Writers not writing
So I spent a couple minutes updating my digital "idea box" (thanks to janni totally being a pain and giving me yet more) and realised that it's beginning to look overwhelming. So I spent a few minutes rearranging it so it looks less scary (in order of priority, then in order of amount of time/type of project and then a misc category for WTF WHY DID I EVEN THINK OF THIS). Then I spent a couple more minutes debating stylistic choices: bullet points? fonts?
Then I realised I was procrastinating both working and writing.
So I came over to lj instead.
OH HAI LISA. I mean, LJ. Er, it is possible my friends catfish23 and thiess introduced us to the movie The Room recently. I don't even have words. Except that now R and I keep quoting it. Incessantly. OH HAI LISA. HOW'S YOUR SEX LIFE? OK I GOTTA BE GOING.
Yeah, I'm not sure it really can make sense, even in context. It was simultaneously one of the funniest and most horrific things I've ever seen. Apparently there are midnight showings? What?
In more interesting (to me) news, I've become obsessed with a couple new bands of late. One of which, we "met" when they were opening for Girlyman, Red Molly, takes their name from my favourite Richard Thompson song. (What do you mean I secretly totally identify with that song? I have no idea what you're talking about.) Then I found one of my favourite of their songs is a cover of a song originally written by Jake Armerding. Whose stuff I am now entirely in love with a lot omg no seriously. So you should go listen to both of those. May I suggest you listen to "Never Leave Harlan Alive", "Falling In", "Hole in my Sky" and "Honey on my Grave"? Then, once you've done that, LISTEN TO EVERYTHING ELSE THEY'VE EVER DONE. Really. Then report back. Plus I renewed my obsession with Shawn Mullins, who will never not be one of my favourite things ever. "Let me play you a medley of my hit. It's not the dance remix....because." So much love. Plus I went to see the IG christmas show and not only did they do the awesomest singer-songwriter circle ever as an opener (which included Shawn Mullins), but the gig was so amazing and the audience was so intense and into it that they sang along to every song. I have never felt such good energy anywhere. It was so good that the two obligatory Annoying Drunk People near me VOLUNTARILY LEFT. I seriously didn't even believe it.
I read a lot of awful Pride and Prejudice continuation books over my awful travels of late, but will write about the books later. The travel? Was nightmarish. On my way out to Michigan I got rerouted through Dallas, which a) wtf? and b) added literally about 14 more hours onto my trip, for a total of 16 or 17.
Little did I know that would be delightful compared to my return trip, which was OVER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LONG, with a nice long sleepover in a Cleveland Bus Depot. Greyhound, you suck so hard. I don't even. On the plus side, I discover that no matter how dire the situation and no matter how miserable I am, War For The Oaks by coffeeem continues to make me happy. I love that book so hard.
Now I am reading The Possessed by Elif Batuman and it might be my favourite thing of this year so far. Well that and the fact that R will play skip-bo with me. For. Hours.
The Possessed's subtitle is "Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them." Perhaps I am particularly enamoured of this since I grew up with a father who tried to name my sister "Margerita" because of Bulgakov's novel. (I countered with Brunhilda. She ended up with neither.) My father and step-mother met on a plane back from Russia. My grandfathers' were respectively Latvian and Russian and when I was about 10 I fell madly in love with a TA and borrowed his copy of Anna Karenina. (We had long, intense discussions about it. I stared soulfully. It was a thing. When I left the UK my friend Emma gave me my very own copy. I've never been quite sure if it was done as a joke, but I've loved it to pieces. Unfortunately literally.) I read about it on the internets and thought it sounded fascinating. Fortunately we publish it and my friend who works one floor above me brought me down a copy upon request. So it was relatively easy to fulfill the need I thought I might have for this book. What I didn't realise was omg how much I needed this book. No seriously. It is genius. It's hilarious and awkward and wow I kind of want to go to Samarkind now. But also kind of never want to. It's amazing. You should read it. I should go to Turkey. The end.
ALSO thumbelinablues , being the best friend ever, gave me the Teesside Fettlers' album I have wanted forever on vinyl for my birthday. So hopefully it will soon be in digital format. In the meantime, it turns out Johnny Collins covered "Cleveland Steel". So you can listen to that.
Then I realised I was procrastinating both working and writing.
So I came over to lj instead.
OH HAI LISA. I mean, LJ. Er, it is possible my friends catfish23 and thiess introduced us to the movie The Room recently. I don't even have words. Except that now R and I keep quoting it. Incessantly. OH HAI LISA. HOW'S YOUR SEX LIFE? OK I GOTTA BE GOING.
Yeah, I'm not sure it really can make sense, even in context. It was simultaneously one of the funniest and most horrific things I've ever seen. Apparently there are midnight showings? What?
In more interesting (to me) news, I've become obsessed with a couple new bands of late. One of which, we "met" when they were opening for Girlyman, Red Molly, takes their name from my favourite Richard Thompson song. (What do you mean I secretly totally identify with that song? I have no idea what you're talking about.) Then I found one of my favourite of their songs is a cover of a song originally written by Jake Armerding. Whose stuff I am now entirely in love with a lot omg no seriously. So you should go listen to both of those. May I suggest you listen to "Never Leave Harlan Alive", "Falling In", "Hole in my Sky" and "Honey on my Grave"? Then, once you've done that, LISTEN TO EVERYTHING ELSE THEY'VE EVER DONE. Really. Then report back. Plus I renewed my obsession with Shawn Mullins, who will never not be one of my favourite things ever. "Let me play you a medley of my hit. It's not the dance remix....because." So much love. Plus I went to see the IG christmas show and not only did they do the awesomest singer-songwriter circle ever as an opener (which included Shawn Mullins), but the gig was so amazing and the audience was so intense and into it that they sang along to every song. I have never felt such good energy anywhere. It was so good that the two obligatory Annoying Drunk People near me VOLUNTARILY LEFT. I seriously didn't even believe it.
I read a lot of awful Pride and Prejudice continuation books over my awful travels of late, but will write about the books later. The travel? Was nightmarish. On my way out to Michigan I got rerouted through Dallas, which a) wtf? and b) added literally about 14 more hours onto my trip, for a total of 16 or 17.
Little did I know that would be delightful compared to my return trip, which was OVER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LONG, with a nice long sleepover in a Cleveland Bus Depot. Greyhound, you suck so hard. I don't even. On the plus side, I discover that no matter how dire the situation and no matter how miserable I am, War For The Oaks by coffeeem continues to make me happy. I love that book so hard.
Now I am reading The Possessed by Elif Batuman and it might be my favourite thing of this year so far. Well that and the fact that R will play skip-bo with me. For. Hours.
The Possessed's subtitle is "Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them." Perhaps I am particularly enamoured of this since I grew up with a father who tried to name my sister "Margerita" because of Bulgakov's novel. (I countered with Brunhilda. She ended up with neither.) My father and step-mother met on a plane back from Russia. My grandfathers' were respectively Latvian and Russian and when I was about 10 I fell madly in love with a TA and borrowed his copy of Anna Karenina. (We had long, intense discussions about it. I stared soulfully. It was a thing. When I left the UK my friend Emma gave me my very own copy. I've never been quite sure if it was done as a joke, but I've loved it to pieces. Unfortunately literally.) I read about it on the internets and thought it sounded fascinating. Fortunately we publish it and my friend who works one floor above me brought me down a copy upon request. So it was relatively easy to fulfill the need I thought I might have for this book. What I didn't realise was omg how much I needed this book. No seriously. It is genius. It's hilarious and awkward and wow I kind of want to go to Samarkind now. But also kind of never want to. It's amazing. You should read it. I should go to Turkey. The end.
ALSO thumbelinablues , being the best friend ever, gave me the Teesside Fettlers' album I have wanted forever on vinyl for my birthday. So hopefully it will soon be in digital format. In the meantime, it turns out Johnny Collins covered "Cleveland Steel". So you can listen to that.