Ubiquitous Sunday Post - The Wedding
Well wishers blow bubbles to the bride and groom.
Thankfully, amidst the chaos, my sister and I managed to steal an hour or so of solitude up in her room. I have to say it’s funny how easily we slip into our younger selves. When we were younger, we would spend hours lying in bed together laughing at things that no one else would think were funny. Our father died when I was young (12) and she was clearly younger (6), so we spent a lot of time leaning on each other. My sister is a very private person and has always struggled with talking about deeper feelings, but this is something she has always done with me. And through the years, though we’ve changed and we don’t spend as much time together, the talking and the laughter is something we continue to do. It’s a connection we have that says more than just the topic we’re laughing about. In many ways, it’s an understanding and acknowledgment of how well we know each other.
And so we found ourselves lying in the giant bed together, talking and laughing about the days events and pretending that she wasn’t going to get married in one hour’s time until her friend Jessica (her other bridesmaid) joined us and continued in the laughter. If it hadn’t been for the fact that time was whizzing by, I do believe we would have laid there for hours. Instead, I did her hair and makeup while Jessica and I both fended off random questions and well-meaning photographers (”No, you will not photograph her in her underwear.”). There was quite a bit of running back and forth and a little bit of eyelash application under pressure (which is a lot like parallel parking … if you don’t get it right the first time … it can be the death of you). And suddenly, voila, it was time and we were all standing on the patio waiting for our cue to walk down the aisle. I have to add in that as I walked down with Nathan’s brother, D (who hadn’t seen me all day) had yelled out a very plaintive “Mama!” to the amusement of the guests.
Sunni and Nathan walk towards their new life.
The ceremony was quick and charming and the reception was filled with dancing, speechmaking (myself included!) and the general enjoyment of celebrating together with family and friends. And now, my sister is officially a married woman!
USP: Stomach Ache
I have a stomach ache. It’s ruining my ability to write.
The Skinny on Ballard
This weekend, we spent Sunday in an ideal way: walking through the market buying produce for the week, drinking coffee from Cafe Fiore (as I’ve mentioned before … hands down the BEST coffee in the city!) and perusing the wares of Ballard. We even ran into some old friends we hadn’t seen in years. It’s always lovely to run into people while everyone has the same relaxed, Sunday glow.
I even got the scoop on the closing of Olivine, my very favorite boutique. I first heard of the store closing from My Ballard and found out from the owner that though they’ve sold the shop, they are opening a new one in Fremont (otherwise known as the Center of the Universe). It will be occupying the space right next to where the Frankie shoe shop started out (across from Mad Pizza). The new store will be called Show Pony and promises to carry many more handbag and accessory lines than the current store does. In the meantime, the current store will change names and rid itself of all of the beauty products to focus more on clothing. Ah well, another reason to hit Fremont.
And barely as the doors to DiVino could be locked, a new sushi spot has staked its claim on the premium spot. For years and years, Sam’s Sushi was the only spot here to grab sushi and now it will have a hip little competitor.
Ah Ballard, the IT girl of Seattle.
The D
detroit skyline, originally uploaded by ryan.s o u t h e n.photography.
The husband and I have been having an ongoing conversation (for many years) about Detroit, from its rich history to the continuing saga of its present. It’s a conversation that ultimately leads to the topic of resurgence and more importantly if that can ever happen for D-town. And, big surprise, I believe it can. As with so many other things in life, hope is in the small things.
Since leaving Hamtramck, I’ve always believed that the people making an effort to be downtown, to hang out at places like Zoot’s, the Cass Cafe, artists, students and other creative types who made the downtown area they’re own, would be the people that could help turn things around. Not the automakers … or the unions.
And where does that begin? With people like Sweet Juniper, living in the midst of the larget collection of Mies Van Der Rohe architecture that also happens to be in the heart of Detroit. With the advocates who are living there, creating things and supporting the people that live there (nevermind the corruption in government). I admire these people.
But as we speak about all of these things, inevitably the husband asks a very obvious and important question. How do you actually live there? He asks, because we have a family and Detroit can be dangerous and limited in the things it can offer. I’m not just furthering a stereotype here, we both have multiple stories of first hand experience with the crime and lack of resources. In the case of Sweet Juniper, living in Lafayette Park, the husband (knowing the area well) says, “Where do these people buy groceries? Where do their kids go to school? What do they do?”
It’s a tough conversation because any thought of returning to Michigan has many implications, not the least of them is the economy. I don’t remember a time when our family and friends there have all been so unanimously despairing of the economy. They all tell me that it’s devastating and no one seems to know how/when it will end, only that its depressing.
I believe it will. I believe there is hope for Detroit and for Michigan. And here’s why.
The people who care about culture and creativity there really care about it. In other big cities, it’s easy. In Detroit, because the resources may not be as vast or diverse as in other places, the people you see out and about are people you feel connected to. You can feel it. When I lived there, I would go to the Detroit Film Theatre often and I’d always see the same people there and it was a real sense of community. Not that I’m saying it doesn’t exist here in Seattle. Of course, it does. It’s evident by the SIFF just kicking off. It’s just, well, different.
All said and done, talk is cheap. And that’s what we have right now, just talk. I’m not certain if we would ever move back to Detroit, or Michigan for that matter. If you asked me right now, I’d say no. But it’s hard to say what the future might bring. Maybe one day we’ll change from believers into doers.
Broken and Fixed
It’s the small things. Though this weekend has been less than ideal, ending with conflict and drama, it takes a mere moment with the boy to refocus. He’s the biggest small thing of all, after all. We’re looking towards celebrating his first year outside the belly in just a couple of weeks. It’s been the hardest and best year of our lives. So there’s that. One bad Sunday, we can handle.
And besides that, we did receive some good news on Friday. Without going in to detail, we were all anxiously awaiting some test results that put me/us in the clear. That’s something. A big thing actually. In the words of Raymond Carver, a small, good thing.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
Sheesh! No posts in February at all? That’s kind of sad. You’d think we up and went to Hawaii for weeks. We’ve been gone so long that I need to upgrade Wordpress again. Criminy.There are ?Ǭ†so many things to talk about: Kona, Jager Bombs (done by someone about to turn 80), humpback whales, post-partum depression, plane travel, inspiration, going green-er, unplugging, other people’s Detroit pride, the ridiculous growth spurt of the incredible boy, freaking out over said growth spurt, etc. But right now, I need to prepare for the dreaded return to work (where you pretend to work in the morning but instead answer questions from your co-workers about your vacation and they declare their love for you after you present them with lots of chocolate covered macadamia nut things … or they display thinly veiled contempt over covering your bum while out). And when I say prepare, I mean lay in bed and think about the ocean.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post - The Spookiness
So, I have many friends who are devoted fans of Neil Gaiman (and I mean that in a Morrisey of the literary world kind of way). It’s not that I wasn’t interested in the Sandman novels or any of his other work, it was more that it just never surfaced to the top of my book list (which, like my Netflix queue, is ever changing). And so, I eventually read Anansi Boys, which while I enjoyed the writing quite a bit … I didn’t really connect with the story. With that read, he moved back down to the middle of my list.
Until now. I came in to work one morning to find that a friend had left a copy of Coraline for me on my desk. It came complete with a mysterious little sticky note adorned with a little girl with buttons for eyes.
Last night, I read it all in a short sitting (it’s not a very long book and published for young adults … a title which I sometimes qualify for) and it was soooooo superbly, fantastically, creepily, excellent that I want to now run out and buy more of his books. The dialogue is charming, but not in an overly cute way. The characters are perfectly drawn and incredibly vivid. And (if you can believe this) it actually has a nice little life lesson in it as well. I highly recommend if you haven’t already.
And speaking of the friend. She is a master crafter and has really nice instructions for making a lovely little headband that seems like a nice Sunday project. I’ll be after her for help with my elusive robin’s egg blue sewing machine.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
Some days, it’s really good to be a dog. It’s not too shabby being a dog owner either … especially when you have Marymoor Park a quick drive away to enjoy a little Sunday morning sunshine while the dogs enjoy some free range frolicking.
(USP) She’s So Plain
This theme is so simple, but let it serve as the one spot in my life that is seemingly simple right now. At a time when the focus is supposed to be on remaining as stress free as possible, I’m failing miserably at it. Relationships both professional and personal are all suffering at the moment. The bright side? I have a whole Sunday to figure it out before the week starts again. Kidding.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
Another weekend gone, another week we’ve collected (we’re collecting weeks now). We had the usual breakfast with friends, coffee and went to see The Curse of the Golden Flower. While my sister said she hated it, I really enjoyed it. It seemed to be a return to the style of Zhang Yimou’s earlier films. It of course was visually stunning (although at times overwhelming enough to desensitize you a bit to all of the color) and tragic. I love Chinese movies (and foreign films for that matter) where the hero doesn’t always win, every detail isn’t explained away and displayed plainly and most of all that it’s often about the story and not the ending.
Other than that, met my sister at a blustery and cold farmer’s market on Sunday for a little browsing and then a delicious brunch at Volterra. Having been there for dinner we initially thought it might be a little splurge but to our surprise the menu was excellent and less expensive than most other mediocre breakfast places in Seattle. The service was excellent, the atmosphere relaxed and the food perfect! In a sea of restaurants serving overpriced breakfast under the guise of herby overdressed plates this was a great find.
And now a Sunday night spent with the dogs, doing a little work week prep and trying to relax.
Sunday Post
Ubiquitous seems incorrect for something that hasn’t been anywhere, much less everywhere.
Where does the time go? As I sit here working just so that my Monday doesn’t start with a migraine, it’s beginning to occur to me I may have taken a step backwards. The world of advertising sounds exciting, but in reality is exhausting. So instead of focusing on all that needs to change, let’s talk about design instead.
If you’re in Seattle and at all interested in architecture, design, typography and the like then you’ll definitely need to stop by Peter Miller on first avenue downtown. They have a plethora of books from floor to ceiling along with design-minded calendars, books, writing tools and select bags. Next door the shop expands to home items by modern design darling brands like Marimekko, Alessi, Iitala and much more.
I might just head down there today to cheer myself up with Mini House by Alejandro Bahamon.
It’s the little things isn’t it?
Ubiquitous Bumbershoot Post
A post which serves as an umbrella for many random bits.
High Tension was fantastic! While it was a little predictable at times, it was done in such a stylish, well thought out way that it was hard not to buy into the … well, tension. The commentary from the directors say that they don’t consider the movie to be gore, but violent suspense. It’s an accurate description. Undead was also unexpectedly very good. In the tradition of Dead Alive, it was funny and yet the story moved right along.
With fall in full swing, I’ve been feeling quite crafty. Knitted a hat and matching scarf for my sister while she peddles pluots at Pike Place Market (a place I rarely make it to during the summer/tourist months). I’ve resorted to searching online for good yarn. The cheap stuff is never worth, and the really good stuff can be pretty expensive. Along the crafty lines, I need a sewing machine. Although I have no idea what kind I want, or what might be best. There are just too many little projects that I’m not willing to hand sew. Any tips on sewing machines are welcome.
I cannot stop listening to the debut album from The Faunts titled High Expectations/Low Results. It’s out October 18th on Friendly Fire Recordings. You won’t be disappointed. Also just received a compilation from Roger O’Donnell’s new label 99X/10 (99 times out of 10). It’s a long listen (about 75 minutes of music!) and primarily ethereal electronica. Seemed a bit mediocre on first listen, but I owe it a proper listen. By the way, I received an additional copy by accident, so if you’re interested let me know.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
It’s Sunday. Home is the best place ever.
In the past several weeks there have been trips to the northern California coast, to Detroit and to the Washington coast for a wedding. It would still be an understatement to say that home is a welcome relief from hotel sheets, muggy weather and airports.
There has been little to no music listening at all! It’s just wrong and something that needs to be remedied immediately. Any new music discoveries, please pass them this way. The next show on schedule, Neko Case at the Woodland Park Zoo. I’ve never been to a show at the zoo and have heard really good things about it. In the meantime, a partial lineup for Bumbershoot has been announced including the likes of: Garbage (making up for their postponed Paramount show), Devo, Stan Ridgeway, Mavis Staples, Son Volt, Brazilian Girls, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, The Decemberists (I know people love them, but I just can’t get on board with the whiny nose-singing), and Digable Planets (newly reunited).
Oh and I broke up with KEXP. It was hard, but the healing process has begun.
M.I.A.
Missing in action, and I don’t mean that in a Arular kind of way.
In a nutshell, I have been possessed by a new book (a first novel, no less) from Elizabeth Kostova called The Historian. There is nothing I love more than a book that makes me curse having to perform everyday tasks because it interferes with me reading this book from cover-to-cover. There is a nice, concise review from Salon on the book if you’re interested. Brian had brought this book to my attention a week or so before it was released. I logged on to the Seattle Public Libraries site to place a hold on it, but was number 132 in line! Purchasing the book was my only option. I know it seems dramatic, but when I need a book … I REALLY need it.
Returned from a 5 day trip down to California for a drive down Hwy 1 through Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey and Santa Cruz (and accidentally through Los Gatos). It was a truly relaxing and fun trip. The highlight of the trip (besides testing our new backpacking gear) was definitely spotting a mother otter and her pup very close to the bluff we were perched on. The mother was diving down to grab clams to smack against a rock and pass on to the pup. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Of course, I have a huge weakness for otters.
Listening to scads of new music. A couple bands (The Ponys and British Sea Power) are ones that I’ve never given a proper listen to. British Sea Power’s Open Season, The Pony’s Celebration Castle, Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods, Coldplay’s X&Y and finally diligently trying to like NIN’s With Teeth. And have you seen the latest issue of Spin? It’s a curse that my office has a subscription to it. It starts out innocently, flipping through to peruse pics … leading to accidentally reading some inane and unbearably pretentious article and/or review peppered with the word shambolic. I’m shutting up now. Vitriol is no good for the digestion. I love that word (vitriol, not digestion).
Happy Sunday evening.
The Ubiquitous Sunday Post
It’s not really Sunday, but that’s the beauty of backdating posts. And to think, H.G. Wells went through all of that trouble.
How about a weekend update which provides a double whammy (a prize to anyone who got that cheesy game show reference) of music AND film. Say it with me fil-l-l-l-m.
Saturday was the Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge, arguably the most beautiful music venue in the continental US. Thanks to all of my friends who took the opportunity to send cheesy queries like “Do you think you’ll see one?” The bill was an indie rock dream. Not quite the pussrock fest it’s been in recent years, but more indie rock than you can shake a stick at (now, that’s a lie because I tell you, I can shake a mean stick!). Some of the bands in attendance: the ever so hot darlings of the press Bloc Party, Bobby Bare Jr. (whom I detest), Visqueen, A.C. Newman (whom I might think is good if he wasn’t such a DICK), The Frames and more.
We specifically timed our arrival to see The Arcade Fire again. I was admittedly curious to see what kind of dynamic a huge amphitheatre in the middle of a blazing hot day would add. It was a bit strange. Thank goodness they wore black pants, ties and other dark clothing to help me focus. They were really very good, but at the same time it was clear that the sound setup they are used to is not of the amphitheatre type. The Beta Band suffered from a similar circumstance several years back while opening for Radiohead in a crowd that scarcely noticed they were playing.
After the Arcade Fire set, I was nearly delirious with heat (it was a balmy 97 degrees) and we moved our oversized beach towels to a shady spot while Wilco played. I’m not a big fan of Wilco and they played the longest set in the history of the world. Or it could be that phenomenon when you don’t like a band and that causes their songs to each drone on for eternity. Now to be fair, they didn’t drone, but all the same I just wanted a damn slushy-slurpee-icy drink.
As the sun started to give us the tiniest little break (and The Gorge started to run out of food and beer) Kanye West took (and I mean TOOK) the stage. Starting out with a new song from the upcoming release Late Registration he was bouncing with energy. He played most of the songs from The College Dropout (saving Jesus Walks for the encore). My favorite was definitely Slow Jamz. While talking about the kind of slow jamz he likes, he cued the DJ to spin a little Al Green (for the old school) and then talked about the new school and dropped a little Lady from D’Angelo’s first album (before he got himself a personal trainer and filmed the nekkid video for How Does It Feel). The sad part of the whole set? I think some of it was lost on the predominantly white crowd. There, I said it. There’s a part of me that will always be saved for old school R&B soul, hip-hop and good rap. Hell, there might be a teensy-weensy little spot reserved for booty techno. We’ll just keep that tucked away with the The Famous Coachman.
Criminy this is long.
We returned on Sunday to see two documentaries: North Korea: A Day in the Life and Seoul Train. The first movie was just that, a camera follows three people (from the same household) through their day in North Korea. There is no dialogue other than the natural dialogue of the subjects. I imagine this is the only way you manage to get into North Korea to film. The sad part is, although I’m certain this would be viewed by their government as a perfect example of communism at its best, to western eyes it cannot help but seem depressing. The film was followed by Seoul Train, a documentary on the plight of North Korean refugees who escape to China only to be re-patriated back to torture and execution. It was extremely difficult to watch and yet at the same time made me feel that there is hope in activism. I couldn’t help but feel pretty damn lucky that my mother (Happy Birthday Mom!) decided to adopt three Korean children. Please, go see it if you can. And when you do, the next tidbit might be amazing to you.
A question was asked after the film “If Pastor Chun was arrested, how do you have this film footage?” The answer? He was arrested in Mongolia during the coldest point of the year. He tossed the film in to a toilet before his arrest and it froze. While in custody of the Chinese, he was assigned a Chinese prosecutor. Pastor Chun managed to convert this man to Christianity and convince him to go to Mongolia and find the film. Afterwards, the young man moved to South Korea and married Chun’s daughter. So I can only believe that this Chun is quite an unbelievable person.
Whew. That’s heavy. So I’ll leave you on a lighter note.
Hey guess what? New music is released on Tuesday. So that means the new Oasis Don’t Believe the Truth is out. More Bjork remixes …. do we need more? Do you like Four Tet? I don’t know anything about them, except that they have a new release out today titled Everything Ecstatic. Also, Aqualung on Thursday afternoon for a special KEXP show at The Triple Door. How I love an afternoon show with comfortable seats. Pretty soon, the only thing I’ll be rocking out to will be Ensure and Burt Bacharach.
Oh, one more thing and then I promise I’ll leave you alone. Will you do me a big favor and go see Saving Face? If you don’t believe me, this fillllm actually got an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. WHO gets that? Besides that, the three women in this film are so beautiful, it’s difficult to look at them for prolonged periods of time.
Oh and if I were you, I’d try to see this too.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
If all else fails, at least you can always rely on the weekly Sunday night post.
For all of you non-Seattleites, I’ll indulge your ideas of the rain drenched Northwest. The rain has been coming down for several hours now. It’s of the maximum density, plop-plop variety and currently I can almost see the grass growing. Although there are many who curse the rain (why live here?), I for one, am eternally thankful for it. We had such a mild winter that every drop counts to make up where snowpack from the mountains is predicted to be in short supply. Besides that, selfishly it helps me think.
This weekend began with good intentions for creativity, cleaning and errands. We hit REI on the first day of the Anniversary Sale to pick up a pair of hiking boots for Mark and a nice red backpack for the dogs. On Saturday morning, we tested both out on the Old Sauk River trail outside of Darrington. The trail was very easy, but beautiful nonetheless as it followed alongside the Sauk River. We didn’t see another soul on the trail and the dogs had a fantastic time splashing around in the river and sniffing the good smells. The trail was speckled with slugs of different varieties, from glossy black to speckled. I did my best not to step on them for their and my own good. They are so large, a misplaced step would have resulted in considerable carnage. Blech. We returned home in the early afternoon where we all (dogs too!) promptly took a nap.
And Sunday morning, our friends M & T picked us up for breakfast at the Coastal Kitchen. Yum. Good coffee and good conversation are the cornerstones of any lovely Sunday morning! I returned home to ignore the final stages of my guest room project and opt to do laundry instead. Lazed on the couch for solid, uninterrupted reading time until Mark joined me to watch Criminal. By the way, if you’ve seen The Hard Eight and The Spanish Prisoner, then you don’t need to see this movie. Unless, that is, you are a die hard fan of Maggie Gyllenhaal.
There’s more to say, but those thoughts aren’t finished swirling around in my head. And besides that, I’m not feeling well.
I hope you had a lovely weekend.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
What a nice weekend it has been. Shortly before the weekend begins, I am inevitably faced with the usual staple of office chit-chat, “What are you doing this weekend?” (Outnumbered only by the ever popular Monday query “What did you do this weekend?”) And sometimes I have an elaborate plan. Other times, I just simply say “nothing”. But, I don’t really mean it.
When I say nothing, I mean I’ll wake up at whatever time my body feels like and lay in bed for awhile. I might read a book or watch the wind in the trees outside. I might lie in bed trying to guess what the weather will be like that day (is it sunny? or just a sunbreak?) and whether the dogs have already been outside. And I won’t rush to get showered and dressed. I’ll linger in my pajamas, drinking tea, playing with the dogs or lazing about. I might not even leave the house at all. I may stay inside and work on some design projects, play hide-and-seek with the dogs or have long conversations with Mark over things we’ve read, places we want to go, and things we are yet to do. Then again, I might just get dressed and go to the gym. And when we’re done, we might wander around the market marveling at all of the goodies, talking to the fromagerie owner or smelling fresh baked bread.
But if we don’t do that, I think we’ll pack up the dogs, pick up my sister and H and drive to the beach. We’ll walk along and stop only to pick up grease stained paper sacks of fries and give the dogs water from a little cup.
Or I might just play X-Box all day and finish Fable.
Then again, I might just do nothing at all.
Ubiquitous Sunday Post
One of many efforts I am dedicating myself to is more frequent updating to the site now that I’m all settled in and comfortable. Don’t you just love that new website smell? There are reasons that I haven’t been updating as often as I’d like. One of those reasons is a need for introspection. I won’t bore you here with all of the details (since I’d much prefer to bore you with other kinds of things), but suffice to say I needed to dedicate some serious time to figuring out what it is I really want to do. I have recently realized that I never put in nearly the kind of energy into moving my personal creative goals forward, as I do my career goals. I shudder to even use the words ‘career goals’ because it doesn’t feel like the proper term. I don’t consider what I do to be a career, but then I have always had a problem with committment. I have loads of ambition when it comes to organizing and moving things forward within my work life and somehow I haven’t figured out how to take care of myself in the same way. So, I decided to sit down and figure out how to change that. And so that’s that. Oh wait, I guess I did just bore you with the details. So sorry … or am I?
This fine Sunday, I am testing out my newly claimed spot in the guest bedroom after a day of tidying up the yard and organizing. I have a piercing headache and a head full of pollen, dust and grass but even so it was well worth it. We cleaned up the yard (i.e. picked up dog deposits, weeded, other exciting tasks, etc.) and mowed. I have to say it does look quite nice regardless of the weeds I still need to get to on the left side. We even managed to squeeze in some chat time with our neighbors, who are really nice people.
Afterward, I headed indoors to organize all of my art supplies into my newly acquired flat file. I do love a good Craigs List find. If you aren’t familiar with Craigs List, it’s sort of an online garage sale and if you live in a metropolitan area chances are there is one for your city. If you visit Craigslist.org you can view the cities available on the right side of the page. My latest find is a $15 flat file which houses all of my art supplies beautifully. I also managed to get through many boxes of junk I’ve ignored since we moved in (yes, that was one year ago). Despite a concerted effort to resist, I still manage to collect lots of stuff. Sentimentality and creativity are sometimes a disasterous combination (when paired with procrasination). The result? Lots of pictures, notebooks, paints, paper, cards, etc. sitting around waiting to be put away. Somehow I managed. Life is such a trial, isn’t it? Kidding.
I’m feeling very accomplished and miraculously still motivated. So, I’d better get back to it.
Next up, my spyware rant.
Ubiquitous Holiday Post
there has been some crappy news lately (in fact, a revision to the end of year survey i took in a previous post. someone did die). and just today a little more bad news. but i am choosing to pretend that didn’t happen to focus on the lazy, present-laden Christmas we just spent with my sister and Heff.
the festivities began Thursday with ice skating at the Highland Ice Arena where i remembered how much i loved to skate. a few years of figure skating and many years of pond skating has carried me into adulthood with the ability to spray you and then skate away … backwards. that’s right. i was glad i kept my figure skates (although had somewhere along the way lost my hockey skates) to avoid the numbered, rink issues gray skates.
on Friday, my sister and Heff came over with bags of treats. she made chex mix and a salad while i whipped up some hot artichoke dip and homemade gnocchi directly from Jacques Pepin’s book. while the gnocchi didn’t work out exactly as planned, it was still delicious with the salad. we basically spent the day eating, drinking and playing video games followed by present opening. Mark bought me a ring from Tiffany’s that i had admired a couple of years ago, an accordian and Halo 2. yep, i said an accordian. it’s a miniature version painted a bright, shiny red. i have plans for that little accordian. Mark made out as well with a Prada dress shirt, a Swiss army watch and the Lord Of The Rings DVD set. the dogs feasted on crunchy presents from their favorite pup boutique Bark. They snacked on huge crunchy salmon shaped cookies, liver lips and much more. somehow my sister managed to find a blue, squeaky, rattle-y, Hannukah bear named Chewy for them as well. other gifts included a Cuisinart mini prep (red to match my other kitchen gadgets!), an extra controller for the Xbox, DVDs and books. Lovely, crisp, new books!
and just when you might think this story is over, there are six huge moving size boxes of presents sitting untouched beside my tree. why such incredible restraint, you ask? well, i believe my mother’s exact words were, “Open those presents before I get there, and I’ll kick your ass!” they don’t arrive until next week and so we are having Mardi Gras Christmas all week! as i understand it, there are still presents arriving from Mark’s family as well. hurray for procrastination/snail mail! i personally like a nice drawn out bit of present exchanging.
and all i have to do is make it through the week. hope all of you had a nice Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Festivus or whatever you choose to use as an excuse to buy/receive presents. just kidding. well, sort of.
The Ubiquitous 2004 Top 10 List
as the end of the year draws to a close, i start to feel the need to sum up what i’ve digested and expelled. it’s more selfish than anything else and allows me to make the yearly promise to listen more, read more and write more in 2005.
out of the hundreds of movies released in 2004, i saw only a handful (and most of those on DVD). and while my love of horror flicks was filled by the Dawn Of The Dead and The Grudge, the movies that made the most impact were less than shocking. i loved Garden State, a subtle, understated, warm feeling of a debut movie for Zach Braff and Before Sunset, with its lovely and true dialogue. the sleeper winner for me was Dogville from Lars Von Trier. it had such a strange concept that the actors appeared stripped to their fundamental talent. i felt that it was clear that Chloe Sevigny is more uber-hipster than talented actress (avec bad taste in fashion). but what really made an impression were the moral/ethical questions it posed. i found myself thinking about the ideas presented for days afterward. Hero was beautiful, poetic and saturated with such color and a movie i will definitely see again. Ocean’s 12 was a bit fragmented and not as clever as the first but still enjoyable, that is, until the horrible cameo impersonation of herself Julia Roberts does. barf. i’m looking forward to the new movies of 2005: A Very Long Engagement starring Audrey Tatou and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and A History Of Violence directed by David Cronenberg and starring your favorite and mine, Viggo Mortensen.
and the year in music? there was so much released, lots that received acclaim from reviewers and radio stations alike. for me though, there were really only a few releases that really moved me. on the top of that list is guess who? The Arcade Fire with Funeral, an amazing pop achievement accompanied by an even more amazing show to prove that the hype is not just hype. Air delivered a fantastically beautiful and fluid full length with Talkie Walkie. and again, the show at the Paramount was such a lovely show, mellow and relaxing as shows usually aren’t. i was also fortunate enough to see their in-studio performance and interview at KEXP, charming in the way that only frenchman can be. Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose definitely makes the list (as i had committed to in May). you only wish you could rock it like that at age 69. Snow Patrol’s Final Straw and Rachel Yamagata’s Happenstance were both added to my list of albums i could listen to over and over. Nick Cave, although much adored, released a double album Abbatoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus that really was hit and miss for me. i prefer my Nick Cave sans so much overdone gospel choir and folky, baby animal music. others worth mentioning: Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken, Tom Waits - Real Gone, Interpol - Antics, Zero 7 - When It Falls and that nicely picked Garden State Soundtrack. and although it’s not a technically new, The Cure began the release of reissues of all of their studio albums, remastered and as double CDs with lots of extras. Three Imaginary Boys is out (and in my hot little hands). rumor is that they will be releasing the remainder of the catalog in threes with Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography to be released sometime in the spring (February/March according to Chain Of Flowers). i cannot wait. if you can believe it, i’ve only ever owned Disintegration on cassette tape because Mark has a CD that is now mysteriously scratched and skipping. we are anxiously awaiting the re-release to re-buy.
whew. and before i stop, i need to tell you about some of the books i read this year. this year was a sad, sad year in books for me. i went through a phase on not reading anything at all which for me, is very strange indeed. fall became crunch time to catch up. i just got turned on to Diana Wynne Jones and why she should not be compared to JK Rowling. i devoured The Chronicles of Chrestmanci: Vol I and II, Howl’s Moving Castle and The Dark Lord of Derholm. i also was moved by King Leopold’s Ghost about the Belgian occupation of the Congo. and one of my favorite’s was Poppy Z Brite’s foodie book Liquor which i will definitely be reading again soon. 2005 brings the much anticipated new book from Haruki Murakami Kafka On The Shore. i will fight the urge to buy the proof on ebay.
and that’s it i think. the New Year’s resolutions are brewing along with many other end of the year deadlines (mostly work-related). i hope you all had a fruitful 2004. here’s to a crisp white notebook ready to start 2005.
note: i can’t believe i forgot Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, a film that made me weep. or we meep (as i first typed).