time) it's beyond hilarity.

So here we go. The final full day. No Verbal stuff. Just Math.

Nothing. But. Math.

Tiny update on the novel

Well, been chugging along Part 3 of Invisible and making some progress. And thus, I decided to do the Internet bar thingy again.

*Drum roll*

86019 / 120000 words. 72% done!

Hell yeah! Now, just need to finish this before the end of the year... among other things.

Where I Was on 9/11

Warning: the following post contains descriptions of disturbing imagery related to 9/11.

Things that made my day

Apparently, a new Talking Heads DVD compilation is coming out this year. With live performances! Interviews! Other thingys! October 18th is the date, save it! Oh and... it's limited, apparently. With a deluxe version. And I wouldn't be a serious fan if I wasn't getting the deluxe version.

This eases the disappointment of falling for the old "hey, Fleetwood Mac's Mirage is gonna get remastered this year!" again.

Oh hi, Lindsey Buckingham. I see your new album coming out tomorrow. And your DVD coming out in November. (And no, I wasn't named after him.)

Wait. That's it? Man, okay. Here y'all go: my contribution.

Alright, I'm back!

Hey y'all, long time, no see. Just posted stuff about Retromania and vanished off into the woods. After getting lost and confused (mostly the latter), I have found my way back to my beloved blog. I have plans to finish up the "24 Reviews..." with a rant on a book for record-collecting gals, Jerry Harrison's second album, Lindsey Buckingham's new album, and wrapping it all up with Murakami's latest tome. Looks like the goal is a surefire finish!

I had also made a grievous error. The blog will have its fifth birthday in 2012, not this year. Whoops! I accidentally math.

Some fantastic news: my all-time favorite novel is getting a reprint! But why, when Google auto-completes searches, is there "a house like a lotus movie"? World, is there something you're not telling me? Then again, you can do this for The Secret History by Donna Tartt and get "the secret history movie". So who knows? Maybe there are curious folks such as myself. But man... I only hope that I will be the intrepid screenwriter of the adaptation. It's one of my biggest dreams.

In lieu of the big news about A House Like A Lotus (yes, its reprinting warrants a party, okay?), I will reread all of the Time Quartet and the O'Keefe Family series.

There you have it. Here's to actually doing what I'm gonna do!

Further Thoughts on Retromania

(The book spurred so much thinking that a separate post is needed. I didn’t want to clutter the review with my own load of “cool story, sis”, so here you go!) 

Bands Reuniting: 

Why Bother When There Ain't a New Album?

I do want to see Talking Heads record a new album, especially from all their years of doing their own thing (Tom Tom Club and their dance-pop resurrection, Byrne’s appreciation for world music, and Harrison’s love affair with alternative rock). But at the same time, I also don’t want them to reunite. Maybe, in the unusual grand scheme of things, Naked was meant to be their last album. I love them enough to want nothing more than for them to not become empty shells of themselves that tour just for money. Those Remain In Light days are long over. There ain’t never gonna be another Stop Making Sense. If Byrne still hates the hell out of Harrison, Frantz, and Weymouth; well, as Porky Pig once said "that's all folks".

And even if my favorite bands did reunite, I usually expect (90% of the time, actually) that they would record a new album. And I would probably expect the album to have their signature sound, only much older and obviously different-sounding from the many years of musical experimentation. By the way, the only band to record after reuniting… Fleetwood Mac. Yeah, bad odds, eh?

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t go buy tickets to their Texas tour stop if Talking Heads ever did reunite. I’m no fool.

When I got into The Police, I read over and over again that there would be no chance of a reunion. Well, in ’07, it happened. I bought tickets to one of their stops in Texas, thrilled to finally see them live. After all the touring dust settled, they would go right back into the studio and make a worthwhile 6th album (that was my hope, at least). Imagine my utter disappointment when that didn’t happen. I then wondered “what the f*** is the point of reuniting if you ain’t gonna make a new album?” Well, blah blah touring makes more money than album sales blah blah. And who knows, maybe Sting still hates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.

As for Steely Dan, I’m still fairly upset they haven’t recorded an album, even with all this touring they’ve been doing. Sure, the duo have released solo albums, but not joined forces and made something that would make me forgive them for the elevator jazz that is Everything Must Go. But again, see what happened with The Police. Plus, as I noted about their last album, that and Two Against Nature were honestly not their best efforts. They became shadows of themselves, a strange jazz-rock lounge act instead of the edgy poetry-popping studio phenomenon they were back in the seventies. I understand that age has a role in this. Also, it is flat-out unfair to expect long-running bands to always sound like they did in their best albums.

I guess, it makes more sense to reunite and tour than make a new album. The former is all about money and nostalgia, while the latter may be fraught with unresolved issues (Talking Heads, The Police) and interest in other things (Steely Dan). It is unfair of me to expect that from my favorite reunited (and not) bands. But I always hope for reconciliation. Damn me and my optimism.

On Originality: 

Or Why I Hate Vampire Weekend For Trying Too Damn Hard to Be Talking Heads 2.0

I was thinking about Reynolds’ criticism that there isn’t that much new innovation in music, just resurrections of various genres. There is a striking similarity to that and the complaints about genre fiction and its “same-ness”. I can understand how copying a style and trying to pass it off as innovative without any outstanding originality is just silly. Do musicians not have the same freedoms as novelists when it comes to adopting a genre? I mean, writers are given grief also, but it seems like music critics give their idols a harder time. Personally, this whole problem strikes me as unrealistic and a bit snobbish. This doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for innovation, heavens no. I think music fans and critics are mistaking innovation for brand-new genres, when all that humans are capable of is original refashioning and storytelling.

Here’s a thought: The Dead Weather, sonically, sound like a heavier Creedence Clearwater Revival. It’s cool that they sound a bit similar to CCR, but it’s even better that they add their own personal touches (a female vocalist, lyrical content, talk box, and fuzz distortion). That is likely what Reynolds meant in this part here:

Where they [certain bands] really failed was on the expressive level; you rarely got the sense there was anything much in the way of felt emotion behind the songs; they seemed born of fandom, a love for the stylization of emotion in music.

- from page 137 of Retromania by Simon Reynolds

And those kinds of artists? They are obvious, especially if you have an ear for music. I have experienced a few of these. Mainly, Vampire Weekend, with their Paul Simon-from-Graceland and Talking Heads-goes-Afro-punk sound and lyrical content. Man, talk about not even trying. Even the delivery of the lyrics is David Byrne-esque.

Either way, Reynolds may have been a little too hard on this front.

~
COPYRIGHT NOTE: all bold quotes are from the novel and were written by the author himself. Those words are not my own.
~

And thus, you have it. More reviews, random thoughts, and writing things coming your way! So duck or at least, get yourself a sturdy umbrella.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011: Book Review 2 of 5

after the quake
By Haruki Murakami
Barnes & Noble link

*Note: this is the second of five reviews for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge*

Short stories are a strange animal. You are telling the story of people, places, and things; and yet you only have a limited amount of time. All there is time for is the important stuff, the "greatest hits" of it, if you would. It takes a different set of skills to reach shortened-literary perfection. Even novelists are daunted by them. Haruki Murakami remained, as usual, undaunted by a challenge. While he's done it before, he achieved his finest hour in after the quake.

The book, containing six stories, is a condolence letter to a confused and hurt nation. At the time of writing, Kobe was struck by a massive earthquake. It killed many, destroyed infrastructure, and sent the whole nation into a dark state of worry. Each tale focuses on how the earthquake has affected the denizens. All share one thing in common: it is a time of growth, a time of change, and a time for courage.

The one story that I always return to in this book is the concluding "Honey Pie", about Junpei and his longing for his best friend Sayoko. She had married Junpei's best friend and had a daughter named Sala. Eventually, the couple divorced. The earthquake complicated matters more (it gave Sala nightmares). To comfort the scared child, Junpei tells her the story of two friendly bears. Throughout, the story begins to reflect the situation between Junpei and his friend. And the more Sayoko sees of Junpei, the more the longing becomes undeniable. "Honey Pie" is sad, full of regret and unrequited love. It is a true representation of what happens during a national tragedy: it marks the air, but time ticks on.

All the stories deserve attention. They are surrealistic ("Super-frog Saves Tokyo"), reflective ("Landscape in Flatiron", "All God's Children Can Dance"), and bittersweet ("UFO in Kushiro", "Thailand"). All different flavors of human experience. And they are classic Murakami. People in unusual situations, asking how to continue even during a time of fear and mourning.

With the citizens struggling to shake off the recent tragedies in Fukushima and the rest of northern Japan, the book and its stories become not just a symbol of the past, but of the present times. Literature can scare us, inform us, and trick us. But it also can heal us. Remind us of the silly old sayings that we tell ourselves each morning: "life will go on", "tomorrow is a new day", etc. Even if you don't believe that, it helps to see that you are not alone in the struggle to survive.

May this book and many others like it heal us all during this times of rage and thunder and quakes.

"Our hearts are not stones. A stone my disintegrate in time and lose its outward form. But hearts never disintegrate. They have no outward form, and whether good or evil, we can always communicate them to one another. All God's children can dance."

- from "All God's Children Can Dance" on page 68

COPYRIGHT NOTE: all bold quotes are from the novel and were written by the author himself. Those words are not my own. 

Borders: A Tribute

They were one of my favorite places to hang out before the movies. My best friend and I went several times together to browse and learn more about each other's favorite things to read. She went through the fantasy area while I was found in the Music History or Women's Studies selections. I bought my first feminist book there and made it a tradition until last Friday to buy all my feminism books from Borders.

The employees I talked to (both at my job and on  my days off) were nice and friendly. Contrary to popular thought, Borders wasn't staffed with rude jerks. I never had a terrible experience there. I liked that it always smelled freshly-painted for so long. Don't know why the last thing is interesting, but had to mention it (at least, for the location I frequented).

They were great competition for Barnes & Noble. Borders was the laid-back, on-the-porch-storytelling sibling to the sophisticated and sitting-by-the-fire-during-a-cold-winter coziness of B&N. They sometimes had books that the other didn't have. Contrary to popular thought (again), we never eyed each other suspiciously across the way. If anything, we always high-fived each other for staying around for so long in the lieu of the e-reader boom and the economy.

Sure, their CDs were ridiculously expensive and their member's program never made sense (to me, at least). But I never went there for those reasons and never held it against them.

~

To all the employees, I wish you nothing but the best as you work your last days. May there be a new job awaiting you at the end, along with benefits and good pay. If Barnes & Noble builds more stores and starts hiring for them, we hope you join us, if you want to. As we B&N employees watch our competition and compadres fade into history, we are not cheering. It is a sign of the economy. And nothing worries people more than lost jobs that will never be found or reincarnated.  As this year churns on with more uncertainy, and the debt issues continue to drag out, we sometimes worry "will we be next?"

We all don't know. Such is the uncertainty of life.

Farewell, Borders. You were more than another bookstore. You were fellow booksellers doing the same thing under a different system and coats of red paint. Thanks for everything you have done for your local communities and loyal customers.

Borders
1971-2011

Things That Happened While I Was Not Posting...

in bullet list form for easier reading!

• I had a serious wake-up call about my current job last week. Now, I'm on the search for a new, full-time job. 
• Haven't studied the GRE completely in about two weeks. Good thing I have almost two months to study...
• I have considered never posting on Twitter again. Unless a long stretch of my life suddenly gets exciting.
• I saw Driftless Pony Club at a show and got their EP Expert autographed. They're great live.
• Got a metric ton of Women's Studies books from Borders, since they're going out of business.

  Speaking of the last thing, I have avoided the topic of bringing up who exactly I work for. Honestly, I wanted to avoid getting fired for saying bad things. It is time, in lieu of Borders's closing, to reveal. But for those who have read the few times I mentioned it and put the pieces together, it is probably easy.
  I work for Barnes & Noble. I have been there for almost five years (this coming November). Thanks to this job, I have met so many great writers from all over the country. Had fun experiences with customers and co-workers. It was a wonderful place to work while I was in college. But it is time to move on.
  I need full-time, consistent employment. In this economy, that is a hard thing to find. There has to be something there that will fit me.

  And that is what transpired in the last week or so. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna make some more posts to make up for the lack of them...

Things I Learned Listening to My Music Collection

I'm honestly bankrupt on blog post ideas, so here are some insightful/mostly-goofy thoughts I tweeted while listening to all my music for the Top 50 list I'm planning... and yes, the title is the hashtag I used (for all but a few).

• I'm being haunted by King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man". The trick is figuring out whether that's a good thing or not. 
• "Poppies" by Patti Smith is awesome.  
• Crystal Stilts: how to imitate Joy Division correctly. 
• Tom Petty is the best of all my Southern relatives put into one person.
• Fleetwood Mac's Mystery to Me gets better with each listen. It may rival Tango in the Night, like big time. 
• No Steve Miller, I wasn't expecting you to be a space cowboy. 
• Bob Welch-led Fleetwood Mac kicked major ass.
• I am a secret fan of King Crimson. Did not know that. 
• Hoshit, A Silent Film = Editors + Keane 
• The Weepies made me realize that I rarely enjoy low-tempo pop. 
• Unlike the chick in Jerry Harrison's "Rev It Up", I can't steer with my knees.
• Neutral Milk Hotel is still weird. And the lead guy reminds me of Jonathan Richman.
• Nope, still don't like the Eagles. "Hotel California" is pretty good, though.
• Franz Ferdinand's debut album is actually excellent, despite my initial thoughts.
• Fleetwood Mac's Rumours has aged well.  
• Bruce Springsteen is actually excellent, despite my initial thoughts. 
• Steely Dan's last two albums try too hard to be Aja 2.0. And FAIL. 

~
I'm betting half of y'all will be going "LOL no1curr".

And I'll respond with this and end it:

original from here

It's that old-time meme feeling...

From Music Memoirs, the blogmistress asks us (a week ago) to list:
"Top 5 songs or albums from the first half of 2011"

This may be a hint at my end-of-the-year list, but hey! Here we go:

1. Mondo Amore by Nicole Atkins (standout track: "Hotel Plaster")
2. Salt on Sea Glass by If By Yes (standout track: "Eliza")
3. Verdugo Hills by Caroline (standout track: "Swimmer")
4. Fluorescence by Asobi Seksu (standout track: "Deep Weird Sleep")
5. Zonoscope by Cut Copy (standout track: "Sun God")

Aaaaand the ladies take over the top 4! Whoo!

A brief note

Things have gone upside for me in the last week or so. This is why I haven't updated since the Reading Challenge review. I plan on unleashing more reviews upon this fair site, along with the usual posts of randomness y'all have come to enjoy(?).

On a side note, I ordered the English versions of Haruki Murakami's two earliest novels. And yes, I'll be reading those for the Challenge. Awesome!

Either way, I will see y'all next week.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011: Book Review 1 of 5

South of the Border, West of the Sun
By Haruki Murakami
Barnes & Noble link

*Note: this is the first of five reviews for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge*

When it comes to writing about lost love in an earnest tone, Haruki Murakami delivers in spades. If you need further evidence, please consult Sputnik Sweetheart and Norwegian Wood. He writes another story of lost love, and this time, there is nothing that stand between the two... well, except the two. Lovers go to battle with their own demons in South of the Border, West of the Sun.

Hajime, a middle-aged man, has a wonderful life: a loving wife, two adorable daughters, two successful jazz clubs, and riches that one could only dream of. And yet, his heart and mind are on a long-lost friend, a woman named Shimamoto. Years pass without them seeing each other, maybe never again. A series of strange events, including Hajime seeing Shimamoto and following her throughout the city (which them leads to a guy paying him to stop following her), have them finally meet up. But, after years of living between their last union, Shimamoto is carrying her own secrets.

The characters are a mix of interesting and surprisingly bland. Hajime's only interests are reading and listening to music, which make up for his otherwise... dull-as-dishwater personality. Though, in the beginning, he ends up showing a semblance of self-awareness:

That ultimately  I am a person who can do evil. I never consciously tried to hurt anyone, yet good intentions notwithstanding, when necessity demanded, I could be completely self-centered, even cruel. I was the kind of person who could, using some plausible excuse, inflict on a person I cared for a wound that would never heal.

-page 48 of the book

Even with that, Hajime doesn't seem to learn from his own reflections (see: his confessed affairs while his wife was pregnant). While having the same interests, Shimamoto is more interesting. Then again, we didn't read about most of her life. Hajime is hiding nothing, not even his honest (yet despicable) confessions.

Hajime and Shimamoto try to reignite that flame, but their mortal enemies (themselves and their problems) prevent it. He is afraid of hurting others just to get what he wants, while she has hidden issues keeping her from getting close. It is sad yet human. We all come along with baggage, even if your life was ideal. Yet, there comes a time to either let it all get lost in Baggage Claim forever; or, set it aside and give your shoulders a rest and asset what you've been carrying around for so long. Both characters are going for the former approach.

Shimamoto's life remains a mystery. Why can't she give herself fully to Hajime? From all the little details about her clothing and jet-setting-like lifestyle, my guess is she is either married to a wealthy man (e.g., Yakuza) or is a high-class prostitute. Even if she had one of those things going for her, couldn't she say "screw it" and just do whatever she wanted? Or did something else happen? We'll never know and guessing only leads to more confusion.

Even with the rich details of the nature of relationships and how problems plague people, this remains my least favorite Murakami novel. Maybe I was expecting more to transpire. There was much satisfaction to knowing how Hajime is, but knowing absolutely nothing about Shimamoto seems unfair. But the one-sided perspective is possibly the point: Hajime talks about himself so damn much that we (and he) never really pay attention. Or that, when we read beyond his words, see what he's observing and not commenting on, we learn the truth. Dramatic Irony 101 right there.

South of the Border, West of the Sun is a good read into the nature of men and women, but offers only that. Why should we expect advice? Human nature doesn't come with instructions.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: all bold quotes are from the novel and were written by the author himself. Those words are not my own.

Minor updates on the cruelty-free front...

• The Body Shop's shampoo and conditioner is becoming less and less great with each usage. Seeing great results from the acne treatment and hand sanitizers. Body wash is so-so. Due to expenses, may avoid everything else but what I ended up liking.
• Alba Botanica and Jason have great deodorants. They work very well and don't leave stains on my shirts.
• No luck yet on finding great body mists. The search continues...
• Found a great body wash: Kiss My Face Anti-Stress (smelling like pine trees and ginger). Doesn't last very long in the shower, but will try again.

Even though I'm going cruelty-free on beauty and personal products, I'm not going vegetarian. It is honestly something I cannot do. I rarely do eat red meat, but I can't live without my fish and chicken.

No Leaping Bunny guide yet. Will continue to update.

Bye-bye, Tumblr...

I've had a weird on-off relationship with Tumblr for about a year now. There are times I really like it (the new dashboard) and times I hate it (wow, the f***yeah pages for my favorite people are badly run!). Atop that, much like YouTube, it took the deleting of certain content (in this case, a website dedicated to old magazine pictures [e.g, some never-before-seen Talking Heads ones]) to make me depart for good.

I will never delete it, but if you want updates, forget about it. Plus, it is an honest time-waster and I rather do things like crochet or make sketchbooks with twine and cardstock.

Anyway, I do recommend libraryland and postpunk, two of my favorite Tumblrs that I will miss. Also, f***yeahchickmusicians and stfusexists were great. I followed a ton of great ones. Go check them out, especially if you are a Tumblr user.

I've been doing this for six years and been just fine with Blogger. Twitter? Yeah, I update that every so often. Tumblr isn't for me. And that's okay. It works for other people, like my former classmates and a co-worker.

Thanks for the fun times, Tumblr. But it was never meant to be.

September 29th

A Thursday. Penultimate day of September. A day with... rain? Sun and clouds? (Ahem, anyway.) A day with unknown weather. But it is...

The day I take the GRE. Studying begins July 1st.

*big ol' sigh*

Get it, New York!

Same-sex marriage in the Empire State was legalized tonight.

This is a joyous occasion. May all those now that can get hitched have beautiful weddings and happy marriages!

Go New York! May all the other states soon follow. It's about f***ing time.

Full of hope?

*This post is brought to you by a KFC Famous Bowl and Wild Nothing's song "Golden Haze"*

It's been an odd week, so far. I had decided to attempt a Julia Cameron program (in this case Finding Water). What it is all about is perseverance when "the artist's well has run dry". Lord knows I need a little help with that. The only thing is part of the program is doing a weekly walk and Artist's Date. Look, I'm trying to save money and atop that, I'm not exactly in a pedestrian-friendly city. There's gotta be a way to work around that. I'll figure it out. I hope... 

~

And hoo-ha, the troops are coming home! Well, some of them, but at least it's gonna end soon! I hope.

Going cruelty-free...

Recently, I have gotten interested in purchasing beauty products that are cruelty-free (i.e. not tested on animals). After doing some research, I found a few places that are cruelty-free and went there earlier today. One stop was at The Body Shop. I managed to get some shampoo, conditioner, tea tree facial wash, and hair product. Can't wait to see the results of the facial wash. I also found cruelty-free deos (Jason) at Whole Foods later on. I'm going to go around and try other products and see what I can find.

One thing I learned is that, yes, going cruelty-free is more expensive. The deos weren't as expensive as the ones I used to use, but The Body Shop is a little pricey. We'll see if it's worth it. Thankfully, Physician's Formula is also cruelty-free, so no big switches there. The makeup is a cheaper Bare Minerals (about half the price, believe it or not).

If you want to find out how to go cruelty-free yourself, check out The Leaping Bunny and order a shopping guide! (I'm expecting mine in the mail soon.) Or you can read on the site what companies offer cruelty-free products. (Note: if you are vegan, you may have to double-check if the products use animal byproducts, e.g. beeswax.)

A great blog I stumbled across is Living Cruelty-Free. The blogmistress writes reviews on various products and answers all your burning questions. Tons of information. Go check it out!

I'll update on this periodically, spread the word on great products. As I look at my beautiful gray tabby sitting on my windowsill, I owe it to her, my other pets (of course), and all other living creatures love and respect for them. If that means switching products to save animals' lives and save the environment, then so be it.

ETA: I do have plans to extend going cruelty-free pretty far, from laundry detergent to toothpaste. Whatever can be replaced with products that don't test on animals, I'll go for it.

Greenbacks and black vinyl

The other night, I enjoyed a concert out of town, where I ended up getting the musician's autograph. It was a major plus to an already-splendid day. But as my sister and I killed time before the show, first sitting in the city park eating gyros and later chilling on the stage at the venue, we got to talking about current personal issues. She is currently on the lookout for employment, while I am realizing some very adult things. That day, I spent all my on-hand cash to buy records and CDs. I love music and will continue to buy it, but these sprees have to come to an end. As I get older, money is becoming a high priority. I'm responsible for a lot of purchases now, even though I still live with my parents. It is a reality for a lot of people my age, having to make some serious choices. Since I have plans to pursue graduate school and I have plans to take the GRE in a few months, it is time to become my age.

I wasn't lying to myself when I realized this was going to be a tough year. All I'm glad about is that I got the last Talking Heads album on vinyl when I realized it. Guess, in a strange way, it was meant to happen this way.

~

This entry was brought to you by Radiohead's new single "Supercollider" and its B-side "The Butcher". On vinyl, no less.

Something more of substance

I have to maintain discipline and update this blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; even if I find myself at a loss for words. Most of the time, as the last entry shows, my mind would be occupied on other matters. Right now, I'm going through my CD collection and deciding which ones should go away. I can save the money for other things, or just save it anyway.

It turns out that my second job has come to an end, which makes sense. Things happened, both good and bad, and it made sense for it to come to a close. I doubt they will need me when the fall season arrives, I have a sneaking feeling. By then, I'm hoping, that I have a new job somewhere else. A full-time one with benefits and good pay, or better than what I'm getting right now. Leave the bookstore behind and move on, become one of those professionals I read about in the Brat Pack novels (sans cocaine, of course).

I'm sure that this is not unique. Maybe in presentation of words. The spirit is prevalent.

Love to those searching for better employment, like me. May it come soon.

Nothing much to say...

Just trying to get the Rolling Stone: Cover to Cover thing to work again while catching up with my music (right now, on The Police). Finishing a few library books and taking a breather from three straight closing shifts at the bookstore. Maybe gonna try out the gym tomorrow (I can get a free three-day pass). Not really sure, gonna play it all by ear. Right now, just tired and thinking about things.

Man, I wish I had something of substance to say. Sorry, y'all.

It's time to kick ass and eat jerky... and I don't have any jerky.

Since seeing a counselor, I have gotten a grasp on things and ready to take some action to get things moving again on this blog. Of course, that and my life. But I'm gonna assume you already knew that.

Anyway! First off, I will finish my all my review plans, and of course, the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge. After that, for 2012, I'm going to do "The Year of Revisits". I'm going to review my top 12 favorite books of all time, one book a month. If I want to review anything new or old, I will, but that will be about it. This will be my last year of those "end-of-the-year" lists. If I happen to read enough to constitute those kinds of lists, awesome! But it has worn down on me in recent days, so it's no longer gonna be a big priority.

As for these initial plans, I'm scrapping the Charlotte Hatherly album and replacing it with Murakami's new book 1Q84. I will get a move-along on everything listed here. They're severely overdue.

I'm off for a road trip and a concert in the evening. See y'all later!

Silly post ahoy!

• I got a brand-new fountain pen. Pictured below:

Gorgeous thing, isn't it? It is a Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus with an extra-fine tip. It writes like a fluffy-cloud dream.

• My sister, being the awesome person she is, bought me this as a surprise gift:

Yep, that's a monolith. The same one from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yes, you can buy one for yourself.

...oh my God, it's full of stars. /lulz

Nutter meme thingy time!

I listened to a recent podcast for NPR's All Songs Considered and loved it. The topic: bands that you broke up with. Lordy, it got me to thinking. It got listeners to thinking too. And I couldn't help it, it had to be done. So come along with me on a magical journey down my music collection and complete this fun list.

Don't hesitate to join in! Post your stories below or (even better) on the blog that started it all.

~~

1. Band You Really Thought You Had Something With — They Said They'd Call But You Never Heard From Them Again

They Might Be Giants might be one. I loved a ton of their songs, but didn't latch onto Flood as much as I hoped. They suffer from what I call "The Steely Dan Syndrome" (where a band has tons of great songs, but no albums I can fully enjoy). Perhaps there is hope, after all, "Particle Man" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" are works of genius...

2. Your Best Friend's Girlfriend Or Boyfriend You Secretly Want To Hook Up With
Honestly, I can't answer this one. This is a testament to the fact that (a) I have no friends or (b) my friends either have the same music tastes as me or (c) I never found a band that hooked me like that yet.


3. The Rebound: Bands You Start To Date After Everyone Else Is Through With Them
Radiohead, likely. I pretty much refuse to touch Pablo Honey (though its reckoning with me is coming...), and I own practically all their albums. Personally, they're getting much better. In Rainbows was aaaammaazzzzing. The King of Limbs is also great. Yes, I do love OK Computer, but I find myself revisiting Rainbows more often.

4. Band You Broke Up With, Then Got Back Together
Fleetwood Mac. Man, Say You Will was a major letdown. No Christine McVie in sight and so much faffing about with the songs (I mean, did it really need to be 18 songs long?... I mean damn.). It also didn't help that I was a member (at the time) of a Fleetwood Mac message board and it turned out most of the posters were big Lindsey/Stevie shippers. Talk about major creepy. After getting away from the message board (I still lurk it) and wrote off much of Say You Will... I rediscovered their blues-rock era (mostly the Bob Welch era) and fell in love again. I cannot stop listening to Mystery to Me on vinyl. I will venture into their other things again. For now, I'll play it safe with Bob Welch and Christine McVie.

5. Band That Broke Up With You
Death Cab for Cutie. Man, I loved Transatlanticism and Plans; but the deal-breaker was Narrow Stairs. I wish I can say I was excited by the new album, but I can't incite enough emotion for it. That and them doing a song for that blasted New Moon movie didn't help either. I'll still keep their albums, but damn y'all... ouch.

6. Bands I Stick By To No Matter What
Genesis, Editors, The Police, Rush, and Steely Dan. I've been through so much with these bands, but I love them still in the end. Though I enjoy Joy Division so much more than Editors, I still love the latter (not just from introducing me to Ian Curtis and friends). Genesis has been with me for a long time and we're like old friends now. I can say the same for The Police and Steely Dan. Rush may follow suit.

My own creation:
Band That You Ended Up Liking Than the Person Who Recommended Said Band

CAKE. My sister owns two of their CDs: B-Sides and Rarities and Prolonging the Magic. She recommended them for "Sheep Go to Heaven" (from the latter). I never listened to them, though. One day, I happened upon "The Distance" and fell in love. I then bought Fashion Nugget and loved it to itty bitty pieces. My sister, upon hearing this, was surprised. She loved "Sheep Go to Heaven", but the band and her never clicked. I still haven't gotten into the other CDs my sister had lent to me, but I get the feeling that it's gonna be great.

~~

My sister has a great track record of recommending people that I end up loving: Beirut, Sigur Rós, Björk, Voxtrot, and Ra Ra Riot.

Me, however... I only succeeded in getting her to enjoy Florence + the Machine and Talking Heads.

~~

That's about it for this. It was enjoyable, will do again. May create a literature variation of this...

Doing a meme, which is super-late...

Straight from the coolness that is Music Memoirs, the webmistress asks readers to list:

"Top 5 Songs That You Wish You'd Never Hear Again"

1. "Flying Under Radar" by Jerry Harrison
This song has amazing power. It almost, ALMOST, invalidates his work with the Modern Lovers and Talking Heads. I also believe this song singlehandedly killed his solo career.

2. "Oh Diane" by Fleetwood Mac
Probably one of the worst songs Lindsey has ever written, the worst off of Mirage... and the worst by the band, period.

3. "Gift of Screws" by Lindsey Buckingham
Gotta step up your game, man, your bandmate did a better job singing a poem. Maybe Emily Dickinson just isn't singable...

4. "Someone Like You" by Adele
The high notes she hits in this song are like cheese graters against my nerves. It doesn't help that I'm also tired of her stuff being played over and over. The perils of working at a bookstore. /lulz

5. "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri
You know you are already on my s***-list when you write lyrics like "you're gonna catch a cold/from the ice inside your soul". Most ridiculous image ever.

I really need to quit disappearing like this...

Trigger warning: there are discussions of depression in this post.

So yeah, didn't feel like doing this blogging thing for a while. I actually have a good reason. For a while now, I had suspected something was up with me. Couldn't really put a finger on it and give it a name, lessen its power and attempt to control it. As time went on, it was inevitable. I was depressed again.

Everything came to a head about a month ago. With both my jobs colliding (in terms of weird times among other things), my overspending and obsession with my financial well-being, and overall low mood... needless to say that it finally overtook me. I was unable to perform well at my jobs and be the best that I know I am. Atop that, I almost lost my health insurance with my bookstore job, which I needed in order to go see a counselor.

It has been a few weeks since the worst of it has vanished, but like the two times before that I had been depressed, I feel like I'm playing catch-up to make up for those lost hours. At this point, I can safely say that I probably lost quite an amount of time. But it is pointless to regain it. All I can do is work with what I have now. I'm also seeing a counselor and that's been helping me, along with other issues that I've been dealing with.

So, that is what's up with me these days. Continuing to write and pursue hobbies while working two jobs. So, business as usual. Well, sort of. But you know what I'm driving at.

Finally, an update on Invisible

I finished Part 2 and beginning Part 3. It took forever, because I was getting worried over little things that can be easily resolved with "it's a first draft". And now, it also wants a fourth part. Why, Invisible, why? You're already a long-ass novel thing!

Ahem. Anyway... if I get 1,000+ words done before I head to bed, I'll take the day off and read until my mid-shift at the bookstore.

Or I get Raptured. Whatever happens. /lulz

Randomass thoughts for your reading enjoyment

• I'm lacking an important tool: a paper awl. So I have been using a small awl my father uses for household projects. It works well, but it hurts to use. Earlier today, I bought a hole punch that you use with a hammer to see if that ends up being better. Will let y'all know.

• On the hunt for more hobbies, my mother suggested that I try crocheting (one of her longtime hobbies, alongside reading). We found a beginner's kit on sale at Hobby Lobby. We'll see if that ends up into something good.

• I currently have 13 library books checked out. What hast thou done?!

• For the first time in f***ing forever, I'm gonna get right back into writing and editing. I swear to God, if I don't do something about my procrastinating... I will kick my own ass. *grumbles*

To close, here are some of my finished bookbinding projects:

And yes, that is a crocheted afghan. My mother made it.
Yes, it is awesome.
No, you cannot have it.

'Tis be tiny

Not much to say today, but been listening to podcasts (they piled up) and catching up on some reading.

You think, with that long post, that it'll be a frequent thing?

Sorry. Not today, friends. Maybe next Monday?

Discussions of a recent interest

A while back, I talked about becoming interested in the politics behind the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I wanted both sides, wanted to know how the thought process went for America when we decided to attack Japan; and then why Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor (among committing other atrocities, like the Rape of Nanking). Most important, how these atrocities affected everyone, even to this day. For example, after Pearl Harbor, America imprisoned many Japanese-American citizens in internment camps.

Just from the few books I read so far, I have concluded that both countries were in the wrong. Also, that nuclear warfare is one of humankind's shining moments of how we are capable of creation and destruction.

Minor update on the foot and flash fiction

Well, it turns out I had sprained my foot (thankfully, the worst of the pain is gone), so I'm wearing a orthopedic shoe and taking some pain meds now until it fully heals.

Still working on flash fiction and having a good time with it.

Not much insight for now. Until next time...

A brief note on flash fiction

Because I can't seem to write anything else right now (*grumbles*), I'm polishing a flash fiction piece and plan to send it out to a place that's currently accepting that type of writing. It's probably best, since it seems like I can't stick to a freaking novel.

So much for a surplus of time.

Some thoughts on bookbinding

When I began my first project, I hand-cut the text weight papers (e.g. the lined paper for notebooks) with a craft knife. The papers were uneven, this with the aide of a metal ruler. Then, just earlier this evening, while at my friend's house, I managed to hand-cut papers and actually they turned out very well. Well, I told myself to do a few projects a week, to get the hang of it. So far, my skills are slowly improving.

Already done a few Japanese stab bindings, getting the hang of those too.

More to come, along with pictures of some of my projects. Until next time...

Why there was no Monday post

I don't know what's up with my left foot, but while doing stuff for my other job (at the literary arts non-profit) yesterday, I tripped over a crack and fell down. My ankle bent inward and I heard a "pop" noise. The thinking is that I popped a joint, but now the whole left side of my foot hurts like hell. It does hurt to walk and to put weight on it (the weird thing is it's the foot I put weight on [my right side has the sciatica and scoliosis, so I rarely favor the right foot]). The pain is no better today, but I'm hoping it fades by Thursday, or I'll have to go in and get it checked out.

Either way, I was so tired and in a neurotic state about my foot that everything slipped my mind and forgot to do some things. Gonna play catch-up today. Lord knows I will, can't do much literal sprinting.

Hold up! What's happened to the name?!

Well, as y'all know, the website's original name was "Musings of a Crazy Lady Writer" (my moniker also being Crazy Lady Writer) and I explained more than once why there is "crazy" in the title. Ever after explaining it, I never felt good about it. The name still felt ableist.

That is when I read this entry on Tumblr about someone who changed their blog name for that very reason. She changed it after learning about ableism and its word forms. It was quite moving and got me to thinking. Ableism is rooted deep in our languages, not to mention behaviors and perceptions. It is work to change that thinking, but like eradicating other -isms, it is worth it. It helps us to get a huge step closer to overall equality.

After about an hour of figuring out another adjective that would be a better replacement, I decided to change the name. Like the Tumblr user, I found a name that describes me better and is actually hilarious (and not at the expense of disabled folks).

I am sorry for the use of "crazy" in my original blog name. I will watch myself now and in the future.

Peace to all my lovely blog-reading/writing peeps!

~

If you are curious on learning more about ableism and how to end it, check out these wonderful websites:
FWD Forward
Bitch Magazine

Whoa, where are the entries, y'all?

Not really the readers' responsibility for providing me with the content in order to stick to my schedule of MWF, isn't it?

So far, some really interesting things have occurred. For one thing, I pretty much refuse to drink caffeinated beverages. They tend to make me sleepier than they should. Atop that, since I'm the picture-perfect writer, coffee has the complete opposite effect also and usually don't drink it. If given a Coke, I would probably have it, but I don't miss it.

I also picked up a new hobby: bookbinding. So far, three out of the four items I made turned out very well. I would post pictures, but it's getting late so it'll be put off until later.

I got back into Invisible, but stopped again only due to my own silliness. It's going pretty good and I hope it may be completed in mid-July, at least that's what I'm aiming for.

Nothing much else going on, other than the usual boring things (e.g. waiting for my new glasses, waiting for my new license, etc.). And so I go... until next time.