follow the yellow brick road

Jim Carroll died today.  Not the greatest musician, but monster poet and writer in general.  I remember Basketball Diaries being the first movie that I wanted to see that my mom WOULDN'T let me see.  She finally relented and said that we'd have to watch it together, and if there was anything too inappropriate, she'd turn it off.  I think I lasted until the scene with the prostitute about ten minutes in before I said I was too tired to finish it and made her turn it off.  That's not the kind of movie you want to watch with a parent.

Anyway, after that I read the book and really enjoyed it.  I think that memoir is one of my favorite genres of writing, particularly because it's the kind I most relate to as a "writer."  Jim Carroll was one of those writers that made me want to keep writing.  Like Bukowski and Aaron Cometbus, there was no artifice or bullshit, it was just the words. Honestly, I'm surprised Jim Carroll even made it to 60.  He practiced enough risky drug use to kill an army, not to mention an overload of other things that I can't even imagine.

RIP.

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
Copy this into your NOTES. Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read. Tag other book nerds.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Total: 4

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier X
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

Total: 6

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Total: 7

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy X
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma-Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X

Total: 12

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood X
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan X

Total: 15

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley X
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Total: 17

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov X
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Total: 18

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce X
76 The Inferno – Dante X
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt

Total: 21

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry X
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Total: 23

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery X
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Total: 26

guess who's going to this:



Tisch School of the Arts presents:
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD SCREENING
Hosted by Kate Winslet
at Directors Guild of America
110 West 57 Street
New York, New York 10019



ME!!!! AHHH!!!!

I'm glued to this election coverage like crazy.  I just feel hopeful, anxious, ready for a change, not ready to be disappointed in Obama if he's elected, not ready for 4 years of McCain, if he wins (which is unlikely)....

I don't want to make any predictions and jinx this whole thing.  Because I do have that power, you know.

I haven't updated in forever, just because I haven't felt like it.  Lots going on, lots of stress and emotion.  The new job's working out well, but it's an adjustment.  Family issues galore, as usual.

However, I just got a good, hearty lol at this:

ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/10/leonardo_dicaprio_surprises_el.php


He's so purdy even lesbians kiss him on the lips.  Twice! 

Lots more Revolutionary Road pictures trickling in.   Still can't wait to see that.

Rewind to August 29th at the Putnam Valley Library.  Linda (Obama fanatic, self-coined "left of Lenin") comes bursting into the back room.

Linda: Did you see McCain's running mate?

Me: Yeah, I saw the name Palin, who is he?

Linda: SHE!

Colin and I: She??

*google search for Palin*

Me: Holy shit, she looks exactly like Tina Fey.

Colin/Linda: She DOES!

Linda: Tina Fey had better get her ass back on Saturday Night Live for this.  She's going to have a ball!




Palin's response?:

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Tina Fey, Sarah Palin saw your "Saturday Night Live" impersonation -- but she didn't hear it.

The Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity that she watched the "SNL" skit that opened the late-night show's new season last Saturday.

"I watched it with the volume all the way down," Palin said. "I thought it was hilarious."

Palin said she "didn't hear a word she said but the visual (was) spot on."

The interview is only the second that Palin has done in the three weeks since John McCain plucked her from obscurity to become his running mate.

She said that people in Alaska have "for years" said that there's a resemblance between the two.

"In fact, I dressed up as Tina Fey once for Halloween," Palin said. "So we've been doing that before Tina Fey has been doing that."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

simplyleonardodicaprio.com/

In the summer of 1997, I was sitting at my Compaq Presario computer on the 2nd floor of 12 Dell Street, on a funny thing called dialup, waiting and waiting and waiting for the minute long "first look" teaser of Titanic by Entertainment Tonight to finish downloading.  That video, on its tiny inch and a half screen, took so long to finish that I showered, ate lunch, and came back before it was done.  Still, in that world before tmz, perezhilton, and IMDB - before Google alerts gave you an advanced heads up to things like this, it was all we had.

10 years later, here I am.  And there they are - "still beautiful together."  It's really bothering me that ET pushed this with the tagline "what if the most titanic love affair of all time didn't die?"  That can't be farther from the core of what this movie's about.  I get that this is a limited release, and that they want people to go see it, particularly all those Titanic fangirls (coughexcludingmyselfcough), but really?  How cheesy...

Honestly, I don't know how good this movie is going to be.  I wasn't a part of the American Beauty cult following, but I'm not sure if that was due to the aspects of the film that I didn't agree with, or by the way the fans perceived those things, and romanticized them.  Whether or not you agree with his work, though, Sam Mendes makes a strong connection.  The book seems hard to adapt to the screen, mostly because there's so much going on internally, and I'm suspicious of how well Leo can pull that off without seeming contrived.  The version of the script that I have isn't the revised version, so I know from people who went to the screening a few weeks ago that there's been some editing and cuts.  This is the kind of movie I'm tempted to see by myself, just because I feel so invested in it that I'm like...protective of it, and afraid of other people's reactions.  If I see it and don't like it, that's fine, but since my opinion is in my own head, I guess I somehow feel like it's okay, and I don't have to say it out loud just yet.

I'm going to have to wait and see.  But I'm very, very excited.  And anxious.  This is nothing like the buildup to Titanic.  This is going to be dark, and dramatic, and inconclusive, and maybe even disturbing.  And okay, I can't wait for the sex scenes.  There, I said it.

I didn't post about my interview yesterday, just because I didn't want to jinx it in the event that I didn't get it.  Basically, I answered an ad in the paper for a Librarian II at Mahopac Library.  What I didn't know is that the Librarian II civil service position requires 4 years of experience (it listed 2 in the ad).  So, I sent my resume and application assuming that I was qualified.  I got a call from the director, who explained that while I didn't meet the requirements for Librarian II, that there was a part-time opening at the library en route to the Librarian I civil service position.  She said that I could expect a call from her assistant director to set up an interview.  Well, I went for the interview yesterday, with both the AD and the head of reference.  I thought it went fairly well, as well as interviews can go, and had high hopes.  Well, I just got a call from the Assistant Director a few minutes ago.  She said that she and Mary, the head of reference, highly recommended me to Pat Kauffman, the director, after our interview yesterday.  She said Pat wants to meet with me next Monday to "finalize things," and "that it's looking very good at this point." 

I think I have a job!  Assuming that I don't go in there Monday and totally blow it, or that she sees me and goes "ew, no way."  I have to discuss salary and hours and all that other technical stuff, but I think I have my first real librarian, post-graduate school job!  Everyone keep your fingers crossed that this transition goes well! 

In other news, I feel like total shit.  I think I have the stomach bug that my mom had.  I'm debating calling out of Guiding Eyes tomorrow, just because I feel like this is partially due to allergies, in which case sitting on the floor with puppies crawling all over me might not be the best thing.  Also, I was going to try and go to Erica's birthday party tonight, which is totally not happening.  I feel like crawling into a hole away from the light and staying there until next year...

Does anyone know how to make LJ icons?  I don't yet own Photoshop, so I'm sort of stuck.  If anyone can, I'll post/email the pictures that I want icon-ized.  Any help is much appreciated!

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/05/theater/20080905-rent-krulwich/index.html

Nice photo essay from the Times. I like the shot of the boys reacting to the Pulitzer news.

It's weird that the shots of Anthony hugging Michael Grief and Jesse take place in the same spot where we met Adam and Anthony after the show last year.  The theater looks so fresh and new in these pictures.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RENT-FINAL-PERFORMANCE-2-TICKETS-SEPTEMBER-7_W0QQitemZ280263278597QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280263278597&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14


Holy crapola.

I have my interview at Mahopac Library tomorrow.  It's just a preliminary interview, but it's better than nothing.  I don't even want to say anything more about it at this point, because I don't want to jinx it.

Anyway, I have 2 house seat tickets for In the Heights for Saturday, September 20th.  Anyone want to go with me?  

Seriously?  This is SUCH a good movie.  John Cusack is genius.  That's all I have to say for now.

Also, I want a Dutch Shepherd.   About a month ago I got that big book of dog (including non-AKC  registered) breeds out of the library.  My mom looked through it one night, and came to me and said "have you seen this dog?"  It's basically a cross between a Belgian Malinois and a German Shepherd, so they have the drive of a Malinois and the stability and temperament of a shepherd.   AND they're healthier - only 6% record of hip Dysplasia as compared to 20% in the shepherds, goldens, labs, etc.  And they're absolutely gorgeous:



The thing is, they're not bred outside of Europe, save for like, three breeders - and they're all in the midwest.  So, I did find one great breeder that I had a long conversation with, and she said we're more than welcome to visit her farm in Michigan, or she would ship a puppy.  I'd love to go and see them in person and pick out my dog, but that means I'd have to fly out there.  So, in the meantime, I'm looking for closer breeders, and not having much luck.  So, we'll see..

I finally got a new bag, after like...3 years?



by Matt & Natt, and made with all vegan material.  It's quite a challenge, vegan shopping, but if you put some time and research into it, it can be done!

From DMBNews.net:

LeRoi Moore died today of complications from a June 30 ATV accident. The Dave Matthews Band saxophonist was 46 years old.

LeRoi passed away in Los Angeles, where DMB was scheduled to begin a two-night stand at the Staples Center. A statement from Red Light Management said LeRoi died at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, and he had recently gone to his L.A. home to begin extensive phsyical rehabilitation. As of this posting, The Official Dave Matthews Band Website has not posted any information.

TMZ.com also reports that DMB will play its concert tonight as scheduled.

Fans outside DMB's hotel in Los Angeles today reported seeing Dave Matthews crying, and he and other band members and crew hugging each other while boarding their tour buses.

The ATV accident that ultimately took LeRoi's life happened outside his Virginia farm during a short break in DMB's tour. He was admitted to the University of Virginia Health System in serious condition and released early the week of July 13. AntsMarching.org reported that LeRoi had suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung in the accident, and on July 20, DMB announced that he had been readmitted to the hospital because of complications from his injuries.

LeRoi and drummer Carter Beauford were the first two Charlottesville, Va. musicians that young bartender Dave Matthews approached in early 1991 about playing some songs he wrote. With bassist Stefan Lessard and violinist Boyd Tinsley, they formed Dave Matthews Band and went on to sell more than 30 million albums in the United States alone.

Jeff Coffin, saxophonist with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, has been filling in for LeRoi since his injury, and DMB had begun recording a new album, with LeRoi, before the 2008 summer tour began. Of course, it is way too early to know what the future may hold for a new DMB album or the band in general in light of LeRoi's passing.

LeRoi Moore played a crucial role in defining the unique sound that drove Dave Matthews Band to superstardom in the 1990s. He stood still at the side of the stage, eyes often hidden behind his sunglasses, and let the sweet sounds of his saxophone do the dancing for him.

Stay tuned for updates on LeRoi Moore's death as they come in. DMBnews.net sends it thoughts and prayers to LeRoi's family, friends and the entire DMB community mourning his loss. Please feel free to leave your own best wishes or favorite memories of LeRoi in the comments section.

How does one begin to express the type of feeling of loss that comes with this news.  While I certainly didn't know Leroi, I feel I have known the Dave Matthews Band, and his contribution to it, for almost ten years.  With this news, my mind jumps to the premature conclusion that this is, essentially, the end of the band.  In my opinion, they've been on a slow decline for some time now, and this is just that process coming to a head. I mean, yes, The Who continued without Keith Moon, but did they really?  Leroi deserves more than rhetorical questions, so I'll keep it short.  Thank you for your immense talent, and for being such an integral part of the band that made my teen and young adult years bearable.   And to Leroi's family, Dave, Carter, Stefan, and Boyd - my thoughts and prayers are with you.   I can't imagine how the band must feel, and they have to perform tonight.

Leroi was the quiet band member.  I've harbored a fondness for him after I found out that he wears sunglasses on stage due to horrible stage fright.  It's funny, because just this weekend I was listening to #41 in the car with my mom, and I said "just listen to Leroi..."  He and Carter are the definition of 'rock steady.'  I just think about he and Carter sitting down back in '91 when Dave approached them for the first time, and I could cry.  It's so unfortunate when something, or someone, is taken from you so suddenly.

Anyway, I leave you with this performance of #41 from the Listener Supported show, and my first time seeing the band live.  The horn breaks in this piece are just one example of Leroi's talent, and it will live on whenever I listen to this music - driving down the highway on my way to work, through my headphones on the train, cleaning my house, or late at night on the computer.  More than that, it's also the type that you turn to when you're at your most upset, or facing a big change, or grieving.  So, in short, thank you.

My mom and I are seeing A Chorus Line tonight.  I'm excited - I've wanted to see it for awhile, and I totally forgot it was closing THIS weekend. 

Also:  http://broadwayworld.com/shows/Speed-The-Plow_311663.html

Soon!  I don't watch Entourage, but I know Jeremy Piven because of my John Cusack obsession interest.  Maybe his buddy will come out to support him?  That is, if those rumors of their falling out aren't true.  I've always gotten a weird vibe from Piven, not sure why.  I always just assumed he and John's friendship was sort of an 'opposites attract' kind of thing, but who knows.  I heard he was a real dick after Entourage took off.

Seriously though, Jeremy Piven is insane.  I don't know how he and Raul are going to share the stage - that's....lots of energy!

http://broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=31148

That seems really ironic, and...kind of silly?  Oh, whatever.  I'm making a big deal over nothing, I'm sure.

I just watched The Jack Bull.  Save for the scenes of violence towards horses and the sometimes cheesy, 'aw-shucks' lines - a great movie.   I'm almost done with my Cusack film list.

I finished my Lyme antibiotics today.  We'll see how that goes... the more I read about the disease, the more paranoid I become.  The thing is, you can never really tell when or if you're cured, and that scares me.  Because eventually, if I want to have kids, this latent disease lingering in my system could really adversely effect my pregnancy.  It's scary shit....

I have Guiding Eyes in the morning, so that's all for tonight.  I'm off to finish reading Right is Wrong.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/14/kate-winslets-husband-dir_n_119014.html

Almost time.... (sort of)

I'm up to my ears in job applications and resumes and other bullshit.  If I don't get any of these jobs, I'm going to be kicking myself for not interviewing at the Huffington Post.  Also, did I mention John Cusack wrote a piece for the new Chicago wing of the paper?  Yes, indeed.  Ugh, whatever.  More to come later, I need to finish my Civil Service exam....

I finally made a new LJ page.  The old one really didn't contain anything priceless or special, and I got sick of having my first and last name be known to the world.  So, here we are. 

If we were friends on my other account, or if you know me, feel free to add me, and I'll add you back.


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