Friday, August 31, 2007

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (the book. not the movie)

I don't like fantasy, but I think I've talked about that already. I don't like dragons and fairies and elven folk.

I know that a lot of people do, but it's just not my thing.

I have this large contingent of friends who love Neil Gaiman. They think he is a brilliant writer and that his stories are fantastic. I ended up with a copy of Stardust and, with the movie out right now, I decided to read it.

It was fabulous. I cried.

Gaiman's tale isn't so much about magic as it is the relationship between the characters. Magic is certainly involved, obviously, but it isn't what makes Stardust special.

Tristran Thorn lives in Wall and falls in love with Victoria Forester. When the two see a star fall, Tristran vows to retrieve the star for her. True to his word, Tristran leaves Wall to find the star. It turns out, though, that he isn't the only one after the star. There is much excitement, adventure, and danger in the story and, in the end, Tristran is forever changed.

Gaiman's prose is, for lack of a better word, lovely. I read the book quickly, feeling transported to another world.

It turns out that my friends were right about Gaiman and his writing. I intend to read something else by him.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Deryck Whibley is wrong, wrong, wrong

I don't know if Rolling Stone does this in their print magazine (since I don't read Rolling Stone), but Rolling Stone's website does this feature called "My List." I get the Rolling Stone features through RSS, and sometimes the "My List" features appeal to me, and sometimes they don't. Basically, an artist makes a list of songs they like. Maybe it's themed and maybe it's their favorite songs ever.

Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 fame did a "My List" recently.

Whibley had three obvious picks: Elvis Costello's Radio, Radio, The Clash's Clash City Rockers, and Iggy Pop's The Passenger. After all, how do you become a pop punk band with a disdain for corporate radio without those three?

I was shocked to see that he digs Oasis' Live Forever. I love Oasis, and that isn't my favorite of their tracks, but it does okay. It seems way too earnest for a pop punk frontman, though, and I am suspicious.

But Deryck Whibley is wrong, wrong, wrong when he prefers Boys Don't Cry by The Cure to their later stuff. Whibley says "It's way cooler than their bigger later songs."

Seriously, dude?

How can you say that Boys Don't Cry is better than Pictures of You? or Just Like Heaven? or Friday I'm in Love? or, heaven forbid, Mint Car.

I get his general principle here, which is that band's are "better" before they get big and "sell out" and, sometimes, I share it.

And I do love that song.

But I cannot go down this road with you, Deryck Whibley. You are wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Dear MTVu: I love you

MTVu, the MTV channel to be broadcast only on college campuses, has chosen John Ashbery as their "poet laureate."

His work will be featured on the MTVu website and on short commercial spots on the channel.

This makes me unspeakably happy, as Ashbery is my favorite poet. It is fantastic that:
A. MTV is making poetry seem hip.
B. They are using a poetic giant like Ashbery to do so.

It's a funny juxtaposition, though, because Ashbery doesn't absorb modern popular culture and still writes his poetry on a typewriter.

Anyway, you can read some of Ashbery's work on the MTVu website.

Kissing Suzy Kolber

Remember that time that Joe Namath showed up on ESPN tanked up and told Suzy Kolber that he wanted to kiss her?

I don't, actually, but Wikipedia has everything these days.

And another thing, you'd think that Wikipedia could send me a tee shirt or something for the amount that I pimp them.

Anyway, there's this sports blog called "Kissing Suzy Kolber."

A sports blog, Mrs. Dude?

A sports blog, people.

The Dude got me clued into KSK by sending me links to their "stories." KSK is like Jezebel except that they're dudes. So they talk about sports instead of celebrities and getting drunk.

It's very funny, but much of their content is rude and crude, though, so don't say I didn't warn you. Chances are that you'll be offended as much as you end up laughing.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Best movie of Summer 2007?

Why stop with Song of Summer 2007?

It's madness over here at "A few of Mrs. Dude's favorite things..."

Vote for your favorite movie of the summer over in the handy dandy poll on the left side of the screen. If you choose "other" please specify in the comments of this thread.

You have until September 3rd to vote.

"Summer Song of 2007"

The polls are closed.

There was a tie in the 1st annual award for the "Mrs. Dude award for excellent achievement in the field of outstanding-ness" in the category of "Summer Song of 2007."

The bronze metal goes to: Summer Love by Justin Timberlake
The two gold metals go to: Dashboard by Modest Mouse and Umbrella by Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z)

Congratulations to the winners.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Sarah Dessen rocks my socks off

Sarah Dessen writes YA novels that make me wish I could write fiction. Her writing is smart and full of real emotion and she is one of a handful of YA authors whose books I have forced on The Dude.

She has a blog. It is full of fantastic tidbits into her life. She makes herself open and available to her readers in a way that I find inspiring. And she's really fascinating.

There's an article from CNN.com make its way around the blogosphere. It's about how people don't read much for leisure. In fact, the article says that 1 in 4 Americans didn't read a book last year.

Dessen is pregnant and in this post, she talks about hoping that her baby grows up to be a reader.

I admire Dessen for a lot of reasons and this is one of them.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Kanye West makes me giggle sometimes

Kanye West has this ridiculous ability to appeal to a mainstream audience. I saw him open for U2, and there's nothing more entertaining than a bunch of upper middle class white folks screaming "We want prenup!"

The best part is that he can do this while not losing any of his hip hop street cred. Have you heard the Diamonds from Sierra Leone remix with Jay-Z? That stuff makes me tear up almost every time, it's so good.

To promote the first single from his new album, Can't tell me nothin', West put out a video that features comedian Zach Galifianakis lip synching the words to West's song. It's brilliant and I'm sure it introduced a generation of hipper-than-thou folks to West's music.

Anyway, CNN.com has an articlethat quotes West as saying that he has never cared about being No. 1. The CNN piece quotes heavily from an interview West did with XXL Magazine (as an aside, can you imagine CNN.com staffers paging through XXL to write this story?) and, in the interview, West talks about how he doesn't rap about guns or drugs.

My favorite line?

"Further, 'there's nothing about wearing a pink Polo that would make anyone believe that I would hold a gun,' he says."

Brilliant.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Mrs. Dude award for excellent achievement in the field of outstanding-ness

Remember that Simpsons episode, Brother, can you spare two dimes?, where Homer wins the "Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence"?

No?

Go read about it here.

I'll wait...

You're back? Cool.

Anyway, this is nothing like that episode at all.

Earlier in the Summer, I waxed poetic on Summer Songs--those songs that you hear all summer and, therefore, come to associate with a certain summer.

Well, it's mid-August and I still don't have a clear winner for Song of Summer 2007. Therefore, gentle readers, I am putting up a poll. Vote for your favorite contender and we'll see how it goes.

**Edit: For those of you voting "other," put your vote in the comments of this message.**

Rainy days and Mondays

I listen to my iPod at work. I have always listened to music when I have work to do. Music helps me focus and helps me be more productive. I can't explain the "why" of it--it just does. When I was in college, I had the radio on (or CDs playing) for almost the entire four years.

Today is a rainy day in the StL. I don't have a window that faces outside, but I can see outside from my office. I work underground, so I can't see the rain falling, but I can hear it and I can see that it is gray.

For some reason, the weather is dictating the music I'm listening to. I've been listening to dreamy, slightly melancholy music. So far I've listened to all of Recovering the Satellites by Counting Crows and I'm midway through Under the Table and Dreaming by DMB.

Listening to DMB is strange for me because I don't really like them all that much. It's nothing personal, I just don't like jam bands. Well, okay, I do like the Black Crows, but I don't like it when they jam in concert. I don't like Phish. I don't like The Dead. I don't like jam bands.

I do keep Under the Table and Dreaming on my iPod, though, for days like this.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Christine Daniels

Christine Daniels writes a blog for the L.A. Times.

I didn't know about her blog until this morning when I stumbled upon it from another site.

I read Daniels' blog and enjoyed the diversity in subject matter, her writing style, and the care with which it was written.

What makes Daniels' blog even cooler is that Daniels used to be Mike Penner.

In this article written in April, Penner discusses his feelings on "coming out" as a transgendered sportswriter and how his friends and colleagues reacted to him.

In a profession where gender is sometimes a big deal, I can't imagine struggling with your identity and then choosing to live your truth.

If I was going to put it in such strong of terms, I might say that Christine Daniels is my hero. I'm sure she hears that every day, though, so I won't.

I will say, though, that it gives me courage to see a person living her truth and a profession willing to accept her.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Mandy Moore covers Umbrella

Mandy Moore covered the song Umbrella, originally performed by good girl gone bad Rhianna.

It's a good song to begin with--catchy hook, decent lyrics--and could easily be one of the best summer songs. Also? Having Jay-Z in your corner doesn't hurt. How you think he got the name HOVA?

Anyway, Trent from Pink is the New Blog linked Moore's cover from his site and, curious as ever, I followed it.

Man. That was fantastic.

Mandy Moore is fast becoming my girl crush. After being a bubble gum teen queen, Moore emerged reasonable unscathed to tell the tale. She acted in a few movies and put out an album called Wild Hope. Did I blog about Wild Hope? I don't think I did. Bad, Erin, no biscuit. I'll do that soon, I promise. Anyway, I liked it a lot. It was lacking in a few places, but overall it was a fantastic way for her to shed her teen queen skin and step into grown up-hood.

Fast forward to Moore's cover of Umbrella which, in my opinion, is fantastic.

She gives it a sweet, melancholy, heartfelt twist and, most importantly, she performs it non-ironically.

Go check it out on her website.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A strange education by The Cinematic

Remember when the Smashing Pumpkins used to have a crunchy guitar sound? It must have been around Gish and Siamese Dream but before Mellon Collie.

The Cinematics have captured that crunch sound on their album A Strange Education.

I ended up digging A Strange education a lot more than I expected to. The album had the crunchy guitar sound of the Pumpkins, the heaviness of Interpol, and the lyrical earnestness of Snow Patrol.

I know that The Cinematics have put out a few albums before this, so I'm not sure how their sound has evolved over time. Wikipedia, in this article, cites their influences as The Clash and the Talking Heads. Maybe every band cites The Clash as an influence, because I certainly didn't hear it on this album.

Anyway, I heartily endorse A strange education.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Books I now own

I bought 2 books yesterday:
1. Spook City by William Gibson
2. Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

My in-laws bought me:
3. Shopaholic & baby by Sophie Kinsella

I got a Paperback Swap book:
4. Undead and unwed by MaryJanice Davidson

My to-read list runneth over. Luckily I need to read 3 more books by the end of the month for my Summer Reading Club.

Paperback swap

I joined the Paperback swap community this week. I signed up and logged 33 books that I was willing to swap. You agree to send, at your own expense, books to other people who want them. For every book that you successfully swap, you get a credit. Credits can be used to "buy" books. You can search the database to find books you want to "buy," and order them from other members.

You have to commit to a time frame when you will send a book, though, rather than having it sit on your coffee table for a month while you know that someone else wants your book. If you don't send it within that time frame, you don't get a credit.

It seems like a really awesome system. I have a ton of books that I don't want anymore--mostly popular fiction--and there aren't a lot of used book stores in my area. I can swap hardback or paperback books, and the cost for postage is under $3. So, everyone ends up spending about $3 per book, which they get back when they receive the books they ordered.

If you want to join, email me privately to get my Paperback Swap username. I'll get "credits" for referring you.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Miner Wines

For our 1-year anniversary, M. and I went to Napa. We knew that we wanted to do some of the big-name vineyards, but we also knew that we wanted to see some places off the beaten path. On our last day in Napa, we ended up at Miner Family Vineyards which, for those of you who know Napa, is on the Silverado Trail. We overheard the recommendation while at another vineyard.

The folks were friendly and the wine was tasty. For the cost of a tasting, we tried almost every wine in the arsenal. We had purchased a bottle of wine at two of the vineyard's we visited (Alexander Valley and ZD--both very good, btw), and wanted to buy a bottle at Miner Family. But, after tasting so many good wines, we couldn't decide on one. We ended up joining their wine club, and now we get two bottles every two months.

Last night we opened a bottle of the White Zinfandel to have with dinner. M. and I don't usually like white wine, but this one was both light and complex. Airy and full-bodied. It was more robust than a white usually is, but it was never overwhelming.

If you are ever in Napa, you should check them out. Their wines are reasonably priced, but a fantastic value. And the people are friendly and love what they do.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Stuff I used to like: Top Chef

During Seasons 1 and 2 of Top Chef, I was a rabid fan (Team Harold! Team Marcel!). Now? Eh, not so much.

It used to be a novel idea: make people cook stuff in various situations and then eliminate them based on whose food is the worst.

Top Chef introduced the world to Katie Lee Joel and then to Padma Lakshmi. I'm not sure why producers thought Padma would be a better fit for the show than Katie was. They're both different shades of uninteresting and uninspiring.

Chef Tom seemed irritated after the suggestions by the Season One audience that he should be more like Tim Gunn. I watch Project Runway and love Tim Gunn. Chef Tom is no Tim Gunn. And, as if he knows this about himself, he says in the Season Two opener that he isn't there to mentor these kids.

Also? When did Chef Tom start trying to be like Anthony Bourdain? One Bourdain is enough, thank you very much.

Also? Every season these contestants seem confused as to what's going on. I was trying to catch up on Season Three and there was a team challenge episode. I love team challenge episodes because they up the drama factor. Remember 'I'm not your bitch, bitch'? Yeah, that was a team challenge. Anyway, during this challenge all of the contestants seemed confused about the idea of a team challenge. Guys, did you not see any of Season Two? No? Any of Season One, then? This is how it always goes.

One upside to Top Chef this season, though, is more Ted Allen. Ted Allen is awesome. He's all snarky and sweet and he makes me want to have him over for dinner until I remember that I watch Top Chef because I can't cook. He could be all Tim Gunn with these kids, but he's not. Instead we get Anthony Bourdain's 'what's your major malfunction' line. Again. Dude, didn't you say that about Mikey last year when he made that monochromatic plate of sides? That, by the way, was genius. I love corn and potatoes so screw the modern convention that food can't be monochromatic.

Anyway, I used to love Top Chef. And now I don't. I mean, it's okay, but it's nowhere near the glory days of Tiffany snarking at Dave or Cliff holding Marcel down and trying to shave his head.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Just because

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I love LOL Cats.