1. Last Thursday (July 17), I rolled down to Iguana’s in San Jose to participate in an open mic with the same group of artists I joined previously. The open mic was filled with a variety of wonderful, creative, inspired performers. The Hella Famous Lindsey Leong was a damn good host, full of energy and joyful humor in the face of the struggle, and ( Read more... )

1. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon


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1. Thanksgiving yesterday was great, family and food filled fun. Lots of laughing and eating. Turkey and stuffing and salad and twice baked potatoes and candied yams and green beans with bacon, not to mention pecan pies and apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake - all homemade, by the way. Plus lots and lots of champagne.


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Since today marks the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) - that delightful challenge to complete a ridiculous 50,000 words in a single month - I thought I would pull out an old video for today’s Friday Five.

Click to view

To summarize:

1. Don’t Delete Anything
2. Jump Around
3. Dares and Prompts
4. Plot Ninjas Are Your Friends
5. Be Competitive

1. I picked up my sister from the airport on Tuesday. She had just got back from visiting my grandmother in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s 90 years old and my sister and I started talking about how important it is to record her life in some way. I told her that I have photo copies of her homesteading journal (which I’ve been meaning to do something with ( Read more... )

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Whenever we’re traveling or on vacation, my family is known to whip out the board and card games, and it’s great. Because, you know, we get to talk and interact and drink beers in a way that doesn’t involve the television, and it’s good (if not always wholesome) fun.

Lately, we’ve starting bringing out the table top games for more than just ‘ ( Read more... )

1. The Philosophers - (view trailer)

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1. Kamikaze GirlsThis movie tells the story of an unlikely friendship. When Momoko, who loves lolita style and French Rococo, meets Ichigo, a Yanki in a girl biker gang, her life is turned upside down. This is the Japanese version of a teen movie, with lots of humor and style to spare and rife with Japanese pop-culture. I would say that this movie ( Read more... )