Random Picture of the Day

You can't fire me; I quit!

Actually, I haven't read the aforementioned book (which hasn't stopped me from having opinions about it--foremost being that "Da Vinci" wasn't Leonardo's last name; it would be like calling my code the "Of Madison Code," since I'm Andy of Madison) (also, I read that Dan Brown has made like $50 million from this book--What?!? I know!).

I will recommend Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Very British, very nerdtacular, very readable. Plus, it's massive and tome-y, so people won't realize you're reading for fun! Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is also a trip--kind of the anti-Narnia, in fact. I remember reading that Pullman wrote the series as an athiest's answer to the beat-you-about-the-face-and-torso-with-my-Christian-allegory-and-metaphor nature of Lewis's Narnia Books.

I'll also throw in Mind of the Raven, by Bernd Heinrich, if you're feeling non-fiction-y, or Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

For comics, I'm still stuck on the new Conan books that Dark Horse is putting out, as well as the old '70's Conan books they've reprinted (should be easy to find at the library). And, of course, Hellboy is still my #1 asskicking, storytelling, myth-melding fave.

Finally, Gwyn and Frunch just passed on to me their copy of Resident Evil 4. No better way to spend early summer than by wasting countless pseudo-European zombie-fiends with guns. Seriously, it's just plain awesome.

I'm not going to recommend any theology books, although if you're looking for a cold-splash-of-water, slap-in-the-face, super-downer kind of look at humanity, look no further than Chris Hedges's War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. Whoof. Maybe save that one for later.

Have I said enough? All signs point to yes. Good luck with reading for pleasure, Ali, and have super-fun in BC, y'all!

ANdy

Your Summer Assignment- Help me find books!

I am finally wrapping up my semester of hell and was realizing that I'll have several school-free weeks (including one vacation to Victoria, B.C. to visit Paul's brother) as well as a (comparatively) stress-free summer school experience ahead of me. And I thought "Self, how would you like to remember what it feels like to read for pleasure?" and myself thought that sounded good. But I've been out of the loop, so I turn to you infinitedrivers to suggest some good reads for me. Here's what I've got on my list now:

Beloved (as the NYTimes said it was the best work of American fiction in the past 25 years)
The Neverending Story

What else folks? I'm all ears. Especially for those books that you think I'd be foolish to have gone so long without reading.

PS- All caught up on Harry Potter and Narnia so no need to mention that. Any recommendations that include the words "DaVinci" and "Code" will result in an automatic "You're Fired!"

Everyone Loves Cool Lamps

Check out this link for some cool custom made lamps! My favorite one is "Jailbirds," mostly because it harkens back to this great chest of drawers that Alison bought at an antique market in Chicago. It's made out of a crate and a series of old cheese boxes.

It got me thinking in general about the appeal of antiques - having some real connection with the past. The chest is a great piece, not because its provenance can be tracked to the original owner, or because it's a limited edition from a well known manufacturer. I can imagine the farm hand (or whoever) made it as see them thinking up what to do with all those cheese boxes. I can imagine them measuring the crate, cutting dowels, and staining the wood. They put a little bit of themself into the piece, and now Alison and I have that connection. Pretty cool.

PM out!

And who the hell is David Lindsay anyway?

Looking around on the internets today to find sheet music for a paper I'm writing (long story) I came across somebody talking about some music theorist named David Lindsay and asserting that he was a founding member of They Might Be Giants. WTF?!? Not that I'd ever heard... Anyway, the positive outcome of this is that looking up the Giants on Wikipedia led me to tmbw.net, a They Might Be Giants wiki! Cool, but it gets better--they have a huge section of TMBG song interpretations, written by different fans, filtered through their own experiences and ideas. Very cool. It's also serves as a sort of annotated TMBG, because all these heads being put together means that references to different ideas/pop-culture-references/philosophical-ponderings get squeezed out (this very morning I'd seen a movie mentioned in the New York Times--starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, titled The Long Long Trailer. I spent five minutes thinking, "why the hell does this sound so familiar?" before it hit me: Everything Right Is Wrong Again, Just Like In the Long Long Trailer. Look up the song on the wiki, and there's a big jpg of the poster from the movie inside of one guy's interpretation). Other than that, my final papers are going great, thanks for asking!

Colbert

For those of you who wish to see the full genius of Colbert, please look here. It's divided into three sections. I think my favorite part, aside of when he makes fun of everyone, which he does most of the time, is the press secretary bit, because he pretty much turns into Phil Ken Sebben.

Thanks for all the good words, Andy. Been a while since we heard from ya. I guess becoming a minister isn't the same cushy, drug and alcohol addled process that becoming an Oberlin graduate is. Which is a good thing I guess, if you're going to be ministering to people. Keep plugging away, learned one.

I had a nice birtday party, which would've been the bomb if you and Sarah were there. Long story short though, Tito's Handmade Vodka is awesome (especially when mixed with tonic water and lemon zest). Get some if you can.

PM OUT!

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Hindenburg:

Here's the recent editorial by Frank Rich from the New York Times:

Frank Tells It Like It Is

Kind of a nice bookend to the Colbert routine. I should note that I got both links from my 2nd favorite blog, NewsFromMe.com, Mark Evanier's blog. Evanier, in addition to numerous writing credits on TV shows like Garfield and Friends, and Dungeons and Dragons (remember that one, 80's Saturday Morning cartoon nerds? I sure do), co-scripted all the Groo the Wanderer comics with Sergio Aragones. Given that Groo is my favorite comic book of all time, you'll understand the kind of esteem in which I hold Mr. Evanier. You should check out his other website, POVonline.com, because he has great essays on, well, lots of strange and interesting stuff. Big Nerds, Unite!

"Oooohhhh, I get it, Paul, back on that old 'Time is Money' kick, right?"

"Not back on it, Joe, still on it."

Yes, I was a snowball in Hell. And I sure do miss Madison right now. Way to get done on those Quals, Ali! And James, I'm glad you're still on that squeaky bagel kick. I love all you guys, and miss you super-tons.

Andy, an American Aquarium Drinker

Hey! Hey Paul! Hey! Shut up!!!

Hey 27-year-old Paul! Welcome to the 3x3x3 club! Sorry I missed honoring the official date...all this seminary stuff has got me Jeebus-ed up to the point where I can't keep track of time. At any rate, I just watched Stephen Colbert's bit from the recent White House Correspondent's Association dinner.

Oh, sweet mother of God.

I can't tell if he bombed or killed. Really, I think it was both. He popped the beltline-bubble, spoke the truth in a way that hasn't been spoke in DC in ...forever? At least since Ben Franklin was alive, and I'm pretty sure he died before DC was created. See, that's what I learned from Colbert: to trust my gut, and revel in the truthiness. Do you guys think Ben Franklin walked the streets of Washington, District of Columbia? "Well, we tend to-" It doesn't matter what you think, Jabroni! Watch and learn at the heels of the master. Ladies and Germs, Stephen Coooollllbert!

Stephen Colbert tells it like I wish to God it were.

Insanely Ridiculous

Whoa.