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.