messages to boombasticat:
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from whitepigeon :
Here’s to sharing space with soft-bellied slinkers >^^<
from orangepeeler :
01 Aug 22 - a perfect piece of prose <unironic chef's kiss>
from annanotbob2 :
Thanks - I didn't know that song though I saw Elbow at Glastonbury once when I didn't know them but walked along the side of the arena they were playing in, on my way to something else. They were playing that 'Throw those curtains wide!' song, which I loved at once and still do. This one has something of the sound of stalings in it - I shall listen more
from orangepeeler :
Good luck with the book!
from annanotbob2 :
I've not read Moby Dick, but I hear you re Middlemarch. That was the only Eliot I'd read when I started teaching practice. I was asked to read her Silas Marner out loud to a mixed ability group of Y10 (aged 14-15), as it was a set text for the exam and they wouldn't read it themselves. My heart sank and the first few lessons of this were dire, but gradually they did get into it, came to the lesson waiting to find out what would happen next and ended up proud of having got to grips with a classic author. Some of those early texts are wild - have you read Tristram Shandy? I love seeing your name in pink on my list!
from whitepigeon :
I'm way glad that you're still writing here // love a little love story set inside big, big space
from annanotbob2 :
I like your entry about tough kids. When I was young I was one of those, all front and nothing else, but when I got into teaching I knew I was good when those 'tough' kids dropped their front with me and let me see the real, usually sweet and nice, kid inside.
from theshivers :
Thank you so much!
from weatethesea :
I can't remember if I ever responded to your note from last year, but thank you. I'm doing better now. I couldn't feel it then, but looking back I'm moved by that bit of kindness you showed. Hope you're doing well and come back to write some more.
from theshivers :
Oh, I'm glad you read it! It hasn't gotten nearly the popular acclaim that I think it deserves.
from annanotbob2 :
Just wanted to say hi and thanks for updating. Glad you two are finding some fun - I like to think of you larking about. x
from raven72d :
Loved the 30 Sept. 20 entry.
from theshivers :
Ah, you know I've never read that Lorrie Moore book? Probably a good time to pick it up!
from theshivers :
Oh, I did read Normal People --and loved it! I'm currently reading La Ming's Severance. It's about a modern plague. Published in 2018, it's so interesting to read it now. I'm only about half-way through but find it really compelling so far. Let me know if you have any other recs!
from theshivers :
If you haven't already, I highly recommend Conversations with Friends. I devoured it.
from whitepigeon :
hello, good one: it's 'bird' + I'm up to not-much here, but I'm so glad that you're still in the mix
from theshivers :
It's so nice to hear from you! And Normal People! I still need to watch the show and I'm excited to have something to look forward to. <3
from weatethesea :
Your entry about the daydreams you have before slipping into sleep was lovely. Thank you for coming back to write a little more.
from kelsi :
I’m sorry about your brother, and that you’re the older brother now.
from annanotbob2 :
I'm so sorry for your loss. My brother died last year so I have some idea. Hugs x
from orangepeeler :
Condolences on your loss.
from theshivers :
Fuck, I am so very, very sorry.
from kelsi :
I'm sorry about your dog.
from theshivers :
Well, damn. I am really sorry to hear about Shambles. The grief is real. Big hug to you.
from orangepeeler :
28-06-2018: A beautiful and tender post. So sorry for your loss.
from darthuae :
2018-01-25 - 2:51 p.m. love this entry and agree 100%. the only downside to not staring at my screen every *5 minutes* while i was growing up is all the times i fucked up because i was lonely and didn't realize the multitude of kids out there who felt the exact same way.
from annanotbob2 :
It was a novel about two odd, lonely teenagers bumping into each other and investigating an old crime - they thought the name they'd been given was significant and finally checked it out online. The plot was sketchy as it was mostly about the characters, but it did get me a meeting with an agent, just as I arrived at mental. When I emerged from that, technology had properly arrived and I felt I'd missed my moment, but maybe now it would count as historic. I've seen younger clothes called vintage...
from annanotbob2 :
The only novel I have redrafted has a plot that hinges on the two protagonists suddenly realising they can find out what they need to know from this new thing called the internet and then spending a few chapters trying and failing to gain access. No mobile phones...
from orangepeeler :
12-24-17 - Lovely entry. "The bruise that feels good when you press on it." <3
from orangepeeler :
P.S. Crace is the latest one. I read The Road and Station Eleven earlier this year. Superior books, IMHO.
from orangepeeler :
Jim Crace's The Pesthouse. It's good but ... it's underdeveloped here and there. It is also lacking mood, even though it's lyrical at times. About your 11-26-17 entry: me too.
from annanotbob2 :
Good work! That's the bit I can't make myself do. I have five first drafts of novels and no interest in any of them. Looking forward to reading yours
from orangepeeler :
Congrats on completing your draft!
from bridgecity :
Cheers to finishing that novel!
from raven72d :
I like the idea of an emoji dump somewhere in the hills.
from sky-rocket :
<3
from sky-rocket :
youre still here !
from weatethesea :
This made me GASP! That poor couple! I think I would've cried if that lady had tried to give me money. It seems like so much of being elderly involves being dependent on the kindness of strangers. Like, ACTIVE kindness! Someday that won't be so shocking, I guess. In the meantime it's probably a good practice to try to minimize indignities for other people. I hope you never get stuck in your car when you're old.
from darthuae :
it's always a pleasure to see that you've updated. my user/pass is: use/less
from life-my-way :
I'm going to try to update everyday this month. Email me at mkklose at gmail dot com and I'll send you the login stuff. Thanks for the info on Becky--strangely there may have been more than one of her. Nice elegy, in any event.
from musikoid :
Thanks for noting me back. I don't deal well with loss myself, which is partly what moved me.
from musikoid :
I was moved by what you wrote about Becky. I did not know this person or read her words, but what you wrote was very poignant, and thought-provoking. Thank you.
from life-my-way :
Sympathies on your loss--losing our "imaginary friends" is sometimes more painful than losing a "real life" friend, or I have found it so. Becky sounds so familiar--would you consider sharing her DL name with me? I'm sad anyway, but if she's who I'm thinking she is I'm even sadder. Thanks, but mostly hugs.
from annanotbob2 :
Yes. I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know Becky but I lost Reenie a couple of years ago, a blogger I hadn't met but had developed a close online relationship with, and it was impossible to convey to my non-blogging friends that this loss was real. Hugs x
from bridgecity :
I'm glad you read Stoner. I've been on a mission to get people into it since I first read it a year or so ago. and I'm surprised I'd only just heard about it then as well.
from whystinger :
I have been euthanizing some invasive reptiles where I live. With them, you catch them, bag them and drop in a freezer and freeze for 24 hours. While it would work for mammals like mice, it probably isn't ask kind as it is with reptiles. Still, a swift hit with a hatchet handle is probably painless.
from kelsi :
I had to resort to mouse poison, the little boxes of green pellets they think are food. I felt terrible, but didn't have to deal with any bodies, living or dead - they all just disappeared.
from bethb :
scent and song are the two biggest memory transporters for me
from dangerspouse :
"Fuckface' funnier than "asshat"? I think not.
from whitepigeon :
knock twice and say "beak"...
from darthuae :
your essay is the best thing i could've read first thing in the morning. thank you for writing. x
from jaysthoughts :
Just checking to see how many diarylanders still actually check their notes and stay active.
from darthuae :
oh darling, just email me: astromechdroid at gmail dot com xo
from theshivers :
Best explanantion of non-crying crying. Thank you.
from theshivers :
Eh, at this point it mostly feels like he's just a person who is a lifetime away from me. Mostly. Also, you are right about Lost in Translation and ScarJo. There are still elements to the film I like but my how the distance afforded by time can change a perspective.
from darthuae :
"where does all that dense life go" indeed. i have missed your words. x
from theshivers :
You too--what's the novel about?
from theshivers :
I've got two right now--one is a young adult novel that I'm working on with a friend. That one will hopefully be part of a series. The other is also a young adult novel that I'm going it alone on.
from theshivers :
That is awesome. I would love to read it someday...
from theshivers :
thank you--i appreciate that...seriously
from longitude :
I loved colored rubber bands on my braces. That read felt very good.
from mangotuesday :
just a hello. and a big smile.
from longitude :
"Reading a writer like that is like pinching your thigh until you bruise. But the bruise will be beautiful." - best kind of reading
from longitude :
re: 121209_55.html - I hope whomever you're addressing knows this.
from longitude :
Beta Band. Yeaa
from longitude :
Please let me know when I can read more of your work!
from mangotuesday :
I've read alot of sad books. That broke my heart. In the best way possible. I'm looking forward to reading this sad one in particular.
from longitude :
I feel like California sun fun and heartbreak. :(
from longitude :
I've heard of them through reading about album covers, but I'm not familiar with their music. Suggestion?
from cymbals :
i have never read the blind assassin, but the edible woman was one of the first books i really appreciated as literature, and the handmaid's tale is also excellent. i've never read any murakami, but will keep an eye open the next time i am in an english bookstore. let me know what you end up thinking of the blind assassin. i've got it on my bookshelf but haven't picked it up yet.
from cymbals :
i am starved for people to talk about margaret atwood with, so please, tell me which novel you're referring to?
from melle-belle :
where did you find roy spivey? (miranda july)
from longitude :
please do send! arm is good. going in for touch up late september. :)
from avantbedroc :
could have passed this oldie on to you long ago. reminds me of Cream. still always love it when it turns up on shuffle. dig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfcHq0hhFWg&feature=g-vrec
from longitude :
thank you! I swam as much as I could before the tattoo. Now I'll give it time to heal but I'll be in the water soon enough!
from longitude :
well done sir! sevilla is great.
from melle-belle :
I've been looking at your photos. You have a great eye. And you're making me miss Baltimore before I even leave.
from mangotuesday :
i love iced tea.
from longitude :
lovely poem.. i wish i had a giant bouquet of peonies right now
from strayrecluse :
and maybe i might do milan/verona/venice and then germany, but i'm not sure. i'm just going to get on a train and see where it takes me. (and i love this time of year for that reason too, i'm thankful that i was born in may.)
from strayrecluse :
to portugal with my family for my cousin's wedding. then staying with a friend in madrid and hopefully i can make it to barcelona while i'm there. then hostels in france and germany, then staying with cymbals in austria.
from darthuae :
hey love, can i have your email so i can send you a pass? :) i promise to delete it afterwards.
from longitude :
A mash up of drawings. When I have the sketch I'll post it :)
from strayrecluse :
where did you end up going? i'm leaving for europe in july.
from strayrecluse :
who cares what the publishers say. they don't know anything about heart. all of the best writers were only made famous after they were gone. (oh, and soon you'll be wandering the streets of my ancestors. it's the only place that feels like home to me.)
from avantbedroc :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhfKK547r94
from longitude :
Spain! I hope it inspires many stories. Safe journeys!
from bridgecity :
Friend runs this site haggardandhalloo.com nothing big-time but they accept most anything decent. if it's not poetry it will be published faster.
from cymbals :
entt�uschung? misserfolg? maybe i just like that second one because in my head it's "miss" + "erfolg," which means success. i hope that your wishes come true. happy birthday.
from peggypenny :
Happy Birthday. Why were your hopes dashed? I am a songwriter. Are you a writer hoping for an editor? what exactly is your wish? Today, is your birthday and maybe I can make your wish come true. I don't live in New York, but I have made wishes come true before. My name is Peggy. I've been on diaryland for years now. What is your name? www.PeggyPenny.com Sincerely, Pegsters
from mangotuesday :
that posted at 1111. magic time stamps.
from outer-jessie :
I took a gander but I didn't really recognize anything from the album. Please don't loathe me for my unhiptitude.
from longitude :
Your books I need. And any other books you think are worth reading. I've got a lot of catching up to do
from strayrecluse :
i love them. :) that one is his new book habibi, which is even more beautiful than blankets. and one of this other books good-bye chunky rice is also one of my favourites. and then there are the classics like watchmen or sandman. i also really liked a buffy sequel called fray.
from strayrecluse :
oh, it's not a book, i just stained some watercolour paper with coffee and sharpied it. the other thing in the photo IS a very good book though, one by craig thompson.
from strayrecluse :
i read your diary, and i nod my head yes.
from annanotbob2 :
Hiya - have just finished reading 'Glen Rock Book of the Dead'. Fantastic. Why did it make you think of me? Have no internet at the moment, so haven't been reading. Hope you are well though and wish you a merry Christmas x
from empezar :
you were correct! thank you for the likewise kind words--a ricochet of mutual admiration it would seem. i was blogging for a stretch here: http://teapeeandsaucers.blogspot.com/ but basically stopped once i started my internships in elementary school classrooms (grad school for a masters of elementary education) as there are all kinds of complex confidentiality issues and ethically, i also felt a bit weird mentioning funny/awesome/etc. things students had said even in an anonymous capacity (sort of exploitative). and the things is, teaching has basically taken up my life for the past year and a half, so outside of that which was off-limits i found i had little to talk about. i have just graduated, however, and tomorrow is my last day of student teaching 4th grade, so things will be shifting a bit (especially since i'm going to india for 2 months in january/feb). like an clandestine and wanderlusty hermit crab, i may seek out yet another empty blog shell (anonymous this time) in which to plunk the heft of my verbal body. if so, i will update you with the location of the new proverbial shell.
from mangotuesday :
i want that book.
from darthuae :
i'd read.
from catsoul :
That was a beautiful visually entry. I liked your descriptions. I could see it in your words and heart. Good writing. =^..^=
from mangotuesday :
love this entry. yer commitment to honesty=somuchintegrity. very pisces. very you.
from avantbedroc :
midnight in paris; Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.
from in-alaska :
mmmmm i actually listened to fluorescent adolescent today... but that all came from my bitter soul. as far as i know.
from darthuae :
thank you �crivain monsieur. maybe you should (and i mean this in the utmost sincerity) find hungover more often to say fuck it, let there be beauty, and have imaginary readers such as myself take fine fine minutes out of our dull days to consider your paragraphs secretly.
from darthuae :
so what did you think of the keith richards memoir?
from cymbals :
and my bar didn't just close, i have to work for the new owners. every day is like a secret wake. but it is nothing if not liberating, as long as i get out before the next place turns up. the problem is that i can never turn down a party.
from southeast :
you are the most incarnated! that is v. special. !!!!!!!!
from southeast :
when's yer birthday???? astrologically speaking. xxx
from annanotbob2 :
Hi - I couldn't get that Winik book you mentioned but am now half way through 'First Comes Love'. She's a shocker, isn't she? Thanks for the recommendation. I'm now open again at this user name. Hope you are well x
from annanotbob :
Hiya - I locked up in a fit of long over-due shame at putting so much of my kids' lives out there, brought on by a local reader. So: Mind Thegap if you want to carry on. x
from avantbedroc :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdOevbchxOc
from cymbals :
congratulations! i am sitting down to write a first page today and you'll be part of my inspiration (plus i find envy very motivating).
from darthuae :
i know your last entry was a winter story but you must know that i always get an autumn feeling every time i read your diary. i love the way you tell things like we're always living in my favourite time of the year.
from outer-jessie :
Well, I must say I'm for it.
from longitude :
Aquatics will commence as soon as the weather stops being weird.
from avantbedroc :
i never replied to your wolfmother note. just didn't want to come down hard on the hatin. i don't know, stupid really but they just don't turn me on simply cos they are too accessible here. why do we do that to ourselves? oh yea, & the singer is dick, especially here >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVzh3ZtXjh4
from avantbedroc :
bugger, i meant this one >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q3H2UQYLzM
from avantbedroc :
recently went to see a performance of classic albums revisited-bat out of hell. youtube vids aren't doing audio justice, you need to be submersed. but hey, thought of you :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrr2E0dszJI
from weatethesea :
Yeah, I know what you mean! But I think they get a bad rap (wrap?). A vulture is a vulture, despite all the symbolism.
from avantbedroc :
Whoa bro!! Have had my head stuck in trance for a while. Never heard of her before, am looking up older stuff - totally hooked :-D
from darthuae :
hey, "who-the-fuck-knows-what-but-you'd-better-find-out" is in my morning coffee.
from longitude :
Cucumbers are fun to grow. Especially when they mutate and you get Siamese cukes.
from darthuae :
thank you, darling.
from avantbedroc :
all your writing & editing.. i hope you have not been neglecting your ears!! whatcha been listening to??? i've been looping this >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNdPyCj5XQo
from darthuae :
i don't know and i definitely can't be sure but it seems to me to be the same feeling a 21 year old metaphorically-naked, sad, cold, frantically logorrheic girl gets when a pretty mysterious but beautifully strange 23 year old boy touches her arm.
from outer-jessie :
Hey you! Yes, dissertations can be very esoteric, and I'm not sure mine's any different. I'm writing about a class I taught at a tribal college, and the way the students' took the science content and integrated it into their spoken narratives. It helps that most of what I did with them in that class was let them talk out their ideas :)
from strayrecluse :
"So I did what I could, which was to keep quiet. People were forever calling me shy but really I wanted to break out of that, to talk, to shine. Instead, I read books, magazines, shampoo bottles, comic strips, the Cumberland Times-News, Dad�s Sunday column, cereal boxes from which I did not eat. I watched, and listened. I was a set of eyes, a set of ears, a trembling heart racing so fast it was all I could do to command myself not to fly off into the sky." oh hey, me too. x
from darthuae :
thank you for the impossible everything that everybody wants. somehow, i always feel like sending you letters. x
from darthuae :
it still doesn't surprise me how a note on here can make my day. thank you, you're beautiful x
from sunstargirl :
that entry was beautiful. it really touched my heart. I wish I could talk to my mother.
from avantbedroc :
lolz cats spelling. fuck!
from avantbedroc :
hello. i have not have a little pot of laughs to steal from at the moment. just been watchin ted talks mostly. music wise however, jason mraz has been my boyfriend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWszEcjFSqo
from in-alaska :
oh! well thank you, dear. you know, you are a literary darling... at least in these eyes. THESE EYES.... HAVE SEEN A LOTTA LOVES BUT THEY'RE NEVER GUNNA SEE ANOTHER LOVE LIKE I HAD WITH YOUUUUUU... felt necessary.
from in-alaska :
ahahaha, i can't tell if that had sarcastic undertones.
from darthuae :
no harm in writing the words, yeah? novel or no novel. i think i just found my inspiration. to write something as far away as possible from a novel-figure. i'm hard to please.
from avantbedroc :
wow, i only ever knew shat as denny crane and boy i did love that show. humour is so fucking sexy
from avantbedroc :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z9b0GFRz9g&feature=related and always http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXvAaNcXNzI&ob=av2e
from mangotuesday :
shared sentiment. i loved what you just got at.
from avantbedroc :
this week it seemed that every article i stumbled across contained a rant hatin' on hipsters. hipsters?? this is new to me aaand funny. am i really <that> far behind?
from longitude :
RE: never let me go - I might have to brave the movie theatre for that one.
from sunstargirl :
I once saw an interview of the actor who played Steve Erkel. He said something which has stayed with me: nerds or "geeks" have a strange kind of power because they are unapologetic about the things that they love. Whether it be WOW or Star Trek or comics, they love what they love unconditionally. I never thought of it as a kind of bravery until that interview, but it made me suddenly proud that I was never one of the "popular" kids. I would have had to sacrifice too much of myself to fit in, and who knows if even that would have been enough for them. Anyway, my point is, maybe that initial anger at the card players was a kind of jealousy because some part of you recognized their integrity.
from avantbedroc :
skip to 7:20-8:25 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWe2byHJBM0
from longitude :
Indeed.. I shoot digital everyday. Film - maybe once in a while. Although for my upcoming trip, I will be dedicated to shooting film everyday as well. If only there was a practical way to travel whilst lugging around a Hassy..
from avantbedroc :
Well I never!! Mr E.R Freeman!!!
from theshivers :
hey there--so, the book. It's a young adult novel--a ghost story. Nothing high-brow or literary : ) But fun and something we hope to do as a series (if it's bought)...we're hoping it's smarter than Twilight ...happily this semester I don't have a ton of grading as I'm just teaching journalism --no English. It's honestly been a nice break from essays. How are you? How is the writing?
from longitude :
Red elbows.. I know this very well.
from sunstargirl :
that's very zen of you. Buddhists have been meditating themselves into wanting nothing for centuries.
from longitude :
re: song - Low's "California"
from weatethesea :
you're right! the world is so weird and wonderful! for instance, yesterday i drove across Texas to visit my parents, and on the way i saw these enormous, beautiful cows walking in perfect single file across a field. i don't know enough about cows to know if that's normal or not, but they seemed very patient about it.
from avantbedroc :
thanku for my recharge. have had on repeat the last few days
from avantbedroc :
hey soccer fan; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lCotjd3pR8
from corposant :
I wrote a poem about oak trees, so that's your fault. Thank you.
from avantbedroc :
i think of yr diary daily on my drive to work when i spy the sign for "boombasa street". p.s song plz!!
from mangotuesday :
yes. ps. you are special. and you stand apart from the rest.
from axde :
well its definitely an honor to have you reading. sometimes i save certain things you say. i have this little quote book where i write my favorites, and you're in there. ha!
from avantbedroc :
& #66, nailpolish to work ♥♥♥
from avantbedroc :
so so beautiful. my fav- the women workers on lunch. something about drinking from a jar.. makes me want to throw out so much shit and get back to basics. thanku :)
from sky-rocket :
fucking hysterical.
from avantbedroc :
it is a rainy winter night & what a way to bring a smile to my face :-D i am a huge B enthusiast. that clip always leaves me thinking, thinking about the strength in manhole mans neck!
from axde :
7/28/10 is absolutely beautiful.
from annanotbob :
I started reading it just before I got ill. I can see what impressed you about it and how it's influenced your writing. Planning on continuing when I am clear-headed again. Thanks for the recommend
from corposant :
For me (when reading poetry) it's not so much the poet as the piece. Sometimes it's not even poetry, sometimes it's a short bit of prose that I fall in love with.
from sunstargirl :
I hate biking attire as well, but to answer your question about it, I think they make the bright, loud colors so that bicyclist are easier for larger vehicles to see on the road. There have been several times where the only reason I haven't mowed a bicyclist over with my car in the city is because I noticed a flash of yellow at the last second and paused long enough to see a biker dressed like a bumble bee cutting out in front of me.
from corposant :
Thank you for being the first to list me. It relieves the anxiety a bit.
from straysparrow :
Sadly, I'm not sure if its ever going to be unlocked. I applied to be a blogger for an international science publication and thought it would be prudent to clean up my online image (I didn't get the job). Locking the whole thing up was easier than going through 330+ entries and deciding if they should be kept public or not. If its any consolation I haven't written in there since I locked it, since that seems to defeat the purpose. I have one at livejournal under the same name that I've been using, but somehow it doesn't led itself to the same kind of writing. I dunno. I haven't decided what to do yet. I miss writing here, even if it was only once in a blue moon.
from straysparrow :
Up in this country its tough to be a fan of a US team, but I was proud of them. They did well. They showed the world that they should not be taken lightly in this sport, like so many others, and they did it with skill and far more grace than many of the teams that are still in. P.S. I really liked this post, as well as the one before.
from avantbedroc :
beautiful, innocent, simple http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AjovHGK-TA
from old-story :
It's part of her persona--I was asked to be a slightly racist old lady who hates everything. I think the missions was kind of accomplished--although every time I write something like "negro" it makes me feel bad.
from avantbedroc :
whoops! ! i meant to paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucOjx01zwrE
from avantbedroc :
hey in-alaska, that carpenters song was pretty out there- going to take me a few more listens. hey boom - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BrSVOOK610
from in-alaska :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BrSVOOK610 please enjoy.
from pettyquarrel :
Damn. This last entry of yours -- "Back from a cookout ..." -- is great. I mean, it's so different in tone from some of your other entries. Most of your other entries. It's just great. It's got great style. I could go on about it, but I'll stop there. It's probably one of my favorite (entries) -- of those I've read. Less mind ... more feeling ... somehow.
from avantbedroc :
those lyrics, what a lesson!
from avantbedroc :
music is close to my heart too. shall now check out Brucy
from whystinger :
Looking at art can be sooooo incredible and you can find some great museums in the most unlikely cities...
from pettyquarrel :
write a book. live forever. - riverun
from annanotbob :
Just found your note - no email, tsk. Those Alabama 3 guys are a bunch of south London ex-junkies who know how to have a good time! I love the Sopranos for all sorts of reasons, mainly the complex characterisation - like the way Carmela is not let off the hook for her choices, and how the viewer's response to Tony keeps shifting. They lure you into liking him or even feeling sorry for him for a few episodes then he does something vile and you remember who he is. No simple division of good/evil. The Wire is still top for me though, for its novelistic form, complexity, its anger at the modern world, its analysis of systems, characters, lighting, oh man, for everything. And for Omar. Ya feel me?
from avantbedroc :
symbolism in dreaming blows my mind. teeth falling out=loss of control in ones life. i never thought my sleeping mind was clever enough.
from avantbedroc :
oh sir, you are too kind. i added you because i was so enchanted by *your* photos (and words!!) :-)
from nazia90 :
your access is "cholera". ^_^
from axde :
i cant find that song anywhere to listen to it! i would like to hear it. i read the lyrics, and i love them. by the way, this is funny, i went through your posts and read them aloud to some of my friends. they were all very impressed, as am i, always.
from old-story :
b+l*a-f*k+a - - take out the extra stuff. paranoid much?
from sunstargirl :
sports are a socially acceptable emotional outlet for men.
from in-alaska :
i think tonight i will do just that. you keep me in check, brotha. thank you.
from thecity :
what a fascinating (and deeply appreciated) compliment.
from axde :
what a beautiful thing to say. thank you very much. i hope you know that i regard your opinion higher, even, than some of those closest to me. i deeply appreciate your mind.
from axde :
actually, we just got lost. they really are there, because there's stuff about it on the website. i hope to go back, at least, for the keys.
from thecity :
I always appreciate your comments. Thank you!
from xxholding-on :
hi i saw you were online and i really wanted the vote from diaryland towards a contest i joined. It's a coach marketing contest and i need as many votes as i can get, please help! http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/PhotoView.aspx?picid=975395_34070543&pid=2767347&scid=452
from axde :
i have not read either of those. i've never paid attention to annie dillard. i used to lean more toward male authors until i read some marilynne robinson and she stole my heart. i need to open my collection up more to female writers. my favorite book at the moment is the hinterlands by robert morgan. i finally got around to reading a river runs through it recently, and i loved that, too. right now i'm on a fitzgerald kick, though i have a friend begging me to read some neil gaiman. i've never liked his stuff very much. i will check out both books you mentioned.
from axde :
i own it but i have yet to read it. my brother really liked it. he's a huge steinbeck fan. what's one of your favorite books ever? in general, not just steinbeck.
from axde :
the other day i opened up east of eden by steinbeck in attempts to get some good ol' afternoon reading in, and i read the first paragraph and felt overwhelmed with the beauty and reality of his imagery. that is how i feel when i read your words. like i have to "put the book down" in a sense, and take it in sentence by sentence, carefully navigating my way through what your fingers put down. i greatly adore being able to do that.
from permeation :
UN "measure" pw "loss" x
from in-alaska :
i finally got around to getting that in country book. i flipped through the pages and saw something about the way bruce fills out his jeans and i must say: you got me. thank you for such a spot on recommendation!
from empezar :
"in that time between waking up and checking out"--it strikes me that this describes the human condition between birth and death also. and it's funny because prior to thinking that, i was ruminating about how much i both love and hate that time before you have to check out, when you know your time is severely limited for lounging around in the bed and watching the cable, etc... i find knowing the time is limited makes me appreciate the last gasp of not-my-normal-compartmentness of a hotel room, but also leads to some inability to fully inhabit the remaining time because of anxiety over missing the deadline to leave w/out penalty.
from ladyveiss :
Hi there. I saw your note. I'm not the same gal as "Gypsy" but it looks like we have similar (awesome) taste in free layouts. Thanks for writing and reading.
from sbellem :
Hiya. Do you have my old password! If not email me at [email protected] and I'll send. Its good to write again.
from mangotuesday :
yes yes yes. your last entry. so many parallels.
from axde :
haha, well really that wouldn't work very well considering a pen didn't really come from sperm but have at it if you like. i think you should just name a baby that.
from annanotbob :
The whole time change thing has me totally fucked up. I'm off to Michigan next, then NY, NJ and PA (if I'm getting those initials right). Diaryland has a lot to answer for. Glad to hear you taking a firm position on commas.
from axde :
you've just given me a lot to think about.
from annanotbob :
Ach, British newspapers. I shall try and restrain myself, but that's a topic I can rant about. There's a clear distinction between broadsheets (on big paper), Times, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph - which cover news and serious stuff - and tabloids like The Sun, Mirror, which have a reading age of 9 (seriously) and very little other than titillation of some kind. The tabloids are very cheap and have lots of good offers (trips to France for �1) so are read by many many more people than the others, but keep news to the odd small paragraph. The Times used to be considered a great newspaper till Murdoch bought it. The Guardian is my favourite because it has a big comment section and prints opposing viewpoints - on issues like Israel/Palestine. http://www.guardian.co.uk/
from axde :
i didn't mention the bad stuff i'd do, which is the best part. i'd send plagues of something disgusting like pus to los angeles, and i'd send a multitude of achilles' to every conceited in the world to just beat the hell out of em and give em some humility, and i'd send a plague of hersheys kisses and glitter to all the gothic, or whatever, kids everywhere, and if anyone tried to destroy me i'd send a plague of destruction itself, in its very own original form.
from axde :
i think that i'd appreciate you less if you could fly and were 20 feet tall... every other attribute would be obsolete.. but i wont ruin your late night imagination. i've imagined myself with the ability to cause plagues wherever and whenever i want. and i mean plagues of any sort, not just frogs and stuff. like i'd send an aids cure and clean water to africa in plague-form. i'd send tact and wisdom to all governments, for where they may lack. i'd send a plague of puppies to myself. i could go on. i think it would be the greatest.
from southeast :
that makes me really happy. i'm hiding over at homesafe if you want to find me.
from southeast :
ps what j.u. should i start with?????
from mangotuesday :
heyyouback.
from axde :
i know i always quote you to yourself, but holy crap: "Here's the deal: he wrote sentences so beautiful and crammed so full with living and truth that they are like cranberries, so tight and full they bounce. You can't change them, you can't slip a sheet of paper between two of them. They are as if handed down from the place where perfection is cast." i just love that.
from axde :
welp, sorry bout those two. it'd be nice if you could erase your note mistakes on this site.
from axde :
"Before, I'd read it, and I'd thought, that's a smart lady, an astute observer of California circa 1970. But last night, all I could see was how painfully raw she was, one open nerve, a sad and smart woman looking for something true but also looking for a balm, a salve. I felt sorry for her, wanted to hug her tiny frame." god, that is beautiful. the book was fitzgerald's the beautiful and damned.
from axde :
"Before, I'd read it, and I'd thought, that's a smart lady, an astute observer of California circa 1970. But last night, all I could see was how painfully raw she was, one open nerve, a sad and smart woman looking for something true but also looking for a balm, a salve. I felt sorry for her, wanted to hug her tiny frame." god, that is beautiful. the book was fitzgerald's the beautiful and damned.
from jeannedark :
You've seen the Rosetta Stone and real Viking ships, now you can die happy. It's boorish, by the way. Just FYI.
from axde :
yeah, it is. it's one of the best, i think. just a soft, subtle story, told in the most beautiful and pleasing way. it makes me feel peaceful just hearing his stories.
from annanotbob :
Awesome series - I keep re-watching to work out how it's done, as I have a fantasy about writing a truly magnificant British series of some description. Spoils you for every other TV drama though. I'd love some recommendations of road trip books, especially any that involve demented middle-aged women travelling alone... x
from in-alaska :
thank you for the recommendation! i will keep it in mind next time i'm at the library for sure. and also, "hear hear" @ your new president!
from axde :
that was beautiful.
from empezar :
thank you. i loved oslo when i was there in '05. what a magical place to bear witness to obama's inauguration!
from annanotbob :
We cried too, my daughter and I. Out of nowhere, all of a sudden - hope. I had a brainwave about your quest for English like what it is spoke. 'The Burglar Diaries' by Danny King.
from sky-rocket :
are there still britpop dance nights at the ottobar? yuengling also has a brewery in tampa, florida.
from annanotbob :
Wow. That's set me off thinking about so many things, not least of which is 'what is a good life in this world we find ourselves in?' If you find yourself popping down to the coast while you're in London, I'd love to meet up for a coffee. Brighton is great.
from axde :
thank you monsieur. sometimes it feels like a story, too. but i think they call that dissociative disorder.
from annanotbob :
That made me laugh - we are Wire fanatics and spend our time trying to say 'all right' without any consonants, ya feel me? It is indeed a shrinking world. Have a great time in London x
from straysparrow :
Thanks for that. By the way, I just read your entry about Christmas. If I had actually written about mine, it would have looked almost exactly like that I think, because that's how it looked in my head. And because it looked almost exactly like that, I never wanted to stop long enough to write it down. Good job.
from southeast :
me too. and thanks for the new years wellwishes friend. sending them right back. x.
from permeation :
..that's my favorite part, too.
from boxx9000 :
found you by accident, loved your Christmas story.
from annanotbob :
Lovely. x
from axde :
"He's so smart and dry and funny, the kind of guy you'd like to take along to some juicy American stuff like a rodeo or a bingo hall and constantly lean in close, to find out what he's smiling about." that made me sigh a long one, in the name of the things that i love.
from weatethesea :
What's weird about most-popular-names is that the naming of girls has trends. But if you look at the five most popular names for boys from 100 years ago, they're about the same as they are fifty years after that, and a lot of them are the same today. Isn't that interesting?
from in-alaska :
some jennifers insist upon being called jenn with two n's. i've gathered that from personal experience.
from sparkspark :
Tommy Tutone: Also a Jenny guy.
from annanotbob :
Jenny has always been my default name for main female characters, until I find out what they're 'really' called. x
from melle-belle :
Possibly, when I wrote that, I didn't have a first in mind but wanted to leave room for a perfect 10. However, if I were forced to pick at this moment it is still the last two pages of Lolita for me.
from mangotuesday :
i think you are great.
from permeation :
I'm with you on the Monday observations.
from in-alaska :
it was much needed. i dont live in alaska, i just like caroline says II and thought it would look good enough to eat. tuesday was what dr phil would call "a changing day in your life", congrats. and also id like to thank you for calling me vibrant moons ago, but i still cant figure out why. sorry this was long!
from annanotbob :
Beautiful.
from permeation :
oooh, yes. i love it too! i was surprised at how great of an opening track it was, actually. x
from mangotuesday :
did your last entry go missing?
from sparkspark :
I have found it helpful at the office to channel my inner Sweet Dee. She gets me through a lot.
from jeannedark :
Re: the memoir. My suggestion is to treat it as fiction. Is the story/anecdote meaningful to the story at large, is it integral to the development of the plot and the character? Or is it just something you find personally meaningful/funny/interesting but others wouldn't? An example of this is Rebecca Walker's bio, which reads like one long and dreary accusation peppered with reminiscences of her favorite songs.
from sparkspark :
I love that word, leonine. I think it might be overused as regards symphony conductors, though. There should be another word to describe that Maestro hair-do.
from weatethesea :
So I'm not the only one who dreams about Internet People! Still. It feels creepy, every time.
from straysparrow :
I dream about internet people, sometimes, too. S xx.
from mangotuesday :
bianchis are the cutest bikes.
from permeation :
ok- third times a charm, heh? i was surprised you were using a dl address..but let's hope you get this one! i would just leave the un and pw on peoples notes - but that defeats the purpose of locking :) xx
from permeation :
hmm, i emailed you a pw on friday. how very strange. i'll email you again. let me know if you do/don't get it. xx
from sparkspark :
I love this one.
from idividedbyi :
well thank you! it was a ridiculously fun evening. to think, i get paid to do things like that?!!!??!!
from sky-rocket :
wow. i had a complete freak-out about 1995 at a party recently in which i was amongst a bunch of 40-year-olds. they were oblivious to spike jonze, weezer, and the buddy holly video. according to my witness, i became angry at everyone's ignorance, basically calling them all stupid. then i stood up, the room spun, and i vomited. i have a feeling i'm having an identity crisis, and my identity is linked to the 90s. the psychological effects are more severe, logically, if i'm surrounded by people whose identity is based in the 80s.
from annanotbob :
Thanks. It means a lot that you've enjoyed something I've written
from mangotuesday :
hey im in budapest its so great just like the fifth season and portland is one milli times more awesome than seattle. if yzou can even imagine exclamation
from sky-rocket :
thanks for that. yeah, that's why i had to get specific, giving him my "amazing within the context" parameters. he still went berserk. i think he's knowledgeable, but we're a volatile combination once we start voicing our opinions. somehow everything becomes contrary.
from sky-rocket :
could you be more specific?
from bethb :
I loved Lars and the Real Girl. A lot. It made me want to genuinely like people. The station agent did that for me as well.
from annanotbob :
Aw man, I just loved how you wrote about your co-worker. And what can beat being 'a little slackerly'? Have a great time in your brown shoes x
from sbellem :
Great post!
from student-bum :
banana/widget. Enjoy!
from hrtlssrmntc :
god bless old women when it comes to kittens!
from thecity :
thank you.
from theperson :
Sorry I've been AWOL for a bit. I haven't been writing anything lately, but do I plan on starting up again soon. Thanks for reading. I think you do wonderful things with words.
from permeation :
what a lovely thing to say - & thank you again. i never know what to say to such a compliment as that. i always hope to tell a story - of some kind. as for a band name...i know exactly what photo you mean & whole heartedly agree. xx
from permeation :
thank you. and thank you for the note, because it has lead me here to your proverbial doorstep.
from jeannedark :
A fancy food for richies, along the lines of cucumber sandwiches and protiferoles. I just Googgled it and found a Fanny Farmer recipe from 1918. It sounds like cheese sauce that is baked and breaded and deep-fried, which doesn't sound very fancy after all. I thought it was some sort of swanky puff pastry thing. Recipes from the 60s and 70s are hilarious though, if you ever stumble across old cook books. Maybe I will order the books, drape myself in a white sheet and bake cheese croquettes tonight. Want to come?
from jeannedark :
Gus Was a Friendly Ghost and Gus and the Baby Ghost by Jane Thayer. Found them on Amazon and Alibris. I think this explains why, when I was very small, I believed we had ghosts in our attic.
from jeannedark :
Do the mouse and ghost make cheese croquettes together? I can envision the illustrations from this book, and I loved that story too. Also I think that unless you definitively stop loving someone, there's always a trace of it there. It's a flame on low, not even simmer but the barely tangible 'warm. Love is like being alive. It takes a strong sickness, a gory beating to the death, to drive it from our bodies.
from mangotuesday :
i'm glad you like the starfucker song! i love it too! there is this other song called laadeedaa that you will really like to. i think. it/s hard to find but i will try to make another tape with that one on it.
from weatethesea :
GUESS WHAT! I didn't even realize it was still locked. Now it is unlocked, and so your password is anything you want it to be.
from brothasistas :
saw the pictures from greece and i have to say your girl is beautiful! at first i was jealous of her because she is pretty and i have a internet crush on you but the more pictures i saw the more i could not deny how cool she is. the fact that she lets yout take pictures of her is very likeable and she has great clothes. just felt like sharing.
from sbellem :
My man is a history dude-any advice? So appreciated!!!
from mangotuesday :
do you like the fleet foxes song called mykonos? you should listen to it on my muxtape if you haven/t heard it. openyourparachute.muxtape.com and theflagofyourlove.muxtape.com. happiest returns!
from theshivers :
Layovers, just like plane time, are free reading hours...and since I never have enough guilt-free time to read, I love those times.
from sky-rocket :
yes, i enjoy the time. spend it pretty much the same way, magazines, writing, people-watching. i've even started to think that in the future i'll purposefully choose flights with several layovers if possible, as opposed to "the fewer the better," which was previously my modus operandi. i enjoy less time in a plane.
from sparkspark :
Good travels to you! The combination of Philip Roth and Xanax should make sleep on the plane a cinch. XO
from theshivers :
yes, done with school (well, officially tomorrow morning) - congrats on getting asked to read and, most important, hope you have a wonderful time abroad. You know, I think I like saying 'abroad'..
from theshivers :
josh went to that show too - although he doesn't tell the story quite so well....
from jeannedark :
So in 10-20 years, will you recall the awesomeness of Radiohead and their musical transportation or will you remember being cold and wet and annoyed by your stoned friend?
from empezar :
you have so beautifully captured a moment, and i must agree about window screens--i feel naked and exposed without them, as though somehow they will filter the very air itself of more than mere bugs. they are like a protective membrane....
from annanotbob :
Woo hoo, man!!! (That's my professional, analytical response as an English teacher to your piece on guns) xx
from bethb :
the are indeed THE awesome. john reis'(RFTC/Hot snakes/pitchfork)new project. they're at the ottobar may 10th with the Obits whom i've not heard/seen other than good things about them. plus? the name The Obits kinda rules.
from hrtlssrmntc :
well, good. teach me your talents. with them i could get into every college in the tdot region! jk. but keep on keepin on. IM DRUNK ON SUNDAY! my fave diaryman
from hrtlssrmntc :
i dontknow if its creepy, but i looked at the pictures on that one website you have and they are really lovely. you do what you do and you do it admirably.
from jeannedark :
tacos and sushi? that sounds naughty.
from theshivers :
Downsizing a bit: 1989 nickel = listening to a lot of R.E.M. and post-new wave, pre-grunge fashion crisis. And, it was very hot that summer.
from theshivers :
I just pulled 2 quarters from the pocket of my jeans. One is 1966, one is 1967 - both before I was born and they make me think of a very small Texas town and my parents meeting in college and my grandfather still a colonel and all those damn hippies who were starting to irritate him...
from jeannedark :
delistalgia?
from sky-rocket :
time warpy. a class issue. i bet if right now i visited the same piggly wiggly in myrtle beach that i went to in 1989, i'd have those same feelings...
from hrtlssrmntc :
thank goodness. thanks a bundle. i am very embarassed, but pleased at the same time. i feel like i have an audience, but clearly not really.
from hrtlssrmntc :
i hope it worked this time!
from delighted :
delighted/youknowit
from jeannedark :
"I had the notion that I need to just get to it and finish this thing and make it my job. And it's the next day and so I realize it's not just that easy but I've still got enough of it left in me to make a difference. I'm just going to tell the most interesting parts about my growing up with the best structure and the best words I've got." Absolutely! It is a job and an interview rolled into one-doubly daunting. The only thing you can do is realize that you have no choice but to finish and see it through-if not, what was the purpose of those experiences, and your drive to preserve them? Don't think about it. Now you know why so many writers are drunks. Ain't nothing to it but to do it. Congratulations on the new niece! I'm sure she's lovely.
from hrtlssrmntc :
hahah sounds good. do what you can to avoid disaster.
from theshivers :
i'm jealous! They're not playing here and I love the new record. Other new stuff I'm digging lately: Bon Iver, Adele (kind of Amy Winehouse-ish, but different enough. I think the album is still import only but should be coming out soon) and Tom Ramsey -he's the guitarist for Band of Horses. The album is very Red House Painters and I've been listening to it on repeat all week. Also: Grand Archives and the band with my most favorite name of late, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. And, finally, also: The Office! I was so happy last night and maybe just a wee bit embarrassed at just *how* happy the return of a half-hour TV show made me. But, you know, whatever...
from hrtlssrmntc :
are you for real? i sent an email ages ago! i swr to god.
from theshivers :
i love jon brion like there's no tomorrow...
from annanotbob :
Beautiful writing... sigh...
from jeannedark :
Yes, chapter by chapter, remembering to breathe and not take anything too seriously. How are you progressing?
from empezar :
just wanted to let you know i've moved from my old sls diary. cheers!
from sky-rocket :
you were in my dream a few nights ago, with a boston accent.
from hrtlssrmntc :
you must give me an email address if you wish to achieve. or something of the like.
from jeannedark :
Thanks for the congrats! I will definitely send out an announcement when it's available next spring. Rather amazing, isn't it?
from hrtlssrmntc :
you got it spot on. there could be no other way.
from hrtlssrmntc :
i think you are "the bomb"
from jeannedark :
Have you noticed that when you listen to stranger's conversations (on the street, where-ever) they are almost uniformly yawn-inducing? Which may mean that our own conversations are similarly dull for eavesdroppers.
from southeast :
late to life. love that.
from sparkspark :
A) I'm with you on the Robbins. B) "as if to humor the restaurants" is a nice observation.
from mangotuesday :
are you on goodreads?
from ashahands :
hey - thanks for your note. i'm glad the post has stuck with you. it's stuck with me too. we'll be moving to chicago this summer. i don't know how i'll manage to leave baltimore. it grows on you. cheers! happy monday - myndi
from sky-rocket :
i listen to the same old stuff, dig deep, dig around, but seldom hop the band(literal)/wagon. feel like i might be missing out on something great, but there's too much to filter through. may i suggest boards of canada, tortoise, or kruder and dorfmeister? i've found myself bored with typical "rock band" instrumentation. ...not sure which tom robbins book it was that i never finished reading, but i was amused by the line, "the vintner in her veins pressed another grape."
from division-day :
thanks... i found that when i am watching the news (during any election), i am so repulsed by every candidate -- even the candidate i want to vote for! -- that i change the channel as soon as they start speaking. it's been the same lately. except i've found that i don't have to change the channel when obama is speaking, he doesn't annoy me, he doesn't seem pretentious or fawning or fake. that was not my only criteria for liking him, but i found it interesting. thanks for the point to that article.. incidentally... did i sent you an invite to the blog i write at now? my "permissions" thing says you never "accepted" the invite.
from division-day :
...getting caught up on people's blogs... so you like obama too... i watched the news 24/7 in MN and tried to make an informed, rational choice about the (democratic) candidates, and i chose him. i am depressed that he is not winning anymore. why is our country so stupid??
from jeannedark :
You are now an official member of the No More Cat Snaps, Ever! club. It's a secret cabal, we wear black robes, wonderfully free of pet-hair, and meet in an underground cavern to conduct our rites and burn cheesy posters of kittens clinging to branches.
from mangotuesday :
i loved your story.
from mangotuesday :
i know. every heartstring! and oh no i didn/t get your email! le sad. its [email protected] and i will give you the password too. bestbestbest to you.
from theshivers :
i'm the process of burning the entire Rilo Kiley collection for my broke friend. I've only heard one Hold Steady song - I'll have to check out more...
from theshivers :
Also, i am really late to this Wire phenomenon but I'm going to have to move season 1 higher up on the ol' Netflix queue
from theshivers :
i DO get a lot of music tips - but not usually from people whose taste I share -so thanks! I'll definitely check them out..on that note, have you been listening to Band of Horses? I can't get "Cease to Begin" out of my car CD player
from ashahands :
really liked your latest entry. I'm sorry about your brother's girlfriend. She sounds like a pain. I hope your story is accepted somewhere! Good luck with it. As for Moby Dick, I'd pass. It wasn't worth it for me in the end. Melville's short stories however, are very much worth it. Best wishes for a wonderful 2008. I wish it would snow here too. Be well --
from sparkspark :
All hail the bright side. And: Moby Dick includes a whole chapter on chowder. Do you really want to open that can of ...chowder? Merry New Year to you and yours.
from mangotuesday :
dear mr. brightside. the first good thing about 2008 is that it/s only one week until season five! are you all caught up? also. i really want to read your woodshop story. also. i like to run to the champ. ghostface is playing on new years eve here for some reason. maybe he will play all the hits. most sincerely, m.t.
from mangotuesday :
so i can/t wait for season five. exclamation. last depressing winter. i stayed all bundled up under my covers for like a week until i finished all four seasons. i was just a wreck over wallace. koolaid in his veins and i couldn/t even look. 'a safe distance' and what that means. and what it doesn/t. and oh my gosh i can/t believe you have two seasons left you luckysoul. happiest wednesday kindred.
from theshivers :
i sat next to J.freedom (josh) for years! he's very, very talented and very nice, too. we definitely miss him around here
from sparkspark :
I hadn't seen that one, but it is excellent. I love "Married to the Sea." Thank you!
from cherryjjones :
The number one fear for (most) people is public speaking. Are you worried about the actual speaking itself, or just the reading of your material? One surprising thing, I've done a few readings and generally, no one can tell that you are nervous if you just keep going, steadily, evenly--unless you pee in your pants or pass out or something obvious and heinous like that. Just remember to breathe, and pretend you are talking to yourself, or acting in a movie. Good luck!
from mangotuesday :
what season are you on yo!
from theshivers :
thanks...i'm glad to back, even if that means i seem to be living in my head even more than ever. Anyway, I'm glad you're still writing, not just on dland, but in your "rusty" little town, too. And yes, more Matt Pond PA. I find myself listening to "Several Arrows Later" whenever I need to be on a serious writing jag.
from sparkspark :
I am sure that is a popular mistake. I plan on making it in the future. AND, yes, you should take your hipster aviator glasses and go see the Electric Six! It's worth it just for the metallic blue cape. XO Violet
from sparkspark :
That sounds like an elaborate drunk. I hope your hangover, if you have one, is uncomplicated.
from ashahands :
hey, thanks for the note. i tried to click "contact me" on your page to send you an email, but i don't believe it worked. in any case, i'm leaving you a note here. i'm sorry to hear about the latest MR rejection. keep on it. they are good people and if you're receiving notes on your rejections, i would not lose hope. i always left notes on the stories i admired most. many of those stories were very much considered before they were rejected. i hope all is well. it is so beautiful in the city this weekend. i hope you enjoyed the book festival. it's been quite some time since i've attended, two years at least. tonight we're going to see andrew bird at sonar. i couldn't be more thrilled to see him live. thanks again for the note. great to hear from you! be well, myndi www.ashahands.blogspot.com
from sky-rocket :
send me a note with your email address.
from sparkspark :
Nicely put. And maybe that is why you (we) blog.
from southeast :
oh its me! mango.t. squared.
from southeast :
safe travels.
from sls :
thanks for the kind words :)
from sparkspark :
What about fencing? You might like fencing. You get to wear an outfit.
from sky-rocket :
skyrocket/orange
from cherryjjones :
Long-haul writing. You can't watch for the end. It's like a train ride, you've just got the make the best use of your time while you're there and trust that you'll hear the announcement when it's time to get off. You're losing your cherry, guy, the first time is hardest. After that, you know what to expect, and you can have more fun. Good on ya, mate, 100 pages. Full steam ahead!
from sky-rocket :
the album i have is "the fawn". i used to have "oui" but an old roommate stole it. also, i'm a huge sam prekop fan, there's an album called "who's your new professor?" that i just love...
from sparkspark :
My condolences on your catalytic converter. And on seeing the Bacon Brothers. XO Violet
from sparkspark :
It sounds like an excellent road trip, and it's making me pine for Acadia National Park. And lobster, East-coast style. Also, I dig the new White Stripes, especially "I'm a Martyr for My Love for You." XO Violet
from theperson :
I think you'd be happy to know that "The Prince" is a 1970's hair-do: http://meathaus.com/2007/02/06/hairstyle-names-from-1970s-ebony-ad/
from sky-rocket :
i unlocked it on purpose, btw. yeah, i'm ok i think. for now!
from sky-rocket :
oops. make that skyrocket / apple
from sky-rocket :
sky-rocket / apple
from cherryjjones :
When you stop believing that rock and roll can change the world, it means that you are officially a grown-up. Either that, or gray pubes.
from sparkspark :
Congratulations on your check. I like your story idea. XO Violet
from sky-rocket :
yes. think belowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
from sky-rocket :
pine apple
from sky-rocket :
you, who has an elliott smith lyric on his profile page. i don't know if it's because it's always rainy. it's rainy today, and i love it, because it's june and it gets really hot too, but *not humid* like everyone likes to differentiate between east and west. i miss the east coast like you wouldn't believe, or maybe you would, but the grass is definitely greener out here. i don't know what diaries in portland you read, except for mine and becky's. but, no, i don't think it's portland's fault.
from cherryjjones :
Lucky you, writer in residence. Can you see that I'm green? One short semester, and 3 hours away is no biggie. But are you a fretter or an adventurer? I dithered about for about a day looking for something to do after I finished my book and started getting queries off in the mail. Usually I give myself a break for a few weeks before beginning a new project but I was itchy and don't know what to do with myself when not working on a project, so I said what the hell and started the sequel. I'm two chapters in, it's easy-peasy pie. I suppose most non-writers just hang out or sleep or play Xbox...I can't afford the luxury of doing nothing but letting life drift by. I've also considered writing a memoir, but want to use a ficitonal narrative to combine real-life letters and journal entries. Do you have any short stories published that I could read/view online?
from sky-rocket :
the ottobar.
from cherryjjones :
I love reading your diary. Your life is so clearly and beautifully analyzed and reshaped for the page, I get sucked in everytime. Love all the details about grass and food and ambience and friends. It's very soft and lyrical, your writing. Sort of breezy and poignant-a nice combination. How's the book of essays/shorts coming along?
from sls :
"It's like watching your stoned roommate giving someone else's parents a tour of the apartment." love this description! oh and acadia is amazing (as is prince edward island--which i've had a geological+geographical crush on for years)
from sls :
wow. i just discovered your diary and your insights are really blowing my mind with their similarity to how my mind works.... the teabag thing--i do that little panic thing every time i make tea also (which is many times a day) and then feel such a strangely satisfying and enduring sense of victory when the string and paper square do not end up capsized! and what you said in today's entry about time and the blossoms--i'm always falling into that trap of being in the present thinking about myself in the future remembering the *now* moment as past... it leads to living in a rather chronic melancholy state, as though your entire *now* is merely a flashback in the movie-of-your-life as an older person. i remember being this way even as a small child--in fact there's a newspaper article my mom kept from when i was in 4th grade when my class had a mock-summit-meeting and a reporter came and wanted soundbytes from all of us miniature world-leaders-pretend and i said (much to the dismay of my teacher at the time) "i hope in 100 years when everyone in this room is dead that the world 'war' no longer exists." and then i remember in high school i would be hanging out with friends having some sort of "ideal" experience but in my mind i was already projecting into the future--alone in my room the following night lonely and pining for the feeling of connectedness i was experiencing in the *now* (which i was in fact then no longer experiencing because i was projecting into a grim future). anyway, thought it was my own sort of private madness... good to know i am not alone in that :)
from sky-rocket :
i listened to it the other day, too. have been listening to morphine constantly lately.
from mangotuesday :
i love the wire.
from theperson :
That Beirut song is sweet. They have a five song EP that's good also, if you haven't heard it already.
from somaserious :
How about "February Fury". The Weather Channel came up with that one. Furious weather: ice, snow, all kinds of weather nastiness, is furious. I like the metaphor as high thought. You're right about that. I'm not a writer but a voracious reader and it's the metaphors that get you thinking, that put you in that "higher thought process" which gets you to, I don't know, a higher plane of thinking (cheeseball?). Metaphors are beautiful and transcendent and just plain fun. They are a much better way of expression and usually sharpen the picture (in your mind as you're reading) or idea you're trying to convey. Do you have any books out yet? Soma
from cherryjjones :
I'm glad you've got a little something to chew on re: an outsider perspective on the essays. Metaphor as high thinking. What blows me away is the total and random abstractness with which we writers function, an dhow these wee particulates of sound, symbol and imagery float into someone else's brain and bloom there, like rogue seedlings. Does that mean that our ideas are really weeds?
from sparkspark :
All out weather out here (in wussy California) is now an "Event." We don't have wind, we have a Wind Event. Like there are going to be balloons, or something. Perhaps there are, and I'm just standing in the wrong spot. Wouldn't be the first time. XOXO Violet
from cherryjjones :
Hi again, working my way back and commiserating with your slush-pile headaches. Just a totally random thought about the disconnected essays, not that you'd want to rework your entire ms, but what about adding a shared character, theme or prop? The stories could be centralized by a cafe, some weird background character who drifts through and has a tiny effect on everyone else etc. Gimmicky, perhaps, but perhaps it would create enough unity to satisfy the plebes. I may be way off the mark...I just love talking shop.
from cherryjjones :
A page a day is a complete novel at the end of one year. It's also a hedge against insanity, a way to feel as though you are accomplishing something even when people think you are slacking and akin to dropping in on your friends for a quick beer or cuppa tea, and listening to their stories. I'm working my back through your diary. I like your writing-it's thoughtful and clean and deep.
from theperson :
I like when you write about smells.
from sparkspark :
I like that way of looking at yearning.
from gypsysong :
It's been a long time, but I want you to know I've thought about writing you nearly every day since your note. It meant so much. Thank you.
from division-day :
mmmm, beautiful.
from theperson :
That's a great Pavement song. Sometimes I will go on for days listening to nothing else besides Pavement. Pavement is simplistic, non-pretentious, and innovative... Something about it just feels right. Sorry your job isn't ideal.
from sparkspark :
Good! I figured all was well in the end, but thought maybe you winged your dad by accident, or something. I'm with you on the guns. XO Violet
from sparkspark :
Who did you shoot? XO Violet
from sparkspark :
Props on the acoustic guitar--that is a great gift. (My boyfriend gave me one for my birthday, so I'm biased.) And best of luck with your submissions--I hope all goes well. XOXO Violet
from theperson :
Do you ever make any seasonal/thematic mix cd's? That's cool you have an indie Christmas mix... Listening to the regular Christmas songs on store PA systems wears a little thin within a week. The waitresses "holiday wrapping" and Charlie Brown Christmas are kind of the only ones I like (Silent League has a good "Christmas Time" cover too)
from ashahands :
What was your essay titled? I've subscribed to 9th Letter since its beginnings. I definitely have that issue somewhere on the bookshelf. I'm positive I read it. Congratulations on getting your essay published in 9th Letter, it's a great journal. Best, Myndi
from sky-rocket :
thanks. i started and abandoned this diary in april, when i wrote those two previous entries. i certainly think catpower is decent enough. definitely try "the greatest"--if not for that song alone! but i liked the others. i'm not quite sure of your favorites in music, or i could do some recommending.
from theshivers :
i'm turning into a big fan ..i just saw them live on tuesday and was utterly charmed by Mr. Pond and his songs. We ended up talking with at the bar, post-show, for a long time.. I'd already grown to love the new cd and the live set and then conversation just sealed it...check out the new album if you can.
from theshivers :
no worries on Sedaris. Question: Have you heard Matt Pond PA?
from rainhammers :
ah. good last paragraph.
from sparkspark :
Sooooo awkward. Ai. I was especially cringing for Jim, in his new office. Xo Violet
from sparkspark :
Love it. XO Violet
from sparkspark :
The Victorian octopus is a lovely image. Good luck with McSweeneys/Believer. Violet
from rainhammers :
whoa. i saw mooney suzuki as well, at the black cat. it feels like forever ago, it was either 2001 or 2002. i remember liking them...
from sparkspark :
I love that seedy snapshot of someone else's life. XO Violet
from theshivers :
Also, the Capote book is so good i almost can't bear to finish it...but the spouse is making me hurry up because he wants to dive in...I'll put Saturday near the top of my reading list...although I think next I'm reading Mary Roach's Stiffed and then A.M. HOmes' new book.
from theshivers :
Ok,couple of things - the David Sedaris thing IS rad and it kind of inspires me to write him because i want him to read this story I wrote about him ...long story but if you want to read it all, let me know...is that too forward of me? Did you just contact him directly through the publisher, i.e, David Sedaris c/o Blah blah? Also, i love your Map of Baltimore idea...
from sparkspark :
Inspiring! I can see the flutter of Post-It notes rising above the flames, and I want to join the revolt. XO Violet
from sparkspark :
Ah, the sweet smell of deceit. And passive-aggression! Your story of your coworker hit home. I hope you're not getting swamped in the storm. XO VIolet
from theperson :
Okay, I know I talked a big game about the last minute ebay bidding strategy. But it's true; some statistics nerds figured it out: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9398 ..... I really like the way you write about smells, by the way.
from ashahands :
Indeed - the studio is great any day of the week. Patterson Park grass stains are a sure sign of a good summer. Did you take off work to watch the US game? Sad to see the US lose, but secretly I've been cheering on Ghana and hoping for their continued success. Cheers - thanks for the note!
from sparkspark :
Hey, there--"Hot Rail" is a good Calexico CD to start with, or "The Black Light." XO Vio
from camera-girl :
Thanks! I use an Canon Ixus 5 and am very found of it. Easy to use, got some more extra things than just focus and shot. I'm not quite sure what an SLR camera is, but if it's what I think it is, I want one too. (my english isn't that good hehehe) Have a great day!
from sparkspark :
I thought that might be you, O Baltimore you. I added you, too. XO Vio
from sparkspark :
I love your story today. And, on a slightly related note: I, too, am having a shoe-untied day, for reasons unknown. XO Violet
from delighted :
yup. t'was sad. he was part of a school of thought. now there's just a lone philosopher goldfish.
from rainhammers :
time for you to update...
from rainhammers :
i loved the squid and the whale
from theperson :
An ebay bidding strategy I've been told is to wait until minutes before the bidding is up before placing your bid. Apparently the price gets bid up before then... Maybe it's because of some psychological reason... There may be a good chance that what I've heard is a bunch of crap, also.
from rainhammers :
yes. keep trying. i hope i can stick with my new plan.
from theshivers :
thanks for the link - quite amusing...
from mangotuesday :
oh i love this! gold coins. i am always nervous to use them. like i am trying to get away with something.
from theshivers :
rejection letters can be so...well, weird....anyway, love the Oranges Band too...
from rainhammers :
i did. it was so familiar.
from sparkspark :
I like the idea of seeing more than just the irritating paper-pushing facets of your coworkers, and I hope you'll share some of your discoveries. I'm on a similar quest, which is, instead of reacting with instant (if silent) dislike to difficult people, to think of his or her best quality, and bear that in mind during the conversation, no matter how irritating. I'm batting about 300 so far.
from brothasistas :
too much fun!
from sparkspark :
Here's a warm word in your ear, and also: I've come to the same realization about Belle and Sebastian. I tried, you know?
from ashahands :
thanks for the duck pin research! it's a funny little game isn't it? patterson lanes down on eastern ave. is classic. as i remember, i felt the same way about atonement when i read it awhile back. your post makes me want to read it again. thanks again for the note!
from rainhammers :
thank you, that was nice.
from sparkspark :
I'm having that same experience with "Atonement," but you articulated it better than I could.
from theshivers :
in case you were wondering who the hell the request is from, i've sent you a 'contact' request via my Flckr account...
from ashahands :
For some reason I knew you would love Clap Your Hands Say Yeah --- I dig them too. If you haven't picked up the new Wolf Parade album, I think you'd like them too. The Senator is a great place as well. Cheers --
from brothasistas :
well, you are just the coolest.
from rainhammers :
"Plus, I used the word "retarded" in class the other day. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that." Haha. and. I don't think "socked in the gut" happens after a certain age. I think it's totally reserved for those first-time loves, and if you spend too much time seeking "socked in the gut" (like I do) you will miss out. (like I probably am.)
from ashahands :
what did you think of the show? i'm listening to it right now through npr. good stuff. when did you submit stuff to the review? what did you submit? there were many pieces i pushed to get published that never did. it was very frustrating at times to be sure.
from ashahands :
Good to know there are more of us secret workers out there. Thanks for the kind words, I hope we secure the studio space this weekend too. And Baltimore, great town. I liked your last entry very much. Cheers! ~ m
from mangotuesday :
that/s an interesting observation b/c i read sufjan really likes raymond carver/s stuff. lots of welcome to the neighborhood baked goods to you. i hope the landscape change is lovely.
from rainhammers :
email me: [email protected] and i will send you the secret info.
from errantpeach :
ok. my attempts at fuction. i mean, fiction.
from likeaforest :
also, paw paw is sort of a great name for a town.
from likeaforest :
!!
from mangotuesday :
i had gazpacho yesterday and my favourite song off the new white stripes is the denial twist. it/s very dancedance revolution. if i was prone to such a thing. xo.
from theshivers :
I've written a few small-ish things (diary-like entries that I think could go long) and an essay. As for memoir recommendations, I really liked Wendy McClure's "I'm Not the New Me" - even though it sort of borders on being chick lit. It's just dark enough to counter any of the gloss. Also, "This Boy's Life" (Tobias Wolff). On my to-read list: "Makes Me Wanna Holler" (Nathan McCall) and "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" (Alexandra Fuller). I did just finish "Reading Lolita in Tehran" but didn't much like the writer's style.
from ashahands :
thanks for the lovely note, although i'm sorry i made you miss baltimore. it is a good place. will definitely check out your diary. cheers.
from theshivers :
I really liked The Liars Club because of just that: it was sticky and often distasteful and sometimes cringe-inducing. And honest and yet also maybe not. It really showed me the difference between memoir and autobiography and with that I think I like memoirs better. Oh and typefaces: the Times New Roman is very neat and functional but I'm very partial to Courier and American Typewriter - but they're definitely not as utilitarian.
from theshivers :
the house has an office that will be my writing room...that was one of the main reasons I wanted this place. I'm looking forward to finally having a place to which I can escape - which doesn't mean I won't still go to the cafe a lot, because sometimes it's good to get out of the house and be around people you don't know...
from rainhammers :
i agree about weezer's beverly hills. it's weird. and sad. ten years is a long time, and things change. they have a whole new crop of 15-year-olds to endear. i suppose. is that what they're trying to do? or are they trying to hold onto old fans?
from mangotuesday :
elliott smith and all things portland. the rose parade is just around the corner.
from rainhammers :
ah. the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel. the poor chesapeake. blue crabs.
from mangotuesday :
oh a boy on his bike and your note made me smile so wide and true. have you seen that bbc series the office? thecarpet.thebadlight. theconversationsaroundthewatercooler. i'm writing a paper on running with scissors right now. applying feminist and conservative family theory. and now i might read stop-time again. because you reminded me. love and good taste.
from theshivers :
sorry about the damn rejections...but here's to managing to take a moment to realize the potential beauty in everything....
from rainhammers :
ha. i thought you were in portland. norfolk, though, i see. my grandparents live in virginia beach. i'm not one for slogan tees, but i really wish i had a virginia is for lovers t-shirt.
from rainhammers :
did you happen to catch any of the wordstock goings-on? i wanted to see norman mailer, but, to no avail.
from mangotuesday :
i'm glad you exist.
from rainhammers :
ah! hi. you signed my crispystar diary. it just came back from being regenerated and was left unlocked! have you been to rainhammers? are you maybe are the person who leaves music suggestions in my guestbook?
from brothasistas :
i like it when you write entries
from theshivers :
i love that Rilo Kiley, but then again I love all things Rilo Kiley...lately it's been the new Beck and Hot Hot Heat that are getting stuck in my head - and I'd forgotten how nice it is to have a bouncy pop song running through your brain during the spring time...
from theshivers :
yeah, it's an awful cliche, but time really does make it better...one second at a time, it all become a bit more bearable...glad to hear you're busy writing, that's always cathartic...
from gypsysong :
a bit belated, i know, but "elves and porn" is the most intriguing title i've ever read ... and possibly a list of my two favorite things also.
from theshivers :
congrats on getting more of the thesis done...and boy did you just make me feel like i must be half-crazy too...I'm weirdly obsessed with metereology. But I wouldn't leave fake poo in your fridge. Honest. Anyway, we still need to see The Life Aquatic...I thought life would slow down post-school, but it hasn't....
from theshivers :
a) i love your Joan Didion shout-out, uh, i mean epigraph...b) thanks for the words of encouragement...they're greatly appreciated (and needed) right about now...
from theshivers :
so are you getting close to finishing your thesis? Or do you finish in the spring? I've had people also look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them what I'm getting an MFA in ...the reaction is either a) why do you need to go to school to be creative? Doesn't school just kill the creativity? or B) what's the practicality in that? OK, so they don't actually voice that they think it's incredibly frivolous, but I can usually tell by the other questions they ask...then again, maybe I'm just paranoid (isn't that a trait of many writers?) And yes -lots of coffees, dark rooms, etc...happily it's winter and the conditions are good for writing.
from theshivers :
i am, indeed, in a program at Mi11s in Oakland. I'm almost done (knock on wood), my thesis should be done and accounted for by Thanksgiving. It's been an interesting process, sometimes great, sometimes horrible but almost always productive...how about you?
from theshivers :
amen...and welcome back; i hope you start writing more regularly again.
from delighted :
Don't I know you from the cinematographer's party?
from brothasistas :
welcome back
from indie-snob :
Hey there! I just added an Interpol review and thought you may be interested. This is my second time seeing them, with the other review also on this site. I have a bunch of other reviews here too, including Supergrass and Radiohead. Check it out, thanks!

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