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Jan. 11th, 2008

03:30 pm - The Onion rules

Words cannot express how much I love The Onion's sports section. Especiallythis Tom Brady "strong side/weak side" graphic.

Here are some other excellent "articles":

Peyton Manning Shows His Backup Proper Way To Hold Clipboard

Meaninglessness Of Preseason Game Plunges Jeremy Shockey Into Existential Crisis

So-Called 'Genius' Bill Belichick Stumped By Non-Football-Related Question

Rams Too Embarrassed To Express Interest In Simeon Rice: 'What If He Doesn't Like Us?'

Brady Quinn Leads Browns into Post Pre-season

Woods Annoyed Daughter Was Looking Other Way When He Won PGA Championship

HEE.

Current Mood: amused

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Jan. 9th, 2008

Jan. 8th, 2008

Dec. 31st, 2007

12:53 pm - A Year of Books - 2007

Sloppy breakdown by the numbers:

Total read: ~121 (this includes rereads)

Fiction: ~65
Non-fiction: ~48 (I think I'm missing at least one: the Mormon expose by Krakauer. Hmm.)

Re-reads: ~19 (but I'm sure it was more than that; I didn't note it but I'm sure I read some more Lucy Maud Montgomery over the year.)

Did not finish: ~4 (but it was likely more, if you count stuff I rejected in the library that I didn't even bring home)

Male authors: ~48
Female authors: ~67


All titles are ( under the cut - NF indicates Non-Fiction: )

And, um, somewhere in there was Empire of Ivory - Naomi Novik. Whoops.

NF indicates Non-Fiction.

Favourites:
In Praise of Slow - Carl Honore (NF) (a yearly reread would be a good idea for me, I think)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie (I had no idea who-done-it)
Stepping into Paradise: why I live in New Zealand - Jeffery Moussaieff (NF) (makes me want to move there, too)
The World According to Mimi Smartypants - Mimi Smartypants (always hilarious)
The Meaning of Wife - Anne Kingston (finished December 2007) (NF) (interesting and infuriating)

The Angel Makers - Jessica Gregson (twisty, kept me guessing all the way through)
Jack Absolute - C.C. Humphries (historical roller coaster; a lot of fun)
When in Doubt, Eat Brocoli - Liz Pearson (NF) (I love the way Liz Pearson writes about food and nutrition)
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer (NF) (Honestly I read it about 3 times in 2 days. Could not put it down.)
The Blooding of Jack Absolute - C.C. Humphries (another romp, this time in Upper Canada)

Absolute Honour - C.C. Humphries (more adventures, the battle scenes are so well done!)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A Year of Food Life - Barbara Kingsolver (NF) (I loved this one.)
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (amazing world building)
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer (NF) (again, I reread this about three times in a week)
Apartment Therapy (NF) - Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (honest and constructive)

The Terror - Dan Simmons (a bit too long, but so so engrossing; I really felt I was there.)
Brat Farrar - Josephine Tey (topsy-turvy mystery)
Cue for Treason - Geoffrey Trease (I would have loved this even more had I read it as a child)
The Candy Darlings - Christine Walde (scared me silly, but so so real and haunting)
The Girls - Lori Lansen (fictional "autobiography of a conjoined twin"; really well done)


Least Favourites:
Self-made Man - Nora Vincent (NF)
I Do But I Don't - Kamy Wicoff (NF) - about not giving into the bridal industry. BUT SHE DOES!
Callgirl - um, I don't know!
Jeffrey Archer: Stranger than Fiction - Michael Crick (NF) - interesting topic but dull writing.
The Westing Game - Ellen Baskin - I would have loved this as a child, I think.

Around the World in 80 Dates - Jennifer Cox (NF) - Blah.
The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella - I was having a hard week. This didn't help.
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert (NF) - The answer to life's problems is to get laid.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan (did not finish) (NF) - I was bored. Sorry.
The Emperor's Assassin - T.F. Banks - YAWN.

The 100 Mile Diet (NF) - Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon - I was bored AND annoyed.
Ilium - Dan Simmons - such a good concept, but this (and Olympos) were just TOO LONG.


Best Fiction Reads of the Year
Jack Absolute - C.C. Humphries
The Blooding of Jack Absolute - C.C. Humphries
Absolute Honour - C.C. Humphries
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
The Candy Darlings - Christine Walde
The Girls - Lori Lansen


Best Non-Fiction Reads of the Year
In Praise of Slow - Carl Honore (NF)
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer (NF)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A Year of Food Life - Barbara Kingsolver (NF)
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer (NF)

What were your top reads of the year? What are you looking forward to reading in 2008?

Current Mood: okay

(Leave a comment)

Dec. 27th, 2007

10:20 am - Movies and TV Series Seen at Home - 2007

The full list - every title - is under the cut tag.

( Movies and TV Series Seen at Home (from Zip) - 2007 )


Favourites:
Lost in La Mancha
The Barbarian Invasions
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Wire: Season 3
Shakespeare Behind Bars
Whale Music
Last Night
Black Books: Series 1
Shooter
Proof
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series
A Good Year
Notes on a Scandal

Could Have Done Without:
Suddenly, Last Summer
The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville) (I know, I know, I just didn't get it. The music is great, though.)
Look Back in Anger (Works better as a real-life play than a tele-play. Sorry.)
The Heist
The Singing Detective
Ellie Parker

Cried the Most:
The Barbarian Invasions
Whale Music
Hotel Rwanda

Laughed the Most:
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Matador (If only for the immortal line: "Margaritas always taste better in Mexico. Margaritas and cock.")
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series
A Good Year

Enjoyed the Most (in whatever way I interpreted that this morning as I assembled the list)
Lost in La Mancha
Hoop Dreams
The Barbarian Invasions
Kicking and Screaming
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Wire: Season 3
Inside Man
Shakespeare Behind Bars
Whale Music
Black Books: Series 1
Murderball
Proof
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series
A Good Year
Notes on a Scandal

Movie I Thought Was the Best Overall Film
Notes on a Scandal

What was the best thing you saw on DVD/video this year? The worst?

We also watched seasons 1 and 2 of Deadwood, but not through Zip. (My Dad owns them.) And they would definitely be in my top television this year, and EVER. So so good.

Current Mood: curious

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09:51 am - Movies Seen in the Theatre - 2007

Now, my friends, is the time of year when we (or I, at least) compile our lists of movies seen. I will have two lists, one for Movies Seen in the Theatre, and one for Movies Seen via the Fabulous Zip.ca. (Canadian version of Netflix.)

I will post the full lists - every title - under cut tags, and my top picks outside the tags, so you can see all the titles if you want, but just the best/worst if you want the quick and dirty version.

( 13 Movies Seen in the Theatre - 2007 )

I didn't really dislike anything I saw, but of course I enjoyed some more than others....

Favourites:
Blades of Glory
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
Ocean's 13
3:10 to Yuma
Gone Baby Gone

Could Have Rented:
Knocked Up
Live Free or Die Hard
American Gangster

Cried the Most:
We Are Marshall (no contest; I bawled)

Laughed the Most:
Blades of Glory (I *hurt* myself laughing at this.)
Knocked Up (often in an OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT kind of way.)

Enjoyed the Most (in whatever way I interpreted that this morning as I assembled the list)
Blades of Glory
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
Ocean's 13
3:10 to Yuma
Gone Baby Gone

Movie I Thought Was the Best Overall Film
Gone Baby Gone

( Stuff I Haven't Seen Yet, But Plan To )

What did you see and love this year? (Or, what did you see and hate?)

Current Mood: contemplative

(Leave a comment)

Dec. 19th, 2007

Dec. 13th, 2007

05:37 pm - Meme

Meme from Musesfool:

1. Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band's name.
2. Click random article again; that is your album name.
3. Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.

Band name: Campbellton Middle School

Album name: Kodok

Tracks:
1 - Bournemouth and Poole College
2 - Ultrametric space
3 - Georgia Day
4 - Barzilai paradox
5 - Knightmare (disambiguation)
6 - Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski
7 - Vajjala Shiva Kumar
8 - Flood Control Act of 1944
9 - René Berthiaume
10 - Kaori Sawanoi
11 - Welburn (Kirkbymoorside Ward)
12 - Abu al-Walid
13 - Claver
14 - Universal Character Set
15 - Not Quite Human

Apparently I write a lot of biographical-inspired songs. And! And! Kirbymoorside! I've been there! It's in Yorkshire, where my Dad is from and where most of my British family lives!

Current Mood: creative

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Dec. 12th, 2007

10:59 am - Dreams, a fic rec, and I love Ian McShane.

1. Last night (this morning) I dreamed that Marginalia and I were hanging out with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, playing QI-type trivia and trying to convince Hugh that poutine was a good idea.

2. That is much better than the end-of-the-world dreams I had all weekend.

3. Fic rec: Your body is a map, but I am lost by LJ-user-equals-luzula. Post-COTW, first time, Fraser/RayK, NC-17.

4. MY LOVE FOR IAN MCSHANE CANNOT BE TEXTUALLY RENDERED DJFDKLASJFD LSAJF LKSDAFJ SKLDJF SLKFJ LSKDAJF SALKFJ SLKDA JFSKLD JDKSL JFDKLSJFDSFJDLSKA JFLKSDA LKJ JFDKL DS eleventy.

5. (Um, Deadwood is awesome.)

Current Mood: busy

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Dec. 10th, 2007

03:23 pm - Fic and movie recs.

Fic recs:

Slings and Arrows fic by lj-user-equals-voleuse!

more Slings and Arrows fic by lj-user-equals-spuffyduds!


And a movie rec: Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench was AMAZING. (So was Cate Blanchett.)

Current Mood: busy

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Dec. 6th, 2007

Dec. 4th, 2007

Dec. 3rd, 2007

01:00 pm - Weekend update

Hello, welcome to the first entry of substance from starfishchick at InsaneJournal.

My weekend, let me show you it:

Friday: Watched What Not To Wear, slept, I honestly don't remember.

Saturday: Slept in! Had very long and involved dream about finding awesome house we could afford with really nice upgrades (granite counters, all hardwood, etc.) and it was because some rock star had died there? (Um, there was a room with blood in it.) And then we didn't get it, we were outbid by some yuppie fans of said dead rock star. (Do yuppies still exist? I DON'T KNOW!)

Still Saturday: Did laundry. Watched college football. Went out for sushi. Came home, watched football. Napped. Woke up to watch *most* of the second half of the Hawaii game, but went to bed before it ended. (Too bad, it was super-exciting!)

Sunday: Slept in some more. (Staying up until 2:45 in the morning helps with that.) Went with my Mom to Sing-Along Messiah featuring the fabulous LJ-user-equals-ShoeFiend. Sang alto, realized I don't know the alto part so it doesn't matter that I can hit all the notes, and defected after the intermission to sing soprano. It was FUN. I also sang along with the tenors and the basses.

Was a bad friend and flaked out on LJ-user-equals-Tinkerer and LJ-user-equals-Gingerale_Kitty's dinner. I was just so so tired. Instead I went back to my parents' house and napped in front of Sunday Night Football. Then I went home and napped some more. Then I couldn't sleep until 2 am.

Hope your weekends were good, and included sushi!

P.S. Random weird "look what I found on the internet today" link: vulva pillow. CREEPY.

Current Mood: tired

(Leave a comment)

Dec. 1st, 2007

03:50 pm - Same name, new place...

I've decided to try going friends-only at LiveJournal.

This will be my new public face on the internet.

Hi.

Current Mood: cold

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Aug. 3rd, 2007

11:03 am

Another refuge, given the BS over at LJ lately.

I'm still me, same as here and here.

Hi.

Current Mood: uncomfortable

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